Is there an indication in the hadith that it is not prescribed for the imam to have a special prayer mat for himself?
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The questioner : Is this in the hadith evidence that it is a religious innovation for the imam to have a prayer mat to the exclusion of the ma'mum?
The Shaykh : To the exclusion of what?
The questioner : I mean the imam having a prayer mat to the exclusion of the ma'mum. The Messenger of Allah did not have a prayer mat on which to prostrate.
The Shaykh : In the time of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), they did not pray on mats, neither the imam nor the ma'mum.
The questioner : Shaykh, so Aisha's statement in Sunan Abu Dawud—I do not remember the hadith—she said he had a khamisah on which he prayed, or a mat.
The Shaykh : That was not in congregational prayer. He would pray on a khamrah, which is a small piece of palm fiber matting, but it was small and did not accommodate more than his hands and forehead. Yes.
The Shaykh : To the exclusion of what?
The questioner : I mean the imam having a prayer mat to the exclusion of the ma'mum. The Messenger of Allah did not have a prayer mat on which to prostrate.
The Shaykh : In the time of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), they did not pray on mats, neither the imam nor the ma'mum.
The questioner : Shaykh, so Aisha's statement in Sunan Abu Dawud—I do not remember the hadith—she said he had a khamisah on which he prayed, or a mat.
The Shaykh : That was not in congregational prayer. He would pray on a khamrah, which is a small piece of palm fiber matting, but it was small and did not accommodate more than his hands and forehead. Yes.