Praying on a carpet in the mosque
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The second question of Fatwa No. ( 17856 )
Q 2: Regarding praying on a carpet in the mosque, it is known that the Messenger of Allah’s (peace and blessings be upon him) mosque was of the same kind as the ground. In the authentic collections, from Abu Sa’id al-Khudri in the hadith of the Prophet’s (peace and blessings be upon him) i’tikaf, it is said: “We kept i’tikaf with the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him),” and the hadith is mentioned, and in it he said:. And Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah (may Allah have mercy on him) mentioned this issue in (al-Fatawa al-Kubra) (3 \ 32- 33- 34), Dar al-Ma’rifah edition, Lebanon, with the verification of Husayn Makhluf , in a question put to him, where his answer was: “Praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds. As for praying on a carpet such that the worshipper seeks it out, this was not the Sunnah of the Salaf from the Muhajireen and the Ansar, nor of those who followed them with excellence in the time of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him and his family). Rather, they used to pray in his mosque on the ground, and none of them would take a carpet to pray on exclusively. It has been narrated that when ‘Abd al-Rahman ibn Mahdi arrived in al-Madinah , he spread out a carpet, so Malik ordered him to be detained. It was said to him: “It is ‘Abd al-Rahman ibn Mahdi. He said: “Do you not know that spreading a carpet in our mosque is a bid’ah (religious innovation)?” Then he (may Allah have mercy on him) mentioned the hadith of Abu Sa’id al-Khudri mentioned above, and other hadiths indicating that.
But I found it difficult to understand the answer, specifically in what I have underlined. Does that mean taking a carpet to prostrate on without the other worshippers, or for all the worshippers? For example, we have sand, and our mosque is not paved; it only has sand, which is clean. In the summer, for example, a long white carpet is spread in the mosque along the length of the row, and its width is about half a meter, i.e., enough to place one’s hands, forehead, and nose on. Is what I have described to you considered a bid’ah (religious innovation) in this case? Knowing that there is no necessity calling for it, neither heat nor dust nor anything else, except in the case of exclusivity? Please make the answer clear and concise so that we do not misunderstand.
A 2: Praying on a carpet specific to the worshipper, or on the general carpet for worshippers in the mosque, is permissible. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) prayed on a mat, and on other coverings, and he prayed on the ground. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) did not restrict himself to a specific state of that, but rather he prayed on whatever was available. As for what Shaykh al-Islam mentioned, it is in a specific context, namely what the innovators do by believing in the virtue of praying on a specific carpet, and they consider praying on it better than praying on anything else. And success is from Allah, and may Allah send prayers and blessings upon our Prophet Muhammad and his family and his Companions.
Q 2: Regarding praying on a carpet in the mosque, it is known that the Messenger of Allah’s (peace and blessings be upon him) mosque was of the same kind as the ground. In the authentic collections, from Abu Sa’id al-Khudri in the hadith of the Prophet’s (peace and blessings be upon him) i’tikaf, it is said: “We kept i’tikaf with the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him),” and the hadith is mentioned, and in it he said:
Whoever keeps i’tikaf, let him return to his place of i’tikaf, for I saw in this night that I was prostrating in water and mud, and at the end of it: I saw with my own eyes on the morning of the twenty-first, on his nose and upper lip, the trace of water and mud
من اعتكف فليرجع إلى معتكفه، فإني رأيت هذه الليلة ورأيتني أسجد في ماء وطين وفي آخره: فلقد رأيت بعيني صبيحة إحدى وعشرين على أنفه وأرنبته أثر الماء والطينBut I found it difficult to understand the answer, specifically in what I have underlined. Does that mean taking a carpet to prostrate on without the other worshippers, or for all the worshippers? For example, we have sand, and our mosque is not paved; it only has sand, which is clean. In the summer, for example, a long white carpet is spread in the mosque along the length of the row, and its width is about half a meter, i.e., enough to place one’s hands, forehead, and nose on. Is what I have described to you considered a bid’ah (religious innovation) in this case? Knowing that there is no necessity calling for it, neither heat nor dust nor anything else, except in the case of exclusivity? Please make the answer clear and concise so that we do not misunderstand.
A 2: Praying on a carpet specific to the worshipper, or on the general carpet for worshippers in the mosque, is permissible. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) prayed on a mat, and on other coverings, and he prayed on the ground. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) did not restrict himself to a specific state of that, but rather he prayed on whatever was available. As for what Shaykh al-Islam mentioned, it is in a specific context, namely what the innovators do by believing in the virtue of praying on a specific carpet, and they consider praying on it better than praying on anything else. And success is from Allah, and may Allah send prayers and blessings upon our Prophet Muhammad and his family and his Companions.
Source
www.alifta.gov.sa
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.