Short answer
Yes, in the way that matters most. In the garden of Gethsemane, Matthew reports, Jesus "fell on his face, and prayed". That is the prostration (face on the ground) Muslims make in every prayer. Abraham, Moses and Aaron also fell on their faces before God (﷾), and Elijah cast himself down on the earth. Moses and Aaron washed their hands and feet before they came near the altar. Moses took off his shoes on holy ground. A Psalm says "let us worship and bow down: let us kneel". Muslims wash, bow and prostrate because the Qur'an commands it, and the Prophet (ﷺ) taught the prayer this way. It is prayed five times a day, the same in every country. So Muslims pray as the prophets prayed: washing as Moses and Aaron did, and, as Matthew reports of Jesus, putting the face to the ground.
Full explanation
Why Muslims pray this way
The Qur'an commands washing before prayer, called wudu (ablution). A Muslim washes the face, the arms to the elbows and the feet, and wipes the head. The Qur'an also commands believers to bow and to prostrate (put the face on the ground), and it sets the prayer at stated times. The Prophet (ﷺ) taught that five prayers are due each day. He told his followers to pray as they had seen him pray. So the prayer is the same in every country and in every language.
“O ye who believe! when ye prepare for prayer, wash your faces, and your hands (and arms) to the elbows; Rub your heads (with water); and (wash) your feet to the ankles. If ye are in a state of ceremonial impurity, bathe your whole body. But if ye are ill, or on a journey, or one of you cometh from offices of nature, or ye have been in contact with women, and ye find no water, then take for yourselves clean sand or earth, and rub therewith your faces and hands, Allah doth not wish to place you in a difficulty, but to make you clean, and to complete his favour to you, that ye may be grateful.”
“O ye who believe! bow down, prostrate yourselves, and adore your Lord; and do good; that ye may prosper.”
“When ye pass (Congregational) prayers, celebrate Allah's praises, standing, sitting down, or lying down on your sides; but when ye are free from danger, set up Regular Prayers: For such prayers are enjoined on believers at stated times.”
Talha ibn Ubaydullah reports that a man from Najd asked the Prophet (ﷺ) about Islam. He was told: five prayers in a day and a night, the fast of Ramadan, and zakah, with anything more being voluntary. The man left saying he would do no more and no less, and the Prophet said he would succeed if he was telling the truth.
Malik ibn al-Huwayrith reports that he and other young men stayed with the Prophet (ﷺ) for twenty days. When he sent them home to teach their families, he told them: pray as you have seen me praying.
How Jesus prayed
The New Testament Gospels tell of the night before Jesus was arrested. In the garden, Jesus went a little way from his disciples and fell on his face to pray, says Matthew. Mark says he fell on the ground. His prayer was one of submission: not my will, but yours. A face on the ground and a will given up to God (﷾) are what Muslims call sujud (prostration) and islam (submission).
“And he went a little further, and fell on his face, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt.”
“And he went forward a little, and fell on the ground, and prayed that, if it were possible, the hour might pass from him.”
“Saying, Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done.”
The prophets bowed to the ground
Jesus was not the first. Abraham fell on his face when God (﷾) spoke to him. Moses and Aaron fell on their faces again and again in Numbers. Joshua fell to the earth on his face before the ark of the Lord. Elijah cast himself down on the earth on Mount Carmel. The Bible's prophets prayed with their faces on the ground, as Muslims do.
“And Abram fell on his face: and God talked with him, saying,”
“And they fell upon their faces, and said, O God, the God of the spirits of all flesh, shall one man sin, and wilt thou be wroth with all the congregation?”
“And Moses and Aaron went from the presence of the assembly unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, and they fell upon their faces: and the glory of the Lord appeared unto them.”
“And Joshua rent his clothes, and fell to the earth upon his face before the ark of the Lord until the eventide, he and the elders of Israel, and put dust upon their heads.”
“So Ahab went up to eat and to drink. And Elijah went up to the top of Carmel; and he cast himself down upon the earth, and put his face between his knees,”
Washing and bare feet before God (﷾)
God (﷾) commanded Aaron and his sons to wash their hands and feet before they came near the altar, "that they die not". It was a law for ever. Moses, Aaron and his sons did so. At the burning bush Moses was told to take off his shoes on holy ground, and the book of Acts repeats it. The Qur'an tells it too: "put off thy shoes: thou art in the sacred valley Tuwa". Muslims wash before every prayer and take off their shoes at the mosque door.
“For Aaron and his sons shall wash their hands and their feet thereat: When they go into the tabernacle of the congregation, they shall wash with water, that they die not; or when they come near to the altar to minister, to burn offering made by fire unto the Lord: So they shall wash their hands and their feet, that they die not: and it shall be a statute for ever to them, even to him and to his seed throughout their generations.”
