English translation
891. It was narrated that Jābir said: The Messenger of Allāh ﷺ said: "When anyone of you prostrates let him be balanced in prostration,[1] and not spread his arms as a dog does." (Sahih)
Hadith 891
Being Balanced During Prostration
- English source
Darussalam · Volume 2
(5) The Chapters OfEstablishing The PrayerAnd The SunnahRegarding ThemSunan Ibn Majah Darussalam English translation
- Arabic source
- Shamela Arabic edition (opens in a new tab)
الحديث: 891 ¦ الجزء: 1 ¦ الصفحة: 288
Al-Albani source references (1)
- صحيح وضعيف سنن ابن ماجة (opens in a new tab)
Source no. 891 · Volume 1 · Page 33
Sahih
صحيح، الإرواء (٢ / ٩١) ، صفة الصلاة، صحيح أبي داود (٨٣٤)
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Arabic text
891 - حَدَّثَنَا عَلِيُّ بْنُ مُحَمَّدٍ قَالَ: حَدَّثَنَا وَكِيعٌ، عَنِ الْأَعْمَشِ، عَنْ أَبِي سُفْيَانَ، عَنْ جَابِرٍ، قَالَ: قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ: «إِذَا سَجَدَ أَحَدُكُمْ فَلْيَعْتَدِلْ، وَلَا يَفْتَرِشْ ذِرَاعَيْهِ افْتِرَاشَ الْكَلْبِ»
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Footnotes
- 1
[1] See no. 870, i.e., by placing his hands on the ground, lifting his elbows and not letting his stomach rest on his thighs. See explanation by Sindi.
Commentary
'Being balanced in prostration' means neither keeping oneself so high that some of the parts of the body fail to touch the ground, nor so low that the forearms begin to rest on the ground, or the belly starts touching the thighs. 'Being balanced' could also mean being moderate in performing the prostration, i.e., neither making it too long nor too short. Long prostration is, however, to be curtailed only if somebody else is performing the prayer behind us, whether it is an obligatory prayer or a voluntary one.