Errors by Ibn Ḥajar Concerning Some Narrators — and Other Benefits

Ibn Ḥajar (may Allāh have mercy on him) said in al-Maṭālib al-ʿĀliyah (4/161):

“Abū Bakr said: Muḥammad ibn ʿUmar narrated to us; ʿAbd Allāh ibn Jaʿfar narrated to us; from Ismāʿīl ibn Muḥammad; from ʿĀmir ibn Saʿd; from his father (may Allāh be pleased with him), who said: The Messenger of Allāh ﷺ said:
‘When a servant prostrates, he prostrates upon seven limbs: his face, his two palms, his two knees, and his two feet. Whatever he does not place, he has diminished.’

And ʿAbd ibn Ḥumayd said: Abū Bakr ibn Abī Shaybah narrated to us with this.”

I say: Muḥammad ibn ʿUmar is al-Wāqidī — extremely weak — but he did not narrate it alone, for Abū Yaʿlā said: Mūsā ibn Muḥammad ibn Ḥayyān narrated to us; Muḥammad ibn Abī al-Wazīr Abū al-Muṭarrif narrated to us; from ʿAbd Allāh ibn Jaʿfar with something similar.

It was narrated only by ʿAbd Allāh ibn Jaʿfar, who is the father of ʿAlī ibn al-Madīnī, and he is weak. He erred in its chain. Rather, it was narrated by ʿĀmir ibn Saʿd from al-ʿAbbās ibn ʿAbd al-Muṭṭalib (may Allāh be pleased with him). Thus it was reported by Muslim and the authors of the Sunan. End quote.

I say

Ibn Ḥajar (may Allāh have mercy on him) fell into two errors:

First: His statement that Muḥammad ibn ʿUmar is al-Wāqidī. This is not so. Rather, he is Muḥammad ibn ʿUmar Abū al-Muṭarrif himself, the same one who appears in Abū Yaʿlā’s chain, which was right in front of him — yet he treated Abū Yaʿlā’s narration as a corroboration for it!

Al-Bukhārī said in al-Tārīkh al-Kabīr (1/178):

“Muḥammad ibn ʿUmar Abū Muṭarrif — he is Muḥammad ibn Abī al-Wazīr al-Baṣrī; he is the brother of Ibrāhīm, the client of Banū Hāshim.”

And Muslim said in al-Kunā waʾl-Asmāʾ (1/799):

“Abū Muṭarrif Muḥammad ibn Abī al-Wazīr: he heard from ʿAbd Allāh al-Makhramī, ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz ibn Muḥammad, and Sharīk.”

When Ibn Ḥajar saw “Muḥammad ibn ʿUmar” without a nisbah in the ḥadīth of Abū Bakr ibn Abī Shaybah, he attributed him and assumed he was al-Wāqidī — and thus erred.

ʿAbd ibn Ḥumayd said in his Musnad (p. 82), no. (156):

Ibn Abī Shaybah narrated to us; he said: Muḥammad ibn ʿUmar narrated to us; from ʿAbd Allāh ibn Jaʿfar; from Ismāʿīl ibn Muḥammad; from ʿĀmir ibn Saʿd; from his father, who said: The Messenger of Allāh ﷺ said:
“When a servant prostrates, he prostrates upon seven limbs: his face, his two palms, his two knees, and his two feet. Whatever he does not place, he has diminished.”

Second: His statement that ʿAbd Allāh ibn Jaʿfar is the father of ʿAlī ibn al-Madīnī. This is also incorrect. Rather, he is ʿAbd Allāh ibn Jaʿfar ibn ʿAbd al-Raḥmān al-Makhramī, and there is no harm in him.

The Ḥadīth’s Sources and the Related Errors

Al-Ṭaḥāwī narrated it in Sharḥ Maʿānī al-Āthār (1/255–256) via Ibrāhīm ibn Abī al-Wazīr and Abū ʿĀmir al-ʿAqdī.

Abū Yaʿlā narrated it in his Musnad (2/60) via Mūsā ibn Muḥammad ibn Ḥayyān from Muḥammad ibn Abī al-Wazīr Abū al-Muṭarrif.

