Growing up in the 80s and 90s, if there was one thing lacking from a Muslim child’s life, it was faith-oriented creations designed especially for them. Whether it be Islamically focused TV shows, illustrative books for young Muslims, simplified translations of the Holy Quran, or even kids prayer mats that inspire little ones; kid-friendly Islamic strategies encourage growing minds to explore the deen in a way natural to them.
Although the age for obligatory Salah, or daily prayers, is only after seven, it is common to see children as young as three emulating grown-ups performing their prayers. As parents, we can nurture this budding relationship by providing kids with the right tools to keep them motivated. These techniques could be anything from mosque role play, discussions on the benefits of Salah as a means of getting closer to Allah, craft activities to a reward system to gently inspire their Salah journey. Another unique method to do this is for children to have their own prayer dress, hijab/kufi, and prayer mat.
What is a Kids Prayer Mat and How it Helps Children Develop A Bond with Salah
By nature, children enjoy a sense of leadership and responsibility. Standing on a salah mat for kids allows them to feel in charge of their prayer. It renews their ability to focus, listen, and visualise their Salah. For little ones as young as two, a kids prayer rug gives them something tangible to hold onto while feeling included in their family’s prayer time.
For those three and older, these prayer rugs are a great stepping stool towards learning Salah. Some parents have even discovered their children using salah mats as an exclusive space to de-stress and calm down after a quarrel with their siblings!
With attractive designs and colours, kids’ prayer mats make for some of the best gifting options for young Muslims. A gifted prayer mat is a subtle, positive push to get your precious grandchild drawn to Salah.
If you are looking to buy the best children’s prayer mat, your search ends here. Here are our top picks!
Prayer Mat With Instructions
Children who have just started to pray will most likely find it tough to familiarise themselves with its steps. As a brilliant solution, an Australia based NGO, Tenfold, has My Prayer Rug. This kids’ prayer mat features step-by-step salah instructions printed on the mat itself. The mat kit also includes a prayer book and an interactive app that guide kids to make wudhu, pray and keep track of their prayers. My Prayer Rug is designed for kids aged four and above. It is lightweight (only 350 grams) and measures 32cm x 20cm x 2cm.
At an initial price of £28.72, this prayer mat with instructions is currently on sale, as of July 2021, and you can grab it for only £25.14! It is a gift that grows with your children and will be handy for years to come!
Smart Educational Prayer Mat
If your kids are grown enough to read the Arabic script of the Holy Quran, this cutting edge smart educational prayer mat by Sajdah is quite unlike anything on the market. Through Thakaa Technologies, founder Abdulrahman Saleh Khamis, a Qatari engineer, has developed Sajdah; the world’s first smart educational prayer rug.
Sajdah aims to benefit Muslims of all ages when it comes to their daily prayers. It enables users to learn prayers, maintain correct postures, and memorise chapters of the Holy Qur’an. This smart salah mat uses a novel technology to monitor users movements to say the appropriate prayers and is accompanied by an application.
Sajdah is expected to be released by December of 2021 and is estimated to cost close to £431. It is a steep price for many families, but it may be well worth it if you want to encourage your older children to recite longer Quran passages in salah.
Personalised Kids Prayer Mat
Growing up, did you always want the same thing as your other siblings? Like literally the exact same thing? Remember when our mums would mark water bottles discreetly so they could make out which one belonged to whom? Well, no longer! Buy a personalised prayer rug for each child and watch them beam.
These personalised kids prayer mats by Bin Jamals can be customised with your child’s name. Each prayer rug measures 90cm x 48cm and comes in different colours and patterns. The best part about this brand is that they offer a bundle price for three personalised mats at £40 only or two personalised mats at £25.
Bin Jamals also delivers worldwide with a speedy delivery of two days for those in the U.K and free shipping for orders over £15. One downside of the low-price tag is that this kids prayer rug is made from polyester, so it misses out on that luxe premium feel. But when your child smiles proudly at spotting their name on the mat, it more than makes up for it.
Organic Cotton Kids Prayer Mat
“Inspiring your mini Muslims”, is the tagline of this Islamic lifestyle brand, Khamsa. Launched in 2020, Khamsa has made a mark on the prayer mats scene due to their sustainability model. Made from 100% responsibly sourced cotton, these eco-friendly prayer mats are curated with Indian craftsmanship, are uniquely handwoven and are certified organic. Designed to attract the conscious consumer, Khamsa organic cotton kids’ prayer mats are fair traded, biodegradable, completely chemical-free with no PVC, rubber or plastic. So you can now be assured that your mini-Muslim is praying on a reliable, non-toxic mat throughout the day.
Another beautiful feature we spotted on the Khamsa website is that the same children’s prayer mat is available at two prices; the flawless one is £35. In contrast, the ones with slight natural imperfections can be grabbed at only £17.50.
Small Sized Prayer Mat for Kids
Some children are particularly receptive to textures and can feel off when touching certain surfaces. Launched in 2017, Japanese Muslim lifestyle brand TAKVA addresses this concern with their My First Prayer Mat. My First Prayer Mat comes with a specially developed COMFITPLUS™ insert. The SGS certified, pressure-relieving Memory Foam moulds to the shape of your child’s feet and hands, padding the impact on the ground.
This kids prayer mat measures 96cm x 48cm and is made of two layers; The fully removable, washable OEKOTEX® certified outer cover and the 0.8cm thick insert. With a decent price tag of £25 and available in four adorable prints, we highly recommend My First Prayer Mat to kick start your little Muslim’s Salah journey.
Electronic and Interactive Prayer Mat
Developed by a father Kamal Ali, to teach his son the correct postures of Salah, My Salah Mat is an innovative, interactive prayer mat that literally guides your child through a complete 2-rak’at Salah right up till the end of prayer dua. My Salah Mat is suitable for children from age three upwards. The mat is vibrant and well laid out, with audio sounds to guide them through prayer or recitation. This electronic kid’s salah Mat also comes with a guidebook for parents and an activity book, and the company emails educational content to parents regularly.
Available in 11 languages, it is a widely loved product across the world. Starting from £44.99, you receive the prayer mat ready to use out of the box. The only downside of My Salah Mat is that it has a few counterfeits in the market that are an inferior copy of the original product, so you really should buy it off a dependable seller or the main website.
Final words
Beyond all supporting methods available today for prayer, the fact that children build lifelong healthy habits through observing those around them cannot be emphasised enough. We as parents can support them holistically towards prayer by improving our relationship with prayer.