We saw previously that when we bowed into a position of vulnerability and instability, we praised Allah while acknowledging His Strength and Supremacy.
Now, we lower our bodies into the physically lowest position of prayer - the سجود sujood - the prostration, wherein we place the most dignified part of our bodies - our faces - on the ground.
And as we do so, we say, سبحان ربي الأعلى , commonly translated as, “Glory be to my Lord, the Most High.” The word الأعلى is the superlative from عالٍ - high. And so it actually means, the absolutely highest and most exalted in every aspect of His essence and His attributes.
Thus, by lowering the highest part of our body to the utmost low position, as an expression of our submission and humility before Allah, it becomes deeply fitting to differentiate the Creator from the creation in every aspect at this moment. We do this by extolling Him for possessing qualities entirely opposite to those of the creation: the supremacy and highness of His essence, power, and dominance.