Objects on Which Sajdah Is Permissible and What Is Undesirable

“Abu ‘Abd Allah (a.s.), has said, ‘You must not perform Sujud (prostration) on anything except earth or on what grows from earth except cotton and linen.’”

“I once asked abu Ja‘far (a.s.), ‘Can I perform Sajdah (prostration) on asphalt? He (the Imam) said, ‘No, also not on cotton, wool, anything from animals, food, fruits of earth and not on anything of clothing.’”

“I once asked abu al-Hassan (a.s.), about lime which is fired with feces (dung) and bones of dead animals, then is used in the construction of Masjid. Is performing Sajdah (prostration) permissible on it?’ He (the Imam) wrote with his own hand writing, ‘Water and fire have cleansed it.’”

“Abu ‘Abd Allah (a.s.), has said, ‘Once my father asked for a prayer mat but I was not fast enough, so he took a handful of pebbles, placed them on the furnishing and performed Sajdah (prostration) on them.’”

“Abu al-Hassan (a.s.), has said, ‘You must not perform Sajdah (prostration) on graves and on a mix of lime and construction compound.’”

“Certain ones of our people once wrote to him (the Imam) through Ibrahim ibn ‘Uqbah, asking abu Ja‘far (a.s.), about performing Salah (prayer) on prayer mats made in al-Madinah. He (the Imam) wrote in answer, ‘You can perform Salah (prayer) on what is made with threads but not on that which is made with leather stripes.’ Our people were not clear about the meaning of ‘thread’ and ‘stripe’, so I presented a line of poem by Taabbata Sharran (name of a person) that said, ‘As if they are threads of Mariy which are twisted and attached.’ Mariy was a weaving man who worked with ropes and twines.

“Abu ’Abd Allah (a.s.), has said, ’Performing Sujud (prostration) on earth is obligatory and on a prayer mat is a tradition.”

“Abu ’Abd Allah (a.s.), has said, ‘You must not perform Sajdah (prostration) on gold or on silver.’”

One must not perform Sajdah (prostration) on an item on which none of the parts of his body rests.’” (According to Arabic footnote this Hadith is because of Taqiyah)

“One of the two Imam, (abu Ja’far or abu ‘Abd Allah), ‘Alayhim al-Salam, has said, ’My father would perform Sajdah (prostration) on a prayer mat. He would place it on Tanfash (carpet) and perform Sajdah (prostration) on it. If there was no prayer mat, he placed pebbles on Tanfash and performed Sajdah (prostration) on it.’”

“Abu ‘Abd Allah (a.s.), disliked performing Sajdah (prostration) on a piece of paper with writing on it.’”

“I once asked him (the Imam) (a.s.), about a man who performs Sajdah (prostration) on wet growing items. He (the Imam) said, ‘If your forehead touches the ground it is not harmful.’ I asked about stationary grass on the ground and dry leaves while he touches the ground. He (the Imam) said, ‘It is not harmful.’”

“Certain ones of our people wrote to abu al-Hassan, the previous one (a.s.), asking about Salah (prayer) on glass. He has said that when my letter finished I thought and said to myself that it is something that grows from earth, so I do not need to write and ask him (the Imam). He (the Imam) wrote to me, ‘You must not perform Salah (prayer) on glass even though your soul has spoken to you that it is of what earth grows. However, it is from salt and sand and they both are metamorphosed.’”