Question
What should be the posture of a person while prostrating? That is, which part should be placed on the ground first – the knees or the hands?
Answer
الحمد لله، والصلاة والسلام علىٰ رسول الله، أما بعد!
During going into prostration, the knees should be placed on the ground first, followed by both hands. The Holy Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) explicitly forbade prostrating in a manner where a person sits like a camel.
The Holy Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said:
«اِذَا سَجَدَ اَحَدُکُمْ فَلَا يَبْرُکْ کَمَا يَبْرُکُ الْبَعِيْرُ، وَلْيَضَعْ يَدَيْهِ قَبْلَ رُکْبَتَيْهِ»
Translation:
“When any of you prostrates, he should not sit like a camel, but place both his hands before both knees.”
Explanation of the Hadith
In this hadith, the Holy Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) forbade “sitting like a camel,” which is a prohibition of a posture (manner or method), not of the limbs on which the prostration is performed.
In the words of the Hadith “كَمَا يَبْرُكُ الْبَعِيْرُ”, the word “كاف” is used as a simile, which indicates that the prohibition is regarding the method (i.e., the manner of prostration), not the limbs that are to be placed on the ground. If the prohibition were about the limb, the words of the Hadith would have been like this:
“لَا يَبْرُکْ عَلٰی مَا يَبْرُکُ عَلَيْهِ”
meaning “Do not prostrate on the part on which the camel sits.”
But the Prophet ﷺ said:
“لَا يَبْرُکْ کَمَا يَبْرُکُ”
meaning “Do not sit like the camel sits.”
This makes it clear that the prohibition is about the method, not those specific limbs.
Explanation of Imam Ibn al-Qayyim, may Allah have mercy on him
Imam Ibn al-Qayyim, may Allah have mercy on him, has explained very clearly in “Zad al-Ma’ad” that the last words of this Hadith were altered by the narrator.
The words of the hadith are:
“وَلْيَضَعْ يَدَيْهِ قَبْلَ رُکْبَتَيْهِ”
Meaning “place the hands before the knees”
But according to Imam Ibn al-Qayyim, the correct words should be:
“وَلْيَضَعْ رُکْبَتَيْهِ قَبْلَ يَدَيْهِ”
Meaning “place the knees before the hands”
The reason given for this is that if a person places the hands first and then the knees, his posture will resemble that of a camel, because a camel also places its front two feet (which are equivalent to hands) on the ground first when sitting.
Anyone who has seen a camel sitting knows this fact that the camel places its front feet on the ground first.
So if we want consistency between the beginning and the end of the hadith, the appropriate words would be:
“وَلْيَضَعْ رُکْبَتَيْهِ قَبْلَ يَدَيْهِ”
So that the meaning of the hadith is clear and not contradictory.
Further Research on This Issue
On this issue, a brother has also written a useful treatise titled “Fath al-Ma’bud fi Wad’ al-Rukbatayn Qabl al-Yadayn fi al-Sujud,” in which detailed arguments have been presented.
The conclusion is that according to the saying of the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ, the Sunnah method is that when going into prostration, a person should first place the knees on the ground, and then place the hands.
Jurisprudential Disagreement
Note:
The learned Mufti, may Allah have mercy on him, adopted the same position as Imam Ibn al-Qayyim, may Allah have mercy on him, that the words of the hadith were altered by the narrator.
However, the majority of scholars do not agree with this. According to them, the words of the hadith are preserved and not altered.
On this basis, according to them, the stronger opinion is that when performing prostration, the hands should be placed on the ground first, and then the knees.
ھذا ما عندي والله أعلم بالصواب
