The Muhaddithûn and the Jurists unanimously agreed that the number of the ayahs containing recitation prostrations in the Holy Qur'an is between ten and fifteen ayahs. Some of these ayahs command the people to prostrate to Allah, some of them deny the act of those who do not prostrate themselves to Allah and some others narrate the prostration of the creatures of Allah in the heavens and on earth from among the angels and the human believers.

The Prophet of Allah (peace be upon him) and his Companions who were listening to him used to prostrate after finishing reciting any of these ayahs. This state of affairs continued till the end of the Prophet's life. His Companions and their followers followed the way of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) after his death until the time of the Jurists who discussed the rulings of the prostration of recitation by referring to the sayings and actions of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him), in the same way as they discussed the rest of the juristic issues such as worship and transactions. They specified a section for it called the section of the recitation prostrations.

The legal judgement regarding the prostration for recitation:

All the scholars unanimously agreed that it is legislated and desired. Some of them made it an obligation and decided that neglecting it after knowing its legal status and the existence of the reason for it - whether by reciting or listening - is a sin like any other obligatory act in the Shari'ah. However, some of them considered it as Sunnah and that one who misses it loses the reward of doing Sunnah acts. They said that continuous negligence of the prostration for recitation is a bad point which reflects carelessness with types of worship, which have been established from the Prophet (peace be upon him).

The occurrences of ayahs of prostration in the Holy Qur'an:

The ayahs containing prostration for recitation in the Holy Qur'an are mentioned below according to the order of the Surahs in which they occur:

Allah [Glorified He be] said: Surely, those who are with your Lord (angels) are never too proud to perform acts of worship to Him, but they glorify His Praise and prostrate themselves before Him). (7:206)

He [Glorified He be] said: And unto Allâh (Alone) falls in prostration whoever is in the heavens and the earth, willingly or unwillingly, and so do their shadows in the mornings and in the afternoons. (13:15)

Allah [Glorified He be] said: And to Allâh prostate all that is in the heavens and all that is in the earth, of the moving (living) creatures and the angels, and they are not proud [i.e. they worship their Lord (Allâh) with humility]. They fear their Lord above them, and they do what they are commanded. (16:49,50)

He [Glorified He be] said: Say (O Muhammad sallâ Allâhu 'alayhi wa sallam to them): "Believe in it (the Qur'ân) or do not believe (in it). Verily those who were given knowledge before it (the Jews and the Christians like 'Abdullah bin Salâm and Salmân Al-Farisî), when it is recited to them, fall down on their faces in humble prostration." And they say: "Glory be to our Lord! Truly, the Promise of our Lord must be fulfilled." And they fall down on their faces weeping and it increases their humility. (17:107-109)

After He [Glorified He be] narrated the news of some of His Messengers (peace be upon them all) He said: Those were they unto whom Allâh bestowed His Grace from among the Prophets, of the offspring of Adam, and of those whom We carried (in the ship) with Nûh (Noah), and of the offspring of Ibrâhîm (Abraham) and Israel, and from among those whom We guided and chose. When the ayahs of the Most Gracious (Allâh) were recited unto them, they fell down prostrate and weeping. (19:58)

He [Glorified He be] said: See you not that whoever is in the heavens and whoever is on the earth, and the sun, and the moon, and the stars, and the mountains, and the trees, and Ad-Dawâbb [moving (living) creatures, beasts], and many of mankind prostrate themselves to Allâh. But there are many (men) on whom the punishment is justified. And whomsoever Allâh disgraces, none can honour him. Verily! Allâh does what He wills (22:18)

Allah [Glorified He be] said: O you who have believed! Bow down, and prostrate yourselves, and worship your Lord and do good that you may be successful (22:77)

He [Glorified He be] said: And when it is said to them: "Prostrate yourselves to the Most Gracious (Allâh)! They say: "And what is the Most Gracious? Shall we fall down in prostration to that which you (O Muhammad sallâ Allâhu 'alayhi wa sallam) command us?" And it increases in them only aversion) (25:60)