All three — Ibrāhīm, his brother Muḥammad, and Abū ʿĀmir — from ʿAbd Allāh ibn Jaʿfar; from Ismāʿīl ibn Muḥammad; from ʿĀmir ibn Saʿd; from his father, who said:

“The servant is commanded to prostrate upon seven limbs of himself: his face, his two palms, his two knees, and his two feet. Whichever of them he does not place, he has diminished.”

In this ḥadīth there are several points:

It states: “from ʿĀmir ibn Saʿd, from his father,” which is an error, as Ibn Ḥajar himself pointed out earlier. The correct version is: “from ʿĀmir ibn Saʿd, from al-ʿAbbās.”
The first version came as mawqūf (stopped), whereas the correct form is marfūʿ (raised), as in Ibn Mahdī’s narration.
In the mawqūf narration there is an addition: “Whichever of them he does not place, he has diminished.” This does not appear in the other authentic narrations through routes other than ʿAbd Allāh ibn Jaʿfar, and it resembles a mawqūf statement.
Al-Haythamī said in Majmaʿ al-Zawāʾid (2/124):

“From Saʿd ibn Abī Waqqāṣ, who said: ‘The servant is commanded to prostrate upon seven limbs…’ It was narrated by Abū Yaʿlā, and in it is Mūsā ibn Muḥammad ibn Ḥayyān, whom Abū Zurʿah weakened.”
Shaykh Ḥusayn Salīm Asad, the editor of Abū Yaʿlā’s Musnad, said while discussing this narration (2/61), footnote (1):

“Its chain is ḥasan. It is mawqūf, but it has the ruling of marfūʿ, since such a statement cannot be said based on opinion…”

Thus it was narrated by Imām Aḥmad in his Musnad (1/206) from ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn Mahdī, who said: ʿAbd Allāh ibn Jaʿfar narrated to us; from Ismāʿīl ibn Muḥammad; from ʿĀmir ibn Saʿd; from al-ʿAbbās, who said: The Messenger of Allāh ﷺ said:

“When a man prostrates, seven limbs prostrate with him: his face, his two palms, his two knees, and his two feet.”

Thus, the narration of Ibn Mahdī from ʿAbd Allāh ibn Jaʿfar al-Makhramī is the correct one.

ʿAbd Allāh ibn Jaʿfar also narrated it with another chain. Imām Aḥmad narrated in his Musnad:

ʿAbd al-Raḥmān — meaning Ibn Mahdī — narrated to us; ʿAbd Allāh ibn Jaʿfar narrated to us; from Yazīd ibn ʿAbd Allāh ibn al-Hād; from Muḥammad ibn Ibrāhīm; from ʿĀmir ibn Saʿd; from al-ʿAbbās ibn ʿAbd al-Muṭṭalib; from the Prophet ﷺ, with a similar wording.

The documentation of this version will follow.

ʿAbd Allāh ibn Jaʿfar followed the familiar route here because he narrates another ḥadīth concerning prayer with this same chain. It appears that he became confused and did not preserve it accurately when narrating from memory, but when narrating from his book he preserved it correctly.

Muslim narrated in his Ṣaḥīḥ (1/409):

Isḥāq ibn Ibrāhīm narrated to us; Abū ʿĀmir al-ʿAqdī informed us; ʿAbd Allāh ibn Jaʿfar narrated to us; from Ismāʿīl ibn Muḥammad; from ʿĀmir ibn Saʿd; from his father, who said:
“I used to see the Messenger of Allāh ﷺ give salām to his right and to his left until I could see the whiteness of his cheek.”

Al-Nasāʾī narrated it in al-Sunan al-Kubrā (1/392) from Isḥāq ibn Ibrāhīm with this same chain, then said:

“This ʿAbd Allāh ibn Jaʿfar is unobjectionable; whereas ʿAbd Allāh ibn Jaʿfar ibn Najīḥ, the father of ʿAlī ibn al-Madīnī, is abandoned.”

Confusion in the Printed Edition of Ḥilyat al-Awliyāʾ

Abū Nuʿaym al-Aṣbahānī narrated in Ḥilyat al-Awliyāʾ (9/36):

Abū Bakr ibn Mālik narrated to us; ʿAbd Allāh ibn Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal narrated to us; my father narrated to me; ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn Mahdī narrated to us; ʿAbd Allāh ibn Jaʿfar narrated to us; from Yazīd ibn al-Hād; from Muḥammad ibn Ibrāhīm; from ʿĀmir ibn Saʿd; from al-ʿAbbās ibn ʿAbd al-Muṭṭalib; from the Prophet ﷺ, who said:
“When a servant prostrates, seven limbs prostrate with him: his face, his two palms, his two knees, and his two feet.”

