Issue No.961- At a place where a person has to observe taqīyyah (concealing one’s faith in dangerous situations), he can perform sajdah on a carpet or other similar objects, and it is not necessary for him to go somewhere else to perform sajdah on turbah. In case, however, he can perform sajdah at the same place on a mat, stone or any other thing on which it is permissible to perform sajdah, it is obligatory to do so.
Issue No.962- It is not permissible, as an obligatory precaution, to perform sajdah on an object on which the body does not stay still. However, as we have mentioned earlier, if one can perform the obligatory parts of the prayer in a moving ship or train, etc., his prayer is correct. There is no harm in performing sajdah on a mattress or similar things where the body is not still at first but becomes so later.
Issue No.963- If the ground on which a person wants to perform sajdah is muddy and his body and his clothes will become dirty if he performs sajdah, he can perform his prayer in a standing posture and indicate for sajdah with his head.
Issue No.966- The obligatory precaution is that sajdah should not be performed on the leaves of grapevine, which some people use in food.
Issue No.967- It is permissible to perform sajdah on grass, hay, etc., which grow from earth and are served as fodder for animals, and also on flowers which are not edible by human beings. However, sajdah on flowers and herbs, which are medicinal, such as violet flowers and borage is not permissible, as an obligatory precaution. The same rule also applies to flowers that are edible in some cities, but are not edible in other cities.
Issue No.970- Earth, especially the one taken from the land of Karbala, [which reminds us of the blood of the martyrs of Karbala], is the best thing for performing sajdah on.
Issue No.971- If a person does not possess anything on which it is allowed to perform sajdah, or even if he possesses such a thing, but cannot perform sajdah on it due to severe heat or cold, he should perform sajdah on his clothes if made of linen or cotton. If his clothes are made of other fabrics, e.g., wool, he should perform sajdah on them or on the carpet, and in case this is not possible, he can perform sajdah on metals or mineral materials. If however, he cannot find anything at all on which to perform sajdah, he may perform sajdah on the back of his hand. Therefore, the back of one’s hand should be regarded as the last thing on which he may perform sajdah.
Issue No.973- If while offering prayer, oneloses the object on which he is performing sajdah (e.g., a child takes it away), if there is time remaining, he should finish the prayer and offer it again, as an obligatory precaution, but if the time for prayer is short, then it is not necessary to offer it again. In either of the two cases, he should act according to issue no. 971.
Issue No.977- Certain acts are mustaḥab in sajdah and one can perform them with the hope of gaining divine reward:1- It is mustaḥab to say takbīr after one raises his head from rukū‘, while the body is still, before going into sajdah and after the first sajdah before going into the second one. 2- While going into sajdah, a man should first place his hands on the ground, and a woman should first place her knees on the ground.3- In addition to the forehead, the person offering prayer should place his nose on an object on which sajdah is allowed.4- While performing sajdah, fingers should be joined, parallel to the ears, with their tips towards the qiblah.5- While in sajdah one should pray, and ask his requests from Allah. One of the good supplications is this one:" يا خَيْرَ الْمَسْؤولينَ وَ اَوْسَعَ الْمُعْطينَ اُرْزُقْنِى وَ ارْزُقْ عِيالى مِنْ فَضْلِکَ فَإنَّکَ ذُوالْفَضْلِ الْعَظيمِ "(O You Who are the best from whom people seek their needs, and O You Who are the most bountiful and generous! Give me and my family sustenance with Your Grace. Undoubtedly, you possess the greatest grace).6- After performing sajdah, one should sit on his left thigh, placing the instep of the right foot on the sole of the left foot (what is called in Arabic “tawarruk”).7- When his body is still after the first sajdah, he should say: “اَسْتَغْفِرُ اللّهَ وَ اَتُوبُ اِلَيْهِ”8- One should prolong the sajdah [while performing sajdah], say words of praise, glorify Allah (swt) and recite dhikr and Salawat.9- When sitting after the sajdah, one should place the hands on the thighs.10- At the time of rising, one should first raise his knees from the ground, and then his hands.
Issue No.978- It is makrūh to recite the holy Qur’an in sajdah. It is also makrūh to blow off the dust from the place of sajdah, and if, by doing so, a two-letter word is pronounced intentionally, the prayer is void as an obligatory precaution.
Issue No.984- While performing the obligatory sajdah of the holy Qur’an it is not necessary to utter any dhikr though it is better to recite Dhikrs; preferably the following: "لا اِلهَ إلاَّ اللّهُ حَقّاً حَقّاً لا اِلهَ إلاَّ اللّهُ اِيماناً وَ تَصْديقاً لا اِلهَ إلاَّ اللّهُ عُبُودِيَّةً وَرِقّاً سَجَدْتُ لَکَ يا رَبِّ تَعَبُّداً وَرِقّاً لا مُسْتَنْکِفاً وَ لا مُسْتَکْبِراً بَلْ اَنَا عَبْدٌ ذَليلٌ ضَعيفٌ خائِفٌ مُسْتَجيرٌ"
Issue No.985- It is not necessary to face the qiblah when performing the obligatory sajdah of the holy Qur’an, it would be better to do so though.
