“When one of you prostrates, he should not go down as a camel does, and he should place his hands on his knees.” Al-Bayhaqī said: If this wording has been accurately preserved, it would indicate that he should place his hands on his knees (1) as he lowers himself into prostration.

The hadith of Wā’il ibn Hujr is preferable for several reasons:

First: Its transmission is more firmly established than that of Abū Hurayra’s hadith, as al-Khattābī (2) and others have stated.

Second: Abū Hurayra’s hadith has conflicting versions of its wording, as explained above. Some narrate it as, “He should place his hands before his knees”; others narrate the reverse; others say, “He should place his hands on his knees”; and still others omit this clause altogether.

Third: The defects identified in it by al-Bukhārī, al-Dāraqutnī and others, as discussed above.

Fourth: Even assuming its authenticity, a number of scholars have claimed that it was abrogated. Ibn al-Mundhir (3) said: Some of our colleagues have claimed that placing the hands before the knees was abrogated. This has already been discussed.

Fifth: It accords with the Prophet’s ﷺ prohibition against going down in prayer as a camel does, unlike the hadith of Wā’il ibn Hujr (4).

Sixth: It accords with what has been transmitted from the Companions, such as ‘Umar ibn al-Khattāb, his son,