Rabi’ah ibn Ka’b al-Aslami served the Prophet (peace be upon him). It was the Prophet's custom to reciprocate any kindness done to him with an even greater one.
Rabi’ah narrates: The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) wanted to reward me for my service to him, so one day he turned to me and said, “O Rabi’ah ibn Ka’b,” I replied, “Here I am responding to you, and at your pleasure, O Messenger of Allah.” He then said, “Ask me [for anything], O Rabi’ah, and I will give it to you.” I thought for a while and then said, “I will think about it, O Messenger of God, and then I will let you know.” He said, “No problem.” At that time, I was a young, poor man with neither family, wealth, nor a home, and I used to take refuge in the mosque along with other poor Muslims.
It occurred to me to ask the Prophet for some worldly good that would save me from poverty and make me like others who had wealth, wife and children. Soon, however, I said: “May you perish Rabi’ah. The world is temporary and will pass away. You have your share of sustenance in it which God has guaranteed and which must come to you. The Prophet, peace be on him, has a place with his Lord and no request would be refused him. Request him therefore, to ask Allah to grant you something of the bounty of the Hereafter.”
I felt pleased and satisfied with this thought. I went to the Prophet and he asked: “What do you say, O Rabi’ah?” “O Messenger of God,” I said, “I ask you to beseech God most High on my behalf to make me your companion in Paradise.” The Prophet (peace be upon him) asked, “Who ordered you to do this, O Rabi’ah?” Rabi’ah replied, “No, by God who sent you with the truth, no one commanded me to do it, but when you said: Ask me, I will give it to you. I thought you are in the rank which you are, I looked at my situation, and I knew that the world will come to an end and is transient, and that I have sustenance that will come to me, so I said: I will ask the Messenger of God (peace be on him) for my afterlife.”
The Prophet (peace be on him) was silent for a while, then said, “Or anything else besides it, O Rabi’ah?” I replied, “No, O Messenger of Allah. That is all (what I require).” He said, “Then help me to achieve this for you by devoting yourself often to prostration.” (1)
This noble incident emphasizes the importance of Sujood to Allah and its great impact on achieving goals and fulfilling dreams.
Sujood has multiple benefits and virtues, which are highlighted as follows:
First: Sujood is Worship to Allah
Allah has commanded us to do Sujood in the Quran, where He says, “O you who have believed, bow and prostrate and worship your Lord and do good - that you may succeed.” (Al-Hajj: 77) He also says, “And of His signs are the night and day and the sun and moon. Do not prostrate to the sun or to the moon, but prostrate to Allah, who created them, if it should be Him that you worship.” (Fussilat: 37) Additionally, He says, “So prostrate to Allah and worship [Him].” (An-Najm: 62) Sujood is thus an independent act of worship to Allah, representing a form of veneration and reverence to the Almighty.
Second: Achieving Closeness to Allah
Muslim recorded in his Sahih that Abu Huraira reported: The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said, “The closest that the slave comes to his Lord is when he is prostrating.”
Third: Remedy for Constricted Hearts
Sujood helps relieve the Muslim's distressed heart. Allah says, “And We already know that your breast is constrained by what they say. So exalt [Allah] with praise of your Lord and be of those who prostrate [to Him].” (Al-Hijr: 97-98)
Fourth: Acceptance of Du’a
Muslim recorded in his Sahih that Abu Huraira reported: The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said, “The closest that the slave comes to his Lord is when he is prostrating, so invoke Allah much (in prostration).” Additionally, Ibn Abbas narrated that the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said, “I have been prohibited to recite the Qur’an while bowing or prostration. As regards owing, exalt the Lord in it, and as to prostration, make supplication with exertion in it, that is worthy of being accepted.”
Fifth: Following the Prophet’s Example
The Prophet (peace be upon him) loved Sujood and prolonged it. Al-Mundhiri narrated in “At-Targhib wat-Tarhib” from Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her), who said: The Prophet one night stood up for Salah and he stayed in it for so long that I thought the Prophet had passed away or died. When I felt that way I stood up shook his toe and I felt the movement then I laid down again. When he stood up from the Sajdah, and finished his Salah, he said, “O Aisha, Little rosy one, do you think God's Prophet has betrayed you?” I replied, “No Prophet of God, because of the long Sajdah I thought you had died.”
Sixth: Nurtures Humility and Removes Arrogance
Allah described the companions of His Messenger (peace be upon him) with several attributes in the last verse of Surah “Al-Fath,” where He says, “Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah; and those with him are forceful against the disbelievers, merciful among themselves. You see them bowing and prostrating [in prayer], seeking bounty from Allah and [His] pleasure. Their mark is on their faces from the trace of prostration.” (Al-Fath: 29) Mujahid commented that Sujood earns humility and submissiveness. (2) Al-Hasan said that it removes arrogance. (3)
Seventh: Healthy Benefits of Sujood
Talking about the health benefits of Sujood does not mean that we do it for its benefits or that it was legislated for these health benefits. No, Sujood is an independent act of worship with its own merit and honor. However, we take comfort in what scientific studies have confirmed about its health benefits to increase our motivation. Scientific studies have proven that humans are exposed to excessive doses of radiation and live mostly in electromagnetic fields, which affect cells. Sujood helps discharge these excess charges that cause many diseases, promotes blood circulation, increases concentration, and trains people to be patient and calm. (4)
Eighth: A Sign for the Prophet to Know His Ummah on the Day of Judgment
Imam Ahmad narrated in his Musnad from Abu Dhar and Abu Darda’ that they said: The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said, “I will recognize my people on the Day of Resurrection among all other peoples.” They asked, “O Messenger of Allah, how will you recognize your people?” He replied, “I shall recognize them because they will be given their books in their right hands, and I shall recognize them by their marks on their faces from the traces of prostration, and I shall recognize them by their light proceeding before them.”
Ninth: Salvation from Hellfire
Sujood contributes to saving those who consistently do it from Hellfire on the Day of Judgment. Al-Bukhari and Muslim narrated from Abu Huraira that the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said, “When Allah has finished His Judgments among the people, He will take whomever He will out of Hell through His Mercy. He will then order the angels to take out of the Fire all those who used to worship none but Allah from among those whom Allah wanted to be merciful to and those who testified (in the world) that none has the right to be worshipped but Allah. The angels will recognize them in the Fire by the marks of prostration (on their foreheads), for the Fire will eat up all the human body except the mark caused by prostration as Allah has forbidden the Fire to eat the mark of prostration.”
Tenth: Entry into Paradise
Sujood is the means by which the Prophet (peace be upon him) instructed his companion and servant, Rabi’ah ibn Ka’b, to persist in so that he might attain the companionship of the Prophet in Jannah, as mentioned at the beginning of the article. Additionally, Muslim narrated that Ma'dan b. Talha said: I met Thauban the client of God’s Messenger and asked him to tell me something I should do for which God would bring me into paradise. He gave no reply, so I asked him again, and when he still gave no reply. I asked him a third time. He then said that he had asked God’s Messenger about that and received the reply, “Make frequent prostration before God, for you will not make one prostration without God raising you a degree because of it and removing a sin from you because of it.”
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- Reported by Muslim in his Sahih (489); see also: “Excerpts from the Life of the Companions” by Dr. Abd Ar-Rahman Ra'fat Al-Basha, p. 370.
- “Al-Dur al-Manthur” by al-Suyuti (7/542).
- “The Humility” by Ibn Abi Al-Dunya, p. 20.
- “The Impact of Scientific Miracles on the Intentions of Acts of Worship” by Dr. Matuqa Muhammad Hassan, p. 219.
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