Word Meaning
सज्दों
sajdon
Meaning
Prostrations; acts of bowing low with the forehead touching the ground.
Detailed Meaning
This is the plural oblique form of 'sajda', referring to ritual Islamic prostrations before God. In the context of the couplet, it describes worshippers blindly dropping to the ground in worship when they were actually required to remain standing (qayām). The term satirizes mechanical or thoughtless religious devotion that lacks true discernment.
Etymology
From Arabic root s-j-d (سجد), meaning to prostrate or bow in reverence; inflected with the Hindustani plural oblique suffix -on (-وں).
Usage
In Urdu ghazal, prostrations commonly juxtapose ritual religious worship with profane, absolute surrender at the threshold of the earthly beloved.
Examples
lost in endless prostrations at the beloved's threshold
countless prostrations offered in devotion