Then it says:

“ʿAbd Allāh ibn Jaʿfar — he is Ibn ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn al-Miswar ibn Makhramah — narrated to us; Muḥammad ibn Ibrāhīm narrated to us; Abū Yaʿlā narrated to us; Abū Khaythamah narrated to us; ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn Mahdī and Abū Saʿīd, the client of Banū Hāshim, narrated to us; from ʿAbd Allāh ibn Jaʿfar; from Ismāʿīl ibn Muḥammad ibn Saʿd; from ʿĀmir ibn Saʿd; from his father, who said:
‘The Messenger of Allāh ﷺ used to give salām to his right until the whiteness of his cheek appeared, and to his left until the whiteness of his cheek appeared.’”

I say: What appears in the printed edition — “ʿAbd Allāh ibn Jaʿfar — he is Ibn ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn al-Miswar ibn Makhramah” — is not in Abū Nuʿaym’s original text. It seems it was in the margin of the manuscript. Whoever wrote it intended to clarify who ʿAbd Allāh ibn Jaʿfar is in the ḥadīth, and it is possible that Abū Nuʿaym himself wrote it to avoid confusion for the reader.

The second ḥadīth actually begins with Abū Nuʿaym’s words: “Muḥammad ibn Ibrāhīm narrated to us; Abū Yaʿlā narrated to us…” Muḥammad ibn Ibrāhīm Abū Bakr is Abū Nuʿaym’s shaykh.

The ḥadīth is found in Abū Yaʿlā’s Musnad (2/127):

Abū Khaythamah narrated to us; ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn Mahdī and Abū Saʿīd, the client of Banū Hāshim, narrated to us; from ʿAbd Allāh ibn Jaʿfar; from Ismāʿīl ibn Muḥammad ibn Saʿd; from ʿĀmir ibn Saʿd; from his father…

Imām Aḥmad also narrated it in his Musnad (1/172):

ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn Mahdī and Abū Saʿīd narrated to me; they said: ʿAbd Allāh ibn Jaʿfar narrated to us; from Ismāʿīl ibn Muḥammad — Abū Saʿīd said: Ismāʿīl ibn Muḥammad narrated to us; from ʿĀmir ibn Saʿd; from his father…

The sound narration from ʿĀmir ibn Saʿd from al-ʿAbbās… and matters related to the wording “ārāb”

Imām Muslim narrated in his Ṣaḥīḥ, Book of Prayer (1/355), no. (491):

Qutaybah ibn Saʿīd narrated to us; Bakr—he is Ibn Muḍar—narrated to us; from Ibn al-Hād; from Muḥammad ibn Ibrāhīm (al-Taymī); from ʿĀmir ibn Saʿd; from al-ʿAbbās ibn ʿAbd al-Muṭṭalib: that he heard the Messenger of Allāh ﷺ say:
“When the servant prostrates, seven extremities prostrate with him: his face, his two palms, his two knees, and his two feet.”

Imām Aḥmad narrated it in his Musnad (1/208), Abū Dāwūd in his Sunan, chapter: The limbs of prostration (1/235), al-Nasāʾī in al-Sunan al-Kubrā (1/230), and al-Tirmidhī in his Jāmiʿ, chapter: What has come regarding prostration upon seven members (2/61)—all of them from Qutaybah with this chain—using the wording:

“When the servant prostrates, seven ārāb prostrate with him: his face, his two palms, his two knees, and his two feet.”

Al-Tirmidhī said:

“In this chapter there are narrations from Ibn ʿAbbās, Abū Hurayrah, Jābir, and Abū Saʿīd.”

He said:

“The ḥadīth of al-ʿAbbās is ḥasan ṣaḥīḥ, and this is the practice among the people of knowledge.”

Al-Nasāʾī also narrated it in al-Sunan al-Kubrā, chapter: Prostration upon the feet (1/231), from Muḥammad ibn ʿAbd Allāh ibn al-Ḥakam, from Shuʿayb, from al-Layth, who said: Ibn al-Hād informed us—likewise.

Ibn Mājah narrated it in his Sunan, chapter: Prostration (1/286), from Yaʿqūb ibn Ḥumayd ibn Kāsub, who said: ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz ibn Abī Ḥāzim narrated to us; from Yazīd ibn al-Hād—likewise.

