Obligatory Sajdahs in the Holy Qur'an

1102. Upon reciting or hearing any of the following verses of the holy Qur'an, the performance of Sajdah becomes obligatory:

• Surah as-Sajdah, 32:15

• Surah Ha Mim Sajdah, 41:38

• Surah an-Najm, 53:62

• Surah al-'Alaq, 96:19

Whenever a person recites the verse or hears it when recited by someone else, he should perform Sajdah immediately when the verse ends, and if he forgets to perform it, he should do it as and when he remembers. If one hears the verse without any expectation, in an involuntary situation, the Sajdah is not obligatory, though it is better to perform it.

1103. If a person hears the Sajdah verse, and recites it himself also, he should perform two Sajdahs.

1104. If a person hears a verse of Sajdah, while he is in Sajdah other than that of namaz, or recites it himself, he should raise his head from that Sajdah, and perform another one.

1105. If a person hears the verse of obligatory Sajdah from a person who is asleep, or one who is insane, or from a child who knows nothing of the Qur'an, it will be obligatory upon him to perform Sajdah. But if he hears from a gramophone or a tape recorder, Sajdah will not be obligatory. Similarly, the Sajdah will not be Wajib if he listens to a taped recitation from radio. But if there is a person reciting from the radio station, and he recites the verse of Sajdah, it will be obligatory to perform Sajdah.

1106. As an obligatory precaution, the place where a person performs an obligatory Sajdah upon hearing the verse, should not be a usurped one, and, as a recommended precaution, the place where he places his forehead, should not be higher or lower than a span of four joined fingers than the place where his knees and tips of the toes rest.
However, it is not necessary to be in Wudhu or Ghusl, or to face Qibla, nor is it necessary to conceal one's private parts or to ensure that the body and the place where he has to place his forehead are Pak. Moreover, the conditions for dress in namaz do not apply to the performance of these obligatory Sajdah.

1107. The obligatory precaution is that in the obligatory Sajdah caused by the Qur'anic verse, a person should place his forehead on a mohr, or any other thing on which Sajdah is allowed, and also one should keep other parts of one's body on the ground, as required in a Sajdah of prayers.

1108. When a person performs the obligatory Sajdah upon hearing the relevant verse, it will be sufficient even if he does not recite any Zikr. However, it is Mustahab to recite Zikr, preferably the following: La ilaha illal lahu haqqan haqqa; La ilaha illal lahu imanan wa tasdiqa; la ilaha illal lahu 'ubudiyyatan wa riqqa; Sajadtu laka ya Rabbi ta'abbudan wa riqqa la mustankifan wa la mustak biran bal ana 'abdun zalilun za'ifun kha'ifun mustajir.