How Is The Sajdah Al-Tilawah Performed Inside Or Outside The Prayer?

How is the sajdah al-tilawah performed inside or outside the prayer?

It is wajib for a person who recites or listens to the verses of prostration to perform sajdah al-tilawah. If a person who recites a verse of prostration is not in prayer, he performs sajdah al-tilawah either right after reciting the verse or later (Mawsili, al-Ikhtiyar, I, 254).

If the person performing the prayer recites the verse of prostration during the prayer, if he does not recite more than three verses after the prostration verse and bows down, he intends to prostrate for recitation and goes down to ruku. This ruku also substitutes for sajdah al-tilawah. If he is going to recite more than three verses, he intends to recite prostration and goes straight down to prostration, and after prostrating once, he gets up and continues the recitation from where he left off. (al-Fatawa al-Hindiyyah, I, 147).

Although sajdah al-tilawah is not a ritual prayer, the requirements of prayer such as taharah, turning to the qiblah, intention, and covering the required parts of the body apply to it as well. However, takbir al-iftitah is a sunnah in sajdah al-tilawah.

In order to perform sajdah al-tilawah, one says “Allahu akbar” without raising his hands up, goes to prostration directly and says “Subhana Rabbiya’l-a’la” three times in that position, then stands up from the prostration by saying “Allahu akbar” again. Sajdah al-tilawah is completed by this way. That is to say, sajdah al-tilawah does not include sitting for a while to recite tashahhud and giving salam .

If a person who hears the verses which require performing sajdah al-tilawah does not have the opportunity to perform it immediately, it is mustahab for him to say “Sami’na wa ata’na ghufranaka Rabbana wa ilayka’l-masir”. He performs the sajdah later when he finds the opportunity to do it (Shurunbulali, Maraqi al-falah, p. 183).

Source: Presidency Of Religious Affairs The Turkey, High Board of Religious Affairs FATWA