Prayer is an act of worship that is to be done as prescribed. The Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) taught us how it is to be done, and taught us its essential parts, etiquette and postures. That includes how to prostrate and the way in which the arms are to be placed whilst prostrating. This hadith includes a description of the Prophet’s prostration. ‘Abdullah ibn Malik ibn Buhaynah (may Allah be pleased with him) – and this Buhaynah was the mother of ‘Abdullah, as he was also referred to as her son; she is not the parent of Malik – narrates that the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) used to spread out his arms when prostrating. In other words, he held his arms away from his sides, like wings, to such an extent that the whiteness of his armpits became visible. This is by way of exaggeration in spreading the arms and keeping them far away from his sides. What is meant by whiteness is that there was no hair in his armpits, so their colour was like that of the rest of his body; either that was how he was created, or it was because he continually plucked them and always paid attention to that. It was said that rather he did that because it was by way of including the arms in this act of worship and making sure that they did not look as if there was any laziness or carelessness in this action, and to show that he was striving hard. And it was said that that was because it would make him lighter on the ground and he would not be heavy and thus carry too much weight on his forehead. And it was said that the wisdom behind that is that it is more akin to demonstrating humility and is more helpful in ensuring that the forehead and nose are touching the ground firmly. Moreover, it makes each part stand out on its own. This action is only for men; in the case of women, it is more appropriate for them to bring their limbs together, because what is required in the case of women is to be more concealing. This hadith highlights the concern of the Sahabah to transmit the actions of the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) and to describe them in precise detail. It also highlights how prostration should be done in the prayer, with humility before Allah (may He be glorified), humbling oneself before Him..