THE GENERAL MEANINGS OF PROSTRATION The word Sajdah comes from the root verb sajada which literally means 'to bow down', to 'throw down' or 'to prostrate'. It is easy to understand how the act of bowing or throwing oneself to the ground or prostrating in front of another would symbolise worship and submission. The Qur'an mentions prostration in several places in a general sense to signify the meaning of submission. However, the meaning here is not confined to ‘submission’ as in the conventional sense, that is, of a human act or condition of submitting to another but is in a more universal sense depicting a state of surrender enjoyed by all of existence. Instances of both of these meanings are evident in the following verses: “And for Allah prostrates whoever is within the heavens and the earth willfully or through force and their shadows at dawn and dusk.” (13:15) And: “Do you not see that to Allah prostrates whoever is within the heavens and...
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