Those who used to say: when you bow, place your hands on your knees

Salim al-Barrad said: We came to Sayyiduna Abu Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him) and said: Teach us the prayer of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). He said the takbir, then bowed, then placed his hands on his knees, and then said: This is how the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) led us in prayer.

Sayyiduna Wa'il bin Hujr (may Allah be pleased with him) said: I was among those who came to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), and I said to myself: I will certainly observe how the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) prays. So I saw that when he (peace and blessings be upon him) intended to bow, he raised both his hands, then bowed, then placed both his hands on his knees.

Sayyiduna Rifa'ah bin Rafi' (may Allah be pleased with him) said: The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said to a man: "When you face the qiblah, say the takbir and recite whatever you wish from the Qur'an; then when you go into bowing, place your palms on your knees and bow with composure."

Sayyidah Aishah (may Allah be pleased with her) said: When the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) bowed, he placed his hands on his knees.

Al-Aswad said: I saw Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) bowing with his hands placed on his knees.

Abu Ma'mar said: When Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) bowed, he used to place his hands on his knees.

Mus'ab bin Sa'd said: I was praying beside my father, and I placed both my hands between my knees. He struck my hands and said: We too used to do this at first, then we were commanded to place the hands on the knees.

Khaythamah said that whenever Sayyiduna Ibn Umar (may Allah be pleased with them both) bowed (in ruku'), he would place his hands on his knees.

Tariq bin Shihab said: During the battle of Qadisiyyah, a Companion from the Ansar stood among us and said: When a person bows, he should place his hands on his knees and bow well, until the lower part of his back is raised.

Ka'b said: When you bow, keep your face toward the qiblah and place both hands on your knees. And do not lower your head so much that it drops below your back like the head of a donkey.

Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) said: When you bow, place your palms on your knees and spread your back flat. Do not hold your head higher than your back, nor lower than it; do not stretch it out too much, and do not keep it all drawn in.

Hisham bin Urwah said: Whenever my father bowed, he would place his hands on his knees.

Al-Hasan bin Ubaydullah said: I saw Ibrahim placing his hands on his knees in ruku'.

Musa bin Nafi' said: I saw Sa'id bin Jubayr placing his hands on his knees in ruku'.

Sayyiduna Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) said: Holding the knees in ruku' has been made sunnah for you, so hold them.

Sayyiduna Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) said: When you bow, if you wish, do it like this; if you wish, place your hands on your knees; and if you wish, do it like this, meaning: place the hands one over the other between the two knees (tatbiq).