Definition of sujud ash-shukr – the prostration of gratitude
The definition of sujud ash-shukr is a single prostration performed out of gratitude to Allah for a favour received or for the removal of harm. It is connected to shukr, thankfulness to Allah, either because He granted you something pleasing or because He protected you from something harmful. There are differences of opinion among the scholars, which we will touch upon, insha’Allah.
Abu Bakra (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated:
وَعَنْ أَبِي بَكْرَةَ - رضى الله عنه - أَنَّ اَلنَّبِيَّ - صلى الله عليه وسلم -{ كَانَ إِذَا جَاءَهُ أَمْرٌ يَسُرُّهُ خَرَّ سَاجِداً لِلَّهِ } رَوَاهُ اَلْخَمْسَةُ إِلَّا النَّسَائِيَّ .
Whenever the Prophet ﷺ received a matter which pleased him he used to prostrate to Allah [out of thankfulness]. [Ibn Majah, Abu Dawud, al-Tirmidhi, and Ahmad]
‘Abd al-Rahman ibn ‘Auf (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated:
The Prophet ﷺ made sujud and prolonged the prostration. Then he raised his head and said that Jibril had come to him and given him glad tidings, so he prostrated in gratitude to Allah. [Imam Ahmad and al-Hakim in al-Mustadrak]
Whenever the Prophet ﷺ received something that pleased him, he would go down into prostration. This was outside the salah. The scholars are agreed that sujud al-shukr is not performed within the obligatory prayer; rather, it is outside the salah.
The majority of scholars consider sujud ash-shukr to be sunnah, not obligatory. Abu Hanifah and Imam Malik did not consider sujud ash-shukr to be legislated in the same way. However, even in the Hanafi school, Abu Yusuf and Muhammad al-Shaybani held that it is permissible, and the fatwa in the Hanafi madhhab is that it is allowed.
Why did Abu Hanifah and Malik not adopt it? Some scholars say that perhaps the narrations did not meet their conditions. Others mention that blessings from Allah are continuous. You breathe; it is a blessing. You inhale and exhale, it is a blessing. You open your eyes and see, it is a blessing. You walk, you move, you sleep, you wake up — these are countless blessings. If a person were to prostrate for every blessing, he would remain in prostration all day. This summarises their reasoning, though not necessarily in these exact words.
However, the majority of scholars from most of the schools state that sujud ash-shukr is sunnah. It is not obligatory, it’s a sunnah i.e. recommended.
Conditions
There is also a discussion regarding whether the same conditions as salah apply: wudu’, facing the qiblah, covering the ‘awrah, and so on. This is the same discussion we had regarding sujud at-tilawah. There are two main opinions. One opinion says that the same conditions as prayer are required: wudu’ and facing the qiblah. The other opinion says that wudu’ and facing the qiblah are not conditions, although it is better to have wudu’ and to face the qiblah. The disagreement is whether these are recommended or strictly required. It’s not conditional in Hanbali school but it’s conditional in other schools like Shafi’ee and Hanafi.
How to perform sujud ash-shukr
In sujud ash-shukr, as in other prostrations, one may say subha’Allahi wa bihamdi – three times, and one may also mention the specific blessing for which one is grateful. For example, one may say: O Allah, thank You for granting me this blessing, for facilitating this matter for me — whether it is success in an exam, the birth of a child, a new home, recovery from illness, protection from an accident, or any other favour.
We have seen, for example, some footballers prostrating on the pitch after winning a match. That is considered sujud ash-shukr. Most likely they do not have wudu’, and most likely they are not facing the qiblah. According to the opinion that does not make these conditions obligatory, their prostration is valid. The essence is showing gratitude to Allah.
The glad tidings of Jibril – narration of ‘Abd al-Rahman ibn ‘Auf (may Allah be pleased with him)
‘Abd al-Rahman ibn ‘Au (may Allah be pleased with him mentions that the Prophet ﷺ made sujud and then raised his head.
However, the full narration gives more detail. He prolonged the prostration so much that ‘Abd al-Rahman thought that perhaps the Prophet ﷺ had passed away, because the sujud was longer than expected. He approached him closely to check, and the Prophet ﷺ raised his head and asked who was there. He replied, “It is ‘Abd al-Rahman.” He said, “What is the matter?” He said, “I feared that you had passed away.” He was being honest and straightforward.
The Prophet ﷺ then said that Jibril had come to him with glad tidings. In the detailed narration, Jibril said that Allah the Almighty said: whoever sends salah upon you once, Allah will send salah upon him ten times. This refers to the hadith:
من صلى عليّ صلاة صلى الله عليه بها عشراً
“Whoever sends one prayer upon me, Allah sends ten upon him.”
This made the Prophet ﷺ happy because it was good news for his ummah. It means that when we send blessings upon him, Allah increases our reward and raises our status. So out of gratitude for this immense favour upon his ummah, he went straight into prostration to thank Allah.
This shows that sujud ash-shukr is performed immediately upon receiving good news. The scholars mention that it should be done without unnecessary delay, not four days later or a week later. It should be done at the time the blessing is received, as much as possible.
