Discussion on moving the finger in the tashahhud, and on the manner of descending to prostration, and what is the meaning of the camel kneeling?

The Shaykh : Yes, may Allah bless you. I said no, because since midday I have been reminded of what our brother Ali mentioned regarding that man who attributed the Prophet’s (peace and blessings be upon him) moving of his finger to that very ugly cause. This actually reminded me of an attribution that I say yields a result from one aspect, which is mentioned in some books of jurisprudence and by some scholars whom we respect, follow in their footsteps, and walk in their path. It is their attribution regarding the sitting of rest (istirahah) mentioned in the authentic hadith. That reminded me of this attribution. What is your opinion of this attribution? Does it have any basis in reasoning?

The questioner : Do you mean me, or this brother?

The Shaykh : Both of you; we make no distinction between you.

The questioner : The attribution of this legislation—the legislation cannot be interpreted such that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said... So if that were the case, it would not be obligatory for the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) to delay the explanation until the time of need...

The Shaykh : Well done. They attributed it to his age and oldness. So I say, in addition to what my brother Abu 'Abdullah added, the witness sees what the absent one does not see. The Companions of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) are those who transmitted to us how the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) prayed, from its beginning to its end, from its A to its Z. These are the ones who transmitted to us this sitting of rest. And it is true, and it is an authentic hadith and the other hadith . So these Companions who witnessed the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) and described his prayer to us, especially the hadith of Abu Humaid, who stood up with a group of his Companions, about ten of them: "Shall I show you the prayer of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him)?" They said: "You are the most knowledgeable of us about his prayer." He said: "Yes." They said: "Then show it." And among what he showed was the sitting of rest. And when he finished showing it, they said: "You have spoken the truth; this was the prayer of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him)." So how astonishing it is that this was hidden from this group of Companions who intended to present to those after them the description of the Prophet’s (peace and blessings be upon him) prayer, and among what they presented was this sitting of rest, yet the later scholars say that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) only did that because of his age. Glory be to Allah. First, does not what the professor mentioned here refute that? If he did that... Second, these Companions who were eager to transmit the worship of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him)—far be it from them that they would transmit in his worship what was a cause due to his illness. Therefore, I see that the destruction of the Sunnah in general is due to the neglect of many jurists of this Sunnah with that attribution. Here, I do not know what you call it, "al-baykh." Do you understand the word "al-baykh"? This is what I wanted to draw your attention to, even though you verify his saying (peace and blessings be upon him): Please proceed.

Another questioner : Peace be upon you.

The Shaykh : And upon you be peace and the mercy of Allah.

Another questioner : But I find a difference between the two attributions, between the attribution of the later scholars.

The Shaykh : I agree with you. There is a difference between the two attributions, but the result is the same. The result is the same.

Another questioner : But in this, we may perceive a kind of, as we said today, mockery or something. As for those, it is an attempt to find the cause, and they got it wrong.

The Shaykh : That is the difference, but the result is the same. This one attributed a Sunnah with the simplest possible attribution, and this one invalidated another Sunnah, but as a jurist. So the difference exists, but the result is the same. And this result is apparent in the Muslim world today. You find this Sunnah has been killed, even among the people of the Sunnah. Perhaps you remember that among those who mentioned this "al-baykh" attribution is Imam Ibn al-Qayyim al-Jawziyyah in his book "Zad al-Ma'ad." And perhaps this, and one thing reminds one of another, is the manner of descending to prostration. Most people, even in the Kingdom, kneel like camels. This is among the wonders and curiosities that the Saudis and the people of Hijaz, who are people of the desert as they say in some dialects, and who see how the camel kneels on its knees, due to such "al-baykh" attributions, have turned away from the correct action and the correct command. As for the action, it is as in al-Hakim's al-Mustadrak, and al-Bukhari commented on it in his Sahih, that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) used to place his hands before his knees when he prostrated. And Nafi', the mawla of Ibn 'Umar, narrated that and said: "The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) used to do that." This is his action. Then came his saying (peace be upon him) supporting his action: Then Ibn al-Qayyim (may Allah have mercy on him) brought the astonishing in this research, about two pages, with attributions that if anyone else had said them, it would have been much. He claimed that this hadith is inverted, and that the narrator intended to say: "So he does not place, let him place his knees before his hands," but he said: "So let him place his hands before his knees." This is an astonishing claim. He supported his claim with a narration he attributed to Ibn Abi Shaybah in al-Musannaf, and it is from the route of 'Abdullah ibn Abi Sa'id al-Maqburi, and he is one who is abandoned and accused of lying. He opposed this narration with the narration of Abu Dawud in the strong chain with the first wording And he said this has no basis in the language. This is also among the wonders, for all books of language agree, as in al-Qamus and others, that the camel's knees are in its front. He said: "And so it is for all four-legged animals." Then it came in Sahih al-Bukhari in the story of Suraqah ibn Malik pursuing the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) when he left Mecca for Madinah on his horse. When he approached the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and Abu Bakr, the front of the horse sank to its knees. This camel standing confirms the linguistic meaning that the knees of four-legged animals are in their fronts. So here the hadith is consistent with the language because when the camel kneels, the first thing it places from its body are its two knees. And so we observe and see this with our own eyes, especially in our Syrian lands, because the floors of the mosques there are cold, so they cover them with wood. The hadith is completely consistent with the language, and then with reality, because when the camel descends to kneel, the ground shakes, especially if it is loaded with heavy things. We in Syria have camels coming from the Ghouta, as we mentioned on a previous occasion, loaded with walnut wood, apricots, and the like. So when they kneel, we are close to the kneeling and feel that the ground shook under us. When the mosques were covered with mats and wood, you would hear the worshippers shaking as they kneel on their knees. But here you hear a sound, but not that shaking. Unlike those who apply the verbal and practical Sunnah and meet the ground with their palms; you do not hear any shaking from them at all. And this is what befits the prayer, which is built on humility and calmness and stillness, as he (peace and blessings be upon him) said in Sahih Muslim: The prayer is built on this! How great is the difference between one who prostrates on his knees and one who prostrates on his palms. Then I observe something, and you are people of language, I hope you will support me or correct me. I noticed in many authentic hadith narrations that when they mention the prayer of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and his prostration, they say "then he descended in prostration." So the word "descending" (hawa) cannot be applied to the method of bowing on the knee, because "descending" you know its meaning: the thing descends like the piercing star with speed and force. So if you look at a person who prostrates on his knees, you find him slow. But the one who prostrates on his palms descends rapidly. And another thing, and finally, in some hadiths in the chain of Abu Dawud and others, that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) used to, when he descended in prostration, lean to the side. This leaning is of the nature of this descending on the palms, and not of the nature of prostrating on the knees. That is, the one who prostrates finds his thighs close to his armpits, while the one who prostrates on the palms does this. This is what I have from this occasion I mentioned earlier. Please proceed, what do you have?