As-Sajdah

As-Sajdah, "The Prostration," is the thirty-second surah — 30 verses revealed in Mecca.¹ It opens by affirming the Quran as "the revelation of the Book about which there is no doubt from the Lord of the worlds," and is named for its description of believers who fall down in prostration when God's verses are recited.

What it is about

The surah answers two doubts in a small space: that the Quran was invented, and that the dead could ever live again. To the first it responds that the Book is "the truth from your Lord." To the second it points to the creation of the first human being: God "began the creation of man from clay," then made his descendants from a humble fluid, "then He proportioned him and breathed into him from His [created] soul and made for you hearing and vision and hearts; little are you grateful."² If God did that once, raising the dead again is no harder.

Key themes

Regret before God. The surah pictures the deniers on the Last Day: "hanging their heads before their Lord, [saying], 'Our Lord, we have seen and heard, so return us [to the world]; we will work righteousness.'"³

Those who prostrate. Against them it sets the believers: "Only those believe in Our verses who, when they are reminded by them, fall down in prostration and exalt [Allah] with praise of their Lord, and they are not arrogant. Their sides part [i.e., they arise] from [their] beds; they supplicate their Lord in fear and aspiration." Their reward is hidden: "no soul knows what has been hidden for them of comfort for eyes as reward for what they used to do."⁴

Warnings as mercy. "We will surely let them taste the nearer punishment short of the greater punishment that perhaps they will return [i.e., repent]."⁵

Leadership through patience. Of the Children of Israel the surah says, "We made from among them leaders guiding by Our command when they were patient and [when] they were certain of Our signs."⁶

Why it matters

As-Sajdah holds a special place in Muslim practice: the Prophet ﷺ used to recite it, together with Al-Insan, in the dawn prayer on Fridays.⁷ Its picture of believers rising from their beds at night to call on God in fear and hope, and its promise of a reward "no soul knows," have made it a touchstone for night prayer. To read As-Sajdah in Arabic with translations and recitation, open it on Quran.com.