He—may Allah have mercy on him—was asked:

In prayer, should one support oneself when lowering to the ground by placing one’s knees before one’s hands, or one’s hands before one’s knees?

He answered:

Both ways are permissible in prayer by scholarly agreement. The worshipper may place his knees before his hands if he wishes, or his hands before his knees. His prayer is valid in either case by scholarly agreement. However, the scholars differed over which is preferable.

Some held that the first is preferable. This is the position of Abū Hanīfah and al-Shāfiʿī, and one of the two positions reported from Ahmad.

Others held that the second is preferable. This is the position of Mālik and the other position reported from Ahmad. A hadith supporting each practice has been narrated from the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, in the Sunan collections.

It is reported of him in the Sunan collections:

“When he prayed, he would place his knees down, then his hands; when he rose, he would lift his hands, then his knees.”

In Sunan Abī Dāwūd and elsewhere, he is reported to have said:

“When one of you prostrates, he should not go down as a camel does, but should place his hands down, then his knees.”

The opposite has also been narrated, and it has been said that it was abrogated. And Allah knows best.