Objects on Which Sajdah Is Permissible and What Is Undesirable

2. Ali ibn Ibrahim has narrated from his father from and Muhammad ibn ’Isma‘il from al-Fadl ibn Shadhan all from Hammad ibn ‘Isa from Zurarah who has said the following: “I once asked abu Ja‘far عليه السلام, ‘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.’”

3. Muhammad ibn Yahya has narrated from Ahmad ibn Muhammad from al-Hassan ibn Mahbub who has said the following: “I once asked abu al-Hassan عليه السلام, 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.’”

4. Muhammad ibn Yahya has narrated from Ahmad ibn Muhammad from Muhammad ibn Sinan from ibn Muskan from al-Halabiy who has said the following: “Abu ‘Abd Allah عليه السلام, 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.’”

5. Ali ibn Ibrahim has narrated from his father from Ibn Abi ‘Umayr from ‘Umar ibn ’Udhaynah from Fudayl ibn Yasar and Burayd ibn Mu‘awiyah who has said the following: “One of the two Imam, ‘Alayhim al-Salam, has said, ‘It is not harmful to stand on a prayer mat made of hairs and wool if one performs Sajdah (prostration) on earth, but if it is of the plants of earth, it is not harmful to stand on it and perform Sajdah (prostration) on it.’”

6. Ahmad ibn Idris and others have narrated Ahmad ibn Muhammad from Ali ibn ’Isma‘il from Muhammad ibn ‘Umar ibn Sa‘id who has said the following: “Abu al-Hassan عليه السلام, has said, ‘You must not perform Sajdah (prostration) on graves and on a mix of lime and construction compound.’”

7. Ali ibn Muhammad and others have narrated from Sahl ibn Ziyad from Ali ibn Rayyan who has said the following: “Certain ones of our people once wrote to him (the Imam) through Ibrahim ibn ‘Uqbah, asking abu Ja‘far عليه السلام, 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.

8. Muhammad ibn Yahya has narrated through the chain of narrators has said the following: “Abu ’Abd Allah عليه السلام, has said, ’Performing Sujud (prostration) on earth is obligatory and on a prayer mat is a tradition.”

9. Ahmad ibn Muhammad from Sahl ibn Ziyad from Muhammad ibn al-Walid from Yunus from Ya’qub who has said the following: “Abu ’Abd Allah عليه السلام, has said, ‘You must not perform Sajdah (prostration) on gold or on silver.’”

10. Ali ibn Ibrahim has narrated from his father from Muhammad ibn Yahya from Ghiyath ibn Ibrahim who has said the following: “Ja’far عليه السلام, has narrated from his father from Ali عليه السلام, who have said, ‘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)

11. Ahmad ibn Muhammad has narrated from al-Husayn ibn Sa’id from Fadalah from Aban from ‘Abd al-Rahman ibn abu ‘Abd Allah from Humran from who has said the following: “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.’”

12. Muhammad ibn Yahya has narrated from Ahmad ibn Muhammad from al-Husayn ibn Sa‘id from Fadalah from Jamil ibn Darraj who has said the following: “Abu ‘Abd Allah عليه السلام, disliked performing Sajdah (prostration) on a piece of paper with writing on it.’”

13. Muhammad ibn Yahya has narrated from al-‘Amrakiy al-Naysaburiy from Ali ibn Ja’far from his brother Musa ibn Ja‘far, ‘Alayhim al-Salam, has said the following: “I once asked him (the Imam) عليه السلام, 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.’”

14. Muhammad ibn Yahya has narrated from Muhammad ibn al-Husayn who has said the following: “Certain ones of our people wrote to abu al-Hassan, the previous one عليه السلام, 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.’”