Sunnah Method of Going into Sujood: Knees First or Hands First?

Hands First or Knees First in Sujood? Sunnah Method and Scholarly Opinions


Source: Fatāwā Arkān-e-Islām

The Question​

When going into sujood during prayer, which part of the body should touch the ground first — the knees or the hands?

Preferred Practice According to the Author​

• The Sunnah is to place the knees on the ground first, followed by the hands.
• This is based on the hadith where the Prophet ﷺ forbade sitting like a camel:

«اِذَا سَجَدَ اَحَدُكُمْ فَلَا يَبْرُكْ كَمَا يَبْرُكُ الْبَعِيْرُ، وَلْيَضَعْ يَدَيْهِ قَبْلَ رُكْبَتَيْهِ»
(Abu Dawood 840, Nasa’i 1092, Ahmad 2/381)

Clarification of the Prohibition​

• The prohibition is against imitating the camel’s manner of sitting, not necessarily against placing certain limbs first.
• The wording “كَما يَبْرُكُ البَعير” indicates resemblance in method, not in the limb itself.

Imam Ibn al-Qayyim’s Explanation​

• In Zād al-Maʿād, he argued that the final words of the hadith were altered by a narrator.
• According to him, the correct version should be:

«وَلْيَضَعْ رُكْبَتَيْهِ قَبْلَ يَدَيْهِ»
("Place the knees before the hands")

• Reason: If one places the hands first, it resembles the camel, as camels lower their front legs (analogous to hands) first.

Observation of Camel Movement​

• Anyone who has seen a camel sit knows that it lowers its front legs before the back ones.
• To avoid this similarity, knees should precede hands in sujood.

Alternative View – The Majority of Scholars​

• Most scholars maintain that the hadith wording is authentic as is and not altered.
• According to them, the stronger view is to place hands first before knees when going into sujood.

Conclusion​

• The author and Imam Ibn al-Qayyim prefer knees first, then hands.
• The majority prefer hands first, then knees.
• Both positions have scholarly support; thus, the matter is one of ijtihād.

ھذا ما عندي والله أعلم بالصواب