Allah [Glorified He be] said after the speech of the hoopoe about the queen of Sheba: [As Shaitân (Satan) has barred them from Allâh's Way] so they do not worship (prostrate themselves before) Allâh, Who brings to light what is hidden in the heavens and the earth, and knows what you conceal and what you reveal. Allâh, Lâ ilâha illâ Huwa (none has the right to be worshipped but He), the Lord of the Supreme Throne! (27:25,26)

He [Glorified He be] said: Only those believe in Our Ayât (proofs, evidences, ayahs, lessons, signs, revelations, etc.), who, when they are reminded of them, fall down prostrate, and glorify the Praises of their Lord, and they are not proud (32:15)

Allah [Glorified He be] said: And Dâwûd (David) guessed that We have tried him and he sought Forgiveness of his Lord, and he fell down prostrate and turned (to Allâh) in repentance (38:24)

Allah [Glorified He be] said: And from among His Signs are the night and the day, and the sun and the moon. Prostrate not to the sun nor to the moon, but prostrate yourself to Allâh Who created them, if you (really) worship Him. But if they are too proud (to do so), then there are those who are with your Lord (angels) glorify Him night and day, and never are they tired (41:37,38)

Allah [Glorified He be] said: Do you then wonder at this recitation (the Qur'ân)? And you laugh at it and weep not, Wasting your (precious) lifetime in pastime and amusements (singing, etc.). So fall you down in prostration to Allâh, and worship Him (Alone) (53:59-62)

He [Glorified He be] said: So I swear by the afterglow of sunset; And by the night and whatever it gathers in its darkness, And by the moon when it is at the full. You shall certainly travel from stage to stage (in this life and in the Hereafter). What is the matter with them, that they believe not? And when the Qur'ân is recited to them, they fall not prostrate (84:16-21)

Allah [Glorified He be] said: Nay! If he (Abû Jahl) ceases not, We will catch him by the forelock - A lying, sinful forelock! Then, let him call upon his council (of helpers). We will call out the guards of Hell (to deal with him)! Nay! (O Muhammad sallâ Allâhu 'alayhi wa sallam)! Do not obey him (Abû Jahl). Fall prostrate and draw near to Allâh! (96:15-19)

This is the maximum number of the ayahs containing prostration for recitation. In the latest edition of the Mushaf there are special signs pointing to these places in the Holy Qur'an. These signs refer to what the scholars unanimously agreed upon of these places and also show the opposing view in this regard. i.e. the Mushaf printed in Egypt.

The recitation prostration is preceded and followed by two Takbirs; the first of which is said while going down and putting the head on the ground and the second one is said after rising up from prostration without making Tashahhud or Taslim. The best supplication said during the prostration for recitation and after making the usual Tasbih of the other prostrations is that which was reported from the Mother of the Believers 'A'ishah (may Allah be pleased with her) who said that the Prophet (peace be upon him) used to say during the prostration for recitation: My face prostrated to the One Who created it and established the hearing and the sight thereof by His Power and Mighty Narrated by Abu Dawud in the Chapter titled "Prayer" (1414), and by At-Tirmidhi in the Chapter "Prayer" (580), and by An-Nasa'i (2/222).

The prostration for recitation should be - as the general system of Islam - in the direction of prayer [the Qiblah]. The one performing this kind of prostration should be free from major ritual impurity. Some well known juristic schools stressed ablution as a precondition for making prostration for recitation. Following some narrations in this regard, some scholars do not stipulate ablution for performing the prostration for recitation. It seems that this last opinion contains great easiness, which is in accordance with the moderation of Islam. However, having ablution is better than neglecting it, as ablution is like a safety means for the believer.

The wisdom behind the recitation prostration:

The wisdom behind this kind of prostration is, generally, a spiritual and practical instruction, with which the believer is refreshed whenever and wherever he recites or listens to the Holy Qur'an. It is also a test of the degree of his readiness to answer the call of submission to Allah in a practical way and to submit his face to Him. By doing this, the believer will be to Allah like the soldier to his commander - and for Allah is the best example - that when such soldier is surprised by seeing his commander, he leaves everything in his hand and salutes him willingly showing obedience and submission.

