Source: Fatāwā Muḥammadīyah, Vol. 1, p. 345
When going into sujūd, should one place the hands first on the ground, or the knees first?
Al-ḥamdu lillāh, waṣ-ṣalātu wa-s-salāmu ʿalā Rasūlillāh, ammā baʿd:
This is a matter of difference among the scholars.
Adopted by: ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb (رضي الله عنه), Ibrāhīm al-Nakhaʿī, Muslim ibn Yasār, Sufyān al-Thawrī, Imām al-Shāfiʿī, Imām Aḥmad, Imām Isḥāq, Imām Abū Ḥanīfah and his companions, Imām Ibn al-Mundhir, Imām Ibn al-Qayyim, and the majority of scholars.
Evidence:
From Wāʾil ibn Ḥujr (رضي الله عنه):
«رَأَيْتُ النَّبِيَّ صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ إِذَا سَجَدَ وَضَعَ رُكْبَتَيْهِ قَبْلَ يَدَيْهِ»
“I saw the Prophet ﷺ. When he prostrated, he placed his knees before his hands.”
(Narrated by the five except Aḥmad; Nayl al-Awṭār 2/282; Tuḥfat al-Aḥwadhī 1/228)
Scholarly Discussion:
Summary: The narration of Wāʾil ibn Ḥujr (رضي الله عنه) is weak despite multiple follow-ups.
Adopted by: Imām al-Awzāʿī, Imām Mālik, Imām Ibn Ḥazm, many ḥadīth scholars, and a number of jurists.
Evidence:
From Abū Hurayrah (رضي الله عنه), the Prophet ﷺ said:
«إِذَا سَجَدَ أَحَدُكُمْ فَلا يَبْرُكْ كَمَا يَبْرُكُ الْبَعِيرُ وَلْيَضَعْ يَدَيْهِ قَبْلَ رُكْبَتَيْهِ»
“When one of you prostrates, let him not descend like a camel does, but let him place his hands before his knees.”
(ʿAwn al-Maʿbūd 1/311; reported by three)
Strength of this ḥadīth:
“He used to place his hands before his knees in sujūd and would say: The Messenger of Allah ﷺ used to do the same.”
(Ṣaḥīḥ Ibn Khuzaymah 1/318)
Scholarly Clarifications:
✿ Both methods are permissible (placing knees first or hands first).
✿ However, according to the stronger research and preferences of the ḥadīth masters, placing the hands before the knees is more authentic and sound.
هٰذا ما عندي، والله أعلم بالصواب
Question:
When going into sujūd, should one place the hands first on the ground, or the knees first?
Answer:
Al-ḥamdu lillāh, waṣ-ṣalātu wa-s-salāmu ʿalā Rasūlillāh, ammā baʿd:
This is a matter of difference among the scholars.
View ① — Knees Before Hands
Adopted by: ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb (رضي الله عنه), Ibrāhīm al-Nakhaʿī, Muslim ibn Yasār, Sufyān al-Thawrī, Imām al-Shāfiʿī, Imām Aḥmad, Imām Isḥāq, Imām Abū Ḥanīfah and his companions, Imām Ibn al-Mundhir, Imām Ibn al-Qayyim, and the majority of scholars.
Evidence:
From Wāʾil ibn Ḥujr (رضي الله عنه):
«رَأَيْتُ النَّبِيَّ صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ إِذَا سَجَدَ وَضَعَ رُكْبَتَيْهِ قَبْلَ يَدَيْهِ»
“I saw the Prophet ﷺ. When he prostrated, he placed his knees before his hands.”
(Narrated by the five except Aḥmad; Nayl al-Awṭār 2/282; Tuḥfat al-Aḥwadhī 1/228)
Scholarly Discussion:
- Imām al-Khaṭṭābī and others gave preference to this narration over that of Abū Hurayrah (رضي الله عنه).
- However, ḥadīth critics declared it weak.
- Ḥāfiẓ Ibn Ḥajar: This report has issues because Shurayk alone narrates it, and the scholars have spoken against him. (Talkhīṣ al-Ḥabīr 1/254)
- Al-Dāraquṭnī, al-Ḥākim, and al-Bayhaqī also recorded it with other chains, but all are weak.
- Shaykh al-Albānī even graded it mawḍūʿ (fabricated), though the stronger view is that it is weak, not fabricated.
Summary: The narration of Wāʾil ibn Ḥujr (رضي الله عنه) is weak despite multiple follow-ups.
View ② — Hands Before Knees
Adopted by: Imām al-Awzāʿī, Imām Mālik, Imām Ibn Ḥazm, many ḥadīth scholars, and a number of jurists.
Evidence:
From Abū Hurayrah (رضي الله عنه), the Prophet ﷺ said:
«إِذَا سَجَدَ أَحَدُكُمْ فَلا يَبْرُكْ كَمَا يَبْرُكُ الْبَعِيرُ وَلْيَضَعْ يَدَيْهِ قَبْلَ رُكْبَتَيْهِ»
“When one of you prostrates, let him not descend like a camel does, but let him place his hands before his knees.”
(ʿAwn al-Maʿbūd 1/311; reported by three)
Strength of this ḥadīth:
- Stronger than the narration of Wāʾil ibn Ḥujr (رضي الله عنه).
- Supported by the practice of ʿAbdullāh ibn ʿUmar (رضي الله عنهما):
“He used to place his hands before his knees in sujūd and would say: The Messenger of Allah ﷺ used to do the same.”
(Ṣaḥīḥ Ibn Khuzaymah 1/318)
Scholarly Clarifications:
- Dr. Muḥammad Muṣṭafā al-Aʿẓamī: Chain is ṣaḥīḥ; al-Ḥākim authenticated it, al-Dhahabī agreed, and Ibn Ḥajar gave it preference over the report of Wāʾil.
- Ḥāfiẓ Ibn Sayyid al-Nās: The report of Abū Hurayrah (رضي الله عنه) is ḥasan, with no criticism on its narrators. (Nayl al-Awṭār 2/284)
- Imām al-Turkumānī: Abū Hurayrah’s report is qawlī (a command), while Wāʾil’s is fiʿlī (an action). In principle, a verbal command takes precedence over an action. (Tuḥfat al-Aḥwudhī 1/229)
- Qāḍī Abū Bakr ibn al-ʿArabī: The people of Madīnah also prayed in this manner, placing their hands first. (Nayl al-Awṭār 2/284)
Conclusion
✿ Both methods are permissible (placing knees first or hands first).
✿ However, according to the stronger research and preferences of the ḥadīth masters, placing the hands before the knees is more authentic and sound.
هٰذا ما عندي، والله أعلم بالصواب
