How should the place to prostrate on be? On what things is it permissible to prostrate?

Dear Brother / Sister,

Sajdah (prostration) is fard since it is a part of the prayer. A person who performs a prayer prostrates after ruku’. After he stands up from ruku’, he prostrates by putting his knees on the ground and his forehead and nose (face) between his hands on the ground or floor. He glorifies Allah. Sajdah is done like that twice on end in each rak’ah.

If the forehead is put on the ground for sajdah but the nose is not, sajdah is still permissible but such a sajdah is makruh if there is no excuse. If the nose is put on the ground but not the forehead, it is permissible but makruh according to Abu Hanifa if there is no excuse. According to the two imams, such a sajdah is not permissible without an excuse.

Sajdah is not performed with the cheek and chin even if one has an excuse. If there is an excuse that prevents putting the forehead and nose on the ground, sajdah is performed through gesture.

It is not fard but sunnah to put the hands and the knees on the ground in prostration. However, according to Imam Zufar, Imam Shafii and Imam Ahmad, it is fard.

Sajdah is not permissible unless the toes of one foot or two feet are put on the ground.  This is the preferred view. It is not enough to put only one toe or only the top part of the foot on the ground.

If the place to prostrate is about half archine (34 cm) higher than the place where the feet are put, sajdah is permissible; if it is higher, it is not permissible.

It is permissible to perform prostration on knees due to multitude of people or another excuse. It is also permissible for the people who perform the same prayer to prostrate on the back of the people in front of them.

If a person prostrates on the curl of the turban on his head or the extra part of his garment and if they are on something clean and the curl of the turban touches the forehead, the prostration is permissible; otherwise, it is not permissible. It is necessary to feel the hardness of the ground. It is not permissible to prostrate on something like cotton, etc. that will prevent this hardness from being felt.

If a person prostrates on wool, cotton, hay, snow, etc. on the ground and if the gaps in them disappear and they become hard, sajdah is permissible on them. However, if the face collapses in them and if hardness is not felt, sajdah is not permissible until the face touches the ground and settles.

It is permissible to prostrate on sacks that contain wheat, barley, rice and corn. It is permissible to prostrate on wheat and barley that are not in a sack but it is not permissible to prostrate on slippery things like corn if they are not in a sack.

It is not permissible to prostrate on a small stone. However, if most of the forehead touches the ground with that stone, it is permissible.

It is permissible to prostrate on something clean that is spread on the ground even if one has no excuse. It does not matter whether the ground is dirty unless there is a dirty smell or the color of the dirt. Spreading something like that on the ground must aim to protect a person from heat, cold or the garment from dust and soil. If it is spread only to protect the forehead from the ground, it is makruh.

It is permissible to prostrate on two hands that are put on clean ground due to an excuse like being protected from heat or cold.

If the thing that is spread on the ground in order to perform a prayer is a clean garment, one should spread it in such a way to prostrate on the bottom part of it, not on the upper part. For, doing like that is more appropriate in terms of modesty.

Sajdah is a great part of the prayer. Sajdah is the perfect sign of modesty and glorification shown to Allah. The following is stated in a hadith:

"The closest state of a slave to his Lord is when he is in prostration. Therefore, say prayers a lot in sajdah." (Muslim, Salat 215)

Since sajdah is the state of humbleness and surrendering to Allah, prayers are expected to be accepted there.

A prayer without sajdah is not a prayer. A person who does not want to show his respect to his Creator by prostrating in His spiritual presence is regarded to have abandoned his duty of worshipping and he will be deprived the honor of attaining Allah’s mercy. (see Ömer Nasuhi Bilmen, Büyük İslam İlmihali, Namazlarda Secde)

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