Correct Position for Sujud:
Incorrect Positions for Sujud:
- "He would support himself on his palms [and spread them]"85, "put his fingers together"86, and "point them towards the qiblah."87
- Also, "he would put them (his palms) level with his shoulders"88, and sometimes "level with his ears"89. "He would put his nose and forehead firmly on the ground."90
- He said to "the one who prayed badly", When you prostrate, then be firm in your prostration91; in one narration: When you prostrate, put your face and hands down firmly, until all of your bones are relaxed in their proper places.92
- He also used to say, "There is no prayer for the one whose nose does not feel as much of the ground as the forehead."93
- "He used to put his knees and toes down firmly"94, "point with the front of the toes towards the qiblah"95, "put his heels together"96, "keep his feet upright"97, and "ordered likewise."98
- Hence, these are the seven limbs on which he (sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam) would prostrate: the palms, the knees, the feet, and the forehead and nose - counting the last two as one limb in prostration, as he (sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam) said: I have been ordered to prostrate (in one narration: we have been ordered to prostrate) on seven bones: on the forehead ..., and he indicated by moving his hand99 around his nose, the hands (in one version: the palms), the knees and the toes, and not to tuck up100 the garments and hair.101
- He also used to say, When a slave prostrates, seven limbs prostrate with him: his face, his palms, his knees and his feet.102
- He said about a man who was praying with his hair tied103 behind him, His example is surely like that of someone who prays with his hands bound (behind his back).104 He also said, That is the saddle of the devil, i.e. where the devil sits, referring to the knots in the hair.105
- "He would not rest his fore-arms on the ground"106, but "would raise them above the ground, and keep them away from his sides such that the whiteness of his armpits could be seen from behind"107, and also "such that if a small lamb or kid wanted to pass under his arms, it would have been able to do so."108
- He would do this to such an extent that one of his Companions said, "We used to feel sorry for the Messenger of Allaah (sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam) because of the way he kept his hands away from his sides."109
- He used to order likewise, saying, When you perform sajdah, place your palms (on the ground) and raise your elbows110, and Be level in sujood, and none of you should spread his fore- arms like the spreading of a dog (in one narration: like a dog spreads them)111. In a separate hadeeth, None of you should rest arms on the ground the way a dog rests them.112
- He also used to say, Do not spread your arms [the way a beast of prey does], rest on your palms and keep your upper arms apart, for when you do all that, every one of your limbs prostrates with you.113
He (sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam) used to command the completion of rukoo' and sujood, comparing someone not doing so to the hungry man who eats one or two dates, which are of no use to him, and also saying about him, he is indeed one of the worst thieves among the people.
He also ruled that the prayer of one who does not straighten his spine fully in rukoo' and sujood is invalid, as has been mentioned under "Rukoo'", and ordered "the one who prayed badly" to be at ease in his sujood, as mentioned before.
"The prophet (sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam) would say takbeer and go down into sajdah" (78), and he ordered "the one who prayed badly" to do so, saying to him,
No one's prayer is complete unless ... he says: Allaah listens to the one who praises Him and stands up straight, then says: Allaah is the Greatest and prostrates such that his joints are at rest. (79)
Also, "when he wanted to perform sajdah, he would say takbeer, [separate his hands from his sides,] and then perform sajdah."80
Sometimes, "he would raise his hands when performing sajdah."81
- "He used to place his hands on the ground before his knees."82
- He used to instruct likewise, saying, When one of you performs sajdah, he should not kneel like a camel, but should place his hands before his knees.83
- He also used to say, Verily, the hands prostrate as the face prostrates, so when one of you places his face (on the ground), he should place his hands, and when he raises it, he should raise them.84
Rising from Sitting for Next Rakah
- "When he (sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam) got up for the second rak'ah, he would commence with All Praise be to Allaah (Faatihah 1:1), without pausing." (170)
- He would perform this rak'ah exactly as he performed the first, except that he would make it shorter than the first, as before.
Supporting Oneself with the Hands on Rising for the NextRak'ah
Next, "he (sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam) would get up for the second rak'ah, supporting himself
on the ground." (167) Also, "he would clench his fists (168) during prayer: supporting himself
with his hands when getting up." (169)