Short answer
Make sure you have wudu and face the qibla. Say Allahu Akbar and go into one sajdah, say Subhana Rabbiyal A'la three times, then say Allahu Akbar and come up. There is no tashahhud and no salam. Inside salah, do it straight away; outside salah, do it soon.
Sajdah tilawah needs the conditions of salah: wudu, a clean body, clothes and place, covered awrah and facing the qibla. It is one prostration between two takbirs, without raising the hands, tashahhud or salam. Inside salah it must be done promptly; outside salah delaying it is makruh tanzihi, but it remains owed.
Other madhhabs
- Shafi'i
- Outside salah it begins with an opening takbir and intention and ends, after the prostration, with sitting and the salam.
- Hanbali
- Outside salah it ends with a salam after the prostration.
Explanation
- Have wudu and face the qibla. Standing first and going down from standing is mustahabb, but sitting is fine.
- Make the intention in your heart for the sajdah of that ayah.
- Say Allahu Akbar, without raising your hands, and go into sajdah.
- Say Subhana Rabbiyal A'la three times. You may also say the dua the Prophet ﷺ said in this sajdah: "Sajada wajhi lilladhi khalaqahu, wa shaqqa sam'ahu wa basarahu, bi hawlihi wa quwwatih."
- Say Allahu Akbar and rise. That is all.
Inside salah: when you recite an ayah of sajdah, prostrate at once, stand up, and continue reciting. If you go into ruku within about three ayat, the prostration of the salah covers it.
Outside salah: if you have no wudu, make wudu and then prostrate; it is not lost. Some Hanafi texts recommend saying "Sami'na wa ata'na, ghufranaka Rabbana wa ilaykal masir" if you cannot prostrate straight away. Repeating the same ayah in one sitting needs only one sajdah; different ayat of sajdah each need their own.
Recordings: the Hanafi texts say no sajdah is due from hearing an echo, and contemporary Hanafi muftis apply this to recordings, so hearing an ayah of sajdah from a recording does not make it wajib. A live broadcast is treated more cautiously by many muftis, and prostrating is the safer choice.
Whether it is wajib, and on whom, is explained in is sajdah tilawat wajib. For the prostration of forgetfulness, which is different, see sajdah sahw.
The evidence
Quran, Surah As-Sajda 32:15
إِنَّمَا يُؤْمِنُ بِـَٔايَٰتِنَا ٱلَّذِينَ إِذَا ذُكِّرُوا۟ بِهَا خَرُّوا۟ سُجَّدًۭا وَسَبَّحُوا۟ بِحَمْدِ رَبِّهِمْ وَهُمْ لَا يَسْتَكْبِرُونَ ۩ ﴿١٥﴾
Only those believe in Our verses who, when they are reminded by them, fall down in prostration and exalt [Allah] with praise of their Lord, and they are not arrogant.
Describes believers falling into prostration and glorifying Allah when His ayat are recited.
Jami' at-Tirmidhi 580
Graded sahih... سجد وجهي للذي خلقه وشق سمعه وبصره بحوله وقوته ...
"My face prostrates to the One who created it and brought forth its hearing and sight by His power and strength."
Aisha reports he said this in the prostrations of the Quran at night.
Where the ruling is recorded
- al-Hidaya, Kitab al-Salah, chapter on the prostration of recitation. Its method between two takbirs, without tashahhud or salam, and its conditions.
- al-Durr al-Mukhtar with Radd al-Muhtar, Kitab al-Salah, chapter on the prostration of recitation. No sajdah from hearing an echo or a bird; one sajdah for a repeated ayah in one sitting; the dhikr for one who cannot prostrate at once.
- Nur al-Idah with Maraqi al-Falah, Chapter on the prostration of recitation. Performing it inside the prayer, and when ruku or sujud covers it.
This answer is pending review by the scholars on our team. Quran translation by Sahih International. Hadith Arabic from the standard editions of the six books and the Muwatta, with gradings as recorded there; the English is our own rendering. Spotted a mistake? Tell us.