Tirmidhi

English Commentary:
1:
Those who hold the view that both knees should be placed before both hands have used this very hadith as evidence, but this narration is weak.
Sharik is alone in narrating from Asim bin Kulayb, while Sharik himself is weak.
Although this narration has also been transmitted by Hammam bin Yahya through two routes—one via Muhammad bin Hajjada and the other via Shaqiq—however, the chain through Muhammad bin Hajjada is disconnected because ‘Abd al-Jabbar did not hear from his father, and the chain through Shaqiq is also weak because he himself is unknown (majhul).
Explanation

2:
Hammam did not narrate it from Asim, but rather from Shaqiq, and Shaqiq narrated it from Asim in a mursal (disconnected) manner. Thus, there are two defects in the chain through Shaqiq:
First, Shaqiq himself is unknown (majhul), and the second defect is that it is mursal, and there is no mention of Wa’il bin Hujr radi Allahu anhu in it.

Note:
(When Sharik is alone in narrating, his narration is not accepted.)

1155. Commentary:

➊ Here, by "Sharik" is meant Qadi Sharik. He is unique in narrating this hadith in this manner. Reliable narrators (for example: Hammam) narrate this hadith as mursal, that is, directly from the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam without mentioning a Companion. Qadi Sharik is not so strong in terms of memory that his solitary narration can be accepted. The intention of the Imam is that this narration is mursal, not connected (mutassil), and not reliable. Other hadith scholars, such as Imam Tirmidhi, Darqutni, and Bayhaqi rahimahumullah, are also in agreement with the Imam in this judgment.

➋ In the other chains of this hadith, the mention of the Companion Wa’il radi Allahu anhu is not found. The narrators who mention him are criticized, therefore this narration is disputed. Hadith number 1154 is reliable. Further discussion on this issue has already taken place previously under the benefits of hadith number 1092. Please refer there.

Takhrij al-Hadith:
[سنن ابي داؤد: 838، سنن النسائي : 1090، سنن الترمذي: 268، و صححهٔ، سنن ابن ماجه : 882، و صححه ابن خزيمة : 629، و ابن حبان : 1909]
Commentary:
Its chain of narration is "weak" (da'if), because within it is the narrator Sharik ibn Abdullah al-Qadi, who is a "mudallis" (one who practices tadlis). He has not explicitly stated hearing (sama‘) from his shaykh.
◈ Imam al-Bayhaqi rahimahullah has declared this hadith to be "weak". [السنن الكبرى : 100/2]

Benefits and Issues:
There are differing opinions among the scholars regarding the manner of going into prostration, that is: whether the hands should be placed on the ground first or the knees. Accordingly, according to one narration from Abu Hanifah, Shafi’i, and Ahmad (rahimahumullah), the worshipper should place his knees on the ground before his hands. In fact, Tirmidhi rahimahullah has attributed this practice to most of the scholars. Thus, Imam Tirmidhi says in his Sunan Tirmidhi (2/57):

“Most of the scholars act upon this, and their view is that one should place his knees on the ground before his hands, and when rising, he should lift his hands before his knees. Those who hold this position have used the narration of Wa’il ibn Hujr radi Allahu anhu as evidence. He says: ‘I saw the Messenger of Allah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, when he performed prostration, he would place his knees before his hands, and when he stood up, he would lift his hands before his knees.’ This narration has been reported by Abu Dawud, Tirmidhi, Nasa’i, and Ibn Majah.

And Daraqutni (1/345) says regarding this:

‘This hadith has only been narrated from Sharik by Yazid ibn Harun, and no one else narrates it from Asim ibn Kulayb except Sharik, while Sharik himself is not a strong narrator.’

Bayhaqi rahimahullah says in Sunan (2/101):

‘The chain of this hadith is weak.’

Albani rahimahullah has declared it weak in Mishkat (898) and Irwa’ al-Ghalil (2/75).

However, other scholars, among whom is Ibn al-Qayyim rahimahullah, have declared this hadith authentic in his book “Zad al-Ma’ad.”

Similarly, among the scholars who have adopted the position of placing the knees before the hands are Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah, his distinguished student Ibn al-Qayyim, and among contemporary scholars, Shaykh Abdul Aziz ibn Baz and Shaykh Muhammad ibn Salih al-Uthaymin, rahimahumullah jami’an.

On the other hand, Malik, Awza’i, and the hadith scholars are of the opinion that placing the hands on the ground before the knees is the prescribed practice. For this, they have used the hadith of Abu Hurayrah radi Allahu anhu as evidence. He says that the Messenger of Allah sallallahu alayhi wa sallam said: (When one of you performs prostration, he should not go down as a camel does, but rather he should place his hands on the ground before his knees.)

This hadith has been narrated by Ahmad (2/381), Abu Dawud, Tirmidhi, and Nasa’i.

Nawawi rahimahullah says in “al-Majmu’” (3/421):

‘This hadith has been narrated by Abu Dawud and Nasa’i with a good chain.’

Regarding this hadith, Albani rahimahullah says:

‘This chain is authentic; all its narrators are trustworthy and are from the narrators of Sahih Muslim except for Muhammad ibn Abdullah ibn Hasan, who is famous by the title “Nafs al-Zakiyyah,” but he too is trustworthy.’

Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah rahimahullah has written regarding this issue in his Fatawa (22/449):

‘In both cases, the prayer is valid; there is consensus among the scholars on this. So whether the worshipper places his hands before his knees or his knees before his hands, in both cases, according to all the scholars, the prayer is valid by consensus. The difference is only regarding which is superior.’ End quote.

Therefore, seekers of knowledge should act upon the method with which they feel satisfied after their scholarly research, and the common person should follow the opinion of the one whom he trusts.

And Allah knows best.
Source: Shaykh Muhammad Salih al-Munajjid

While going into prostration (sajdah), both hands should be placed on the ground first, and then both knees should be placed afterwards. See [سنن ابي داود 840 و سنده صحيح على شرط مسلم]
and Mukhtasar Sahih Namaz-e-Nabawi [17، فقره: 21]

In one narration, it is mentioned that the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam used to place his knees on the ground before his hands. [سنن ابي داود: 738، همارانسخه: 838]

In its chain of narration, there is a narrator, Sharik bin Abdullah al-Qadi, who was a mudallis.

See: [نصب الرايه 234/3 اور المحلي 263/8، 333/10]

This narration is from «عن», therefore it is weak and rejected. It is incorrect to declare a weak narration as hasan or sahih.

... See the original article ...

Fatawa Ilmiyyah (Tawdih al-Ahkam) Vol. 2, p. 77

Benefits and Issues:

➊
The aforementioned narration is weak in its chain of transmission.
Therefore, when going into prostration (sujud), one should place the hands on the ground before the knees.
As narrated from Abu Hurairah radi Allahu anhu, the Noble Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa sallam said:
“When one of you prostrates, he should not sit as a camel sits.
He should place his hands before his knees.” (Sunan Abi Dawud, Kitab al-Salat, Chapter: How to place the knees before the hands, Hadith: 840)
Also, in Sahih al-Bukhari, it is mentioned that Ibn Umar radi Allahu anhuma used to place his hands before his knees. (Sahih al-Bukhari, al-Adhan, Chapter: 128)
The chain of narration for the hadith of Abu Hurairah radi Allahu anhu is sound,
as written by Imam Nawawi rahimahullah and Zarqani.
And Hafiz Ibn Hajar rahimahullah has written that the hadith of Abu Hurairah radi Allahu anhu is stronger than the hadith of Wa’il.
See: (Tamam al-Minnah: 194, 193)
The preference of Hafiz Ibn Hajar rahimahullah is also that, while avoiding resemblance to a camel, one should place the hands on the ground when going into prostration.
The majority of hadith scholars and the Hanbalis hold this view.
However, the Hanafis and Shafi‘is act upon the (weak) narration of Wa’il radi Allahu anhu,
and they place the knees first.
For details, see: (Tuhfat al-Ahwadhi, Tamam al-Minnah)