In Muslim’s narration the wording is “aṭrāf,” while in all the other narrations it is “ārāb”:

Al-Bazzār said in his Musnad (4/146):

“It was narrated by Saʿd, Ibn ʿAbbās, Abū Hurayrah, and others, and we do not know anyone who said ‘ārāb’ except al-ʿAbbās. We do not know this ḥadīth to be narrated from al-ʿAbbās except by this route with this chain. And ʿAbd Allāh ibn Jaʿfar narrated it from Ismāʿīl ibn Muḥammad ibn Saʿd, from ʿĀmir ibn Saʿd, from his father; and the correct version is the ḥadīth of ʿĀmir ibn Saʿd from al-ʿAbbās.”

Most scholars attributed it to Muslim with the wording “ārāb,” among them: al-Dhahabī in al-Siyar (20/111), al-Mizzī in Tahdhīb al-Kamāl (14/229), Ibn ʿAsākir in Tārīkhih (26/274), and Ibn ʿAbd al-Hādī in al-Tanqīḥ (1/407).

Al-Ḥāfiẓ Ibn Ḥajar said in Fatḥ al-Bārī (2/296):

“It is also narrated from Shuʿbah, from ʿAmr ibn Dīnār, with the wording: ‘that the Prophet ﷺ said: We were commanded…’ From this it is known that Ibn ʿAbbās received it from the Prophet ﷺ either by hearing it from him or by being informed of it from him. Muslim narrated it from al-ʿAbbās ibn ʿAbd al-Muṭṭalib with the wording: ‘When the servant prostrates, seven ārāb prostrate with him…’ This supports that the nūn in ‘umirnā’ is the plural nūn, and that ‘ārāb’ (with elongation) is the plural of ‘irb,’ with kasrah on its first letter and sukun on its second, meaning ‘a limb.’ It is also possible that Ibn ʿAbbās received it from his father, may Allāh be pleased with him.”

He said in al-Talkhīṣ al-Ḥabīr (1/252):

“The wording ‘upon seven ārāb’ appears in the Sunan of Abū Dāwūd by this route, and in Abū Yaʿlā’s narration from Saʿd ibn Abī Waqqāṣ, where he added: ‘Whichever of them he does not place, he has diminished.’ Muslim has a similar narration from al-ʿAbbās ibn ʿAbd al-Muṭṭalib. Al-Mundhirī attributed it to the two Ṣaḥīḥs and erred, for it appears in some copies of Muslim but not others. For this reason al-Ḥākim included it, while ʿAbd al-Ḥaqq did not mention it. Ibn Ḥibbān authenticated it, and the authors of the Aṭrāf, al-Ḥumaydī in al-Jamʿ, Ibn al-Jawzī in his Jāmiʿ and Taḥqīq, al-Bayhaqī, and Ibn Taymiyyah in al-Muntaqā attributed it to Muslim. Qāḍī ʿIyāḍ objected to this in his commentary on Muslim, saying: ‘It did not occur with our shaykhs in Muslim, and al-Bukhārī did not narrate it at all.’ Al-Bazzār said: ‘We do not know anyone who said “ārāb” except al-ʿAbbās.’ This is countered by the narration of Ibn ʿAbbās in the Sunan of Abū Dāwūd.”

Al-Zaylaʿī said in Naṣb al-Rāyah (1/383):

“The ḥadīth of al-ʿAbbās ibn ʿAbd al-Muṭṭalib—that he heard the Messenger of Allāh ﷺ say: ‘When the servant prostrates, seven ārāb prostrate with him: his face, his two palms, his two knees, and his two feet.’ End quote. Ibn Ḥibbān narrated it in his Ṣaḥīḥ, and al-Ḥākim in al-Mustadrak and was silent regarding it. Al-Bazzār narrated it in his Musnad with the wording: ‘The servant is commanded to prostrate upon seven ārāb.’ Al-Bazzār said: ‘This ḥadīth was narrated by Saʿd, Ibn ʿAbbās, Abū Hurayrah, and others; we do not know anyone who said “ārāb” except al-ʿAbbās.’ End quote. I say: Ibn ʿAbbās also said it, as narrated by Abū Dāwūd in his Sunan from him as marfūʿ: ‘I was commanded—or perhaps he said: your Prophet ﷺ was commanded—to prostrate upon seven ārāb.’ End quote. He did not mention them. And in the two Ṣaḥīḥs, from Ibn ʿAbbās as marfūʿ: ‘I was commanded to prostrate upon seven bones,’ and in another wording: ‘seven members,’ mentioning the forehead without the nose. It is possible that his statement in the book, ‘and they are the forehead…,’ is from the author’s own words, not from the ḥadīth. So let this be considered.”

