nor on carpets or on any other type of furnishing. Al-Nawawī said: This is the position adopted by the vast majority of scholars.

15 – Shaykh al-Islām remarked: The hadiths and early reports show that, under normal circumstances, they would place their foreheads directly on the ground, and when necessity arose—such as extreme heat and the like—they would protect themselves with something attached to them, such as the edge of a garment or a turban. Therefore, the most balanced view on this question is that doing so is disliked except in cases of need.