Prayer Mats

Images can be very influential and no where is that more obvious than when I am praying. First I make sure that my environment is clean, I make wudu, check my clothes to see if they are clean and cover me well. Then I lay down my prayer mat and pray. Easy right?

Well sometimes concentrating can be hard and ever so often my mind wonders, especially if my kids are around. But even before I had kids, work and a job there was something that bothered me some what. You see, when I am looking down and trying to think about my Lord, the prayer mat stares back at me! And it might not be a pretty face I see.

Am I nuts? Mats with eyes? Well…at first I felt a bit funny. Growing up we prayed on a large soft brown carpet with no designs. But as I got older and would sometimes pray by myself I would use the prayer mats made for one person. These mats have a lot of designs. The designs do not have realistic images of people or animals. In fact the designs are mostly of Islamic themes and pictures. These pictures might have the Kaaba or a holy place.
The thing is that when one stares long enough at these mats one can actually see faces. These “faces” usually make “ugly looks” and would sometimes make me jump. But now I don’t have that problem. I have found that it used to bother me. Alhamduillah now I just have to concentrate on my prayer and not the imaginative "creatures" staring at me. I see enough of that when I look in the mirror.