Sujood al-Tilawah: How to Do the Prostration of Recitation

Sujood al-tilawah is the single prostration made by someone who recites, or listens to, one of the fifteen verses of prostration in the Qur'an. It is a sunnah, not an obligation. You go down into one sujud, say subhana rabbiyal-a'la and any du'a you know, then rise, with no tashahhud and no salam when you are outside the prayer.

This guide is for students meeting the sajdah sign for the first time, hifz students who repeat those verses often, and parents teaching children. It is a learner's guide, not a fatwa: the rulings come from islamqa.info, and where scholars differ, we say so.

What is sujood al-tilawah?

Sujood al-tilawah means "the prostration of recitation": sujud is prostration and tilawah is reciting the Qur'an. You will also hear it called sajdat al-tilawah, or sajdah tilawat in many South Asian homes. Every place where it is made is a verse that mentions prostration, either praising those who prostrate or commanding it, so the reader answers the verse with his body.

Surah as-Sajdah shows the idea clearly. It describes the believers as people who fall down in prostration when they are reminded of Allah's verses, and the sajdah sign comes at the end of that ayah.

Is sujood al-tilawah obligatory?

Sujood al-tilawah is a sunnah and not an obligation, inside or outside the prayer, according to IslamQA (22650, 73402). Zaid ibn Thabit (may Allah be pleased with him) recited Surah an-Najm to the Prophet ﷺ and he did not prostrate (al-Bukhari 1072), and 'Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) made the point from the minbar.

A sunnah is still worth holding on to. Ibn 'Umar described how, when the Prophet ﷺ recited a surah with a prostration, "he would prostrate and we would do the same and some of us (because of the heavy rush) could not find a place for prostration" (al-Bukhari 1075). Make it your normal habit, and treat the times you leave it as the exception.

Where are the sajdah verses in the Qur'an?

There are fifteen places of sujood al-tilawah in the Qur'an, according to the list on IslamQA 5126. In the Madinah mushaf each one ends with the sajdah sign ۩, and the margin is marked as well; our guide to the symbols on the Qur'an page shows what those marks look like. The verse numbers below are the ones where the sign appears on quran.com.

Lists online sometimes look different for two reasons. Some give the first verse of the passage (16:49, 17:107, 27:25, 41:37) rather than the verse where the sign sits. And the scholars counted fourteen or fifteen, differing mainly over Sad and the second place in al-Hajj. For Sad, Ibn 'Abbas said it "is not a compulsory one but I saw the Prophet (ﷺ) prostrating while reciting it" (al-Bukhari 1069). In practice, follow the signs in your mushaf and ask your teacher.

How do you perform sujood al-tilawah?

You perform sujood al-tilawah as one prostration, made at the verse itself, with the same words you say in the sujud of the prayer. Outside the prayer it looks like this.

Do you need wudu or to face the qiblah?

Wudu and facing the qiblah are not conditions of sujood al-tilawah, in the view the Permanent Committee calls more correct, because it is "an act of worship, but it is not like prayer" (IslamQA 4913). Since some scholars require them, the Committee adds that if being in wudu and facing the qiblah is easy, "this is better".

How is sujood al-tilawah done inside the prayer?

Inside the prayer, you say Allahu akbar both when going down for sujood al-tilawah and when coming back up, then continue the rak'ah as normal (IslamQA 22650, 4890). The Companions did this in congregation, with the imam leading the prostration.

What do you say in sujood al-tilawah?

In sujood al-tilawah you say what you say in the sujud of the prayer: subhana rabbiyal-a'la at least once, with any other dhikr and du'a of the sujud as extra reward (IslamQA 4924, 22650). Two du'as for sujood al-tilawah are narrated from the Prophet ﷺ himself, and both are short enough to learn in a few days.

In transliteration the second du'a reads: Allahummaktub li biha 'indaka ajran, wa da' 'anni biha wizran, waj'alha li 'indaka dhukhran, wa taqabbalha minni kama taqabbaltaha min 'abdika Dawud. You may also use the fuller wording from the sujud of the Prophet's ﷺ night prayer, ending tabarakallahu ahsanul-khaliqin (Muslim 771). If you know none of these yet, subhana rabbiyal-a'la alone is enough.

Who should prostrate when a sajdah verse is recited?

The reciter and anyone deliberately listening should prostrate, while someone who merely overhears the verse is not asked to, according to IslamQA 104336. Ibn Qudamah said he knew of no difference of opinion about the reciter and the listener. The table sums up the common situations.

Do you repeat the sajdah when memorising the same verse?

No: when you repeat a sajdah verse to memorise it, one prostration is enough. IslamQA explains that this avoids hardship, and quotes Shaykh Ibn 'Uthaymin: when repeating for memorisation, "doing the prostration the first time will suffice for the rest" (IslamQA 171666). The one exception is a surah with two places, al-Hajj, where you may prostrate again when you reach the second.

For a hifz student the routine is simple: prostrate the first time the verse comes up in a session, then keep repeating. Note which pages hold a sajdah so the sign never surprises you. Our beginner's method for memorising the Qur'an covers the repetition itself, and practising between lessons helps you fit it in at home.

Sujood al-tilawah is one part of the wider adab of reciting, and our guide to the etiquettes of reciting the Qur'an covers the rest. Small practical questions like these come up constantly when you start reading the mushaf properly, and a good teacher answers them in a moment. If you would like one, you can find a Qur'an teacher of your choice for one-to-one lessons.