Next, "he (sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam) would
say takbeer and go down into sajdah"78,
and he ordered "the one who prayed badly" to do so,
saying to him, No one's prayer is complete unless ...
he says: Allaah listens to the one who praises Him and
stands up straight, then says: Allaah is the Greatest
and prostrates such that his joints are at rest.79
Also, "when he wanted to perform sajdah, he would
say takbeer, [separate his hands from his sides,] and
then perform sajdah."80
Sometimes, "he would raise his hands when
performing sajdah."81
"He
used to place his hands on the ground before his
knees."82
He used to instruct likewise, saying, When one of
you performs sajdah, he should not kneel like a camel,
but should place his hands before his knees.83
He also used to say, Verily, the hands
prostrate as the face prostrates, so when one of you
places his face (on the ground), he should place his
hands, and when he raises it, he should raise
them.84
"He
would support himself on his palms [and spread them]"85,
"put his fingers together"86,
and "point them towards the qiblah."87
Also, "he would put them (his palms) level with
his shoulders"88,
and sometimes "level with his ears"89.
"He would put his nose and forehead firmly on the
ground."90
He said to "the one who prayed badly", When
you prostrate, then be firm in your prostration91;
in one narration: When you prostrate, put your face
and hands down firmly, until all of your bones are
relaxed in their proper places.92
He also used to say, "There is no prayer for
the one whose nose does not feel as much of the ground
as the forehead."93
"He used to put his knees and toes down firmly"94,
"point with the front of the toes towards the qiblah"95,
"put his heels together"96,
"keep his feet upright"97,
and "ordered likewise."98
Hence, these are the seven limbs on which he
(sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam) would prostrate: the
palms, the knees, the feet, and the forehead and nose -
counting the last two as one limb in prostration, as he
(sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam) said: I have been
ordered to prostrate (in one narration: we have been
ordered to prostrate) on seven bones: on the forehead
..., and he indicated by moving his hand99
around his nose, the hands (in one version:
the palms), the knees and the toes, and not to
tuck up100
the garments and hair.101
He also used to say, When a slave prostrates,
seven limbs prostrate with him: his face, his palms, his
knees and his feet.102
He said about a man who was praying with his hair
tied103
behind him, His example is surely like that of
someone who prays with his hands bound (behind his
back).104
He also said, That is the saddle of the devil,
i.e. where the devil sits, referring to the knots in
the hair.105
"He would not rest his fore-arms on the ground"106,
but "would raise them above the ground, and keep them
away from his sides such that the whiteness of his
armpits could be seen from behind"107,
and also "such that if a small lamb or kid wanted to
pass under his arms, it would have been able to do
so."108
He would do this to such an extent that one of
his Companions said, "We used to feel sorry for the
Messenger of Allaah (sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam)
because of the way he kept his hands away from his
sides."109
He used to order likewise, saying, When you
perform sajdah, place your palms (on the ground) and
raise your elbows110,
and Be level in sujood, and none of you should spread
his fore- arms like the spreading of a dog (in one
narration: like a dog spreads them)111.
In a separate hadeeth, None of you should rest arms
on the ground the way a dog rests them.112
He also used to say, Do not spread your arms
[the way a beast of prey does], rest on your palms and
keep your upper arms apart, for when you do all that,
every one of your limbs prostrates with you.113
He
(sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam) used to command the
completion of rukoo' and sujood, comparing someone not
doing so to the hungry man who eats one or two dates,
which are of no use to him, and also saying about him,
he is indeed one of the worst thieves among the
people.
He also ruled that the prayer of one who does not
straighten his spine fully in rukoo' and sujood is
invalid, as has been mentioned under "Rukoo'", and
ordered "the one who prayed badly" to be at ease in his
sujood, as mentioned before.
He
(sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam) would say any one of the
following remembrances of Allaah and supplications in
this posture:
How Perfect is my Lord, the Most
High, three times.114
Sometimes,
"he would repeat it more times than that."115
Once, he repeated it so much that his sujood were
nearly as long as his standing, in which he had
recited three of the Long Soorahs: al-Baqarah,
an-Nisaa' and aal-'Imraan. That prayer was full of
supplication and seeking of forgiveness, as mentioned
before under "Night Prayer".
