'Aza'im: Difference between revisions

'''‘Azā’im''' or '''‘Azā’im al-Sujūd''' (Arabic: عزائم السجود) refers to [[Sura|suras]] of [[Sura al-Sajda|al-Sajda]], [[Sura Fussilat|Fussilat]], [[Sura al-Najm|al-Najm]] and [[Sura al-'Alaq|al-'Alaq]], in each of which there is a [[verse]] upon hearing or reading which, it becomes [[Al-Wajib (fiqh)|obligatory]] to perform [[Sujud|prostration]]. There are some [[Religious rulings|rulings]] about these suras: reciting them is [[Haram (fiqh)|forbidden]] for women during their [[menstruation]] and [[Janaba|junub]] persons and these suras should not be recited in [[Obligatory Prayers|obligatory prayers]].

'Aza'im'' or 'Aza'im al-Sujud refers to the four suras of al-Sajda, Fussilat, al-Najm, and al-'Alaq, each of which contains a verse with obligatory prostration. In some sources, [[Sura Luqman]] is mentioned instead of Sura Fussilat. The word "'aza'im" is the plural of "'azima" and literally means a serious will to do something. It also means the duties that God has made obligatory. Therefore, the mentioned suras, in which the verses with obligatory prostration are mentioned, are called "'aza'im".

According to Shiite jurists, verses 15 of Sura as-Sajda, 37 of Sura Fussilat, 62 of Sura an-Najm and 19 of Sura al-‘Alaq require prostration. Also, according to the author of Jawahir, 11 verses of the Qur’an in 10 suras have recommended prostration. These verses are verse 206 of Sura al-A’raf, verse 15 of sura ar-Ra’d, verses 49-50 of sura an-Nahl, verse 109 of sura al-Isra’, verse 58 of sura al-Maryam, verses 18 and 77 of sura al-Hajj, verse 60 of sura al-Furqan, verse 26 of sura al-Naml, verse 24 of sura Sad, and verse 21 of sura al-Inshiqaq. According to what has been attributed to Shaykh Saduq, the existence of the word “''sajdah''” in the verse entails recommended prostration.

Shiite jurists, referring to narrations from Imam al-Sadiq (a), believe that prostration is obligatory only in the four mentioned suras. Shafi’i, Hanbali, and Hanafi Sunni jurists, without differentiating between recommended and obligatory prostrations in the Qur’an, consider the number of verses requiring prostration to be 14, and Maliki jurists consider them to be eleven.