Is It Valid to Prostrate on a Soft Carpet?
Hanafi Fiqh
Answered by Ustadh Tabraze Azam
Question: 1) Is it necessary for the palm of the hand and the toes to be firmly on the ground during sajda?
2) If the answer to the above question is yes, nearly all of my local masjids have soft carpet with soft foam underneath.
The only way for your head/hand to become firmly established and not sink anymore is to push to the point of pain, otherwise it just keeps sinking.
Can you suggest what I do in this situation
Answer: Wa alaikum assalam wa rahmatullah,
I pray that you are in the best of health and faith, insha’Allah.
The prostration is valid on anything considered ground–such that were you to push down, you would find the hardness of the ground. [Ibn `Abidin, Radd al-Muhtar]
It is not a condition to actually push down, especially to the point of pain.
Thus, there is nothing wrong with prostrating on soft carpets.
And Allah alone gives success.
Wassalam,
Tabraze
Checked & Approved by Faraz Rabbani