Mentioning the hadith of Mu'adh ibn Jabal (may Allah be pleased with him) in which the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) forbade him from prostrating to him.
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The Shaykh : And we have the hadith of Mu'adh ibn Jabal when he came to this land before its conquest by Islam and returned to Madinah. The first thing his eyes fell upon was the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), and he was about to prostrate to him. He said to him: . He said: O Messenger of Allah, I came to Sham and saw the Christians prostrating to their priests and their great ones, so I saw that you are more deserving of prostration than they are. This is correct speech; if prostration to other than Allah were permissible, he would be more deserving of prostration than the priests and monks prostrating to their scholars. He (peace and blessings be upon him) said: , in other hadiths: . Therefore, it is not permissible to honor a Muslim by prostrating to him, because this is a privilege exclusive to Allah (Mighty and Majestic).
Now, is it part of honoring a Muslim that we bow to him? The answer is also: No, except in some Sufi orders; those who permitted prostration are even more likely to permit bowing.
Hold on, O Mu'adh.
مَهْ يا معاذIf I were to command anyone to prostrate to anyone, I would command the wife to prostrate to her husband because of the magnitude of his right over her.
لو كنت آمرًا أحدًا أن يسجُدَ لِأحد لَأمَرْتُ الزوجة أن تسجُدَ لزوجها لعِظَمِ حقِّه عليهاBut prostration is not appropriate except for Allah (Blessed and Exalted is He).
لكن لا يصلح السجود إلا لله - تبارك وتعالى -Now, is it part of honoring a Muslim that we bow to him? The answer is also: No, except in some Sufi orders; those who permitted prostration are even more likely to permit bowing.
Source
www.al-albany.com
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.