LessonsPrayer of the Sick: Standing, Gestures, Recovery and UnconsciousnessQuiz

Raising a cushion or board toward the face does not make genuine prostration possible. The prescribed substitute is gesturing with the head.

In actual prostration the worshipper lowers toward the ground. Bringing an object upward does not substitute for this; when prostration is impossible, head gestures are used.

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Why raising a cushion is not prostration

Prayer of the Sick: Standing, Gestures, Recovery and Unconsciousness

Raising a cushion or board toward the face does not make genuine prostration possible. The prescribed substitute is gesturing with the head.

In actual prostration the worshipper lowers toward the ground. Bringing an object upward does not substitute for this; when prostration is impossible, head gestures are used.