How many prostrations are there in the Qur'an?
The prostration verses (Ayat al-Sajdah) in the Quran are fifteen, contrary to Ash-Shafi'i, who omitted the prostration of Surah Sad, considering it a prostration of gratitude (Sajdat al-Shukr). Malik disagreed with prostrating in An-Najm, Al-Inshiqaq, and Al-Alaq, considering it abrogated by the Hadith of Ibn Abbas, which states that the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, did not prostrate in any of the Mufassal surahs since his migration to Medina, and by the Hadith of Ata' bin Yasar from Zayd bin Thabit, which states that the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, recited "By the star when it descends" (An-Najm) and did not prostrate. However, An-Nawawi weakened this view, citing the Prophet's prostration in "When the Heaven is split asunder" (Al-Inshiqaq) and "Recite in the name of your Lord" (Al-Alaq) after the Hijra. Furthermore, Abu Hanifa and Malik did not consider the second prostration in Surah Al-Hajj to be among the obligatory prostrations, believing that the verse refers to the obligatory prayer. This is refuted by the Hadith of Uqbah bin Amir, who mentioned that Surah Al-Hajj was favored with two prostrations. Based on this, the preponderant opinion is that the number of prostrations in the Quran is fifteen.
Summarized from the full answer at Ftawy · reviewed Sep 2, 2026
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