“And Moses and Aaron and his sons washed their hands and their feet thereat: When they went into the tent of the congregation, and when they came near unto the altar, they washed; as the Lord commanded Moses.”
“And he said, Draw not nigh hither: put off thy shoes from off thy feet, for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground.”
“Then said the Lord to him, Put off thy shoes from thy feet: for the place where thou standest is holy ground.”
“"Verily I am thy Lord! therefore (in My presence) put off thy shoes: thou art in the sacred valley Tuwa.”
Bowing, kneeling and set times
A Psalm (a prayer-song in the Bible) calls believers to worship, bow down and kneel before their Maker. Daniel knelt and prayed three times a day, facing Jerusalem. The Psalmist prayed evening, morning and noon. Fixed times and a body that bows are also marks of the Muslim prayer, and they are in the Bible.
“O come, let us worship and bow down: let us kneel before the Lord our maker.”
“Now when Daniel knew that the writing was signed, he went into his house; and his windows being open in his chamber toward Jerusalem, he kneeled upon his knees three times a day, and prayed, and gave thanks before his God, as he did aforetime.”
“Evening, and morning, and at noon, will I pray, and cry aloud: and he shall hear my voice.”
Covered heads and "if the Lord will"
Paul, a Christian missionary of the first century, says a woman who prays with her head uncovered dishonours her head. Muslim women cover their heads in prayer. James tells believers never to speak of tomorrow without saying "if the Lord will". That is what a Muslim means by insha'Allah (if Allah (﷾) wills).
“But every woman that prayeth or prophesieth with her head uncovered dishonoureth her head: for that is even all one as if she were shaven. For if the woman be not covered, let her also be shorn: but if it be a shame for a woman to be shorn or shaven, let her be covered.”
“For that ye ought to say, If the Lord will, we shall live, and do this, or that.”
| In Muslim prayer | In the Bible |
|---|---|
| Washing first | Moses, Aaron and his sons washed their hands and feet before they came near the altar, “that they die not”. |
| Shoes off | When God (﷾) spoke to Moses from the bush, Moses was told to take off his shoes on holy ground. |
| Bowing and kneeling | A Psalm: “let us worship and bow down: let us kneel”. |
| Face to the ground | Abraham, Moses and Aaron fell on their faces. Joshua fell to the earth on his face, and Elijah cast himself down on the earth. |
| As Jesus prayed | He “fell on his face, and prayed” (Matthew 26:39). Mark says he fell on the ground. |
| Women's heads covered | Paul says a woman who prays with her head uncovered dishonours her head. |
Muslims wash, bow and prostrate because the Qur'an commands it and the Prophet (ﷺ) taught the prayer this way.
Verse by verse
John 4:24 — Gospel of John, chapter 4, verse 24
“God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.”
Cited for
Christians read this as meaning that the outward form of prayer does not matter. What God wants is the spirit, so no posture or time is required.
The response
The same Jesus, in the garden of Gethsemane, fell on his face to pray, says Matthew. Worship in spirit did not stop him from putting his face on the ground. The Psalm asks for the heart and the body together: worship, bow down, kneel. Islam asks for the same: a sincere heart in a body that bows.
Where it lands — Worship in spirit and in truth does not replace the prostration Jesus himself made. It is what the prostration is for.
Perspectives
Mainstream Christian
Christians may pray in any posture and at any time. God looks at the heart, and Jesus said that true worship is in spirit and in truth. Most church prayer is standing, sitting or kneeling, with hands joined and head bowed.
Jesus taught that God is a Spirit and must be worshipped in spirit and in truth. Christians read this as freeing prayer from set forms.
Rebuttal
Jesus did say that God (﷾) is Spirit and wants worship in spirit and in truth. The same Jesus, in the garden of Gethsemane, fell on his face to pray (Matthew). The Psalm asks for the heart and the body together: worship, bow down, kneel.
The Islamic perspective
The prayer taught by the Prophet (ﷺ) keeps the worship of the prophets. It starts with washing. Then come standing, bowing, kneeling and putting the face on the ground before God (﷾). Matthew reports that Jesus put his face to the ground in prayer, as they did.
Matthew records that Jesus fell on his face and prayed, and Mark that he fell on the ground.
Abraham, Moses and Aaron fell on their faces before God (﷾), and Elijah cast himself down on the earth.
The Law made washing the hands and feet before the altar a law for ever. Moses was told to take off his shoes on holy ground.
The Bible's worshippers bowed and knelt, and prayed at fixed times of the day.
The Qur'an commands washing before prayer, bowing and prostration, at stated times.
The Prophet (ﷺ) taught that five prayers are due each day. He told his followers to pray as they had seen him pray, which is why the prayer is the same everywhere.