the earth, but was made of leather or wool.

Al-Mughīrah ibn Shu‘bah said:

“The Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, used to pray on a woven mat and on a tanned pelt.”

Ahmad and Abū Dāwūd narrated this through Abū ‘Awn Muhammad ibn ‘Ubayd Allāh ibn Sa‘īd al-Thaqafī, from his father, from al-Mughīrah. Abū Hātim al-Rāzī said: “‘Ubayd Allāh ibn Sa‘īd is unknown.”

Ibn ‘Abbās reported:

“The Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, prayed on a rug.”

Ahmad and Ibn Mājah narrated this. In al-Bukhārī’s al-Tārīkh, Abū al-Dardā’ is reported to have said:

“I would not mind praying on a small prayer mat.”

Since the permissibility of praying on floor coverings is established by the Sunnah and scholarly consensus, it follows that the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, did not prohibit them from using something on which to prostrate to protect themselves from the heat. Rather, they asked him to delay the prayer beyond the delay he already allowed, but he did not grant their request. Some of them would protect themselves from the heat either with something separate from their clothing or with the edge of the garment they were wearing.

If it is said, “The hadith concerning the small prayer mat provides evidence for those who use a prayer rug, as some have indeed argued,” the reply is:

There are several answers to this. First, the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, did not pray on a small prayer mat