Refuting Ibn al-Qayyim’s objection that prostrating on the hands causes the back to be higher than the head during prostration, which resembles the kneeling of a camel.

The Shaykh : We are able to refute Ibn al-Qayyim’s objection. We say: It is not necessary for the prostrator’s back to be higher than his head. This is the point Ibn al-Qayyim denies, and on this basis he rejects the hadith. We are able to reconcile the apparent meaning of the hadith: , and we reject the image that Ibn al-Qayyim is describing, and we reject it along with him. Now, we perform the prostration that we practice.

The questioner : ... .

The Shaykh : Yes; that is, the difference between us and those who prostrate on their knees is that there is no difference between us and them in that our buttocks end up above our heads. Rather, the first thing we place on the ground is our hands, instead of their placing their knees on it.

The questioner : Let us repeat it...

The Shaykh : Yes, indeed [everyone laughs!].

The questioner : ... .

The Shaykh: Yes.

The questioner : ... .

The Shaykh : And I repeat again to Abu Muhammad: what do the others do in their prostration when they touch the ground?

The questioner : The prostration of the others is like this [everyone laughs!].

The Shaykh : So this objection, I think, has become clear to you all. Ibn al-Qayyim’s objection does not apply to the hadith; because he imagines that placing the hands before the knees necessitates prostrating in such a way that his buttocks are above his head. This is not necessary. All that happens is that the prostrator, instead of placing the ground with his knees and having a tremor beneath him due to his prostration that resembles the tremor of a camel—especially if it is loaded with heavy weights—instead of this phenomenon that is not befitting the calmness and tranquility in prayer, this prostrator places the ground with his hands. Thus, that tremor and that impact on the ground are averted.
So we do not differ with Ibn al-Qayyim and everyone who opposes this authentic hadith, the hadith of Abu Hurayrah: ; we do not differ with him; because it is not permissible to prostrate in such a way that his head is in the ground and what else? No blame, his buttocks are above it. We agree with him that this is not prescribed; because from another aspect, it involves imitating the camel. But we say to him: What do you say about this posture that you have seen? His buttocks did not rise above his head, and this is what Ibn al-Qayyim denies. Rather, he placed the ground with his hands. This is the explicit meaning of the hadith: ; because the camel places the ground with its knees, and it cannot do otherwise; as for the human being—he is, as the Exalted said, created in the best form; so he is able to move more than the animal. He is able to kneel on his knees, and he is able to kneel on his hands. So the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) forbade the one praying to resemble the camel by placing the ground on his knees or by kneeling on his knees. This is the answer to the difficulty or objection of Ibn al-Qayyim against those who held to the hadith of Abu Hurayrah: .
Then he says: "This is what he (peace and blessings be upon him) forbade."
We say: No, if the hadith were only: and nothing else; then it might be said that the demonstrative pronoun and the restriction "this is what the Messenger (peace be upon him) forbade." We say: No, he clarified what he forbade, and he said: ; so what is forbidden? Placing the knees before the hands; because what is commanded is the opposite: placing the hands before the knees.
So his statement "this is what is forbidden" is a refutation of the second part of the hadith, which is: , but Ibn al-Qayyim’s excuse in reality is that he says there is a mistake in the hadith. It will come in the fullness of his speech that he says: The narrator intended to say: but he made a mistake, and said: . This is Ibn al-Qayyim’s viewpoint when he says: "This is what the Messenger (peace be upon him) forbade"; and that is that one prostrates with his head lower than his waist. We say the hadith is clear where it said: .
Then he says: "And the first thing to fall from him (meaning the Messenger, peace be upon him) to the ground was the closest, then the closest, and it was." Here, this exact wording is not correct; rather, it is a summary of the hadith of Wail ibn Hujr which he mentioned earlier through Shurayk, and you have known its weakness. Then he added to that and said: "And the first thing to rise from the ground was the highest, then the highest." This means he is refuting another authentic hadith; which is that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) used to, when he rose from an odd number of his prayer, rise relying on his hands.
He illustrated the remaining rising in the correct way and the rising in the incorrect way.

The questioner : ... relying on his hands, so it is like this, so he rises relying on his hands, so it means... the hands, the prayer of the others... like this... the last thing to be lifted from the ground are the hands, and as for the others... they do it like this.

The Shaykh : This is based on the hadith of Wail ibn Hujr; this second image is based on the weak hadith of Wail ibn Hujr in which Shurayk was the sole narrator.