The Book of The At-Tatbiq (Clasping One's Hands Together)

Qutaybah reported to us; he said: Sufyan narrated to us, from ‘Ubaydullah—namely, the son of ‘Abdullah ibn al-Asamm—from his uncle Yazid, who was also Ibn al-Asamm, from Maymunah, that when the Prophet (ﷺ) prostrated, he held his arms apart so widely that if a lamb wanted to pass beneath them, it could.

Ishaq ibn Ibrahim reported to us; he said: ‘Abdah informed us; he said: Sa‘id narrated to us, from Qatadah, from Anas. (A second chain:) Isma‘il ibn Mas‘ud reported to us, from Khalid, from Shu‘bah, from Qatadah, who said: I heard Anas, from the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ), say: ‘Keep a balanced posture in prostration, and do not spread your forearms on the ground as a dog spreads them.’ The wording is Ishaq’s.

‘Ali ibn Khashram al-Marwazi reported to us; he said: ‘Isa—namely, Ibn Yunus—informed us, from al-A‘mash, from ‘Umarah, from Abu Ma‘mar, from Abu Mas‘ud, who said: The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: ‘A prayer is not sufficient if a man does not straighten his back during bowing and prostration.’

Muhammad ibn ‘Abdullah ibn ‘Abd al-Hakam reported to us, from Shu‘ayb, from al-Layth, who said: Khalid narrated to us, from Ibn Abi Hilal, from Ja‘far ibn ‘Abdullah, that Tamim ibn Mahmud informed him that ‘Abd al-Rahman ibn Shibl informed him that the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) forbade three things: pecking like a crow, spreading one’s forearms on the ground like a beast, and a man making a fixed place for prayer as a camel makes a habitual resting place for itself.

Humayd ibn Mas‘adah al-Basri reported to us, from Yazid—namely, Ibn Zuray‘—who said: Shu‘bah narrated to us, and Rawh—meaning Ibn al-Qasim—from ‘Amr ibn Dinar, from Tawus, from Ibn ‘Abbas, that the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: ‘I have been commanded to prostrate on seven, and not to gather up hair or clothing.’

‘Amr ibn Sawad ibn al-Aswad ibn ‘Amr al-Sarhi—one of the descendants of ‘Abdullah ibn Sa‘d ibn Abi Sarh—reported to us; he said: Ibn Wahb informed us; he said: ‘Amr ibn al-Harith informed us that Bukayr told him that Kurayb, the freedman of Ibn ‘Abbas, told him, from ‘Abdullah ibn ‘Abbas, that he saw ‘Abdullah ibn al-Harith praying with his hair tied back. He stood up and began undoing it. When he finished praying, he came to Ibn ‘Abbas and said, ‘Why are you doing this to my head?’ He replied, ‘I heard the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) say: “The likeness of this is that of someone who prays while bound.”’

Muhammad ibn Mansur al-Makki reported to us, from Sufyan, from ‘Amr, from Tawus, from Ibn ‘Abbas, who said: The Prophet (ﷺ) was commanded to prostrate on seven bones and forbidden to gather up his hair and clothes.

Suwayd ibn Nasr reported to us; he said: ‘Abdullah ibn al-Mubarak informed us, from Khalid ibn ‘Abd al-Rahman—al-Salami—who said: Ghalib al-Qattan narrated to me, from Bakr ibn ‘Abdullah al-Muzani, from Anas, who said: When we prayed behind the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) during the heat of midday, we prostrated on our garments to protect ourselves from the heat.

Ishaq ibn Ibrahim reported to us; he said: ‘Abdah informed us, from Sa‘id, from Qatadah, from Anas, from the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ), who said: ‘Complete your bowing and prostration. By Allah, I can indeed see you from behind my back while you are bowing and prostrating.’

Abu Dawud—Sulayman ibn Sayf—reported to us. He said: Abu ‘Ali al-Hanafi narrated to us, along with ‘Uthman ibn ‘Umar. Abu ‘Ali said, ‘He narrated to us’; and ‘Uthman said, ‘Dawud ibn Qays informed us,’ from Ibrahim ibn ‘Abdullah ibn Hunayn, from his father, from Ibn ‘Abbas, from ‘Ali ibn Abi Talib (may Allah be pleased with him), who said: ‘My beloved (ﷺ) forbade me from three things—I do not say that he forbade the people: he forbade me from wearing gold rings, wearing qassiyy garments, and wearing heavily safflower-dyed garments; and I do not recite while prostrating or bowing.’

Ahmad ibn ‘Amr ibn al-Sarh reported to us; he said: Ibn Wahb informed us, from Yunus. (A second chain:) Al-Harith ibn Miskin—by recitation to him while I listened—from Ibn Wahb, from Yunus, from Ibn Shihab, who said: Ibrahim ibn ‘Abdullah informed me that his father told him that he had heard ‘Ali say: The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) forbade me from reciting while bowing or prostrating.

