1 Muslim prayer cap with green embroidery
To protect the head when praying. It is worn on the head during prayer at a Mosque. Muslim men use prayer caps such as these when praying. Although it is not a formal requirement that they be worn (the male worshipper is only required to be covered from navel to knee), the act of praying involves something called sujud (prostrating) in which the forehead and nose touch the floor. As Muslims are required to wash their face, mouth, nostrils, ears, neck, hands and feet before praying, the prayer hat then helps keep the head clean when it touches the floor.
Prostration is seen as the highest degree of submission to God. Thus, a person's face, which is often considered the most precious part of the body, touches the humblest of elements, the earth itself.
All Muslims pray in a common direction “ facing Mecca“ and they follow the lead of their prayer leader, called the imam, in order to pray as a single body. They bow their bodies in a series of ritual movements until, from an initial standing position, they are all on their knees with their foreheads against the floor.