I say: In the printed edition of Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim from the narration of Qutaybah ibn Saʿīd, the wording is “aṭrāf,” not “aʿẓām” as Qāḍī ʿIyāḍ stated; while in all the other narrations from Qutaybah it is “ārāb.” It seems that there is a scribal error in some copies of Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim, where “ārāb” was altered to “aṭrāf” or “aʿẓām.” The correct wording is “ārāb,” since everyone who transmitted the ḥadīth from the narration of Qutaybah mentioned that—except in some copies of Muslim. This is further supported by the fact that the ḥadīth was narrated through other routes besides Qutaybah, and those routes also contain “ārāb.” Thus it is determined—Allāh willing—that this is the correct wording.

It seems that al-Zaylaʿī inclined to the view that those who mentioned “ārāb” in the narration of al-ʿAbbās were confused by what appears in the narration of Ibn ʿAbbās in Abū Dāwūd, as in his statement: “What appears—Allāh knows best—is that someone preceded with an error and the others followed him… for al-ʿAbbās can be confused with Ibn ʿAbbās, and ‘seven ārāb’ is close to ‘seven bones.’” This is questionable. How could such confusion occur when one is narrating Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim by means of a ḥadīth in Abū Dāwūd?!

It is also noticeable in the statements of Ibn Ḥajar and al-Zaylaʿī cited above that they relied upon the narration containing the error “from ʿĀmir ibn Saʿd, from his father,” and thus did not notice the defect in the chain. The narrations of al-Ṭaḥāwī and Abū Yaʿlā go back to the narration of al-ʿAbbās, and mentioning Saʿd ibn Abī Waqqāṣ is an error, as I have explained—praise be to Allāh.

Is the nose mentioned in some narrations of the ḥadīth of al-ʿAbbās?

Al-Zamakhsharī mentioned in his al-Kashshāf when commenting on the verse {And that the mosques belong to Allāh, so do not call upon anyone along with Allāh} [al-Jinn: 18]:

“The Messenger of Allāh ﷺ said: ‘I was commanded to prostrate upon seven ārāb: the forehead, the nose, the two hands, the two knees, and the two feet.’”

The editor of the book said in Takhrīj al-Aḥādīth waʾl-Āthār (4/103):

“I say: I have not found it narrated with this wording except by al-Bazzār in his Musnad from the ḥadīth of al-ʿAbbās ibn ʿAbd al-Muṭṭalib, who said that the Messenger of Allāh ﷺ said: ‘I was commanded to prostrate upon seven ārāb,’ then he mentioned them, except that he said ‘the face’ instead of the forehead and nose, which is more appropriate to preserve the count… The ḥadīth is in the four Sunan with their wording: ‘When the servant prostrates, seven ārāb prostrate with him: his face, his two palms, his two feet, and his two knees.’ Abū Dāwūd narrated from the ḥadīth of Ibn ʿAbbās that the Messenger of Allāh ﷺ said: ‘I was commanded—or perhaps he said: your Prophet ﷺ was commanded—to prostrate upon seven ārāb.’ End quote. He did not mention them. And in the two Ṣaḥīḥs, from Ibn ʿAbbās as marfūʿ: ‘I was commanded to prostrate upon seven bones,’ and in another wording: ‘seven members,’ mentioning the forehead without the nose. It is possible that his statement in the book, ‘and they are the forehead…,’ is from the author’s own words, not from the ḥadīth. So let this be considered.”

I say: In the ḥadīth of al-ʿAbbās there is no mention of the forehead and the nose. The narration of al-Bazzār mentions the face, as previously explained.

Ibn Abī Ḥātim said in ʿIlal al-Ḥadīth (1/75):

“I asked my father about the ḥadīth of al-ʿAbbās ibn ʿAbd al-Muṭṭalib from the Prophet ﷺ: ‘The servant prostrates upon seven ārāb: his face, his two knees, and his two feet,’ and he did not mention the nose. My father said: ‘It is sound.’”

