The Correct Method of Lowering Oneself into Prostration in Prayer

Question:
A letter from one of the listening brothers, whose name is Hisham Abd al-Rahman from Khartoum, Sudan. Our brother has several questions, one of which says: You mentioned, may Allah preserve you, that the description of the Prophet’s (peace and blessings be upon him) prayer is that a person lowers himself from bowing to prostration on his knees, and rises to the bowing position by raising his hands before his knees. However, some researchers mentioned the opposite. Which of the two opinions should we rely on, and which one should we practice? May Allah reward you with good.

Answer:
The scholars have two opinions on this issue, may Allah have mercy on them. Some of them preferred the view that one lowers himself with his knees, then his hands, then his forehead and nose. This is based on what the compilers of the Sunan collections narrated from Wail ibn Hujr (may Allah be pleased with him) from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) that he . There is also a corroborating narration from the hadith of Anas in al-Hakim and others. They said that this is more comfortable for the one praying and further from resembling animals, because an animal, such as a camel, lowers itself on its hands and then its rear. They also said that this aligns with the hadith of Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), in which he said: . For when a camel prostrates, it brings its hands forward, and if one brings his feet forward, he does not resemble the camel.
As for the statement at the end: This is the most correct and the stronger opinion, and with this, the hadiths agree and there is no contradiction between them. So the prohibition against prostrating like the prostration of a camel aligns with the hadith of Wail in bringing the knees forward, then the hands after that in prostration.
As for the addition: This is the stronger opinion.
Others among the scholars said: The word: is explicit and indicates that he brings his hands forward before his knees. With this, they contradicted the hadith of Wail, which is a hadith with no harm in it, a good and sound hadith, even though it agrees with the beginning of Abu Hurayrah’s hadith and its introduction and main part.
The correct opinion in my view, and the stronger opinion in my view, is that he brings his knees forward, then his hands, then his forehead and nose, as in the hadith of Wail, and in accordance with the beginning and main part of Abu Hurayrah’s hadith. The addition: is either an insertion by some narrators, or a reversal occurred in it, and the correct wording is: so that its beginning agrees with its end, and so that it agrees with the hadith of Wail and what came in its meaning. The matter in this is broad, and praise be to Allah, all of it is a recommended practice (sunnah), but this is the best and the stronger opinion, except for one who is unable, such as an elderly person or a sick person; this one brings his hands forward because he needs to do so, and there is no harm in that. Yes.

The presenter: May Allah reward you with good.