23. All About Sajdah At-Tilaawah

By Asma bint Shameem

Sajdah at-Tilaawah is the sajdah that is performed when you come across an ayah that requires sajdah while reading the Qur’aan.

These are the ayaat where the Prophet sal Allaahu Alayhi wa sallam made sujood when he read them.

And there are 15 such places in the Qur’aan.

The Prophet sal Allaahu Alayhi wa sallam said:

“When the son of Adam recites a verse of prostration and prostrates, the Shaytaan withdraws, weeping and saying: Woe unto him – (in another narration- Woe unto me) – the son of Adam was commanded to prostrate and he prostrated, so Paradise will be his; I was commanded to prostrate and I refused, so Hell is mine.”(Saheeh Muslim)

Do I “HAVE” to do the sajdah when I come across such aayaat?

No.
It’s “RECOMMENDED” to do Sajdah at-Tilaawah when you reach such an Aayah but it’s NOT obligatory.

PROOF:

Umar radhi Allaahu anhu
prostrated when reciting surah an-Nahl when he was delivering a khutbah to the people on the minbar, but on the following Friday when he read the same Surah,
he did not prostrate, and said:

“Whoever prostrates has done right and whoever does not prostrate, there is no sin on him.” (al-Bukhaari)

Do I have to do the sajdah RIGHT AWAY or can I delay it?
And can I ‘gather’ all the sujood of tilaawah together and do them all together once I’m done reciting the wholprostration e Qur’aan ?

The Sunnah is to do the sajdah *when* you recite the Aayah which contains the sajdah of Tilaawah. There’s no evidence to prove that we can delay it or do all the sujood together once we’re done reciting the Qur’aan.

Ibn Umar radhi Allaahu anhu said:

“The Messenger of Allaah Sal Allaahu Alaiyhi wa Sallam used to recite Qur’aan to us, and if he reached a verse where a sajdah was prescribed, he would say Takbeer and prostrate and we would do likewise.” (al-Bukhaari, Muslim)

How to do Sajdah at-Tilaawah

Sajdah at-Tilaawah is just like any regular sajdah.

So when you reach any Aayah with sajdah at-Tilaawah, you should

- say Allaahu Akbar
- go into sajdah
- read the same tasbeeh like you do for a sajdah in Salaah.
(That is, say “subhaana rabbi al-Aalaa”)
- get up and continue your recitation of the Qur’aan.

That’s it.

There’s no Takbeer when you get up after making this sajdah while you’re just reading Qur’aan, and not praying.

But when you make this sajdah while you’re in SALAAH then you should say takbeer when going into sajdah as well as when you get back up because we’re tilaawahto say Allaahu Akbar with every movement of Salaah.

Do I need to say the tashahhud or tasleem?

No, there no proof of that from the action of the Prophet sal Allaahu Alayhi wa sallam.

Is there one sajdah or two?

Sajdah at-Tilaawah is only ONE sajdah.

The scholars said:

“The fuqaha’ are agreed that sujood al-tilaawah consists of one prostration.” (Al-Mawsoo’ah al-Fiqhiyyah, 24/331)

Should I stand up and then go into the sajdah?

No. You can just go into sajdah directly from any position you’re in.

The scholars said:
“We know of no evidence (daleel) to suggest that he should stand up in order to do sajdah al-tilaawah.”(Al-Lajnah al-Daa’imah Li’l-Buhooth al-‘Ilmiyyah wa’l-Iftaa’, 7/265)

Do I have to have wudhu or face the qiblah?

It’s preferred to have wudhu and face the qiblah. But it’s not a must.

What should I say in my sajdah?

You can say the usual Tasbeeh for sajdah that you say in your prayers.

The scholars said:
“ In his sujood for reciting Qur’aan he says what he says in his sujood when he prays.”
(Al-Lajnah Al-Daa’imah Li’l-Buhooth Al-‘Ilmiyyah Wa’l-Iftaa’)

Can I add my own duaa after reading the Tasbeeh for sujood?

Yes it’s allowed to make duaa when doing sajdah at-Tilaawah, after you say the prescribed Tasbeeh.

You can make duaa because that’s what’s proven from the Prophet sal Allaahu Alayhi wa sallam.

One of the duaas that he said in the sajdah for tilaawah:

اللَّهُمَّ اكْتُبْ لِي بِهَا عِنْدَكَ أَجْرًا وَامْحُ عَنِّي بِهَا وِزْرًا وَاجْعَلْهَا لِي عِنْدَكَ ذُخْرًا وَتَقَبَّلْهَا مِنِّي كَمَا تَقَبَّلْتَهَا مِنْ عَبْدِكَ دَاوُدَ

“Allaahumma aktub li bihaa ‘indaka ajran, wa’mhu ‘anni bihaa wizran, waj’alhaa lee ‘indaka dhukhran wa taqabbalhaa minni kamaa taqabbaltahaa min ‘abdika Dawood

“اے اللہ اس ( سجدہ ) كى بنا پر ميرے ليے اپنے ہاں اجروثواب لكھ دے اور اس كى بنا پر ميرے گناہ معاف كر دے، اور اپنے پاس ميرے ليے اسے زخيرہ كر لے، اور ميرى جانب سے يہ اس طرح قبول فرما جس طرح تو نے داود عليہ السلام سے قبول كيا تھا"

(O Allaah, record for me a reward for this (prostration), and remove from me a sin. Save it for me and accept it from me just as You accepted it from Your slave Dawood).” (al-Tirmidhi- saheeh)

Can I do sajdah at-Tilaawah in the prohibited times of prayers?