‘Ali ibn Hujr al-Marwazi reported to us; he said: Isma‘il—namely, Ibn Ja‘far—narrated to us; he said: Sulayman ibn Suhaym narrated to us, from Ibrahim ibn ‘Abdullah ibn Ma‘bad ibn ‘Abbas, from his father, from ‘Abdullah ibn ‘Abbas, who said: The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) drew aside the curtain during the illness in which he died, with his head bandaged, and said: ‘O Allah, I have delivered the message’—three times. ‘Nothing remains of the glad tidings of prophethood except a righteous dream that a person sees or that is seen for him. Indeed, I have been forbidden to recite during bowing and prostration. When you bow, glorify your Lord; and when you prostrate, earnestly supplicate, for it is likely to be answered.’

Hannad ibn al-Sarri reported to us, from Abu al-Ahwas, from Sa‘id ibn Masruq, from Salamah ibn Kuhayl, from Abu Rashdin—namely, Kurayb—from Ibn ‘Abbas, who said: I stayed overnight with my maternal aunt, Maymunah bint al-Harith, and the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) stayed overnight with her. I saw him get up to attend to his need. He went to the waterskin and loosened its fastening, then performed an ablution described as “a wudu between the two wudus.” He went to his bed and slept. Then he got up once more, went to the waterskin, loosened its fastening, and performed a complete ablution. He stood to pray and would say in his prostration: ‘O Allah, place light in my heart, light in my hearing, light in my sight; place light beneath me and above me, light to my right and to my left; place light before me and behind me, and grant me abundant light.’ Then he slept until he snored, and Bilal came and woke him for the prayer.

Suwayd ibn Nasr reported to us; he said: ‘Abdullah informed us, from Sufyan, from Mansur, from Abu al-Duha, from Masruq, from ‘Aishah, who said: The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) would say during his bowing and prostration: “Glory be to You, O Allah, our Lord, and praise be to You. O Allah, forgive me.” He did this in accordance with the Qur’an.

Mahmud ibn Ghaylan reported to us; he said: Waki‘ narrated to us, from Sufyan, from Mansur, from Abu al-Duha, from Masruq, from ‘Aishah, who said: The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) would say while bowing and prostrating: “Glory be to You, O Allah, our Lord, and praise be to You. O Allah, forgive me.” He was acting in accordance with the Qur’an.

Muhammad ibn Qudamah reported to us; he said: Jarir narrated to us, from Mansur, from Hilal ibn Yasaf, who said: ‘Aishah (may Allah be pleased with her) said: I noticed that the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) was missing from his bed, so I began looking for him. I thought he had gone to one of his slave women. Then my hand touched him while he was prostrating and saying: “O Allah, forgive me for what I have kept secret and what I have made public.”

Muhammad ibn al-Muthanna reported to us; he said: Muhammad narrated to us; he said: Shu‘bah narrated to us, from Mansur, from Hilal ibn Yasaf, from ‘Aishah (may Allah be pleased with her), who said: I noticed that the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) was missing, and thought he had gone to one of his slave women. I looked for him and found him prostrating, saying: “My Lord, forgive me for what I have kept secret and what I have made public.”

‘Amr ibn ‘Ali reported to us; he said: ‘Abd al-Rahman—Ibn Mahdi—narrated to us; he said: ‘Abd al-‘Aziz ibn Abi Salamah narrated to us; he said: My uncle, al-Majishun ibn Abi Salamah, narrated to me, from ‘Abd al-Rahman al-A‘raj, from ‘Ubayd Allah ibn Abi Rafi‘, from ‘Ali, that the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ), when prostrating, would say: “O Allah, to You I have prostrated, to You I have submitted, and in You I have believed. My face has prostrated to the One who created it and fashioned it, giving it its fine form, and made its hearing and sight. Blessed is Allah, the Best of creators.”

Yahya ibn ‘Uthman reported to us; he said: Abu Haywah informed us; he said: Shu‘ayb ibn Abi Hamzah narrated to us, from Muhammad ibn al-Munkadir, from Jabir ibn ‘Abdullah, from the Prophet (ﷺ), who would say while prostrating: “O Allah, to You I have prostrated, in You I have believed, to You I have submitted, and You are my Lord. My face has prostrated to the One who created and fashioned it, and made its hearing and sight. Blessed is Allah, the Best of creators.”

Yahya ibn ‘Uthman reported to us; he said: Ibn Humayr informed us; he said: Shu‘ayb ibn Abi Hamzah narrated to us, from Muhammad ibn al-Munkadir—and he mentioned another narrator before him—from ‘Abd al-Rahman ibn Hurmuz al-A‘raj, from Muhammad ibn Maslamah, that the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ), when he got up at night to perform voluntary prayer, would say upon prostrating: “O Allah, to You I have prostrated, in You I have believed, and to You I have submitted. O Allah, You are my Lord. My face has prostrated to the One who created and fashioned it, and made its hearing and sight. Blessed is Allah, the Best of creators.”