“Whoever among you is able to prostrate should prostrate; whoever is unable should not raise anything to his forehead to prostrate on; rather, his ruku  and sujud should be indicated by slight movements.” He (al-Haythami) adds: “It was transmitted by al-Tabarani in al-Awsat, and its transmitters are all deemed reliable; there is no damaging criticism of any of them. Allah knows best.” I add: The report is also quoted in Nasb al-Raya (2/176) with the wording: “Let his ruku  and sujud be indicated with his head.” Al-Zaylaʿi gives al-Tabarani’s chain as: ‘Abd Allah b. Bakr al-Sarraj → Surayj b. Yunus → Qurran b. Tammam → ‘Abd Allah b. ‘Umar al-‘Umari → Nafiʿ → from him. I remark: This isnad is weak. ‘Abd Allah b. ‘Umar al-‘Umari is weak because of poor memory; al-Taqrib describes him as “weak, a devoted worshipper.” I have found no biographical notice for ‘Abd Allah b. Bakr al-Sarraj, while the remaining narrators are trustworthy. Al-Bayhaqi’s wording indicates that it was also transmitted marfuʿ by another route, for he says: “ ‘Abd Allah b. ‘Amir al-Aslami narrated from Nafiʿ as a marfuʿ report,” but this version is of no value. Al-Bayhaqi then relates it through Malik from Nafiʿ as a mawquf statement: “If the sick person cannot prostrate, he should gesture with his head and not raise anything to his forehead.” He also records it with another sound chain including the addition: “and make the sujud lower than the ruku.” Both he and al-Tabarani in al-Kabir transmit it from Ibn Masʿud with a similar meaning, and its isnad is hasan. See also Sahih Abi Awana (2/338) and al-Sahihah (no. 323). The Shaykh, in the printed edition of al-Sifah (p. 79), likewise attributes it to Ibn al-Sammak in his Hadith (67/2).