Sajdah at-Tilaawah is not ‘Salaah’ so it does not take the same rulings as Salaah.

So it’s allowed to do Sajdah at-Tilaawah at all times even the times when the Prophet sal Allaahu Alayhi wa sallam prohibited praying.

What if I’m in a car or someplace where I hear the Aayah for the sajdah but can’t do the sajdah?
Can I say Subhaan Allaah or some other dhikr instead?
Or just ‘bend’ my head a bit when I can’t do this sajdah?

Since doing sajdah at-Tilaawah is something mustahabb and NOT something obligatory, it’s ok if you couldn’t do this sajdah.
There’s no sin on you if you didn’t or couldn’t do it.

Saying Subhaan Allaah or some other dhikr or bending the head forward instead of the sajdah is not proven from the practice of the Prophet Sal Allaahu Alaiyhi wa Sallam or his Sahaabah.

At times when the Prophet Sal Allaahu Alaiyhi wa Sallam didn’t do the sajdah, he just kept quiet.
He did NOT say some other dhikr instead.
So we shouldn’t be doing it either.

What if I hear someone ELSE reciting the Aayah with the sajdah of Tilaawah? Should I do the sajdah?

You’re only supposed to do sajdah of Tilaawah if the person reciting also does it.
Otherwise you don’t have to.

Shaikh Ibn Baaz said:

“It is not prescribed for the one who is listening to prostrate unless the reciter prostrates, because Zayd ibn Thaabit recited Soorat al-Najm to the Prophet Sal Allaahu Alaiyhi wa Sallam and he did not prostrate, and neither did the Prophet Sal Allaahu Alaiyhi wa Sallam.
This indicates that the prostration of recitation is not obligatory, because the Prophet Sal Allaahu Alaiyhi wa Sallam did not rebuke Zayd for not prostrating. The hadeeth also indicates that the listener should not prostrate unless the reader prostrates.” [Majmoo’ Fataawa Ibn Baaz (11/415)]

If I’m memorizing the Qur’aan and repeating the Aayah of prostration again and again, should I repeat the sajdah too?

If you’re memorizing the Qur’aan snd you come to an Aayah for sajdah, just do it ONCE and that's enough. You don’t have to keep doing it again and again.

Shaikh Ibn Uthaymeen said:

“If the verses are repeated, such as when one repeats the verses for the purpose of memorising Qur’aan, doing the prostration the first time will suffice for the rest and there is no need to repeat the prostration.” (Majmoo‘ al-Fataawa, 14/318)

What happens if the Imaam said Allaahu Akbar and went into Sajdah at-Tilaawah but I thought he’s going into rukoo and I didn’t realize my mistake until after I heard him reciting Qur’aan again. Do I have to offer sujood as-Sahw?

If you realize that the Imaam went into sajdah at-Tilaawah although mistakenly you were in rukoo, obviously you should immediately go into sajdah as well and follow the Imaam.
But if you didn’t realize that the Imaam was doing sajdah until after he stands back up, and you were still in rukoo, all you do is stand back up and join the Imaam. There’s no need to do anything else and no need for Sujood as-Sahw.

Shaikh ibn Uthaymeen said:

“(If) He does not realize that the imam was prostrating until after he gets up from prostration. In that case we say to the person who bowed: stand up now and follow the imam, and bow with your imam and carry on, and the prostration of recitation is waived in your case, because the prostration of recitation is not a pillar or essential part of the prayer such that you need to do it after your imam, rather you are obliged to follow your imam. You missed out on following, and it is a Sunnah that was missed at the proper time, so you should carry on with your prayer.” (Majmoo’ Fataawa al-Shaykh Ibn ‘Uthaymeen (14/24)

Can a woman on her menses do sajdah at-Tilaawah?

Yes because this is not Salaah and does not take the same rulings as Salaah.
So purity is not a condition for it to be valid.

The scholars said about a woman in her menses:

“...The sajdah is prescribed for her, because it is not salaah (prayer), rather it is an act of submission to Allaah and worship, like other kinds of dhikr.’(Al-Lajnah al-Daa’imah Li’l-Buhooth al-‘Ilmiyyah wa’l-Iftaa’, 7/262)

Does a woman have to wear hijaab for sajdah at-Tilaawah?

Again, since sajdah at-Tilaawah itself is not Salaah and it does not take the same rulings as Salaah.
So she does not HAVE to have hijaab to do it.
But it’s better if she does.

And Allaah knows best.