Rukūʿ ( ar, رُكوع, ) can refer to either of two things in Islam: * The act of belt-low bowing in standardized prayers, where the backbone should be in rest, before straightening up to go for

sujud Sujūd ( ar, سُجود, ), or sajdah (, ), is the act of low bowing or prostration to God facing the ''qiblah'' (direction of the Kaaba at Mecca). It is usually done in standardized prayers (salah). The position involves kneeling and bowing ...

(full earth-low bowing). * A paragraph of the

Quran The Quran (, ; Standard Arabic: , Quranic Arabic: , , 'the recitation'), also romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a revelation from God. It is organized in 114 chapters (pl.: , ...

. In prayer, it refers to the bowing at the waist from standing ('' qiyām'') on the completion of recitation ('' qiraʾat'') of a portion of the Qur'an in

Islam Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God (or '' Allah'') as it was revealed to Muhammad, the ...

ic formal prayers (

salah (, plural , romanized: or Old Arabic ͡sˤaˈloːh, ( or Old Arabic ͡sˤaˈloːtʰin construct state) ), also known as ( fa, نماز) and also spelled , are prayers performed by Muslims. Facing the , the direction of the Kaaba with ...

). There is a consensus on the obligatory nature of the ''rukūʿ''. The position of ''rukūʿ'' is established by bending over till the hands are on the knees and remaining in that position until one attains a relaxed state while glorifying God ( ''subḥāna rabbiya l-ʿaẓīm'', "Glory be to my Lord, the Most Magnificent!") thrice or more in odd number of times. In

Al-Ghazali Al-Ghazali ( – 19 December 1111; ), full name (), and known in Persian-speaking countries as Imam Muhammad-i Ghazali (Persian: امام محمد غزالی) or in Medieval Europe by the Latinized as Algazelus or Algazel, was a Persian poly ...

's book ''Inner Dimensions of Islamic Worship'', he wrote about the ''rukūʿ'' by saying: :Bowing (''rukūʿ'') and prostration ('' sujūd'') are accompanied by a renewed affirmation of the supreme greatness of

Allah Allah (; ar, الله, translit=Allāh, ) is the common Arabic word for God. In the English language, the word generally refers to God in Islam. The word is thought to be derived by contraction from '' al- ilāh'', which means "the god", a ...

. In bowing you renew your submissiveness and humility, striving to refine your inner feeling through a fresh awareness of your own importance and insignificance before the might and grandeur of your Lord. To confirm this, you seek the aid of your tongue, glorifying your

Lord Lord is an appellation for a person or deity who has authority, control, or power (social and political), power over others, acting as a master, chief, or ruler. The appellation can also denote certain persons who hold a title of the Peerage ...

and testifying repeatedly to His supreme majesty, both inwardly and outwardly.

Qur'anic subdivision

The term ''rukūʿ'' — roughly translated to "passage", " pericope" or "

stanza In poetry, a stanza (; from Italian ''stanza'' , "room") is a group of lines within a poem, usually set off from others by a blank line or indentation. Stanzas can have regular rhyme and metrical schemes, but they are not required to have ei ...

" — is also used to denote a group of thematically related verses in the

. Longer chapters (''

surah A ''surah'' (; ar, سورة, sūrah, , ), is the equivalent of "chapter" in the Qur'an. There are 114 ''surahs'' in the Quran, each divided into '' ayats'' (verses). The chapters or ''surahs'' are of unequal length; the shortest surah (''Al-Ka ...

'') in the Qur'an are usually divided into several ''rukūʿ''s, so that the reciters could identify when to make ruku in

Salah (, plural , romanized: or Old Arabic ͡sˤaˈloːh, ( or Old Arabic ͡sˤaˈloːtʰin construct state) ), also known as ( fa, نماز) and also spelled , are prayers performed by Muslims. Facing the , the direction of the Kaaba with ...

without breaking an ongoing topic in the Quranic text. There are 558'' rukūʿs'' in the Qur'an.

References

{{Authority control Salah Arabic words and phrases Gestures of respect Bowing Salah terminology

Qur'anic subdivision

See also

References