Prostration
Sujūd — prostration
The lowest place the body can go, and the closest you can be.
سُبْحَانَ رَبِّيَ الْأَعْلَى
Subḥāna Rabbiyal-Aʿlā
How far above all fault is my Master, the Most High.
Why it is said here
Your face — the part of you that you protect most — is on the ground, and the word you say is 'the Most High'. The lowest posture and the highest name in one breath. The Prophet ﷺ said: 'The closest a servant is to his Lord is while he is prostrating, so make much supplication in it.' This is the place to ask, in any language you have.
subḥānaroot س ب ح
سُبْحَانَ
far removed from every fault
al-Aʿlāroot ع ل و
الْأَعْلَى
the Most High, higher than all
- Al-Aʿlā
- Ar-Rabb
Prostrating on the seven bones — forehead with nose, both palms, both knees, the toes of both feet — is a pillar of every unit.
Where the schools differ: The majority require the nose to touch along with the forehead; the Shāfiʿīs treat the nose as recommended. All require the forehead.
Muslim 482; al-Bukhārī 812 (ṣaḥīḥ)
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