Then, one day he said to him, “Ask of me”—that is, make a request—so that the Prophet ﷺ might reward him for his service, for the Prophet ﷺ was the most generous of all people and used to say, “Whoever does you a kindness, repay him.” Wishing to recompense him, he told him, “Ask of me,” meaning: ask for whatever you please. One might expect that the man would ask for money, yet his aspiration was lofty. He answered, “I ask for your companionship in Paradise,” as though he were saying, “Just as I accompanied you in this world, I ask to accompany you in Paradise.” The Prophet ﷺ asked, “Anything else?”—that is, do you want to request something else I can carry out? He replied, “That is all,” meaning, “I ask for nothing but that.” The Prophet ﷺ then said, “So help me concerning yourself by making plentiful prostrations.”

This is the point of evidence: the Messenger ﷺ said, “Help me concerning yourself through abundant prostration.” Abundant prostration necessarily entails abundant bowing, and abundant bowing entails abundant standing, because every unit of prayer contains two prostrations. Thus, when prostrations increase, bowings and standing increase as well. He mentioned prostration specifically because it is the noblest posture for the worshipper; the servant is never closer to his Lord than when he is prostrating. Although the worshipper is near to Allah whether standing, bowing, prostrating, or sitting, the very closest he comes to his Lord is while prostrating.

In this ḥadīth there is proof of the virtue of prostration, and the scholars have differed as to whether it is preferable