Is the prostration mentioned in the verse, "And he raised his parents to the throne, and they fell down before him prostrate," the same as prostration to Allah, and if so, how could they prostrate to other than Allah?

The prostration mentioned in the story of Yusuf (Joseph) was a prostration of greeting and honor, not a prostration of worship. Prostration of worship is exclusively for Allah alone. The prostration of greeting was permissible in previous nations before it was abrogated in the Islamic Sharia.

The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, forbade the prostration of humans to humans, as stated in the Hadith: "It is not befitting for a human to prostrate to another human. If it were permissible for a human to prostrate to another human, I would have commanded the wife to prostrate to her husband due to the greatness of his right over her."

Scholars differed on the manner of the prostration of greeting mentioned in Surat Yusuf, but the majority are of the opinion that it involved placing the forehead on the ground.