Please clarify your opinion on the research of Shaykh Ibn al-Qayyim (may Allah have mercy on him) regarding the issue of lowering oneself to prostration on the knees in *Zad al-Ma'ad*?

The Shaykh : We ask that you clarify your opinion on the research of Shaykh Ibn al-Qayyim al-Jawziyyah regarding the issue of lowering oneself to prostration, where he stated in *Zad al-Ma'ad* that the correct view is placing the knees on the ground before the hands. We ask for a discussion. Peace be upon you.
Were it not for the fact that this question has actually been repeated dozens of times, and were it not for the frequent trial of contradicting the correct Sunnah, we would not have devoted ourselves to answering the questioner's request, which is to discuss the evidence of Ibn al-Qayyim.
Ibn al-Qayyim wrote approximately four pages on this issue and spoke at great length, but unfortunately, in this issue, he was far from establishing the truth. I found an excuse for him in this, as he mentioned in the introduction of the book—and this is what he actually said—which alone is sufficient to indicate that this man is a scholar. However, if he erred in some issues, and he wrote the book while traveling, there is no surprise that he fell into such illusions, which we will point out if Allah wills.
He says at the beginning of this issue: "The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) used to place his knees before his hands, then his hands after them, then his forehead and nose. He said: 'This is the correct view, narrated by Shurayk from 'Asim ibn Kulayb from his father from Wa'il ibn Hujr: I saw the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) when he prostrated, he placed his knees before his hands, and when he rose, he raised his hands before his knees, and nothing was narrated regarding his action that contradicts this'."
Here, in these few words, we observe two very strange matters. The first is that he says, "This is the correct view, narrated by Shurayk with the chain he mentioned." This Shurayk is Shurayk ibn 'Abd Allah al-Qadi, who is known among the scholars of al-jarh wa al-ta'dil (the critique and vindication of narrators) as weak due to his poor memory. Of course, time does not allow us to read to you the words of the Imams regarding the criticism of this narrator, Shurayk, but we will suffice with two citations. The first citation is that among those who extracted this hadith is the Hafidh Imam al-Daraqutni in his *Sunan*. When he finished narrating its chain and text, he said: "And Shurayk is not strong". So the extractor, or one of the extractors, of the hadith weakens this hadith and attributes the defect to the fact that this Shurayk is not strong in hadith. Then another citation we quote directly from a book by one of the authors who has no doubt in the science of hadith, let alone others, as he has a standing of truth in this science, namely the science of al-jarh wa al-ta'dil, and I mean by that the Hafidh Ahmad ibn Hajar al-'Asqalani. So listen to his statement about him: he says: "He is truthful but makes many mistakes. His memory deteriorated after he assumed the judgeship in Kufa. He was just, virtuous, a worshipper, and severe against the people of innovation". This is the biography of the Hafidh Ibn Hajar of Shurayk ibn 'Abd Allah al-Qadi, the narrator of this hadith. He gives him what he deserves of praise in terms of worship, righteousness, and the like, and the most important thing regarding the science of hadith is truthfulness, meaning he does not lie, but he was overcome by his condition and made many mistakes, and his memory deteriorated, meaning it worsened when he assumed the judgeship in Kufa. This is a natural and known matter: every scholar who focused on one area became strong in it, and conversely, became weak in the other areas he turned away from.
So we are surprised by the statement of Ibn al-Qayyim al-Jawziyyah that "this is the correct view, narrated by Shurayk," because Shurayk does not narrate authentic hadiths because his memory is weak. Therefore, the Hafidh al-Dhahabi himself mentioned in the conclusion of the biography of this Shurayk in his book *Mizan al-I'tidal fi Naqd al-Rijal* "Mizan al-I'tidal in the Critique of Men": "And Muslim extracted a supporting chain for him," meaning that Muslim did not rely on Shurayk due to his poor memory, but rather narrated from him only with a supporting chain or a parallel narration from someone else. The word "supporting chain" alone is sufficient for one engaged in this science to know that the narrator is not relied upon in his hadith until someone supports him or parallels him in narrating the same hadith. And the reality here is that Shurayk is unique in narrating this hadith. This is the first point taken against Imam Ibn al-Qayyim in the previous statement.
The second and final point is his statement: "And nothing was narrated regarding his action that contradicts this". This is a slip of the pen due to the man's preoccupation with the issue of travel, writing during travel. Why? Because there are two hadiths, I think he himself mentioned one, which is the hadith of Ibn 'Umar that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) used to place his hands before his knees. He himself cited this hadith, and the discussion will come in its place if Allah wills. So it is surprising that he said that nothing was narrated, or "nothing was narrated regarding his action that contradicts this". Then Ibn al-Qayyim says, answering a question that arises in the mind of the student of his book: "As for the hadith of Abu Hurayrah, he raised it to the Prophet (peace be upon him) . He answers this hadith, which explicitly contradicts the hadith of Wa'il that Ibn al-Qayyim claimed was the correct one. It is opposed by the hadith of Abu Hurayrah raised to the Prophet (peace be upon him), and from his words , meaning he does not place his knees before his hands, because he says, peace be upon him, in the completion of the hadith: . Listen to the answer of Ibn al-Qayyim, for in its beginning you will feel its weakness. He says: "So the hadith, and Allah knows best, has an error from some of the narrators, for its beginning contradicts its end. For if he places his hands before his knees, he has prostrated as a camel prostrates, for the camel only places its hands first". This is a doubt held by everyone, and it seems to be a doubt not only inspired by the words of Ibn al-Qayyim, but a doubt that prevails among most people who do not observe the camel when it lowers itself, always and forever. So let us discuss Ibn al-Qayyim in this claim. He says: "That the camel, when it prostrates, when it lowers itself, only places its hands before its knees". I hope he means it places its knees.