How Perfect is my Lord, the Most High,
and Praised be He, three times.116
Perfect, Blessed, Lord of the Angels and
the Spirit.117
How perfect You are O Allaah, our Lord,
and Praised. O Allaah! Forgive me, which he would
say often in his rukoo' and sujood, implementing the
order of the Qur'aan.118
O Allaah! For you I have prostrated; in
You I have believed; to You I have submitted; [You are
my Lord;] my face has prostrated for the One Who
created it and shaped it , [shaped it excellently,]
then brought forth its hearing and vision: [so]
blessed be Allaah, the Best to Create!119
O Allaah! Forgive me all my sins: the
minor and the major, the first and the last, the open
and the hidden.120
My person and my shadow have prostrated
to You; my heart has believed in You; I acknowledge
Your favours towards me: here are my hands and
whatever I have earned against myself.121
How Perfect is He Who has all Power,
Kingdom, Magnificence and Supremity122,
which he would say in night prayer, as with the
following ones:
![]()
How perfect You are [O Allaah] and
Praised. None has the right to be worshipped except
you.123
O Allaah! Forgive me what (sins) I have
concealed and what (sins) I have done openly.124
O Allaah! Place light in my heart; [and
light in my tongue;] and place light in my hearing;
and place light in my seeing; and place light from
below me; and place light from above me, and light on
my right, and light on my left; and place light ahead
of me; and place light behind me; [and place light in
my self;] and make the light greater for me.125
[O Allaah!] [Indeed] I seek refuge with
Your Pleasure from Your Anger; [I seek refuge] with
Your Pardons from Your Punishment; I seek refuge with
You from You. I cannot count all exultations upon You;
You are as You have extolled Yourself.126
He
(sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam) used to forbid
recitation of the Qur'aan in rukoo' and sujood, and
commanded striving in, and a lot of, supplication in
this posture, as explained previously under "Rukoo'". He
also used to say, The slave is closest to his Lord
when he is prostrating, so increase supplication [in
it].127
He
(sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam) would make his sujood
about as long as his rukoo', and sometimes he would make
it extremely long due to the circumstances, as one of
his Companions said:
"The Messenger of Allaah (sallallaahu 'alaihi
wa sallam) came out to us for one of the two later
prayers, [Zuhr or 'Asr,] carrying Hasan or Husain. The
Prophet (sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam) then came to
the front and put him down [next to his right foot],
said takbeer for the prayer and commenced praying.
During the prayer, he performed a very long
prostration, so I raised my head [from among the
people], and there was the child, on the back of the
Messenger of Allaah (sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam),
who was in prostration. I then returned to my
prostration. When the Messenger of Allaah (sallallaahu
'alaihi wa sallam) had offered the prayer, the people
said, 'O Messenger of Allaah! In the middle of [this]
your prayer, you performed a prostration and
lengthened it so much that we thought either something
had happened, or that you were receiving revelation!'
He said, Neither of those was the case: actually,
my son made me his mount, so I did not want to hurry
him until he had satisfied his wish "128
In another hadeeth, "He (sallallaahu 'alaihi wa
sallam) was praying. When he performed sajdah, al-Hasan
and al-Husain jumped onto his back. When the people
tried to stop them, he gestured to them to leave the two
alone. After offering his prayer, he placed them in his
lap and said, Whoever loves me should love these
two."129
He
(sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam) used to say, There is
no one among my ummah whom I will not recognise on the
Day of Resurrection. They said, "How will you
recognise them, O Messenger of Allaah, among the
multitude of created beings?" He said, Do you not see
that were one of you to enter an enclosure in which
there was a jet black130
steed and a horse with a white forehead and legs131,
would you not recognise the latter from the former?
