prostrations

Prostration is an act of lying face down on the ground, typically as a gesture of reverence, submission, or humility. It appears in many cultures and religious traditions, as well as in secular contexts to indicate extreme fatigue or distress. The practice can involve different postures, durations, and rules about cleanliness or ritual purity.

In Islam, the act of prostration, or sujud, is a required element of the daily prayers. Worshippers place the forehead, nose, palms, knees, and toes on the ground in a prescribed sequence, facing the Qibla. Prostration is performed multiple times in each rak’ah, and requires ritual purity (wudu) and proper intention.

Hinduism and Buddhism use prostrations as devotional acts toward deities, teachers, or the Three Jewels in Buddhism. Forms include the namaskara or pranama in Hinduism, and various full-body prostrations or bows in Buddhist practice, sometimes counted in sets such as 3, 9, or 108.

In Christian traditions, prostration has appeared in liturgy and monastic practice as an extreme gesture of humility or confession; today it is less common in many Western services but persists in some Orthodox, Catholic, and Anglican rites, especially during Holy Week or ordination.

The term also appears in medical or everyday usage to describe lying flat due to illness or exhaustion, as in “prostrate with fever.” The word derives from Latin prosternere, meaning to lay flat.