The Ruling on Praying on a Prayer Mat which contains Pictures

Question :

What is the ruling on praying on a prayer mat which contains pictures of mosques, domes under which there are graves, minarets and the like?

Answer:

Making pictures of things which do not possess a soul is Ipermissible, but praying on a mat which contains pictures of things which do not have a soul is disliked, due to its distracting the worshipper from his prayers, but the prayer is correct, according to the narration of Ahmad and Abu Dawud, by way of 'Uthman bin Talhah, may Allah be pleased with him, who reported that the Prophet called him after he entered the Ka'bah and said to him:
I saw the horns of a ram as I entered the house and I forgot to order you to cover them, so cover them, because it is not fitting that there should be anything in the house which distracts the worshipper.
Ahmad and Al-Bukhari also narrated by way of Anas, may Allah be pleased with him, that he said: "A'ishah, may Allah be pleased with her, had a blanket with which she covered a wall of the house, and the Prophet said to her:

Remove this blanket of yours from me, because its pictures did not cease disturbing me in my prayer."

So he ordered that the horns be covered and that the blanket be removed, from which it is clear that this causes the worshipper to be distracted from his prayers. But it has not been authentically reported that the Prophet stopped his prayer (because of it). Al-Bukhari and Muslim report by way of 'A'ishah, may Allah be pleased with her, that the Prophet prayed in a shirt which had patterns on it, and he glanced at its patterns, then after he had finished, he said:

"Go with this shirt of mine to Abu Jahm and bring me his Anbijaniyyah! for it distracted me from my prayer just now.

In this there is a warning from him against those things which distract the worshipper from his prayers, but he did not break off his prayer, and this proves the prohibition of those things which distract from the prayer, and (it proves) that the prayer is correct in spite of them. And may peace and blessings be upon our Prophet, Muhammad and upon all his family and Companions.

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