The nose is mentioned in other authentic ḥadīths. The conclusion is that the “face” mentioned in the ḥadīth of al-ʿAbbās includes the forehead and the nose. It seems that the original author narrated the ḥadīth by meaning, as the editor clarified in the concluding part of his previous statement.

Al-Bukhārī narrated in his Ṣaḥīḥ, chapter: Prostrating on the nose (1/280), and Muslim in his Ṣaḥīḥ (1/354), from the route of Wuhayb, who said: ʿAbd Allāh ibn Ṭāwūs narrated to us; from Ṭāwūs; from Ibn ʿAbbās: that the Messenger of Allāh ﷺ said:

“I was commanded to prostrate upon seven bones: the forehead”—and he gestured with his hand toward his nose—“the two hands, the two legs, and the tips of the two feet, and not to gather the clothes nor the hair.”

Muslim also narrated in his Ṣaḥīḥ (1/355) from Abū al-Ṭāhir, and Ibn Khuzaymah in his Ṣaḥīḥ (1/321) from Yūnus ibn ʿAbd al-Aʿlā—both from ʿAbd Allāh ibn Wahb—who said: Ibn Jurayj narrated to me; from ʿAbd Allāh ibn Ṭāwūs; from his father; from ʿAbd Allāh ibn ʿAbbās: that the Messenger of Allāh ﷺ said:

“I was commanded to prostrate upon seven and not to gather the hair nor the clothes: the forehead and the nose, the two hands, the two knees, and the two feet.”

Ibn Mājah narrated in his Sunan (1/286):

Hishām ibn ʿAmmār narrated to us; Sufyān narrated to us; from Ibn Ṭāwūs; from his father; from Ibn ʿAbbās, who said: The Messenger of Allāh ﷺ said:
“I was commanded to prostrate upon seven and not to gather hair nor garment.”

Ibn Ṭāwūs said:

“My father used to say: the two hands, the two knees, and the two feet; and he used to count the forehead and the nose as one.”

Ibn Khuzaymah narrated it in his Ṣaḥīḥ (1/321) from al-Makhzūmī; from Sufyān; from Ibn Ṭāwūs; from his father; from Ibn ʿAbbās with a similar wording, except that he said: “or gather his clothes or his hair,” and (Ibn Ṭāwūs would pass his hand over his forehead and nose saying: they are one).

ʿAbd al-Razzāq narrated in his Muṣannaf (2/179) from Maʿmar; from Ibn Ṭāwūs; from his father, who said: The Messenger of Allāh ﷺ said:

“I was commanded to prostrate upon seven and not to gather hair nor garment: upon the forehead and the nose,” then he would pass his hands over his forehead and nose, “and the two palms, the two knees, and the two feet.”

I say: From this it is established that the face includes the forehead and the nose. The jurists differed regarding prostration on the nose: some held it to be obligatory, others recommended. It was also said that prostration on the forehead suffices without the nose, and vice versa.

Al-Nawawī said in his commentary on Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim (4/208):

“One should prostrate on both the forehead and the nose. As for the forehead, placing it uncovered on the ground is obligatory, and part of it suffices. The nose is recommended; if one leaves it, it is permissible. If one restricts himself to the nose and leaves the forehead, it is not valid. This is the view of al-Shāfiʿī and Mālik (may Allāh have mercy on them) and the majority. Abū Ḥanīfah (may Allāh be pleased with him) and Ibn al-Qāsim from the companions of Mālik said: he may suffice with whichever of the two he wishes. Aḥmad (may Allāh have mercy on him) and Ibn Ḥabīb from the companions of Mālik held that one must prostrate on both the forehead and the nose together, due to the apparent meaning of the ḥadīth. The majority said: rather, the apparent meaning of the ḥadīth is that they are treated as one limb, since he said ‘seven’; if they were two limbs, it would be eight. The mention of the nose is for recommendation.”

I say: Rather, they are seven, not eight, because he expressed them as “the face.” The ḥadīth is clear and explicit that he gestured to the nose. Hence al-Bukhārī’s chapter heading, as previously cited. The correct position is that of Imām Aḥmad and those who followed him—and Allāh knows best.

Written by: Dr. Khālid al-Ḥāyik
4/12/2009