Reverential Prostration (Sujūd Taʿẓīmī) and the Qur’anic Definition of a Mushrik
Source: Aḥkām wa Masāʾil – ʿAqāʾid ka Bayān, Vol. 1, p. 67
1. What Is Sujūd Taʿẓīmī?
- Sujūd Taʿẓīmī is a form of prostration in which a person bows down out of reverence and respect to someone.
- In Islamic Sharīʿah, performing such prostration to anyone other than Allah is ḥarām, impermissible, and a sinful act.
2. Qur’anic Definition of a Mushrik
Allah ﷻ says:
﴿فَٱصۡدَعۡ بِمَا تُؤۡمَرُ وَأَعۡرِضۡ عَنِ ٱلۡمُشۡرِكِينَ – إِنَّا كَفَيۡنَٰكَ ٱلۡمُسۡتَهۡزِءِينَ – ٱلَّذِينَ يَجۡعَلُونَ مَعَ ٱللَّهِ إِلَٰهًا ءَاخَرَۚ فَسَوۡفَ يَعۡلَمُونَ﴾
“So proclaim openly what you are commanded, and turn away from the polytheists. Indeed, We are sufficient for you against the mockers — those who set up another god alongside Allah; soon they will come to know.”
[Al-Ḥijr: 94–96]
3. Key Points from the Verse
- The Qur’an defines a mushrik as one who associates another being as a god or object of worship alongside Allah.
- Reflecting on the phrase: ﴿ٱلَّذِينَ يَجۡعَلُونَ مَعَ ٱللَّهِ إِلَٰهًا ءَاخَرَ﴾ makes the reality of shirk very clear — it is not just disbelief, but assigning divine status or acts of worship to other than Allah.
✅ Summary:
- Sujūd Taʿẓīmī — prostration in reverence to other than Allah — is strictly forbidden in Islam.
- Mushrik in Qur’anic terms is one who, alongside Allah, treats another as deity or shares with Him in acts of worship.
