8 Evidences on Sajdah al-Tilāwah in Light of Authentic Ahadith
Source: Fatāwā ʿIlmiyyah, Vol. 1, Kitāb al-Ṣalāh, Page 433
When a verse of prostration is recited, is Sajdah al-Tilāwah obligatory for the reciter and the listener, or is it a Sunnah?
Narrated by Zayd ibn Thābit (رضي الله عنه):
"I recited Sūrah al-Najm to the Prophet ﷺ and he did not perform Sajdah in it."
(Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī 1073, Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim 577/106)
✔ This clearly indicates that Sajdah al-Tilāwah is not obligatory, otherwise the Prophet ﷺ would have never omitted it.
He said from the minbar:
"O people, when we pass by verses of prostration, whoever performs Sajdah has done well, and whoever does not, there is no sin upon him."
(Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī 1077)
✔ None of the Ṣaḥābah objected to this, showing ijmāʿ (consensus) that Sajdah al-Tilāwah is Sunnah, not wājib.
"Allah has not made Sajdah al-Tilāwah obligatory upon us, except that we may do it voluntarily."
(Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī 1077, Taghlīq al-Taʿlīq 2/413–414)
✔ This statement of a senior Companion further reinforces the non-obligatory status of Sajdah al-Tilāwah.
Al-ʿAynī (رحمه الله) writes in ʿUmdat al-Qārī (7/95):
✔ Imām al-Shāfiʿī, Imām Mālik (in one opinion), Imām Aḥmad, Isḥāq ibn Rāhawayh, al-Awzāʿī, and Dāwūd all considered Sajdah al-Tilāwah to be Sunnah.
✔ This was also the view of:
The following narration is sometimes cited:
"Sajdah is required from the one who hears and the one who recites."
(al-Hidāyah with al-Dirāyah, 1/163)
Authenticity:
✔ There is no narration showing that the Prophet ﷺ or his Companions ever reprimanded or corrected someone who skipped Sajdah al-Tilāwah, which further affirms its non-obligatory nature.
✔ When the Prophet ﷺ omitted an act on some occasions (like Sajdah al-Tilāwah in Sūrah al-Najm), it proves that the act is not obligatory, as the Prophet ﷺ never omitted obligations.
✔ Scholars agree that if someone misses Sajdah al-Tilāwah, there is no need for make-up (qadāʾ) or expatiation (kaffārah) — which are necessary conditions in obligatory acts, not Sunnah ones.
① Sajdah al-Tilāwah is Sunnah, not wājib or farḍ.
② It is an act of virtue and reward, not of obligation and sin.
③ The Prophet ﷺ, ʿUmar, Ibn ʿUmar, and many Imams affirmed its non-compulsory nature.
④ There is no authentic proof for making it mandatory upon the reciter or the listener.
ھٰذا ما عندي، واللہ أعلم بالصواب
Source: Fatāwā ʿIlmiyyah, Vol. 1, Kitāb al-Ṣalāh, Page 433
❖ Question:
When a verse of prostration is recited, is Sajdah al-Tilāwah obligatory for the reciter and the listener, or is it a Sunnah?
✿ ① Practice of the Prophet ﷺ —
Narrated by Zayd ibn Thābit (رضي الله عنه):
"I recited Sūrah al-Najm to the Prophet ﷺ and he did not perform Sajdah in it."
(Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī 1073, Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim 577/106)
✔ This clearly indicates that Sajdah al-Tilāwah is not obligatory, otherwise the Prophet ﷺ would have never omitted it.
✿ ② Fatwā of ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb (رضي الله عنه)
He said from the minbar:
"O people, when we pass by verses of prostration, whoever performs Sajdah has done well, and whoever does not, there is no sin upon him."
(Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī 1077)
✔ None of the Ṣaḥābah objected to this, showing ijmāʿ (consensus) that Sajdah al-Tilāwah is Sunnah, not wājib.
✿ ③ Statement of Ibn ʿUmar (رضي الله عنهما):
"Allah has not made Sajdah al-Tilāwah obligatory upon us, except that we may do it voluntarily."
(Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī 1077, Taghlīq al-Taʿlīq 2/413–414)
✔ This statement of a senior Companion further reinforces the non-obligatory status of Sajdah al-Tilāwah.
✿ ④ Scholarly Consensus Among Jurists and Imams
Al-ʿAynī (رحمه الله) writes in ʿUmdat al-Qārī (7/95):
✔ Imām al-Shāfiʿī, Imām Mālik (in one opinion), Imām Aḥmad, Isḥāq ibn Rāhawayh, al-Awzāʿī, and Dāwūd all considered Sajdah al-Tilāwah to be Sunnah.
✔ This was also the view of:
- ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb
- Salmān al-Fārisī
- Ibn ʿAbbās
- ʿImrān ibn Ḥuṣayn
- al-Layth ibn Saʿd
✿ ⑤ Refutation of the Claim that Sajdah is Obligatory
The following narration is sometimes cited:
"Sajdah is required from the one who hears and the one who recites."
(al-Hidāyah with al-Dirāyah, 1/163)
Authenticity:
- This narration is not marfūʿ (Prophetic) but rather attributed to ʿUmar (رضي الله عنه).
- Found in Muṣannaf Ibn Abī Shaybah (2/6, Ḥadīth 4225), but its chain is weak due to ʿAṭiyyah al-ʿAwfī, a weak and mudallis narrator.
- No explicit wording here proves obligation or wujūb.
✿ ⑥ No Consequences for Leaving It
✔ There is no narration showing that the Prophet ﷺ or his Companions ever reprimanded or corrected someone who skipped Sajdah al-Tilāwah, which further affirms its non-obligatory nature.
✿ ⑦ Juristic Principle Applied
✔ When the Prophet ﷺ omitted an act on some occasions (like Sajdah al-Tilāwah in Sūrah al-Najm), it proves that the act is not obligatory, as the Prophet ﷺ never omitted obligations.
✿ ⑧ No Penalty or Qadāʾ for Missing It
✔ Scholars agree that if someone misses Sajdah al-Tilāwah, there is no need for make-up (qadāʾ) or expatiation (kaffārah) — which are necessary conditions in obligatory acts, not Sunnah ones.
Conclusion:
① Sajdah al-Tilāwah is Sunnah, not wājib or farḍ.
② It is an act of virtue and reward, not of obligation and sin.
③ The Prophet ﷺ, ʿUmar, Ibn ʿUmar, and many Imams affirmed its non-compulsory nature.
④ There is no authentic proof for making it mandatory upon the reciter or the listener.
ھٰذا ما عندي، واللہ أعلم بالصواب
