“Authentic.” Al-Dhahabī concurred.
Al-Ḥāfiẓ (7/489) likewise attributed it to Ibn Khuzaymah and endorsed its authenticity.
2966 — “He would prostrate upon the two fleshy pads of the palm.”
It was recorded by Ibn Khuzaymah in his Ṣaḥīḥ (1/323/639), and through him by Ibn Ḥibbān (490—Mawārid), al-Ḥākim (1/227), and, through al-Ḥākim, al-Bayhaqī (2/107); and by Aḥmad (4/295), through several routes from al-Ḥusayn ibn Wāqid, who said: Abū Isḥāq narrated to me: I heard al-Barāʾ ibn ʿĀzib say—then he cited it as a report attributed to the Prophet.
Al-Ḥākim said: “Authentic according to the standards of both of them!” Al-Dhahabī concurred. This is what they both said; yet al-Ḥusayn ibn Wāqid was cited by al-Bukhārī only in suspended form, so it meets Muslim’s standard alone. Abū Isḥāq was ʿAmr ibn ʿAbd Allāh al-Sabīʿī. Despite his trustworthiness, there is concern regarding his concealment in transmission and his later deterioration in memory.
As for his concealment in transmission, we are assured against it because he explicitly stated that he heard it. As for his memory deterioration, I do not know whether al-Ḥusayn heard from him before it occurred. However, al-Bayhaqī narrated through his chain from a group who said: Shuʿbah said: Abū Isḥāq informed me from al-Barāʾ, who said: “When one of you prostrates, let him prostrate upon the fleshy pad of the palm.” Ibn Abī Shaybah said in al-Muṣannaf (1/261): Wakīʿ narrated to us from Shuʿbah, through this chain. Shuʿbah heard from Abū Isḥāq before his memory deteriorated; thus, the chain of transmission is authentic, and all praise is due to Allah.
It cannot be objected that this is a report attributed to the Companion, for we say that it carries the ruling of a report attributed to the Prophet, since such a matter cannot be stated on the basis of personal opinion, like the other postures of prayer, for they are purely acts of worship. This is especially so since it is authentically reported from the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, that he commanded placing the palms down in prostration and bearing weight upon them; it has been documented in The Description of…