Is the command in the Hadith: "When one of you prostrates, let him not kneel down like a camel, but let him place his hands before his knees" for obligation or for recommendation?

Scholars differed on how to descend for prostration (sujud): The majority (Abu Hanifa, Al-Shafi'i, and Ahmad in one narration) held the view of placing the knees down first, citing the hadith of Wa'il ibn Hujr as evidence. The Malikis, Al-Awza'i, and some of the Hadith scholars (and Malik and Ahmad in another narration) held the view of placing the hands down first, citing the hadith: "When one of you prostrates, let him not kneel down as a camel does." This issue is a permissible difference of opinion, and there is no denunciation concerning it; the difference lies in what is superior. It was narrated from companions like Umar and Ibn Mas'ud that they would place their knees down first, and from Ibn Umar that he would place his hands down first.