The Straw Mats of Masjid Nabawi

In relation to when the [straw] prayer mats were first laid out in Masjid Nabawi it is said that initially, people would pray without it directly on the floor or on any soft area, and there would be dust on their foreheads. Afterwards, the custom of using prayer mats came into effect. Abdullah bin Ibrahim narrates that the first person to use straw prayer mats in Masjid Nabawi was Hazrat Umar (ra) bin Al-Khattab. Before this, when people would raise their heads after performing sajdah, they would wipe their hands. Subsequently, Hazrat Umar (ra) ordered for prayer mats to be laid down which were brought from Aqiq and laid out in Masjid Nabawi. Aqiq is the name of a valley which spans almost 150 kilometres from the southwest of Medina up to the northwest of Medina and it is said to be a large valley.

(Izalatul Khulafa An Khilafat Al-Khulafa, translated by Shah Walliullah, Vol. 3, p. 236, Qadeemi Kutub Khana Karachi) (Al-Sirat Nabawi, p. 168, Dar-ul-Islam Al-Riadh, 1424 AH)