Which should be placed first, the knees or the hands, when going into prostration?
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The questioner : Which should be placed first, the knees or the hands, when going into prostration? Placing the hands on the knees and sitting in this state, or the hands before the knees? I hope you will benefit me with this question?
The Shaykh : First, regarding the questioner's expression "which is obligatory," we inform him that it is not obligatory to prostrate on the knees first or on the hands first. Rather, the disagreement is about which is better: to prostrate on the knees first and then the hands, or on the hands first and then the knees? This is a point of dispute among the scholars.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : The correct view is that one begins first with the knees, then with the hands. This is because the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said:Sunan Abi Dawud 840Sahih (Al-Albani) Accordingly, if a person prostrates and puts his hands forward, he becomes similar to the camel. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) did not say: "Do not kneel in the manner in which the camel kneels." If he had said: "Do not kneel in the manner in which the camel kneels," we would have said: Begin with the hands, because if you began with the knees, you would be kneeling on the knees just as the camel kneels. There is a difference between the two expressions: between saying "Do not kneel in the manner in which [the camel] kneels" and saying "Do not kneel on what the camel kneels on." His saying: Sunan Abi Dawud 840Sahih (Al-Albani) is a prohibition of the manner and form in which the camel kneels, regardless of the limb on which it kneels. As for "Do not kneel on what the camel kneels on," this is a prohibition of kneeling with the limb that makes one similar to the camel.
Therefore, the argument of some people who advocate prostrating on the hands first—that the camel's knees are in its hands—does not hold against us. We say: Yes, the camel's knees are in its hands, but the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) did not prohibit kneeling on what the camel kneels on, such that we would say: Do not kneel on your knees. Rather, he prohibited kneeling in the manner in which the camel kneels, meaning the manner and form.
And by this, we know that the end of the hadith containing the prohibition of kneeling in the manner in which the camel kneels, which is his saying:Sunan Abi Dawud 840Sahih (Al-Albani), contains a reversal by the narrator. The correct version is: "And let him place his knees before his hands," because this last phrase is what fits the beginning of the hadith. As for the first phrase: "And let him place his hands before his knees," it contradicts the hadith. And Allah knows best.
The questioner : May Allah bless you...
The Shaykh : And the summary is as follows.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : That the one who prostrates, when he prostrates, begins with his knees, then his palms, then his forehead and nose. And if a person is heavy or unable, or something similar, and he wants to begin with his hands before his knees, there is no blame on him for this. Yes.
The questioner : Very well.
The Shaykh : First, regarding the questioner's expression "which is obligatory," we inform him that it is not obligatory to prostrate on the knees first or on the hands first. Rather, the disagreement is about which is better: to prostrate on the knees first and then the hands, or on the hands first and then the knees? This is a point of dispute among the scholars.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : The correct view is that one begins first with the knees, then with the hands. This is because the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said:
when one of you prostrates himself he must not kneel in the manner of camel
إذا سجد أحدكم فلا يبرك كما يبرك البعيرhe must not kneel in the manner of
فلا يبرك كما يبركTherefore, the argument of some people who advocate prostrating on the hands first—that the camel's knees are in its hands—does not hold against us. We say: Yes, the camel's knees are in its hands, but the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) did not prohibit kneeling on what the camel kneels on, such that we would say: Do not kneel on your knees. Rather, he prohibited kneeling in the manner in which the camel kneels, meaning the manner and form.
And by this, we know that the end of the hadith containing the prohibition of kneeling in the manner in which the camel kneels, which is his saying:
but should put down his hands before his knees
وليضع يديه قبل ركبتيهThe questioner : May Allah bless you...
The Shaykh : And the summary is as follows.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : That the one who prostrates, when he prostrates, begins with his knees, then his palms, then his forehead and nose. And if a person is heavy or unable, or something similar, and he wants to begin with his hands before his knees, there is no blame on him for this. Yes.
The questioner : Very well.