how i made my two-hour tahajjud easy: mat and lectern. Pt. 3

Now that you’ve read what I had to write on ablution and adab, it’s now time to head to your mat for the taHajjud of our lives. 👍🏿 If you are like me, you have one of those rug mats, that have the Kaaba etched somewhere in the middle, some geometric shapes here and there, just a good ol’ prayer mat that you’ve probably been using for years. 

The first issue I have had with this kind of mat is the obvious distraction these drawings pose, even when one is praying at the haram, one’s eyes aren’t glued to the haram, now, are they? We are already facing it, over a billion of us every day, to have it staring back at one when one is trying to contemplate on the verses of the Quran being recited then becomes a struggle. I appreciate the ‘facing kaaba’ pun though. 🤦🏿‍♂️🙄

And there’s also the fact that Rorschach-centric images appear when one stares at these beautiful rugs long enough, so that one now has to try to blink it away, or see to it that you smoothen the hair rugs when next you go on sujud so that the image is erased, only to rise up, and there’s another image. there. staring. at. you. 🤦🏿‍♂️ Allah already said shayton is an obvious enemy, and he is into repetitive schemes. We seek refuge in Allah from the accursed one, and his emissaries. Amin. 🤲🏿

The other issue I have with a rug mat is the fact that even when I close my eyes in sujud, by the time I sit, open my eyes, blink once or twice, particles somehow finds their way into my eyes. 🤦🏿‍♂️ Perhaps, my eyelash picks it up, perhaps, it’s my breath that situates them perfectly on my lash, and if this happens on my first sujud of that prayer, you bet the distraction will last the entire solat. As if particles in the eyes are not bad enough, whenever for some reason I do not bring my rug on a journey, and I have to sujud on an hotel rug, you know, those ones that were chosen specifically for its longevity quality, it’s like I’m peeling my forehead; and there’s the fact that the chemicals used in washing those rugs are strong (for obvious reasons), so strong that on several occasions, I believe, inhaling them from the rug has gotten me sick. True story. Sniffling, migraines, fatigue et al.

Anyway, let me quit rambling about my dislike for the rug mat. 🙄 As for the solution that I found, it’s the yoga mat. With their glossy finish, particles can’t linger between hairs. Oh, did I mention that these geometric filled rugs are also too short for me? Being 6’2 and all, I either have to scut back if I want to sujud on the rug, or if I don’t scut, I’m going to be sujud-ing on perhaps, the harsh-particles-filled rug or floor beneath it. The yoga mats are over 5 feet long and 2 feet wide, and my head lands comfortably on it every time. 🥰 And did I mention that there are no distractions on it? Plain, not one drawing whatsoever. I know Walmart now sells some with some mandala-centric designs, I went for the plain ones, a black one too. 😁 

I take it on journeys, I even use it at gas stations or rest areas when we are on very long journeys across America, it’s a delight. I make sure to fold it half on half first, then the next half on half, until it forms a perfect rectangle; that way, the bit on the floor doesn’t interact with the part I will be standing on to pray. And when I put it on the floor at gas stations and the likes, I make sure to use wipes to wipe clean the part that was on the floor. 

And of course, I’m not inhaling chemicals or dusts from the yoga mat, it’s smooth all the way. Another unintended benefit I found is that whenever I do a short sujud, and I need my head to go farther so that my back is straight, and I’m unable to move my legs back, because it’s close to the wall or something, I can just slide my head on it, whenever I’m wearing my hat, that is; something that may totally bruise my forehead if I tried on the rug. 🙄

So, get your self a long mandala-less yoga mat, preferably black, and make sure to fold appropriately if you have to fold up after use. Maybe you can buy a couple; one in the car, one at home, one at work etc so you won’t have to be carrying the same one everywhere like me. You’ll get to see my mat below, have been using it for years now. 🥰🥰🥰

The next bit in this piece is about where you’ll be placing the Quran when you now have the mat. This, uff, definitely slowed down my resolve to start taHajjud. Being someone that wears glasses, if I have to also hold a Quran (which cannot be small, because, astigmatism 10.0), having to ruku and sujud becomes a struggle, and so is standing back up; now, I have to pick up my glasses, the Quran, wear my glasses, raise my hands to say the takbiratul ihram, after which I’d start finding the page I was 🤦🏿‍♂️ that definitely made it really hard. 

So I got this lectern, I have those very big Quran,  with big fonts, and so I was able to place my Quran on it, and even my glasses if I don’t want to place it on the mat whenever I’m going for my ruku or sujud. The tallest lectern I could find was 5 feet long, and so I had to build a feet high contraption for it because bending my neck that low was starting to really hurt my neck, and frustrating my taHajjud efforts. You’ll see a picture of the 9.75 inches contraption carrying the lectern below. 

And that got me thinking about tripod stands for iPads, because, as you will see in the subsequent piece, I had moved on to reading my Quran from my iPad at this time. The tripod I got was so tall, you’ll see how it dwarfs the lectern I’d previously gotten for my physical Quran below. Except you are like 50 feet tall or something, iPad with a tripod will be perfect for you. It can come as close to my eyes as I wish it to with its flexible neck that holds the iPad. Its so portable, I can literally sling it behind me anywhere I go. Bliss, I tell you, these gadgets changed the night for me, and I pray they do the same for you too. Amin. 🤲🏿

And just before I end this, let me share a bonus picture of that time before I got the tripod, and I was on a journey, and could carry my lectern with me that I had to improvise for those that might find themselves in the same shoe some day: