Sin of Placing Knees Down First Before Beginning Prostration

[CarlEdwardRoss]

Bismillah ir-rahmaan ir-raheem
Al-hamdu lillah ir-rahmaan ir-raheem
Allahumma salli ala Muhammad wa ala ali Muhammad
As-salaamu laykum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuhu

Dear Muslims;

If you look at Muslims praying around the world you will notice that some begin prostration by putting the knees down first and some by putting the hands down first. Both groups are claiming that the other is wrong. Why the difference. The issue is important because the Prophet Muhammad(sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) forbids one of these ways and no sane Muslim will question the importance of obeying him(sallallahu alayhi wa sallam). The Sunnah reports:

Partial Translation of Sunan Abu-Dawud, Book 3:
Prayer (Kitab Al-Salat): Details of Commencing Prayer
Book 3, Number 0895:
Narrated Al-Bara' ibn Azib:
Al-Bara' described to us (the nature of prostration). He placed his hands (palms), reclined on his knees, and raised his hips; he said: This is how the Apostle of Allah (peace_be_upon_him) used to prostrate himself.

Book 3, Number 0840:
Narrated AbuHurayrah:
The Prophet (peace_be_upon_him) said: (Does) one of you kneel down in his prayer as a camel kneels down (i.e. put his knees before his hands).

Book 3, Number 0837:
Narrated Wa'il ibn Hujr:
I saw that the Prophet (peace_be_upon_him) placed his knees (on the ground) before placing his hands when he prostrated himself. And when he stood up, he raised his hands before his knees

Most Muslims know that changes were made in the prayer from its early stages. The direction of prayer(qiblah, number of units(rakahs), hand placement after bowing(rukoo) therefore apparently method of prostrating. All the hadiths are authentic(saheeh). Authenticity is not the answer to the issue. What I never see is an argument that mentions the overall general prohibition of imitating animals in prayer. Most proofs on the subject cite either the authenticity of the contradicting hadith or resort to the meaning of what a camel’s knees are with some claiming that the camels’s “knees” are at the ends of its legs and others claim the camel’s “knees” are in the middle of its legs. All to no consensus. We do know that besides the command of not kneeling down as a camel does, Prophet Muhammad(sallallahu alayhi wa sallam) forbids:

Book 3, Number 0861:
Narrated AbdurRahman ibn Shibl:
The Apostle of Allah (peace_be_upon_him) prohibited to peck like a crow, and to spread (the forearms) like a wild beast, and to fix a place in the mosque like a camel which fixes its place. These are the wordings of Qutaybah.


Translation of Sahih Bukhari, Book 10:
Times of the Prayers
Volume 1, Book 10, Number 509:
Narrated Anas:
The Prophet said, "Do the prostration properly and do not put your forearms flat with elbows touching the ground like a dog. And if you want to spit, do not spit in front, nor to the right for the person in prayer is speaking in private to his Lord."

Translation of Sahih Muslim, Book 4:
The Book of Prayers (Kitab Al-Salat)
Book 004, Number 0867:
Jabir b. Samura reported: We said our prayer with the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) and, while pronouncing salutations, we made gestures with our hands (indicating)" Peace be upon you, peace be upon you." The Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) looked towards us and said: Why is it that you make gestures with your hands like the tails of headstrong horses? When any one of you pronounces salutation (in prayer) he should only turn his face towards his companion and should not make a gesture with his hand.

Therefore the prohibition of imitating animals during prayer is the general overall ruling and guiding principle concerning the prayer.

The issue of whether a camel’s “knees” are at the end of its legs or middle is irrelevant. A camel has “knees” that go forward in the front and backward in the rear, that is, like this <>. Perhaps the confusion begins when you look at the camels’s four appendages in comparison to the four appendages of the human. Many Muslims refuse to place the hands down first because in this case then human is on all “fours” as a camel but this is incorrect. If you consider only the front of the camel, which is of primary concern because this is where prostration begins, you will notice it is extremely similar to the human with head, shoulders, chest, area of shame in front facing front then legs with feet on the ground. The camel has two “feet” on the ground with two “knees” which bend forward like a human being. What the camel is missing are arms! This is the answer. Besides the fact that a camel’s “knees” kneel forward first touching the ground first then its “shoulders”, when you examine the camel’s anatomy versus human anatomy, the human arms differ most from any other appendage. The camel does not have anything like human hands and the human hands differ the most, that is, human hands do not imitate any camel’s part. While the human knees are very similar to camel’s knees. Therefore if one wants to obey and not imitate the camel at best then the hands must go down first because this is the part that the camel does not have. The camel does not have five fingers that form a fist. Going down on that part which does not imitate the most is the proper way because the hadith forbids going down on the ground like the camel.

Allah(soubhanna wa taa’la) knows best

Soubhanna Allah wa bihamdihi
Sheikh Iesa Ibn Mhamed