Correct Method of Sujood: Hands Before Knees in Light of Hadith

✍ By: Abu Adnan Muhammad Munir Qamar, Interpreter at the Supreme Court, Al-Khobar, Saudi Arabia
(This is a compilation of our radio talks broadcast from Radio Umm al-Quwain, United Arab Emirates)

❖ The State of Going into Sujood​

After completing the standing position (qawmah) following rukūʿ and its adhkār, a person proceeds to sujood. There are two well-known methods regarding this:


① Placing the hands first and then the knees, and
② Placing the knees first and then the hands.


To determine which of the two is more correct and supported by authentic proofs, it is necessary to examine the evidence for both.

◈ Evidences for Placing Hands Before Knees​

✦ First Evidence:​

Narrated from Abū Hurayrah رضي الله عنه in various sources including:


At-Tārīkh al-Kabīr (al-Bukhārī), Sunan Abī Dāwūd, an-Nasāʾī, Mushkil al-Āthār, Sharḥ Maʿānī al-Āthār (aṭ-Ṭaḥāwī), ad-Dārimī, ad-Dāraquṭnī, Ibn Ḥazm’s al-Muḥallā, al-Baghawī’s Sharḥ as-Sunnah, al-Ḥāzimī’s al-Iʿtibār fī an-Nāsikh wa al-Mansūkh, and Musnad Aḥmad, the Prophet ﷺ said:


«وَإِذَا سَجَدَ أَحَدُكُمْ فَلَا يَبْرُكْ كَمَا يَبْرُكُ الْبَعِيرُ، وَلْيَضَعْ يَدَيْهِ قَبْلَ رُكْبَتَيْهِ»
"When one of you performs sujood, he should not descend like a camel does, but rather he should place his hands before his knees."

Reference: Sharḥ as-Sunnah (al-Baghawī) 3/135, Musnad Aḥmad 2/381, Abū Dāwūd, at-Tirmidhī 2/136, Mishkāt (al-Albānī) 1/282, Irwāʾ al-Ghalīl 2/78, Dāraquṭnī 1/344, al-Muḥallā Ibn Ḥazm 4/129, al-Bayhaqī 2/99-100, al-Iʿtibār 79

✔ Refutation of the Claim of Weakness​

This ḥadīth has been authenticated by numerous prominent scholars of ḥadīth, including:

• Shaykh Shuʿayb al-Arnāʾūṭ in his investigation of Sharḥ as-Sunnah (3/135) and Zād al-Maʿād (1/223)
• Shaykh al-Albānī in Irwāʾ al-Ghalīl (2/78)
• al-Zarqānī in Sharḥ al-Mawāhib (7/320)
• Imam al-Nawawī in al-Majmūʿ Sharḥ al-Muhadhdhab (3/394)

Imām ʿAbd ar-Raḥmān al-Mubārakpūrī said: this ḥadīth is either ṣaḥīḥ or ḥasan li-dhātihi, and all its narrators are trustworthy.

Reference: Tuhfat al-Aḥwadhī 2/138

Ibn Ḥazm stated that this ḥadīth is stronger in chain than the one that mentions placing knees before hands.

Reference: Ṣifat aṣ-Ṣalāh of al-Albānī, p. 81; Irwāʾ 2/78; Mishkāt 1/282

✔ Refutation of Alleged Contradiction in the Text​

Imām Ibn al-Qayyim claimed the text had reversal and inconsistency and instead quoted:


«وَلْيَضَعْ رُكْبَتَيْهِ قَبْلَ يَدَيْهِ»
"...He should place his knees before his hands..."


This argument was discussed extensively by scholars like:

• Shaykh Shuʿayb and ʿAbd al-Qādir al-Arnāʾūṭ (Zād al-Maʿād, 1/223–230)
• Shaykh Aḥmad Shākir (Takhreej at-Tirmidhī, 1/58–59)
• Imām al-Mubārakpūrī (Tuhfat al-Aḥwadhī, 2/138–139)
• Shaykh al-Albānī (Ṣifat aṣ-Ṣalāh, p. 82; Irwāʾ al-Ghalīl, 2/175–180)

All of them thoroughly refuted the claim of confusion in wording and verified the original narration as sound.

✦ Second Evidence:​

From Ibn ʿUmar رضي الله عنهما in Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī (in muʿallaq form), as well as Ibn Khuzaymah, ad-Dāraquṭnī, al-Bayhaqī, aṭ-Ṭaḥāwī, al-Ḥākim:


كان ابن عمر يضع يديه قبل ركبتيه
"Ibn ʿUmar used to place his hands before his knees."

Reference: Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī with Fatḥ al-Bārī 2/290

In other narrations:


أنه كان يضع يديه قبل ركبتيه وقال: كان رسول الله ﷺ يفعل ذالك
"He used to place his hands before his knees and said: The Messenger of Allah ﷺ used to do the same."

Reference: Ibn Khuzaymah 1/319, al-Bayhaqī 2/100, ad-Dāraquṭnī 1/344, al-Iʿtibār p. 79

Authenticated by:

• Imām al-Ḥākim and agreed upon by adh-Dhahabī
• Ḥāfiẓ Ibn Ḥajar in Bulūgh al-Marām and Fatḥ al-Bārī
• Shaykh al-Albānī in Irwāʾ al-Ghalīl, Ṣaḥīḥ Ibn Khuzaymah

✦ Third Evidence:​

Imām al-Ḥākim stated in al-Mustadrak:


"My heart leans toward the narration from Ibn ʿUmar (رضي الله عنهما) that supports placing hands before knees, due to the abundance of supporting athār (statements of Companions and Followers)."

✦ Fourth Evidence:​

A narration in Sunan al-Kubrā al-Bayhaqī from Abū Hurayrah رضي الله عنه says:


«إذا سجد أحدكم فلا يبرك كما يبرك الجمل وليضع يديه على ركبتيه»
"When one of you performs sujood, he should not descend like a camel but place his hands on his knees."

Reference: Bayhaqī 2/100, Zād al-Maʿād 1/230

Imām al-Bayhaqī indicated: If this narration is sound, it supports placing hands before knees.

✦ Fifth Evidence:​

Imām al-Awzāʿī said:


«أدركت الناس يضعون أيديهم قبل ركبهم»
"I met people (Companions) who used to place their hands before their knees."

Reference: al-Iʿtibār, p. 80

This was also the position of:

• Imām Mālik
• Imām Aḥmad (as mentioned by Ibn al-Jawzī and Ibn Qudāmah)
• Ibn Hazm
• Ibn Abī Dāwūd (who said this is the way of Ahl al-Ḥadīth)

The following scholars detailed this as well:

• Ibn Qayyim (Zād al-Maʿād 1/230)
• Ibn Hazm (al-Muḥallā 2/129)
• al-Baghawī (Sharḥ as-Sunnah 3/134)
• Ibn Ḥajar (Fatḥ al-Bārī 2/291)
• al-Mubārakpūrī (Tuhfat al-Aḥwadhī 2/135)
• al-ʿAẓīmābādī (ʿAwn al-Maʿbūd 3/71)
• Imām ash-Shawkānī (Nayl al-Awṭār 2/253–254)
• Imām al-Ḥāzimī (al-Iʿtibār 80)
• Ibn Qudāmah (al-Mughnī 1/514)

Even the son of Abū Dāwūd considered this the practice of the people of Madīnah.

◈ Evidences for Placing Knees Before Hands​

Some scholars support placing knees first. Their primary proofs are:

✦ First Evidence:​

Narrated by Wāʾil ibn Ḥujr رضي الله عنه in:

• Sunan Abī Dāwūd, at-Tirmidhī, ad-Dārimī, ad-Dāraquṭnī, al-Bayhaqī, Ibn Khuzaymah, Ibn Ḥibbān, Sharḥ as-Sunnah (al-Baghawī), and al-Iʿtibār

«رَأَيْتُ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ ﷺ إِذَا سَجَدَ يَضَعُ رُكْبَتَيْهِ قَبْلَ يَدَيْهِ»
"I saw the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, when going into sujood, placing his knees before his hands."


Authenticated by some early scholars, but...


Many major muḥaddithīn strongly criticized this narration:

• Imām Dāraquṭnī
• Imām al-Bayhaqī
• Imām al-Ḥāzimī
• Shaykh al-Albānī (declared it weak in Irwāʾ, Ḍaʿīfah, Mishkāt)
• Shaykh Shuʿayb al-Arnāʾūṭ mentioned broken chains and narrators who never heard from each other

Conclusion: This narration is weak and not reliable.

✦ Second Evidence:​

Narration from Ubayy ibn Kaʿb رضي الله عنه in Ibn Mājah:
«كان يخر على ركبتيه ولا يتكى»
"He would descend on his knees and not lean."


However, this narration contains unknown narrators, so it has also been deemed weak.

✦ Third Evidence:​

Narration from Anas رضي الله عنه in:

• Sunan ad-Dāraquṭnī, al-Bayhaqī, al-Mustadrak, al-Muḥallā, al-Aḥādīth al-Mukhtārah, and al-Iʿtibār

Criticized due to unknown narrator al-ʿAlā ibn Ismāʿīl. Imām Abū Ḥātim declared the ḥadīth munkar (rejected).

✦ Fourth Evidence (Claim of Abrogation):​

Cited by Ibn Khuzaymah and al-Bayhaqī using the narration:


«كُنَّا نَضَعُ الْيَدَيْنِ قَبْلَ الرُّكْبَتَيْنِ فَأُمِرْنَا بِالرُّكْبَتَيْنِ قَبْلَ الْيَدَيْنِ»
"We used to place our hands before our knees, then we were commanded to place the knees first."


However, this narration is very weak, contains unreliable narrators, and has been rejected by:

• Ibn Ḥajar
• Imām Nawawī
• Ibn al-Qayyim
• Shaykh al-Albānī

❖ Are the Knees of a Camel on its Forelegs?​

In the previously mentioned report attributed to ʿUmar رضي الله عنه, it was clearly stated that a camel sits down on its knees — and those knees are located in its forelegs. Therefore, based on this understanding, a person should not place his knees on the ground before his hands during sujood (prostration), since the Prophet ﷺ forbade imitating the camel in this manner.

Reference: al-Ḍaʿīfah 2/331

Although some narrations indicating this meaning have already been cited, Ibn al-Qayyim denied in Zād al-Maʿād that the knees of a camel are in its forelegs, claiming this is unknown even to the scholars of the Arabic language.

Reference: Zād al-Maʿād 1/225

However, this statement is a clear oversight. Apart from the researchers of Zād al-Maʿād, many leading scholars have refuted this claim. Since both sides use the hadith about "not sitting like a camel" to support their views, it is necessary to present a scholarly linguistic analysis regarding the location of a camel’s knees to clarify which opinion aligns with the truth and which is mistaken.

◈ Linguistic Evidence​

Ibn al-Qayyim claimed in Zād al-Maʿād that it is unknown among Arabic linguists that a camel’s knees are in its forelegs. However, the books of Arabic lexicon clearly state otherwise.


In Lisān al-ʿArab, Ibn Manẓūr al-Ifriqī wrote under the root word ر ك ب:


«وركبة البعير في يده، وكل ذي أربع ركبتاه في يديه»
"The knee of a camel is in its foreleg, and the knees of every four-legged animal are in their forelegs."

Reference: Lisān al-ʿArab, 14/236

So, based on this explicit statement from a major linguistic authority, it is incorrect to claim that the linguists were unaware of this.

◈ Classical Hadith Commentaries​

In Mushkil al-Āthār and Sharḥ Maʿānī al-Āthār, Imām Ṭaḥāwī, during his affirmation and authentication of the relevant hadith, wrote:


«لا يبرك على ركبتيه اللتين في رجليه كما يبرك البعير على ركبتيه اللتين في يديه، ولكن يبدأ فيضع أولًا يديه اللتين ليس فيهما ركبتان، ثم يضع ركبتيه، فيكون ما يفعل في ذلك بخلاف ما يفعل البعير»
"He should not descend on his knees — which are in his legs — as the camel descends on its knees — which are in its forelegs. Rather, he should first place his hands (which have no knees), then his knees. This will make his action opposite to that of the camel."

Reference: Zād al-Maʿād, 1/225; Ṣifat Ṣalāt an-Nabī, p. 82

◈ Other Scholars’ Views​

Imām ʿAlī al-Qārī (Ḥanafī) wrote in al-Mirqāt:


Explaining the hadith "Do not descend as a camel does...", he stated:


"This forbids a person from placing his knees before his hands in prostration, like a camel. Though a camel places its hands (forelegs) first, its knees are actually in its forelegs. Thus, a human placing his knees first would be imitating the camel in essence."


He further clarified:


"Though a camel puts down its 'hands' first, those hands contain its knees, whereas human knees are in the legs."

Reference: al-Mirqāt, under explanation of Tuhfat al-Aḥwadhī, 2/136

Similarly, al-Azharī in Tahdhīb al-Lughah (10/216), Ibn Sīda in al-Muḥkam (7/16), and Ibn Ḥazm in al-Muḥallā (4/129) have all affirmed that the knees of a camel are located in its forelegs.

◈ Hadith Literature​

1. Imām Qāsim as-Sarqastī in Gharīb al-Ḥadīth narrated with an authentic chain from Abū Hurayrah رضي الله عنه:

«لا يبرك أحد بروك البعير الشارد»
"Let none of you descend as a wild camel does."


Explaining it, he wrote:


"This refers to prostration in prayer: One should not fall abruptly like a startled camel but descend calmly — first placing the hands, then the knees. This is also supported by another clear and authentic hadith."

Reference: Zād al-Maʿād, 1/225, quoting Gharīb al-Ḥadīth, 2/70 and Ṣifat aṣ-Ṣalāh, p. 82

1. The Farūqī Report (mentioned earlier) also clearly supports the view that a camel’s knees are in its forelegs.
2. A narration in Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī about the migration of the Prophet ﷺ: Suraqah bin Mālik رضي الله عنه said:

«ساحت يدا فرسي في الأرض حتى بلغتا الركبتين»
"My horse’s forelegs sank into the ground until they reached the knees."

Reference: Bukhārī with Fatḥ al-Bārī; Tuhfat al-Aḥwadhī, 2/139

This further confirms that in Arabic usage, the knees of four-legged animals are indeed located in the forelegs.

◈ Ibn al-Qayyim’s Arguments for Preferring Knees First​

In Tahsīn Maʿālim as-Sunan and Zād al-Maʿād, Ibn al-Qayyim gave 10 reasons in favor of placing knees first:

1. The ḥadīth of Abū Hurayrah is mubham (ambiguous)
2. It is muḍṭarib (inconsistent)
3. It is mansūkh (abrogated)
4. It has narrators spoken against
5. The practice of the majority supports Wāʾil’s narration
6. It has some supporting narrations
7. It is reinforced by other Companions
8. It is a descriptive report of the Prophet’s action
9. The Prophet’s other actions affirm it
10. It fits with the prohibition of camel-like sitting

Reference: Zād al-Maʿād, 1/230–231

However, the researchers of Zād al-Maʿād refuted his stance and stated that the narration of Abū Hurayrah is stronger and preferable, detailing their rebuttals in the notes.

Reference: Zād al-Maʿād, 1/223–230

◈ Various Scholarly Positions​

1. Imām Nawawī said: "No definitive preference is apparent to me."
2. Imām ash-Shawkānī called this matter one of deep scholarly debate and intellectual exercise.
3. Scholars like al-Muqbilī, Shah Walīullāh ad-Dihlawī, and Muḥammad Junāgarhī opted for a reconciliation — placing hands and knees close together, but hands just before the knees.
4. Despite all this, most scholars, according to Qāḍī Abū Ṭayyib, including:

• ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb
• Ibrāhīm al-Nakhaʿī
• Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal (in one narration)
• Imām ash-Shāfiʿī
• Isḥāq ibn Rāhawayh
• The Ḥanafīs

and Ibn al-Mundhir all preferred placing knees first — even though the ḥadīths supporting it are weak, and thus this position is less sound.

1. Based on the weakness of those narrations and the authenticity of the ones supporting placing hands first, this has been the view of:

• Imām Mālik
• Imām al-Awzāʿī
• (In one narration) Imām Aḥmad
• The majority of Ahl al-Ḥadīth and scholars of ḥadīth

Imām Mālik even said:
"This posture is better for khushūʿ (humility) in ṣalāh."

◈ Why Hands First is Preferred (Asbāb at-Tarjīḥ)​

1. The ḥadīth supporting hands first is qawlī (Prophetic statement) and ṣaḥīḥ, whereas the ḥadīths for knees first are fiʿlī (actions) and ḍaʿīf. In cases of contradiction, qawl takes precedence over fiʿl — a principle affirmed by Imām al-Ḥāzimī and many others.
   
   Reference: al-Iʿtibār, p. 20]
   [*]The ḥadīth of Abū Hurayrah is strengthened by Ibn ʿUmar’s narration, which also supports placing hands before knees, as cited in Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī, Ibn Khuzaymah, Dāraquṭnī, al-Bayhaqī, al-Iʿtibār, and al-Mustadrak.
   [*]In a conflict between a command to avoid (nahy) and a command to do (amr), the prohibition is given priority — another principle favoring the Abū Hurayrah narration.
   

Reference:

Summary Clarification​

It is clear from the evidence that placing hands on the ground before knees is:

• More authentic
• In line with the prophetic prohibition of imitating a camel
• Better in posture and humility
• Supported by both linguistic and textual evidence

However, some scholars suggested a middle approach: Descend slowly, knees and hands arriving almost simultaneously, but with hands touching slightly before the knees — achieving the best of both views without causing visual oddities or violating authenticity.

Final Note​

Based on the detailed analysis, the more correct and sound position is that the hands should touch the ground before the knees when going into sujood.


May Allah guide us all to the straight path.