What is the correct wording of this hadith and what is its meaning: (When one of you prostrates, let him place his hands before his knees, and let him not kneel down like a camel)?

The questioner : What is the correct wording of this hadith and what is its meaning: ?

The Shaykh : The meaning of this hadith is that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) forbade a person from kneeling down in his prostration in the manner of a camel, because Allah the Exalted has preferred the children of Adam over animals, especially in worship, which is among the greatest of acts of worship, namely prayer. Thus, a person imitating animals in this regard contradicts the purpose of prayer and contradicts the reality of the children of Adam, who are preferred over beasts and animals.
For this reason, Allah the Exalted did not mention the likeness of man to an animal except in the context of condemnation, as He the Exalted said: and as in His saying: and as in the saying of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him): and as in his saying (peace and blessings be upon him): .
Therefore, imitating an animal in the performance of worship makes the prohibition against it more severe and greater. When a camel kneels down, as we observe, it begins with its hands; the first thing it does is bend its hands and lower them, then it completes its kneeling. So the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) forbade the one prostrating from kneeling down as a camel kneels down, and that is by placing his hands before his knees. If he places his hands before his knees during prostration, he has knelt down as a camel kneels down. Accordingly, the correct procedure is to begin with the knees before the hands, as it was reported from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) in his practice that he would prostrate on his knees and then his hands. Also, this is in accordance with the descent of the body, as the lower parts descend first, just as the upper parts rise first. For this reason, when rising from prostration, one begins with the forehead and nose, then the hands, then the knees. So in descending as well, one begins with the lower parts, the knees, then the hands, then the forehead and nose.
As for his saying in the hadith: this is a case where the wording was reversed by the narrator, as Ibn al-Qayyim established in *Zad al-Ma'ad*, and as is apparent from the wording itself, because if it were assumed that there was no reversal in the hadith, its end would contradict its beginning. Because if he began with his hands before his knees, he has knelt down as a camel kneels down, and the prohibition against kneeling down as a camel kneels down takes precedence over the example, because the prohibition is clear and decisive, while the example is subject to the possibility of error by the narrator.
At that point, we say that the correct wording of the hadith is: so that the example corresponds to the rule, which is the prohibition against kneeling down as a camel kneels down.
If someone were to say: The camel kneels on its knees because its knees are in its hands, so if a person places his knees before his hands, he has knelt on what the camel kneels on. We say: Yes, the camel's knees are in its hands, and there is no doubt in that. But the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) did not say: "So do not kneel on what the camel kneels on," so that we would say: If you begin with the knees when prostrating, you have knelt on what the camel kneels on, which is the knees. Rather, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: So the prohibition is against the manner and the description, not against the limb on which one prostrates. And with this, it becomes clearly evident that the hadith of Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) regarding the prohibition of kneeling down like a camel's kneeling is in agreement with the hadith of Wa'il ibn Hujr, reported from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), that he would begin with his knees before his hands. And Allah knows best.