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 t ...
(full earth-low bowing).
* A paragraph of the
Quran
The Quran (, ; Standard Arabic: , Classical 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 in Islam, revelation from God in Islam, ...
.
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 religions, Abrahamic Monotheism#Islam, monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God in Islam, God (or ...
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 wit ...
). 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 polymat ...
'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", an ...
. 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 over others, acting as a master, chief, or ruler. The appellation can also denote certain persons who hold a title of the peerage in the United Kingdom, or ar ...
and testifying repeatedly to His supreme majesty, both inwardly and outwardly.
Qur'anic subdivision
The term ''rukūʿ'' — roughly translated to "passage", "
pericope
A pericope (; Greek , "a cutting-out") in rhetoric is a set of verses that forms one coherent unit or thought, suitable for public reading from a text, now usually of sacred scripture. Also can be used as a way to identify certain themes in a cha ...
" or "
stanza
In poetry, a stanza (; from Italian language, Italian ''stanza'' , "room") is a group of lines within a poem, usually set off from others by a blank line or Indentation (typesetting), indentation. Stanzas can have regular rhyme scheme, rhyme and ...
" — is also used to denote a group of thematically related
verses in the
Quran
The Quran (, ; Standard Arabic: , Classical 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 in Islam, revelation from God in Islam, ...
. 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-K ...
'') 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 wit ...
without breaking an ongoing topic in the Quranic text. There are 558'' rukūʿs'' in the Qur'an.
See also
*
Raka'ah
A Rak'ah ( ar, ركعة ', ; plural: ') is a single iteration of prescribed movements and supplications performed by Muslims as part of the prescribed obligatory prayer known as salah. Each of the five daily prayers observed by Muslims consist ...
*
Poyasny
The different kinds of bows one could encounter at an Eastern Orthodox service are shown in the drawing below.
Strict rules exist as to which type of a bow should be used at any particular time. The rules are very complicated, and are not alw ...
, bowing in the Eastern Orthodox Church, which originate from Jewish bowing
*
Saikeirei
is the act of lowering one's head or the upper part of the torso, commonly used as a sign of salutation, reverence, apology or gratitude in social or religious situations.
Historically, ''ojigi'' was closely affiliated with the samurai. The rise ...
References
{{Authority control
Salah
Arabic words and phrases
Gestures of respect
Bowing
Salah terminology