Surah Al-Hajj 22:77

Verses and Translation

يَـٰٓأَيُّهَا ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُواْ ٱرۡڪَعُواْ وَٱسۡجُدُواْ وَٱعۡبُدُواْ رَبَّكُمۡ وَٱفۡعَلُواْ ٱلۡخَيۡرَ لَعَلَّڪُمۡ تُفۡلِحُونَ ۩ (٧٧)

“O you who have believed, bow and prostrate and worship your Lord and do good – that you may succeed.”

Commentary

This is one of the places in the Quran where the reader and listener are commanded to prostrate (sajdah tilawah).

It was reported from Uqbah bin Amir that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said, “Surat Al-Hajj has been blessed with two Sajdahs [prostrations], so whoever does not prostrate them should not read them.”

“And strive hard in Allah’s cause as you ought to strive”) means with your wealth and your tongues and your bodies. This is like the verse, “Have Taqwa of Allah as is His due.” [Quran; 3:102] [Ibn Kathir]


This is the right way of attaining we success, but even after adopting these ways of worship and performing good deeds one should not rest content or be proud that he would surely attain success because he is worshipping Allah and is doing good deeds. He should only expect that Allah will by His grace accept his services and bless him with we success.

Imam Shafi`i, Ahmad bin Hanbal, `Abdullah bin Mubarak and Ishaq bin Rahawayah hold the view that this verse of Surah Al-Hajj requires a `prostration’. But Imam ‘Abu Hanifah, Imam Malik, Hasan Basri, Said bin al-Musayyab, Said bin Jubair, Ibrahim Nakha`i and Sufyan Thauri dispute this. The arguments of the two sides are briefly as follows:

The former group of commentators base their opinion on the following:

(1) The verb in the verse is in the imperative mood.

(2) The tradition of Uqbah bin Amir, which has been reported by Imam Ahmad, Abu Dawud, Tirmizi, Ibn Marduyah and Baihaqi, says, “I asked, ‘O Messenger of Allah! Does the merit of Surah Al-Hajj consist in the fact that it contains two verses requiring prostration?’ He (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) replied, ‘Yes, the one who does not prostrate on these two verses, should not recite them.’ ”

(3) The Tradition of Abu Dawud and Ibn Majah in which Amr bin As says that he was told by the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) that there were two verses requiring prostration in Surah Al-Hajj.

(4) Sayings of Umar, Ali, Uthman, Ibn Umar, Ibn Abbas, Abul Darda, Abu MUsa Ash’ari and Ammar bin Yasir (may Allah be pleased with them all) to the effect that Surah AI-Hajj contains two prostrations.

The latter group of commentators argue as follows.

The verse contains a command both for sajdah (prostration) and for ruku’ (bowing in prayer), which implies the whole Islamic Prayer according to the Qur’anic usage, and not `prostration’ alone.

(2) The tradition reported by Uqbah bin Amir is unauthentic as it has weak links.

(3) The tradition of Amr bin As is also unreliable, because its reporters are not well known.

(4) As for the sayings of the companions, Ibn Abbas has clearly explained that prostration in respect of the first verse (in Surah AI-Hajj) is obligatory, whereas in regard to the second, it is only suggestive.

[Maududi]

Foundational Attributes

piety, humility