He heard the Messenger of Allah ﷺ say when bowing, "Glory be to my Lord, the Most Great," three times, and when prostrating he said, "Glory be to my Lord, the Most High," three times.
أنه سمع رسول الله ﷺ يقول إذا ركع: سبحان ربي العظيم ثلاث، وإذا سجد قال: سبحان ربي الأعلى ثلاث مرات.
Ibn Majah (888) narrated it from Muhammad bin Rumh Misri, who said, Ibn Lahia reported to us, from Ubaydullah bin Abu Jafar, from Abu Azhar, from Huzaifa, and he mentioned it. Ibn Lahia is in it, and there is well-known discussion about him. Abu Azhar Misri had only two people narrate from him, and no one has confirmed him as reliable. However, Ibn Khuzayma (604) narrated it through the route of Ibn Abu Layla, from Shaybi, from Sila, from Huzaifa, that the Prophet ﷺ used to say in his ruku, "Glory be to my Lord the Magnificent," three times. Ibn Abu Layla is in this chain, whose name is Muhammad bin Abdul-Rahman, and he has poor memory, but he is corroborated in the first chain, and with these two chains the hadith becomes hasan according to the standard of Tirmidhi, since there is no one accused of fabrication in it.Similar in meaning is what was narrated from Uqba bin Amir. Abu Dawud (869) and Ibn Majah (887) both narrated it through the route of Abdullah bin Mubarak, from Musa bin Ayub Ghafiqi, who said, I heard my uncle Iyas bin Amir (whom Abu Dawud left unnamed) say, I heard Uqba bin Amir Juhani say, When "So glorify the name of your Lord, the Magnificent" [Haqqah 69:52] was revealed, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, "Put it in your ruku." When "Glorify the name of your Lord, the Most High" [Ala 87:1] was revealed, he said, "Put it in your sujud." Iyas bin Amir is unknown, or daif. Dhahabi said, He is not strong, and only his nephew's son, Musa bin Ayub, narrated from him alone.Or it may be Ayub bin Musa, as Abu Dawud (870) narrated it this way, through the route of Layth bin Saad, from Ayub bin Musa, or Musa bin Ayub, from a man of his people, from Uqba bin Amir, with the same meaning, adding that he said, The Messenger of Allah ﷺ, when he bowed, would say, "Glory be to my Lord the Most High, and praise be to Him," three times, and when he prostrated, he would say, "Glory be to my Lord the Most High, and praise be to Him," three times. Abu Dawud said, We fear that this addition may not be preserved. He also said, The people of Egypt alone transmit the chains of these two hadiths. End of quote.Ibn Khuzayma (600) also narrated it through the route of Musa bin Ayub, who said, I heard my uncle Iyas bin Amir, and he mentioned the hadith without mentioning the number.Similarly, what was narrated from Ibn Masud with the wording, "When one of you bows, let him say in his ruku, Glory be to my Lord the Magnificent, three times, for if he does that, his ruku is complete, and when one of you prostrates, let him say in his sujud, Glory be to my Lord the Most High, three times, for if he does that, his sujud is complete, and that is the minimum." Abu Dawud (886), Tirmidhi (261), and Ibn Majah (890) all narrated it through the route of Ibn Abu Dhib, from Ishaq bin Yazid Hudhali, from Awn bin Abdullah bin Utba, from Ibn Masud, and he mentioned the hadith.There are two defects in it. The first is that Ishaq bin Yazid Hudhali is said to be unknown, since only Ibn Abu Dhib narrated from him. The second is that there is a break in the chain, as Tirmidhi said, "Its chain is not connected, Awn bin Abdullah bin Utba never met Ibn Masud." Abu Dawud said, "This is mursal, Awn did not reach Abdullah." Bukhari also faulted it for being mursal in Tarikh al-Kabir (1/405). I say, Awn bin Abdullah bin Utba bin Masud, although he was a trustworthy worshipper, was one who frequently transmitted mursal reports, and Abdullah bin Masud, the eminent companion, was his father's uncle.Similarly, what was narrated from Jubayr bin Mutim, narrated by Bazzar in Kashf Astar (537) through the route of Abdul-Aziz bin Abdullah, from Abdul-Rahman bin Nafi bin Jubayr bin Mutim, from his father, from his grandfather, that the Prophet ﷺ used to say in his ruku, "Glory be to my Lord the Magnificent," three times, and in his sujud, "Glory be to my Lord the Most High," three times. Bazzar said, "We do not know of it from Jubayr except through this route, and Abdul-Aziz is salih, but not strong, and scholars have narrated from him." Haythami also attributed it to Tabarani in Al-Kabir.Similarly, the statement of Anas is not established as sound, "I never prayed behind anyone after the Messenger of Allah ﷺ who more resembled the Messenger of Allah ﷺ than this young man," meaning Umar bin Abdul-Aziz. He said, We estimated in his ruku ten glorifications, and in his sujud ten glorifications. Abu Dawud (888) and Nasai (1135) both narrated it through the route of Wahb bin Manus, who said, I heard Saeed bin Jubayr say, I heard Anas bin Malik, and he mentioned it. In its chain is Wahb bin Manus, who is "obscure," and Ahmad (12661) also narrated it through his route.So whoever adopts these hadiths says, It is from the sunnah not to glorify fewer than three times, and Tirmidhi points to this after quoting the statement of Ibn Masud, "The practice among the people of knowledge is upon this, they recommend that a man not fall short of three glorifications in ruku and sujud. It is narrated from Abdullah bin Mubarak that he said, I recommend that the imam say five glorifications, so that those behind him can attain three glorifications. Ishaq bin Ibrahim said likewise."Whoever holds the view that these hadiths conflict with the sahih hadiths stating that his ruku and sujud were proportional to his standing, does not adopt these hadiths, and holds that the basic rule in this matter is unlimited. The correct view is to reconcile between these hadiths, so that the minimum of glorification and praise is three, and there is no limit to its maximum. And success comes from Allah.