Moreover, this prostration is in accordance with the general spirit of worship, which is given by the whole universe, the speaking and the silent, the heavenly and the terrestrial. It is also a declaration of restricting prostration to Allah Alone to the exclusion of all other false gods and kings. Allah [Glorified He be] said: See you not that whoever is in the heavens and whoever is on the earth, and the sun, and the moon, and the stars, and the mountains, and the trees, and Ad-Dawâbb [moving (living) creatures, beasts], and many of mankind prostrate themselves to Allâh. But there are many (men) on whom the punishment is justified. And whomsoever Allâh disgraces, none can honour him. Verily! Allâh does what He wills) (22:18)

From the wisdom of the prostration for recitation is to fulfil the requirements of knowledge and faith and to imitate the chiefs (angels) on high who are continuously prostrating themselves to Allah. Allah [Glorified He be] said: Verily those who were given knowledge before it (the Jews and the Christians like 'Abdullah bin Salâm and Salmân Al-Farisî), when it is recited to them, fall down on their faces in humble prostration (17:107) He also said: Surely, those who are with your Lord (angels) are never too proud to perform acts of worship to Him, but they glorify His Praise and prostrate themselves before Him) (7:206)

From the wisdom of the prostration for recitation is to draw the attention of the atheists to their grave mistakes and to push them to prostrate themselves before Allah. Allah [Glorified He be] said: And when it is said to them: "Prostrate yourselves to the Most Gracious (Allâh)! They say: "And what is the Most Gracious? Shall we fall down in prostration to that which you (O Muhammad sallâ Allâhu 'alayhi wa sallam) command us?" And it increases in them only aversion (25:60) Last but not least, the prostration for recitation is a means of following the example of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) in his strong aversion from those who belied him and commanding him to prostrate himself to Allah and thus following the way of the prophets (peace be upon them all) so as to show the unity of all the religions and the originality of the main principles thereof. Allah [Glorified He be] said: Nay! (O Muhammad sallâ Allâhu 'alayhi wa sallam)! Do not obey him (Abû Jahl). Fall prostrate and draw near to Allâh! (96:19) In another ayah which shows the unity of the religions Allah [Glorified He be] said: Those were they unto whom Allâh bestowed His Grace from among the Prophets, of the offspring of Adam, and of those whom We carried (in the ship) with Nûh (Noah), and of the offspring of Ibrâhîm (Abraham) and Israel, and from among those whom We guided and chose. When the ayahs of the Most Gracious (Allâh) were recited unto them, they fell down prostrate and weeping (19:58)

The meaning of prostration is well known:

This is the prostration for recitation and its status in the Islamic legislation. The ayahs containing prostration for recitation and the wisdom of its legality have just been mentioned above. It is now clear that the aim of prostration for recitation is not only the hidden submission to Allah with the heart, as claimed by the followers of the doctrine of Tahallul i.e. those people claim that faith is only hidden in the heart and it is not necessary to act according to the belief. Those who claim this include some sects of Sufism and the like, rather it should have physical manifestations. So, those who claim that the meaning of the prostration for recitation is hidden within the heart and that there is no need for the actual performance of prostration, violate the sanctity of a kind of worship whose legality was declared by the Messenger. This kind of worship was transmitted after the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) through an uninterrupted chain of transmission. This worship was consecutively transmitted with its exact description from the good ancestors to their followers who were knowledgeable of religion than many others. It is now obvious that this sort of worship is a general norm of worship of the believers in the face of the norms of other sects and groups who adopt specific principles and certain directions in order to propagate their attitudes and sanctify their beliefs.

It is becoming of the legislation of Allah to adopt prostration as a symbol of the most effective belief in life; the belief of pure monotheism to Allah the All-Mighty.