How to Perform Sajdah of Gratitude and Is Wudu Required?
بِسْمِ اللہِ الرَّحْمٰنِ الرَّحِيْمِ
The Method of Performing Sajdah of Gratitude & The Requirement of Being in the State of Wudū
Darulifta Ahlesunnat (Dawateislami)
Question
What do the noble scholars and jurists of Islamic law say about the following: When a person receives any blessing from Allāh Almighty or hears any good news, they perform a sajdah of gratitude. What is the proper method of performing the sajdah of gratitude? Moreover, is it necessary to be in the state of wudū and to face the qiblah when perform this sajdah? Please provide guidance.
Answer
It is mustaḥab (preferable) to perform sajdah al-shukr (of gratitude) upon receiving a blessing from Allāh Almighty. The method of performing this is the same as the method of sajdah tilāwat. The prescribed method of sajdah tilāwat is that one should stand and go into sajdah while uttering ‘Allāhu Akbar’. In sajdah, they should recite سبحٰن ربي الاعلٰى at least three times and then stand back up while uttering ‘Allāhu Akbar’. Uttering ‘Allāhu Akbar’ both times is sunnah. Likewise, both standings, i.e., going into sajdah from the standing position and standing back up after performing sajdah, are mustaḥab.
Furthermore, just like in sajdah tilāwat, along with all other conditions, it is necessary to have complete purity i.e., being free from ḥads asghar (that which obligates wudū) and ḥads akbar (that which obligates ghusl), and face the qiblah for sajdah al-shukr. Otherwise, the sajdah al-shukr will not be valid.
Regarding the conditions of sajdah al-shukr, ʿAllāmah Ibn ʿAbidīn Shāmī Dimishqī رحمة اللہ تعالى عليه (d. 1252 AH / 1836 CE) writes:
و ھی لمن تجددت عندہ نعمۃ ظاھرۃ او رزقہ اللہ تعالیٰ مالا او ولدا او اندفعت عنہ نقمۃ و نحو ذالک، یستحب لہ ان یسجد للہ تعالیٰ شکرا مستقبل القبلۃ یحمد اللہ تعالی فیھا و یسبحہ ثم یکبر فیرفع رأسہ کما فی سجدۃ التلاوۃ
Translation: Sajdah al-shukr is for the one who has attained any blessing, whom Allāh has granted wealth or offspring, from whom Allāh averted any harm, etc. It is mustaḥab for such a person to prostrate out of gratitude while facing the qiblah and praising Allāh during the prostration. Then he should utter takbīr and raise his head, just as is done in sajdah tilāwat. (Radd al-Muḥtār ʿAlā al-Durr al-Mukhtār, Vol. 02, p. 720, Publ. Quetta)
Sadr al-Sharīʿah, Muftī Muḥammad Amjad ʿAlī Aʿzamī رحمة اللہ تعالى عليه (d. 1367 AH / 1947 CE) writes:
سجدۂ شکر مثلاً اولاد پیدا ہوئی یا مال پایا یا گمی ہوئی چیز مل گئی یا مریض نے شفا پائی یا مُسافر واپس آیا غرض کسی نعمت پر سجدہ کرنا مستحب ہے اور اس کا طریقہ وہی ہے جو سجدۂ تلاوت کا ہے۔
Translation: It is mustaḥab to perform sajdah al-shukr for any blessing, such as having a child, gaining wealth, finding a lost object, the recovery of an ill person, a traveler returning safely, etc. The method of this is the same as that of sajdah tilāwat. (Bahār-E-Sharīʿat, Vol. 01, pp. 738-739, Publ. Maktaba-Tul-Madīnah, Karachi)
Further, mentioning the method of sajdah tilāwat he states:
سجدہ کا مسنون طریقہ یہ ہے کہ کھڑا ہو کر اَللہُ اَکْبَرْ کہتا ہوا سجدہ میں جائے اور کم سے کم تین بار سُبْحٰنَ رَبِّیَ الْاَعْلٰی کہے، پھر اَللہُ اَکْبَرْ کہتا ہوا کھڑا ہو جائے، پہلے پیچھے دونوں بار اَللہُ اَکْبَرْ کہنا سنت ہے اور کھڑے ہو کر سجدہ میں جانا اور سجدہ کے بعد کھڑا ہونا یہ دونوں قیام مستحب۔
Translation: The prescribed method of sajdah is that one stands and utters ‘Allāhu Akbar’ while going into sajdah. Then they should recite ‘سبحٰن ربي الاعلٰى’ at least three times, and then they should stand up while uttering ‘Allāhu Akbar’. Uttering ‘Allāhu Akbar’ before and after the sajdah is sunnah. Likewise, both standings, i.e., going into sajdah from the standing position and then standing up after sajdah, are mustaḥab. (Bahār-E-Sharīʿat, Vol. 01, p. 731, Publ. Maktaba-Tul-Madīnah, Karachi)
Mentioning the conditions of sajdah tilāwat, it is stated in Ḥalbah al-Mujallī:
شرائط جوازھا ما ھو شرائط جواز الصلاۃ من الطھارۃ من الاحداث و الانجاس بدنا ثوبا و مکانا و ستر العورۃ و استقبال القبلۃ۔
Translation: The conditions for the validity of sajdah tilāwat are also the conditions for the validity of salāh, which includes the body, clothes, and place being pure from any ḥads or impurity, covering the ʿawrah, and facing the qiblah. (Ḥalbah al-Mujallī, Vol. 01, p. 590, Publ. Beirut)
The Imām of Ahl as-Sunnah, Imām Aḥmad Razā Khān رحمة اللہ تعالى عليه (d. 1340 AH / 1921 CE) writes:
مقصودہ مشرو طہ، جیسے نماز، نماز جنازہ، سجدہ تلاوت، سجدہ شکر، کہ سب مقصود بالذات ہیں اور سب کےلیے طہارت کاملہ شرط یعنی نہ حدث اکبر ہو نہ اصغر۔
Translation: (One type of ʿibādah is) Primarily intended acts of worship for which purity is required: such as salāh, funeral salāh, sajdah tilāwat, and sajdah al-shukr. These are all intended in themselves and a complete purity is required for them, i.e., one must be free from ḥads akbar and ḥads asghar. (Fatāwā Razawiyah, Vol. 03, p. 452, Publ. Razā Foundation, Lahore)
وَاللہُ اَعْلَمُ عَزَّوَجَلَّ وَ رَسُوْلُہ اَعْلَم صَلَّی اللہُ تَعَالٰی عَلَیْہِ وَاٰلِہٖ وَ سَلَّم
(Allah Almighty knows best and His Messenger صَلَّی اللہُ عَلَیْہِ وَ اٰلِهٖ وَسَلَّم knows best.)
Answered By: Mufti Muhammad Qasim Attari
Ref No: FSD-9873
Date: 08th Shawwāl al-Mukarram 1447 AH / 28th March 2026