I have been commanded to prostrate on seven bones
Narrator in the source: Ibn ‘Abbās
Ibn ‘Abbās (may Allah be pleased with him and his father) reported that the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: "I have been commanded to prostrate on seven bones: the forehead (and he pointed to his nose), the hands, the knees, and the extremities of the feet, and not to tuck up the clothes and hair."- Grade in the source
- Authentic
- Reported by
- Agreed upon
- Source entry
- HadeethEnc · 10925 ↗
Original Arabic wording
عن ابنِ عَبَّاسٍ رضي الله عنهما عن النبيِّ صلى الله عليه وسلم قال: «أُمِرْتُ أَنْ أَسْجُدَ عَلَى سَبْعَةِ أَعْظُمٍ: عَلَى الْجَبْهَةِ وَأَشَارَ بِيَدِهِ عَلَى أَنْفِهِ، وَالْيَدَيْنِ، وَالرُّكْبَتَيْنِ، وَأَطْرَافِ الْقَدَمَيْنِ، وَلَا نَكْفِتَ الثِّيَابَ وَالشَّعَرَ».Understand this hadith
The Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) clarified that Allah commanded him to prostrate in prayer on seven body parts, which are: First: The forehead, i.e., the upper part of the face above the nose and eyes. The Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) pointed with his hand to his nose to clarify that the forehead and the nose represent one part of the seven and to stress the fact that one must touch the ground with his nose in prostration. The second and third parts: The two hands. The fourth and fifth: The knees. The sixth and seventh: The toes of both feet. He commanded us not to tie our hair or fold up our clothes when prostrating on the ground to protect them; rather, we should let them spread out and fall on the ground to prostrate along with the body parts.
Lessons from the hadith
- It is a must in prayer to prostrate on the seven parts.
- It is disliked to tuck up and fold back the clothes and hair in prayer.
- The one praying must maintain his composure during his prayer by placing the seven parts included in Sujūd (prostration) on the ground and resting on them until he recites the prescribed Dhikr (remembrance of Allah).
- The prohibition of folding back the hair is exclusively prescribed for men apart from women, who are commanded to cover themselves in prayer.
References (original Arabic)
صحيح البخاري (1/ 162) (812). صحيح مسلم (1/ 354) (490). المنهاج شرح صحيح مسلم، للنووي (4/ 206). مرقاة المفاتيح شرح مشكاة المصابيح، لعلي القاري (2/ 718). سبل السلام شرح بلوغ المرام، للصنعاني (1/ 270). توضيح الأحكام مِن بلوغ المرام، لعبد الله البسام (2/ 229). فتح ذي الجلال والإكرام شرح بلوغ المرام، لابن عثيمين (2/ 115). منار القاري، لحمزة قاسم (2/ 202).