What is the ruling on hair falling on the place of prostration on the forehead?
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The questioner : What is the ruling on hair falling on the place of prostration on the forehead?
The Shaykh : It seems the questioner is asking about a situation where a person has long hair that falls onto his forehead, and he prostrates on it. If that is the case, I am not aware of anything that prevents this, because this hair is connected to him by his natural creation. However, what is to be avoided is prostrating on one's hands, as some ignorant people do, meaning they place their palms on the ground and then place their foreheads on the backs of their hands. This is prohibited, and the scholars have explicitly stated that this does not suffice; it does not suffice for a person in his prostration. Therefore, it is obligatory to be cautious of this. The scholars, may Allah have mercy on them, mentioned that prostrating on a barrier falls into three categories. The first category is one where prostration does not suffice, which is when the barrier is one of the limbs of prostration, such as prostrating with the forehead on the palms or prostrating with the palms on the knees. The prostration of such a person is not valid. It is well known that if the prostration is invalid, then a pillar of the prayer is invalid, and thus the prayer is invalid.
The second category is one where prostration is disliked but it suffices, which is when one prostrates on something connected to him, such as a garment, a shawl, or a head covering. This is disliked except out of necessity. The evidence for this is the hadith of Anas ibn Malik (may Allah be pleased with him), who said:Sahih Muslim 620.
The third category is permissible and there is no harm in it, which is when one prostrates on something separate from him, such as placing a handkerchief and prostrating on it with his forehead and hands, or the like. There is no harm in this because it is established that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) prayed on a khumrah, and a khumrah is a mat made of palm fronds on which a person can prostrate with his palms and forehead only. Yes.
The questioner : May Allah reward you. From the questions of a listener from Jeddah, a student from King Abdulaziz University.
The Shaykh : It seems the questioner is asking about a situation where a person has long hair that falls onto his forehead, and he prostrates on it. If that is the case, I am not aware of anything that prevents this, because this hair is connected to him by his natural creation. However, what is to be avoided is prostrating on one's hands, as some ignorant people do, meaning they place their palms on the ground and then place their foreheads on the backs of their hands. This is prohibited, and the scholars have explicitly stated that this does not suffice; it does not suffice for a person in his prostration. Therefore, it is obligatory to be cautious of this. The scholars, may Allah have mercy on them, mentioned that prostrating on a barrier falls into three categories. The first category is one where prostration does not suffice, which is when the barrier is one of the limbs of prostration, such as prostrating with the forehead on the palms or prostrating with the palms on the knees. The prostration of such a person is not valid. It is well known that if the prostration is invalid, then a pillar of the prayer is invalid, and thus the prayer is invalid.
The second category is one where prostration is disliked but it suffices, which is when one prostrates on something connected to him, such as a garment, a shawl, or a head covering. This is disliked except out of necessity. The evidence for this is the hadith of Anas ibn Malik (may Allah be pleased with him), who said:
We used to say (the noonprayer) with the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) in the intense heat, but when someone amongst us found it hard to place his forehead on the ground, he spread his cloth and prostrated on it.
كنا نصلي مع رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم في شدة الحر، فإذا لم يستطع أحدنا أن يمكّن جبهته من الأرض بسط ثوبه فسجد عليهThe third category is permissible and there is no harm in it, which is when one prostrates on something separate from him, such as placing a handkerchief and prostrating on it with his forehead and hands, or the like. There is no harm in this because it is established that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) prayed on a khumrah, and a khumrah is a mat made of palm fronds on which a person can prostrate with his palms and forehead only. Yes.
The questioner : May Allah reward you. From the questions of a listener from Jeddah, a student from King Abdulaziz University.