before the hands without producing any thud, as experience shows; hence the prohibition is affirmed by his—peace and blessings be upon him—own words, just as it is established that his practice was the very opposite. Indeed, the prophetic sunnah in prostration—by both his speech and his action—is to set the hands down before the knees in order to avoid resembling the camel, which drops on the knees located in its fore-legs. This refutes those who have claimed otherwise. I have explained the matter in detail in al-Taʿlīqāt al-Jiyād ʿalā Zād al-Maʿād, and it will be clarified again in the appropriate place within this book, God willing.

However, that second interpretation is far removed from the hadith—especially when all of its various wordings cited above are taken together—for they clearly indicate that the first interpretation is intended. A number of commentators have adopted this view decisively: some mentioned only this reading and ignored the second altogether, thereby hinting at its lack of merit, such as al-Manāwī and others. Others expressly ruled the second meaning out, among them al-Sindī (may Allah have mercy on him) in his gloss on al-Nasāʾī and Shaykh ʿAlī al-Qārī in al-Mirqāt. The latter’s exact words are:

“The second meaning is not sound here, for it cannot serve as a valid comparison. Moreover, were that meaning intended, the prohibition would not have been confined to fixing a place in the mosque; since the mosque was specified, this shows that the first meaning is the one meant. Ibn Ḥajar said: ‘Its underlying wisdom is that it leads to notoriety, ostentation, reputation-seeking, entrenchment in habitual routines, self-interest, and desires—all of which are banes—so one must keep as far away as possible from whatever leads to them.’”

The plain wording of the prohibition, then, indicates that these three practices mentioned in the hadith are indeed forbidden.