The qiyām is followed by the rukū‘ which means bowing down. In this posture the worshipper, while standing, bows forward and places both his hands on his knees and utters words declaring Divine glory.
Next comes the sajdah, or prostration, but before falling down in sajdah the worshipper rises up from the rukū‘, so that he again assumes the standing position with both hands hanging down freely, and along with the assumption of this position the following words, and not takbīr, are uttered: Sami‘ Allāhu li-man ḥamidah, meaning, Allāh listens to him who praises Him. And, with this, words of Divine praise are uttered, Rabbanā wa la-k-al-ḥamd, that is, “Our Lord! All praise is due to Thee”.36 After thus standing up, the worshipper prostrates himself with “Allāhu Akbar” on his lips. In this state, the toes of both feet, both knees, both hands and the forehead touch the ground, and thus a posture of the utmost humility is assumed, while words declaring the Divine glory and Divine greatness are on the lips of the worshipper. This posture is assumed twice, the worshipper in between raising his head with the takbīr on his lips, and briefly assumes the sitting position, as described in the next paragraph.
The qa‘dah, meaning sitting, follows every two rak‘ahs.37 If it is the first rak‘ah, then after performing the second sajdah, the worshipper stands up and performs the second rak‘ah in exactly the same manner as the first, after which the sitting position (qa‘dah) is assumed. In this posture, the right foot remains in a standing position, as in the sajdah, the tips of the toes touching the ground, while the left foot is spread with its back in contact with the ground, and the open hands placed on the knees.38 This position is kept so long as the necessary recitals are made. If the prayer consists of two rak‘ahs, it ends in this position. In the case of three or four rak‘ahs the standing position is again assumed and the required number of rak‘ahs performed in the
36 This is one of the exceptions to the utterance of takbīr on the change of posture, the other being the final act of finishing the prayer which is by means of a salutation instead of takbīr.
37 The short sitting between two sajdahs being called Jalsah which also means sitting.
38 If a man by reason of any difficulty cannot assume this position with ease, he may adopt any reverential sitting posture which he finds easy.