He, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, would prostrate on his forehead and nose, not on the windings of his turban. No authentic or sound hadith establishes that he prostrated on the windings of his turban. However, ‘Abd al-Razzāq narrated in al-Musannaf (1) that Abū Hurayra said: “The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, used to prostrate on the windings of his turban.” This report is transmitted through ‘Abd Allāh ibn Muharrar (2), whose reports are abandoned. Abū Ahmad (3) also cited it as a hadith of Jābir, but it is transmitted by ‘Amr ibn Shimr from Jābir al-Ju‘fī—one abandoned narrator transmitting from another.
Abū Dāwūd mentioned in al-Marāsīl (4) that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, saw a man praying and prostrating (5) on the side of his forehead, with his turban wrapped over his forehead. The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, drew it back to uncover the man’s forehead (6).
(1) No. 1564. Abū Hātim said in his son’s ‘Ilal al-Hadīth: “This hadith is baseless, and Ibn Muharrar is weak in hadith.”
(2) All manuscripts except j—which appears to have been corrected—read “Muhriz,” a scribal error.
(3) The al-Fiqī edition, as well as the al-Risāla edition, adds “al-Zubayrī” after his name. I do not know where this addition came from! Apparently, the author means Abū Ahmad ibn ‘Adī, who included the report in al-Kāmil, in the entry on ‘Amr ibn Shimr (7:577), and judged it not reliably preserved.
(4) No. 84.
(5) q, k, mb, n: “then he prostrated.” The reading adopted from the other manuscripts agrees with al-Marāsīl.
(6) Al-Bayhaqī (2:106) said: “As for reports that the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, prostrated on the windings of his turban, none is established. The most authentic report on this matter is the statement of al-Hasan al-Basrī describing the practice of the Prophet’s Companions.” He then related with his chain of transmission: “They would prostrate with their hands inside their garments, and a man would prostrate on his turban.” This report from al-Hasan was also recorded by ‘Abd al-Razzāq (1566) and Ibn Abī Shayba (2754), and its chain of transmission is authentic. Al-Bukhārī cited it without a complete chain, using a definitive form of attribution, in the chapter heading for hadith no. 385; see Fath al-Bārī (3:30–35). For all reports on this subject attributed to the Prophet, see al-Talkhīs al-Habīr (2:721–723) and Nasb al-Rāya (1:384–386).