The questioner : He says its hands.

The Shaykh : He says its hands. Yes, he said: "For its beginning contradicts its end. For if he places his hands before his knees—meaning the one praying—he has prostrated as a camel prostrates, for the camel only places its hands first". He says the camel places its hands first. We remember the observed truth, always and forever, that the camel, like all four-legged animals, walks on four legs. So it is not conceivable to compare it to a human, or it is compared to a human. The human walks on two legs, whereas the camel walks on four. Therefore, his statement that the camel, when it lowers itself, first places its hands, contains a leap or an oversight, because we say: is the camel, when it walks, not placing its legs? Of course not. No one says it is not placing its legs; it is placing its legs.
Now, does it walk without placing its hands? The answer is the same: it walks with its hands and legs placed, so it walks on four.
So, in order to be alert to this error, and this strange and wondrous thing, we must prepare to answer a very simple question, and yet most people are heedless of the correct answer to it. When a camel kneels down, what is the first part of its body that touches the ground? It is not correct to say its hands, because its hands are already placed on the ground like its legs. So, what is the first thing the camel touches the ground with when it prostrates, when it kneels? The knees. It is not correct to say the hands, as Ibn al-Qayyim said that the first thing a camel does when it kneels is to place its hands. This is a mistake, because he is the one who placed them. From the day it falls from its mother’s belly, it falls on four legs; it does not lean to the right or the left, and then it walks like this, so it walks on four legs. How can it be said that the first thing it does when it kneels is to place its hands, when they are already placed? So, the correct answer is: when the camel kneels, the first thing it places is not its knees, because here we are discussing a point from the author himself, and we will discuss it with him. Rather, we say that the first thing it places on the ground when it kneels is the joint in the front of its legs. The joint in the front of its legs. What is the name of this joint? The scholars of language, hadith, and the Prophet’s biography are all in agreement that these two joints in the front of the camel are the knees. But the author does not accept this, so listen to his exact words from his previous statement. He said: “And when the proponents of this view – meaning those who say regarding the second hadith that there is an error in it, which is the hadith of Abu Hurayrah

but should put down his hands before his knees

وليضع يديه قبل ركبتيه

Sunan Abi Dawud 840Sahih (Al-Albani)

What does Ibn al-Qayyim (may Allah have mercy on him) say? ” “And when the proponents of this view knew that, they said: The knees of the camel are in its hands, not in its legs. So when it kneels, it places its knees first. This is what is prohibited.” Indeed, Ibn al-Qayyim is narrating the opinion of the scholars of hadith, scholars of language, and others whom we mentioned who say that the knees of the camel are in its hands.