They said, "Of course." He said, Thus, my ummah on
that day will surely have white faces132
because of sujood, and white arms and feet133
because of ablution.134
He would also say, When Allaah intends to have
mercy on whomsoever he wishes of the people of the Fire,
He will order the angels to bring out whoever used to
worship Allaah; so they will bring them out, recognising
them from the marks of sujood, for Allaah has prohibited
the Fire from devouring the marks of sujood. Thus, they
will be brought out from the Fire, for the Fire devours
all of a son of Aadam except the marks of sujood.135
He
would often prostrate on the (bare) ground.137
"His Companions would pray with him in the
intense heat, so when one of them could not press his
forehead against the ground, he would spread his robe
and prostrate on that."138
He also used to say, the whole earth has been
made a place of worship (masjid) and a purification for
me and my ummah; so wherever prayer becomes due on
someone of my ummah, he has his place of worship
(masjid) and his purification next to him. Those before
me used to think that this was too much: indeed, they
would only pray in their churches and synagogues.139
Sometimes, he would prostrate in mud and water,
and that happened to him once at dawn on the
twenty-first night of Ramadaan, when it rained and the
roof of the mosque, which was made of palm-branches, was
washed away. So he (sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam)
prostrated in mud and water; Abu Sa'eed al- Khudri said,
"So I saw, with my own eyes, the Messenger of Allaah
(sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam), with traces of mud and
water on his forehead and nose."140
Also, "he would pray on a khumrah"141
sometimes, or "on a mat"142
sometimes, and "he prayed on it once when it had become
blackened due to prolonged use."143
Next, "he (sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam) would
raise his head from prostration while saying takbeer"144,
and he ordered "the one who prayed badly" to do that,
saying, The prayer of any person is not complete
until ... he prostrates until his limbs are at rest,
then he says, 'Allah is the Greatest' and raises his
head until he is sitting straight.145
Also, "he would raise his hands with this takbeer"
sometimes.146
Next, "he would lay his left foot along the
ground and sit on it [relaxed]"147,
and he ordered "the one who prayed badly" thus, saying
to him, When you prostrate, prostrate firmly, then
when you rise, sit on your left thigh.148
"He would have his right foot upright"149,
and "point its toes towards the qiblah."150
[See diagram - qss]
"He
would sometimes practise iq'aa' [resting on both his
heels and (all) his toes]."151
"He
(sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam) would be relaxed until
every bone returned to its (proper) position"152,
and he ordered "the one who prayed badly" likewise, and
said to him, The prayer of any of you is not complete
until he does this.153
Also, "he would lengthen it until it was about
almost as long as his sajdah"154,
and sometimes, "he would remain (in this position) until
one would say: He has forgotten."155
In
this sitting, he (sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam) would
say:
O Allaah! (in one version: O my
Lord!) Forgive me; have mercy on me;
[strengthen me;] [raise my rank;] guide me; [pardon
me;] sustain me.156
Or
sometimes, he would say:
O my Lord! Forgive me, forgive me.157
He
would say the above two in night prayer also.158
Next, "he would say takbeer and prostrate for the
second time."159
He also ordered "the one who prayed badly" to do so,
saying to him after he had ordered him to be at ease
between sajdahs, then say 'Allaah is the Greatest'
and prostrate until your joints are relaxed [and do that
in all your prayer].160
He would perform this sajdah exactly as he performed the
first one. Also, "he would raise his hands with this
takbeer" sometimes.161
Next, "he would raise his head while saying
takbeer"162,
and he ordered "the one who prayed badly" to do
likewise, saying to him after ordering him to prostrate
for the second time, "then raise your head and say
takbeer"163.
He also said to him, "[then do that in all your
bowings and prostrations,] for if you do that, your
prayer will be complete, and if you fall short in any of
this, you will be deficient in your prayer."164
Also, "he would raise his hands"165
sometimes with this takbeer.
Next, "he would sit straight [on his left foot,
upright, until every bone returned to its position]."166
Next, "he (sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam) would
get up for the second rak'ah, supporting himself on the
ground."167
Also, "he would clench his fists168
during prayer: supporting himself with his hands when
getting up."169
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