How Many Prostrations (Sajdahs) Are in Sūrah al-Ḥajj?
Source: Fatāwā Amunpūrī by Shaykh Ghulām Mustafa Zaheer Amunpūrī
How many sajdahs (prostrations) are there in Sūrah al-Ḥajj?
There are two sajdahs (prostrations of recitation) in Sūrah al-Ḥajj.
Sayyidunā ʿUqbah bin ʿĀmir رضي الله عنه narrated:
I asked the Messenger of Allah ﷺ: “Are there two sajdahs in Sūrah al-Ḥajj?”
He ﷺ replied: “Yes, there are two sajdahs in Sūrah al-Ḥajj. Whoever does not perform them has not recited these verses — or he should not recite them at all.”
(Sunan Abī Dāwūd: 1402, Sunan al-Tirmidhī: 578, Musnad Aḥmad: 4/151, 155 – Chain is ḥasan)
Sayyidunā Thalabah bin ʿAbd Allāh رضي الله عنه said:
I prayed with Sayyidunā ʿUmar bin al-Khaṭṭāb رضي الله عنه behind the Prophet ﷺ; he recited Sūrah al-Ḥajj and performed two sajdahs in it.
(Muṣannaf Ibn Abī Shaybah: 2/11, Sharḥ Maʿānī al-Āthār by al-Ṭaḥāwī: 1/362 – Chain is ṣaḥīḥ)
ʿAbdullāh bin Dīnār رحمه الله reported:
I saw Sayyidunā ʿAbdullāh bin ʿUmar رضي الله عنهما perform two sajdahs in Sūrah al-Ḥajj.
(Muwaṭṭa’ Imām Mālik: 1/206 – Chain is ṣaḥīḥ)
Sayyidunā Ibn ʿAbbās رضي الله عنهما said:
There are two sajdahs in Sūrah al-Ḥajj.
(al-Sunan al-Kubrā by al-Bayhaqī: 2/318 – Chain is ṣaḥīḥ)
Sayyidunā Abū al-Dardāʾ رضي الله عنه narrated:
The Prophet ﷺ performed two sajdahs in Sūrah al-Ḥajj.
(Muṣannaf Ibn Abī Shaybah: 2/11 – Chain is ṣaḥīḥ)
Sayyidunā Abū Mūsā al-Ashʿarī رضي الله عنه recited the last sajdah of Sūrah al-Ḥajj and stepped down from the pulpit to perform sajdah.
(Muṣannaf Ibn Abī Shaybah: 2/18 – Chain is ṣaḥīḥ)
The following imāms affirmed the presence of two sajdahs in Sūrah al-Ḥajj:
✔ There are two sajdahs of tilāwah (recitation) in Sūrah al-Ḥajj, based on authentic ḥadīths and the practice of the Ṣaḥābah.
✔ This is the strongly established position of the majority of ḥadīth scholars and fuqahā’.
✔ Anyone who recites these verses should perform both sajdahs unless they are not reciting them.
Source: Fatāwā Amunpūrī by Shaykh Ghulām Mustafa Zaheer Amunpūrī
❖ Question:
How many sajdahs (prostrations) are there in Sūrah al-Ḥajj?
✿ Answer:
There are two sajdahs (prostrations of recitation) in Sūrah al-Ḥajj.
❀ Ḥadīth Evidence:
Sayyidunā ʿUqbah bin ʿĀmir رضي الله عنه narrated:
I asked the Messenger of Allah ﷺ: “Are there two sajdahs in Sūrah al-Ḥajj?”
He ﷺ replied: “Yes, there are two sajdahs in Sūrah al-Ḥajj. Whoever does not perform them has not recited these verses — or he should not recite them at all.”
(Sunan Abī Dāwūd: 1402, Sunan al-Tirmidhī: 578, Musnad Aḥmad: 4/151, 155 – Chain is ḥasan)❀ Further Authentic Reports:
Sayyidunā Thalabah bin ʿAbd Allāh رضي الله عنه said:I prayed with Sayyidunā ʿUmar bin al-Khaṭṭāb رضي الله عنه behind the Prophet ﷺ; he recited Sūrah al-Ḥajj and performed two sajdahs in it.
(Muṣannaf Ibn Abī Shaybah: 2/11, Sharḥ Maʿānī al-Āthār by al-Ṭaḥāwī: 1/362 – Chain is ṣaḥīḥ) ʿAbdullāh bin Dīnār رحمه الله reported:I saw Sayyidunā ʿAbdullāh bin ʿUmar رضي الله عنهما perform two sajdahs in Sūrah al-Ḥajj.
(Muwaṭṭa’ Imām Mālik: 1/206 – Chain is ṣaḥīḥ) Sayyidunā Ibn ʿAbbās رضي الله عنهما said:There are two sajdahs in Sūrah al-Ḥajj.
(al-Sunan al-Kubrā by al-Bayhaqī: 2/318 – Chain is ṣaḥīḥ) Sayyidunā Abū al-Dardāʾ رضي الله عنه narrated:The Prophet ﷺ performed two sajdahs in Sūrah al-Ḥajj.
(Muṣannaf Ibn Abī Shaybah: 2/11 – Chain is ṣaḥīḥ) Sayyidunā Abū Mūsā al-Ashʿarī رضي الله عنه recited the last sajdah of Sūrah al-Ḥajj and stepped down from the pulpit to perform sajdah. (Muṣannaf Ibn Abī Shaybah: 2/18 – Chain is ṣaḥīḥ)❀ Consensus of Leading Scholars:
The following imāms affirmed the presence of two sajdahs in Sūrah al-Ḥajj:
- Imām al-Shāfiʿī
(al-Umm: 1/138) - Imām Aḥmad bin Ḥanbal
(Masā’il Aḥmad wa Isḥāq: 1/91) - Imām Isḥāq bin Rāhwayh
(Tirmidhī, under ḥadīth: 578) - Imām ʿAbdullāh bin al-Mubārak
(Tirmidhī, under ḥadīth: 578) - Imām Ibn al-Mundhir
(al-Awsaṭ: 5/267)
Conclusion:
✔ There are two sajdahs of tilāwah (recitation) in Sūrah al-Ḥajj, based on authentic ḥadīths and the practice of the Ṣaḥābah.
✔ This is the strongly established position of the majority of ḥadīth scholars and fuqahā’.
✔ Anyone who recites these verses should perform both sajdahs unless they are not reciting them.
