menstruating. Then one of us would take his small prayer mat and place it in the mosque while she was menstruating.” Narrated by Ahmad and al-Nasā’ī, whose wording is:

“She would spread it out while she was menstruating.”

This establishes that he prayed on a small prayer mat—a mat woven from palm leaves, used for prostration.

Also, in the two Sahīh collections, Anas ibn Mālik reported:

“His grandmother Mulaykah invited the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, to a meal she had prepared. He ate some of it, then said, ‘Stand up so that I may lead you in prayer.’ Anas said: ‘I went to a mat of ours that had become dark through long use and sprinkled it with water. The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, stood up, and the orphan and I formed a row behind him, with the elderly woman behind us. The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, led us in two rak‘ahs, then left.’”

In al-Bukhārī and Sunan Abī Dāwūd, Anas ibn Mālik said:

“A man of the Ansār said, ‘O Messenger of Allah, I am a heavily built man’—and he was heavily built—‘and cannot pray with you.’ He prepared a meal for him, invited him to his house and said, ‘Pray so that I may see how you pray and follow your example.’ They sprinkled one end of a mat of theirs with water for him, and he stood and prayed two rak‘ahs. Anas was asked, ‘Did he regularly offer the midmorning prayer?’ He replied, ‘I never saw him offer it except on that day.’”

In Sunan Abī Dāwūd, Anas ibn Mālik reported:

“The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, used to visit Umm Sulaym. Sometimes the time for prayer would come while he was there, and he would pray on a floor covering of hers—a woven mat that she would sprinkle with water.”

Muslim also narrated from Abū Sa‘īd al-Khudrī:

“He went in to see the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace. He said: