Explanation of how the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) prayed, from the bowing to the prostration.
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The Shaykh : Then he raises his hands as he raised them at the takbir of ihram. How is that? To where? To what?
The student: ... .
The Shaykh : To the level of his shoulders, or the lobes of his ears, or the roots of his ears. That is complete. Rest.
And he says takbir as he descends. He does not say takbir before he descends, or after he reaches the bowing position. No, it is in between.
Then he places his hands on his knees, spreading his fingers, like this, spread on the knees. He separates his upper arms from his sides, and he makes his back level, and he makes his head in line with his back, meaning: level with it.
Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) said:Sunan Ibn Majah 869Sahih (Darussalam), and he says: Glory be to my Lord, the Most Great. Because the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: . So he says: Glory be to my Lord, the Most Great. He repeats it three times, five times, seven times, nine times, as he wishes. Except for the imam. Some scholars said: he does not exceed ten, because if he exceeds it, it becomes difficult for those behind him. And he says with it: Glory be to You, O Allah, our Lord, and to You is praise. O Allah, forgive me. Because when the words of Allah the Exalted were revealed to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family): [An-Nasr 110:1] meaning the conquest of Makkah [An-Nasr 110:2-3], he began to frequently say in his bowing and prostration: Glory be to You, O Allah, our Lord, and to You is praise. O Allah, forgive me.
Then he raises his head saying: Allah hears the one who praises Him.
And here the imam, the one praying behind him, and the one praying alone differ.
The imam says: Allah hears the one who praises Him. And the one praying alone? The one praying alone? He says: Allah hears the one who praises Him. And the one praying behind the imam says: Our Lord, to You is praise. What took the one praying behind the imam away from the saying of the Messenger:Sahih al-Bukhari 6008? And he (peace and blessings be upon him), when he raised his head from the bowing, said: Muwatta Malik 3:17. So who took him away? The one who said: Sahih al-Bukhari 6008. The one who said: Sahih al-Bukhari 6008 said: Sunan Ibn Majah 876Sahih (Darussalam).
And for this reason, the saying of the one who says that the one praying behind the imam says "Allah hears the one who praises Him" and also says "Our Lord, to You is praise" is weak. Indeed, this saying is very weak, because the Messenger (may the prayers and peace of Allah be upon him) distinguished between the imam and the one praying behind him, and he said:Sunan Ibn Majah 876Sahih (Darussalam). Good.
He said: Our Lord, to You is praise. The one praying behind the imam says it while raising his head, and the imam and the one praying alone say it when he is fully standing: Our Lord, to You is praise.
And in "Our Lord, to You is praise" there are four forms. I will recite them to you: Our Lord, to You is praise. Our Lord, for You is praise. O Allah, our Lord, for You is praise. O Allah, our Lord, to You is praise.
Did you count them? You?
The student: ... .
The Shaykh : Our Lord, to You is praise. What? Our Lord, for You is praise. O Allah, our Lord, for You is praise. O Allah, our Lord, to You is praise. Well done.
Does he say these forms at the same time, or once this way and once that way? Once this way and once that way. Good.
Then he says after this:Mishkat al-Masabih 876. And if he wishes, he says: Sahih Ibn Hibban 10:190.
Then after that, he remains silent, and he says takbir when he descends to prostration, meaning: between standing and reaching the ground, when he descends to prostration. And he prostrates on his knees first, then on his palms, then on his forehead and nose. And his feet? His feet are on the ground, he does not need to do anything else, but the feet in prostration are on the tips of the toes. He does not spread the foot or bend it on its back, but rather he prostrates on the tips of the toes, and the toes are directed toward the qiblah, meaning: he gathers them slightly so that the tips of the toes of the feet are directed toward the qiblah.
So he prostrates, starting first with the knees, then the palms, then the forehead and nose.
But if a person is weak, or old in age, or sick, or has pain in his knees, and he likes to prostrate on his hands before his knees, then there is no harm in that due to the need for it. But without need, it is disliked to start with the hands before the knees, because the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) prohibited that, and he said:Sunan Abi Dawud 840Sahih (Al-Albani). So he prohibited us from imitating the prostration of the camel. And it is known that the camel first places its hands, so the person is prohibited from placing his hands before his knees.
And he prostrates on the seven limbs. The seven limbs are: the forehead and nose, the two palms, the two knees, and the tips of the two feet. It is necessary that all these seven limbs be on the ground, due to the saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him):Sunan Ibn Majah 883Sahih (Darussalam) And in another wording: And both are in the Sahih. Bulugh al-Maram 2:183.
And he places his hands opposite his shoulders. And if he wishes, he brings them forward so that the forehead is between them. Both are a recommended practice.
And he makes the fingers of his hands gathered together, directed toward the qiblah. And the knees, he makes them natural, meaning: he does not bring them together or open them too much.
As for the feet, the best is to bring one close to the other. Ibn Khuzaymah narrated this in his Sahih. And this came in the Sahih of Muslim from the hadith of Aisha, indicating that the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him), when he prostrated, would bring one of his feet close to the other.
Good, and he says.
The back remains. How does he make the back? He makes it arched, meaning curved somewhat so that it is high, because the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) used to do that. But some people, or let us leave the deviations. Now we mention the conformities, and the deviations perhaps we will speak about them later.
This is the description of prostration.
So what does he say in his prostration? He says: Glory be to my Lord, the Most High. Glory be to my Lord, the Most High. He repeats it, and he says with it: Glory be to You, O Allah, our Lord, and to You is praise. O Allah, forgive me. As the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) used to frequently do that.
And here we ask: why was the glorification in prostration with the wording "the Most High" and in bowing with the wording "the Most Great"? Yes.
The student: ... .
The Shaykh : What? Yes, indeed[Al-A'la 87:1] When it was revealed, the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) said: But what is the wisdom?
The student: ... .
The Shaykh : Do you hear? Good, may Allah bless you. Good. Listen, my brother.
Bending is a form of honoring, is it not? And therefore, when a man honors an elder in the custom of people who do not know, when they honor an elder, what do they do? They bend to him. So bending is honoring. And if bowing is bending, then it is honoring in reality. So it is fitting to honor Allah with what? With the saying: Glory be to my Lord, the Most Great. So that the saying matches the action.
In prostration, the highest and most noble part of a person is what? His face, is it not? Good. He places his face in the lowest place, in the place of the feet. So he is now in a low position, and at that time he purifies the Most High Lord from that, and he says: Glory be to my Lord, the Most High. Glory be to my Lord, the Most High.
Allah is the Greatest. Meaning, the Shari'ah has a wonderful compatibility, but it requires contemplation.
The Messenger (may the prayers and peace of Allah be upon him) was traveling, and the Messenger (may the prayers and peace of Allah be upon him) and his companions, when they ascended a high place, like a mountain for example, or the upper ground, what did they say? They said takbir. And when they descended, they said tasbih. Why? Because the elevated person boasts and thinks he is high, so he says: Allah is the Greatest. Meaning, greater than you, O soul that exalts itself at elevation, Allah is the Greatest. In descending, descending is a low position, so the person says tasbih, saying: Glory be to Allah. Meaning, from... We believe in a belief that we will meet Allah with at death and at resurrection, and it is: that Allah is in the sky, above everything. He Himself is above everything, Mighty and Majestic. We must believe in this, and whoever does not believe in this has gone astray.
And it has been mentioned before, a few nights ago, the discussion of this great issue, which is one of the mothers of creed, and it is what? The issue of the elevation of Allah, Mighty and Majestic, and His rising above His Throne. This is one of the greatest issues of creed, and going astray in it is not easy, and following what came in the Book and the Sunnah in it is obligatory, and there is no need to repeat the discussion of it, because the discussion now is in explaining the description of prayer. Good.
The one prostrating says: Glory be to my Lord, the Most High. And you have known the wisdom of that. Then he rises from prostration saying: Allah is the Greatest. And he sits between the two prostrations, and he says: My Lord, forgive me. And the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) used to repeat it three times in the night prayer: My Lord, forgive me. My Lord, forgive me. My Lord, forgive me. And he completes: and have mercy on me, and heal me, and provide for me, and restore me. Then he prostrates the second prostration. And its description, the description of the second prostration? Like the first.
Then he prays the second rak'ah, and its description is like the first. Because the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family), when he taught the man who had not perfected his prayer, taught him the prayer from its beginning to the second prostration. He said:Sahih Muslim 397a. But when he prays two rak'ahs.
The student: ... .
The Shaykh : To the level of his shoulders, or the lobes of his ears, or the roots of his ears. That is complete. Rest.
And he says takbir as he descends. He does not say takbir before he descends, or after he reaches the bowing position. No, it is in between.
Then he places his hands on his knees, spreading his fingers, like this, spread on the knees. He separates his upper arms from his sides, and he makes his back level, and he makes his head in line with his back, meaning: level with it.
Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) said:
When the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) bowed, he neither raised his head nor lowered it, rather (he did something) between that.
كان النبي صلى الله عليه وعلى آله وسلم إذا ركع لم يشخص رأسه ولم يصوبه ولكن بين ذلكMake it in your bowing.
اجعلوها في ركوعكمWhen the victory of Allah has come and the conquest,
إذا جاء نصر الله والفتح(2) And you see the people entering into the religion of Allah in multitudes, (3) Then exalt [Him] with praise of your Lord and ask forgiveness of Him. Indeed, He is ever Accepting of repentance.
ورأيت الناس يدخلون في دين الله أفواجا فسبح بحمد ربك واستغفره إنه كان تواباThen he raises his head saying: Allah hears the one who praises Him.
And here the imam, the one praying behind him, and the one praying alone differ.
The imam says: Allah hears the one who praises Him. And the one praying alone? The one praying alone? He says: Allah hears the one who praises Him. And the one praying behind the imam says: Our Lord, to You is praise. What took the one praying behind the imam away from the saying of the Messenger:
offer your prayers in the way you saw me offering my prayers
صلوا كما رأيتموني أصليAllah hears whoever praises him
سمع الله لمن حمدهoffer your prayers in the way you saw me offering my prayers
صلوا كما رايتموني أصليoffer your prayers in the way you saw me offering my prayers
صلوا كما رأيتموني أصليWhen the Imam says: ‘Sami’ Allahu liman hamidah (Allah hears those who praise Him),’ say: ‘Rabbana wa lakal-hamd (O our Lord, to You is the praise).’
إذا قال الامام سمع الله لمن حمده فقولوا ربنا ولك الحمدAnd for this reason, the saying of the one who says that the one praying behind the imam says "Allah hears the one who praises Him" and also says "Our Lord, to You is praise" is weak. Indeed, this saying is very weak, because the Messenger (may the prayers and peace of Allah be upon him) distinguished between the imam and the one praying behind him, and he said:
When the Imam says: ‘Sami’ Allahu liman hamidah (Allah hears those who praise Him),’ say: ‘Rabbana wa lakal-hamd (O our Lord, to You is the praise).’
إذا قال الإمام سمع الله لمن حمده فقولوا ربنا ولك الحمدHe said: Our Lord, to You is praise. The one praying behind the imam says it while raising his head, and the imam and the one praying alone say it when he is fully standing: Our Lord, to You is praise.
And in "Our Lord, to You is praise" there are four forms. I will recite them to you: Our Lord, to You is praise. Our Lord, for You is praise. O Allah, our Lord, for You is praise. O Allah, our Lord, to You is praise.
Did you count them? You?
The student: ... .
The Shaykh : Our Lord, to You is praise. What? Our Lord, for You is praise. O Allah, our Lord, for You is praise. O Allah, our Lord, to You is praise. Well done.
Does he say these forms at the same time, or once this way and once that way? Once this way and once that way. Good.
Then he says after this:
in all the heavens and all the earth, and all that it pleases Thee to create afterwards, O Thou who art worthy of praise and glory, most worthy of what a servant says, and we are all Thy servants, no one can withhold what Thou givest or give what Thou withholdest, and riches cannot avail a wealthy person with Thee
ملء السماوات، وملء الأرض، وملء ما شئت من شيء بعد، أهل الثناء والمجد، أحق ما قال عبد، وكلنا لك عبد، لا مانع لما أعطيت، ولا معطي لما منعت، ولا ينفع ذا الجد منك الجدOur Lord, to You is the praise, much good and blessed praise, filling the heavens and the earth, and filling what is between them, and filling whatever You will after that.
ربنا ولك الحمد حمدا كثيرا طيبا مباركا فيه، ملء السماوات والأرض، وملء ما بينهما، وملء ما شئت من شيء بعدThen after that, he remains silent, and he says takbir when he descends to prostration, meaning: between standing and reaching the ground, when he descends to prostration. And he prostrates on his knees first, then on his palms, then on his forehead and nose. And his feet? His feet are on the ground, he does not need to do anything else, but the feet in prostration are on the tips of the toes. He does not spread the foot or bend it on its back, but rather he prostrates on the tips of the toes, and the toes are directed toward the qiblah, meaning: he gathers them slightly so that the tips of the toes of the feet are directed toward the qiblah.
So he prostrates, starting first with the knees, then the palms, then the forehead and nose.
But if a person is weak, or old in age, or sick, or has pain in his knees, and he likes to prostrate on his hands before his knees, then there is no harm in that due to the need for it. But without need, it is disliked to start with the hands before the knees, because the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) prohibited that, and he said:
when one of you prostrates himself he must not kneel in the manner of camel
إذا سجد أحدكم فلا يبرك كما يبرك البعيرAnd he prostrates on the seven limbs. The seven limbs are: the forehead and nose, the two palms, the two knees, and the tips of the two feet. It is necessary that all these seven limbs be on the ground, due to the saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him):
I have been commanded to prostrate on seven bones.
أمرت أن أسجد على سبعة أعظمWe were commanded to prostrate.
أمرنا أن نسجدI have been commanded to prostrate on seven bones; on the forehead - and he pointed at his nose, the hands (the palms), the knees and the tips (toes) of the feet.
أمرنا أن نسجد على سبعة أعظم على الجبهة وأشار بيده إلى أنفه والكفين والركبتين وأطراف القدمينAnd he places his hands opposite his shoulders. And if he wishes, he brings them forward so that the forehead is between them. Both are a recommended practice.
And he makes the fingers of his hands gathered together, directed toward the qiblah. And the knees, he makes them natural, meaning: he does not bring them together or open them too much.
As for the feet, the best is to bring one close to the other. Ibn Khuzaymah narrated this in his Sahih. And this came in the Sahih of Muslim from the hadith of Aisha, indicating that the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him), when he prostrated, would bring one of his feet close to the other.
Good, and he says.
The back remains. How does he make the back? He makes it arched, meaning curved somewhat so that it is high, because the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) used to do that. But some people, or let us leave the deviations. Now we mention the conformities, and the deviations perhaps we will speak about them later.
This is the description of prostration.
So what does he say in his prostration? He says: Glory be to my Lord, the Most High. Glory be to my Lord, the Most High. He repeats it, and he says with it: Glory be to You, O Allah, our Lord, and to You is praise. O Allah, forgive me. As the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) used to frequently do that.
And here we ask: why was the glorification in prostration with the wording "the Most High" and in bowing with the wording "the Most Great"? Yes.
The student: ... .
The Shaykh : What? Yes, indeed
Exalt the name of your Lord, the Most High,
سبح اسم ربك الأعلىMake it in your prostrations
اجعلوها في سجودكمThe student: ... .
The Shaykh : Do you hear? Good, may Allah bless you. Good. Listen, my brother.
Bending is a form of honoring, is it not? And therefore, when a man honors an elder in the custom of people who do not know, when they honor an elder, what do they do? They bend to him. So bending is honoring. And if bowing is bending, then it is honoring in reality. So it is fitting to honor Allah with what? With the saying: Glory be to my Lord, the Most Great. So that the saying matches the action.
In prostration, the highest and most noble part of a person is what? His face, is it not? Good. He places his face in the lowest place, in the place of the feet. So he is now in a low position, and at that time he purifies the Most High Lord from that, and he says: Glory be to my Lord, the Most High. Glory be to my Lord, the Most High.
Allah is the Greatest. Meaning, the Shari'ah has a wonderful compatibility, but it requires contemplation.
The Messenger (may the prayers and peace of Allah be upon him) was traveling, and the Messenger (may the prayers and peace of Allah be upon him) and his companions, when they ascended a high place, like a mountain for example, or the upper ground, what did they say? They said takbir. And when they descended, they said tasbih. Why? Because the elevated person boasts and thinks he is high, so he says: Allah is the Greatest. Meaning, greater than you, O soul that exalts itself at elevation, Allah is the Greatest. In descending, descending is a low position, so the person says tasbih, saying: Glory be to Allah. Meaning, from... We believe in a belief that we will meet Allah with at death and at resurrection, and it is: that Allah is in the sky, above everything. He Himself is above everything, Mighty and Majestic. We must believe in this, and whoever does not believe in this has gone astray.
And it has been mentioned before, a few nights ago, the discussion of this great issue, which is one of the mothers of creed, and it is what? The issue of the elevation of Allah, Mighty and Majestic, and His rising above His Throne. This is one of the greatest issues of creed, and going astray in it is not easy, and following what came in the Book and the Sunnah in it is obligatory, and there is no need to repeat the discussion of it, because the discussion now is in explaining the description of prayer. Good.
The one prostrating says: Glory be to my Lord, the Most High. And you have known the wisdom of that. Then he rises from prostration saying: Allah is the Greatest. And he sits between the two prostrations, and he says: My Lord, forgive me. And the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) used to repeat it three times in the night prayer: My Lord, forgive me. My Lord, forgive me. My Lord, forgive me. And he completes: and have mercy on me, and heal me, and provide for me, and restore me. Then he prostrates the second prostration. And its description, the description of the second prostration? Like the first.
Then he prays the second rak'ah, and its description is like the first. Because the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family), when he taught the man who had not perfected his prayer, taught him the prayer from its beginning to the second prostration. He said: