The marginal note observes: The wisdom behind this ruling is that prostration is meant to bring the most honorable limbs into direct contact with the ground, thereby perfecting humility and submission.

Shaykh ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn Saʿdī said: Among the sound distinctions regarding a barrier during prostration are three cases:
(a) If the barrier is one of the very limbs of prostration, the act is not valid.
(b) If it is a separate, detached covering, there is no objection to it.
(c) If the covering is attached to the worshipper, it is disliked unless there is an excuse such as heat, thorns, or the like.

10 – It is recommended to begin the prostration by lowering one’s knees, placing them on the ground before the hands.

11 – Prostrating on these seven limbs is by Allah’s command, a proof that it is beloved to Him; and whatever Allah loves ranks among the most excellent acts of worship. The servant sets his noblest organs upon the earth, and the perfection of this prostration lies in the worshipper’s forehead touching the very surface of the ground in utter submission and humility, pressing down so that the weight of his head rests there.

Ibn al-Qayyim said: The Prophet ﷺ would prostrate on his forehead and nose, never on the fold of his turban, and no authentic or even passably sound report confirms that he ever did so.

12 – Multiple chains of transmission establish the saying: “Whenever a servant prostrates to Allah a single prostration, Allah writes for him thereby a good deed and wipes away from him a sin.” Repeating the prostration in every rakʿah was therefore legislated, for it is the most powerful expression of humility.

13 – The texts urge prostration and extol its virtue, and the magnitude of its reward is known in religion by necessity. It is the heart of the prayer and its greatest pillar, and the worshipper is never closer to Allah than when he is prostrating.

14 – The marginal commentary on al-Rawḍ states: Prostrating on woolen cloth or felt is not disliked,