Sujud

Sujūd (سُجود, sʊˈdʒuːd), or sajdah (سجدة, ˈsadʒda(tu)), is the act of low bowing or prostration to Allah (God) facing the qiblah (direction of the Kaaba at Mecca). It is usually done in standardized prayers (salah). The position involves kneeling and bowing till one touches the ground with 7 bones (points): the forehead & nose, two hands, two knees and two sets of toes. In accordance with the Sunnah (the Way) of Muhammad, one's elbows should be far from one's body, unless it causes discomfort to other worshippers. Some scholars hold the position that this applies only to men, and that women are encouraged to tuck their elbows in out of modesty, One then remains in that position until one attains a relaxed state while glorifying God (سُبْحَانَ رَبِّيَ الْأعْلَى subḥāna rabbiya l-ʾaʿlā, "Glory be to my Lord, the Most High!") thrice or more in odd number of times. Sujud (prostration) is one of the main pillars of daily prayer in Islam. A single act of sujud is called a sajdah (plural sajdāt). Muslims do sujud several times in each prayer, depending on the number of raka'at of prayer: two sajadat are performed every raka'ah, and prayers vary in obligatory length between two and four raka'at (additional supererogatory raka'at are often performed as sunnah muakkadah, or emulation of the example of Muhammad as represented in the sahih hadith). A raka'ah is a unit of set actions that have to be performed in a prayer. The shortest fard (obligatory) Muslim prayer is that of fajr, performed immediately before sunrise (2 raka'ahs) and the shortest ever possible number of raka'ahs is in the Witr prayer, which is considered Sunnah in the Maaliki, Shafi'i and Hanbali Madhabs (Schools of Fiqh) and Wajib (Compulsory) in the Hanafi madhab, with one needing an odd number of Rakats to complete the prayer, with 1 being valid in all madhabs but the Hanafi Madhab. The raka'ah can be described as follows: Standing and saying Allahu akbar, reciting surah al-Fatiha, and reciting a short passage of the Quran such as sura al-Ikhlas.