Surah 7. Al-A'raf

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Verses [Section]: 1-10[1], 11-25 [2], 26-31 [3], 32-39 [4], 40-47 [5], 48-53 [6], 54-58 [7], 59-64 [8], 65-72 [9], 73-84 [10], 85-93 [11], 94-99 [12], 100-108 [13], 109-126 [14], 127-129 [15], 130-141 [16], 142-147 [17], 148-151 [18], 152-157 [19], 158-162 [20], 163-171 [21], 172-181 [22], 182-188 [23], 189-206 [24]

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Quran Text of Verse -0وَ هُوَAnd Heالَّذِیْ(is) the One Whoجَعَلَكُمْ(has) made youخَلٰٓىِٕفَsuccessorsالْاَرْضِ(of) the earthوَ رَفَعَand raisedبَعْضَكُمْsome of youفَوْقَaboveبَعْضٍothersدَرَجٰتٍ(in) ranksلِّیَبْلُوَكُمْso that He may test youفِیْinمَاۤwhatاٰتٰىكُمْ ؕHe has given youاِنَّIndeedرَبَّكَyour Lordسَرِیْعُ(is) swiftالْعِقَابِ ۖؗ(in) the punishmentوَ اِنَّهٗand indeed He (is)لَغَفُوْرٌ[certainly] Oft-Forgivingرَّحِیْمٌ۠Most Merciful

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Translation of Verse -0

(7:206) Verily, those who are with your Lord,³¹⁹ are not too proud to worship Him. They extol His glory and to Him they prostrate themselves.³²⁰

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Commentary

319. The allusion is not to physical nearness, rather to spiritual status (Razi).

320. This is the first Prostration verse of the Qur'an. The Prophet used to prostrate himself at the end of this verse (Au.).

"It is also on record that while delivering a sermon from the pulpit the Prophet (peace be on him) came down from the pulpit to offer prostration and resumed the sermon thereafter" (Mawdudi).

When in prostration one might say, as in a report of Ibn `Abbas in Ibn Majah:

اللَّهُمَّ اكْتُبْ لِى بِهَا عِنْدَكَ ذِكْرًا ، وَاجْعَلْ لِى بِهَا عِنْدَكَ ذُخْرًا ، وَأَعْظِمْ لِى بِهَا عِنْدَكَ أَجْرًا

"O Allah, write it down with You as words of remembrance, place it for me with You as a treasure, and enlarge for me its reward.”

Tirmidhi declared it Hasan, but Hakim treated it as Sahih (Au.).

Another report in Ahmad, Abu Da'ud and Tirmidhi, who graded it Sahih, narrates `A'isha as saying that in his night Prayers the Prophet always said the following words at the Prostration verses:

اللَّهُمَّ لَكَ سَجَدْتُ ، وَبِكَ آمَنْتُ ، وَلَكَ أَسْلَمْتُ سَجَدَ وَجْهِي لِلَّذِي خَلَقَهُ وَصَوَّرَهُ فَشَقَّ سَمْعَهُ وَبَصَرَهُ تَبَارَكَ اللَّهُ أَحْسَنُ الْخَالِقِينَ

"O Allah, I have prostrated for You. In You I have believed. My face prostrates itself unto Him Who created it and who split open its hearing and sight by His force and power. Exalted is Allah the best of creators" (Alusi).

According to the Hanafiyyah, one who did not intend to listen to the Qur'an, but hears the Prostration verse, has also to prostrate himself (Au.). Accordingly, Mufti Shafi` adds, it is not desirable to recite the Qur'an aloud in an assembly where the people are not listening, but obligatory for an individual to listen when someone starts to recite, or plays a tape recorder.

Fiqh Points

1. According to the Hanafiyyah, prostration at the prostration verse is obligatory (Au.).

2. There is no difference of opinion among the scholars that Qur'anic prostrations go with the same conditions as the prostrations within the Salah, viz., major and minor ablution, cleanliness of the clothes, the right intention, and orientation toward the Qiblah (Qurtubi).

3. Imam Shafe`i, Ahmad and Is haq have ruled that one might if he will raise his hands and say the takbir, as in Prayers.

4. There is no salam after the prostration (Qurtubi).

5. One might not prostrate oneself during the forbidden hours.

According to a hadith in Muslim and Ibn Majah, as reported by Abu Hurayrah, the Prophet said:

إِذَا قَرَأَ ابْنُ آدَمَ السَّجْدَةَ فَسَجَدَ اعْتَزَلَ الشَّيْطَانُ يَبْكِى يَقُولُ يَا وَيْلَهُ - وَفِى رِوَايَةِ أَبِى كُرَيْبٍ يَا وَيْلِى - أُمِرَ ابْنُ آدَمَ بِالسُّجُودِ فَسَجَدَ فَلَهُ الْجَنَّةُ وَأُمِرْتُ بِالسُّجُودِ فَأَبَيْتُ فَلِىَ النَّارُ

"When Adam’s son recites a Prostration verse and prostrates himself, Shaytan retreats weeping, saying, ‘Woe unto me. Adam's son was commanded to prostrate, he obeyed, and will get Paradise. I was also commanded to prostrate, but I refused, and for me is the Fire" (Qurtubi, Alusi).