If you receive news that your children have passed their exams with excellent grades, or that you have been granted a child, or that you have become a grandparent, or that something you long awaited has finally been facilitated, then you prostrate to Allah in gratitude. If you are driving and receive the news, then of course you wait until it is safe, and then you perform the prostration. The point is that it is connected to the moment of receiving the blessing.
This is the third form of sujud (alongside sujud at-tilawah and sujud as-sahw) and it reflects a living relationship with Allah, a heart that immediately turns to Him in gratitude whenever it recognises His favour.
You cannot perform sujud whilst you are driving. When you park, then that is fine, something reasonable. So what is he telling ʿAbd al-Rahman? Why is he doing that? He is teaching us, that if we receive something similar — not similar in the exact sense, but good news, then this is the similarity, and we should be grateful and thankful to Allah subhanahu wa taʿala.
Good news from Yemen – narration of Al-Bara’ bin ‘Azib (may Allah be please with him)
وَعَنْ اَلْبَرَاءِ بْنِ عَازِبٍ -رَضِيَ اَللَّهُ عَنْهُمَا- { أَنَّ اَلنَّبِيَّ - صلى الله عليه وسلم -بَعَثَ عَلِيًّا إِلَى اَلْيَمَنِ - فَذَكَرَ اَلْحَدِيثَ - قَالَ : فَكَتَبَ عَلِيٌّ - رضى الله عنه - بِإِسْلَامِهِمْ , فَلَمَّا قَرَأَ رَسُولُ اَللَّهِ - صلى الله عليه وسلم -اَلْكِتَابَ خَرَّ سَاجِدًا } رَوَاهُ اَلْبَيْهَقِيُّ .
The Prophet ﷺ sent ‘Ali to Yemen. Later,
“Ali sent a letter regarding their (the people of Yemen) acceptance of Islam. When Allah’s Messenger ﷺ read the letter, he prostrated in gratitude to Allah the Most High for that.” [al-Bayhaqi]
Here we see that the Prophet ﷺ sent ʿAli to Yemen, just as he sent many other Companions to Yemen. He sent Muʿadh to Yemen. He sent many others. Yemen is a big country, so he sent many Companions to deliver the message to its people. You have different parts of Yemen, different cities, so he sent different Companions to different areas.
The narrator mentioned that ʿAli sent a letter to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, informing him that the people of Yemen had accepted Islam. It is not to be understood that all the people of Yemen accepted Islam, but rather some of them.
When we read the details of the hadith, we see that he used to direct his messengers and ambassadors to countries, cities, villages and regions. He used to choose, firstly, knowledgeable people. He chose those whom he had trained and whom he trusted. Even if they were hesitant, he would encourage them, teach them, boost their morale and support them to go. When he chose someone, he knew they were capable of the task, but sometimes, because it was a huge responsibility, like being the governor of a city or an area, they needed reassurance.
In the hadith, ʿAli was hesitant. He said that he was still relatively young for such a great responsibility. The Prophet ﷺ tapped him on his chest and said:
اللَّهُمَّ اهْدِ قَلْبَهُ وَسَدِّدْ لِسَانَهُ
“O Allah, guide his heart and make his tongue firm and correct.”
Meaning, you will say the right thing, and you will judge correctly. ʿAli said, “After that, I never hesitated.”
So when ʿAli updated the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, informing him of what was happening, his letter brought good news: the area he was responsible for in Yemen had accepted Islam. What wonderful news! The Messenger of Allah ﷺ could not but show his gratitude to Allah Almighty, by performing sujud ash-shukr.
This shows the joy that filled his heart, and that joy was translated into action — into prostration. It goes without saying that sujud is the closest position a servant can be to Allah, as mentioned in the hadith:
أَقْرَبُ مَا يَكُونُ الْعَبْدُ مِنْ رَبِّهِ وَهُوَ سَاجِدٌ
“The closest a servant is to his Lord is when he is in prostration.”
And Allah says in the Qur’an:
وَاسْجُدْ وَاقْتَرِبْ
“Prostrate and draw near.” [Surah al-ʿAlaq, 96:19]
Closeness is achieved through sujud. We see in different narrations that whenever he received good news, he would perform sujud ash-shukr to Allah Almighty. The majority of the scholars, the three schools and most of the fourth, agreed upon the legislation of sujud ash-shukr, with some discussion reported from Abu Hanifah and Imam Malik.
Similarly, if he received news that his Companions were victorious in battle, he would perform sujud to Allah in gratitude.
Difference of opinion
Those who object to sujood ash-shukr say that when the Prophet ﷺ conquered Makkah, he did not perform a separate sujud, rather he prayed two rak‘ahs. So they say the form is two rak‘ahs, not a separate sajdah. This is part of the discussion. Of course, without doubt, you can pray two rak‘ahs at any time other than the disliked times.
Based on the Hadith Class delivered by Shaykh Haytham Tamim on 21st February 2026. Transcribed by R Roslan.
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