Jami' at-Tirmidhi
Jami` at-Tirmidhi 286
حَدَّثَنَا قُتَيْبَةُ، حَدَّثَنَا اللَّيْثُ، عَنِ ابْنِ عَجْلاَنَ، عَنْ سُمَىٍّ، عَنْ أَبِي صَالِحٍ، عَنْ أَبِي هُرَيْرَةَ، قَالَ اشْتَكَى بَعْضُ أَصْحَابِ النَّبِيِّ صلى الله عليه وسلم إِلَى النَّبِيِّ صلى الله عليه وسلم مَشَقَّةَ السُّجُودِ عَلَيْهِمْ إِذَا تَفَرَّجُوا فَقَالَ " اسْتَعِينُوا بِالرُّكَبِ " . قَالَ أَبُو عِيسَى هَذَا حَدِيثٌ غَرِيبٌ لاَ نَعْرِفُهُ مِنْ حَدِيثِ أَبِي صَالِحٍ عَنْ أَبِي هُرَيْرَةَ عَنِ النَّبِيِّ صلى الله عليه وسلم إِلاَّ مِنْ هَذَا الْوَجْهِ مِنْ حَدِيثِ اللَّيْثِ عَنِ ابْنِ عَجْلاَنَ . وَقَدْ رَوَى هَذَا الْحَدِيثَ سُفْيَانُ بْنُ عُيَيْنَةَ وَغَيْرُ وَاحِدٍ عَنْ سُمَىٍّ عَنِ النُّعْمَانِ بْنِ أَبِي عَيَّاشٍ عَنِ النَّبِيِّ صلى الله عليه وسلم نَحْوَ هَذَا . وَكَأَنَّ رِوَايَةَ هَؤُلاَءِ أَصَحُّ مِنْ رِوَايَةِ اللَّيْثِ .
Unreviewed translation. All hadiths in this collection are available in five languages. Titles and introductions may remain in Arabic.
Abu Hurayrah said: Some of the Companions of the Prophet complained to the Prophet about the difficulty of prostrating when they spread their limbs apart. He said: Seek support from your knees. Abu Isa said: This hadith is gharib. We know it as a report of Abu Salih from Abu Hurayrah, from the Prophet, only by this route, through the narration of al-Layth from Ibn Ajlan. Sufyan ibn Uyaynah and more than one narrator transmitted a similar report from Sumayy, from al-Numan ibn Abi Ayyash, from the Prophet. It seems that their narration is more sound than the narration of al-Layth.
Notes and open questions — unreviewed
The wording about spreading apart is rendered without specifying a particular limb beyond what the Arabic states.
قَالَ اشْتَكَى بَعْضُ أَصْحَابِ النَّبِيِّ صلى الله عليه وسلم إِلَى النَّبِيِّ صلى الله عليه وسلم مَشَقَّةَ السُّجُودِ عَلَيْهِمْ إِذَا تَفَرَّجُوا فَقَالَ " اسْتَعِينُوا بِالرُّكَبِ " .
The Arabic refers to spreading apart in a way that made prostration difficult; the precise posture is not further described.
Does spreading their limbs apart accurately convey the posture meant here?