Short answer
No. A prayer mat (sajjadah) is not required. What is required is a clean place to stand and prostrate. Muslims use a mat to be sure the spot is clean, to mark out their space, and for comfort. You can pray on a clean floor, carpet, grass or any clean cloth. The four schools agree.
Purity of the place of prayer, where the feet, knees, hands and forehead rest, is a condition of salah. A mat is simply one way to secure that. Praying on bare ground, a carpet or a mat is equally valid, and a mat with busy patterns that distract you is better avoided.
The four schools agree on this.
Explanation
One of the conditions of prayer is that the place where you stand and prostrate is clean of najasah (impurity). The Prophet ﷺ prayed on a small mat made of palm fibre (a khumrah), and he also prayed on bare earth. Neither is required; both are fine. The four schools agree.
Why Muslims use a mat:
- You may not know whether a floor or the ground is clean, and a mat solves that.
- It marks your space so people do not walk right in front of you.
- It is softer and warmer for the knees and forehead.
- It is easy to carry for work, travel and parks.
- Designs: mats showing the Kaaba or a masjid are allowed, but plain mats are better, since busy patterns can pull your attention.
- Writing: do not use a mat with Quranic verses or Allah's name on it, since it goes on the floor and under your feet.
- Carpet: a clean carpet needs no mat on top.
- No mat: a clean jacket, towel or sheet of cardboard will do.
Read more in can Muslims pray anywhere and the conditions of salah. Find the direction with the qibla finder.
The evidence
Sahih al-Bukhari 381
Sahih... كان النبي يصلي على الخمرة ...
"The Prophet used to pray on a small mat."
Using a prayer mat is from the sunnah.
Sahih al-Bukhari 335
Sahih... وجعلت لي الأرض مسجدا وطهورا ...
"The earth has been made for me a place of prayer and a means of purification."
Any clean ground is valid, with or without a mat.
Where the ruling is recorded
- Nur al-Idah with Maraqi al-Falah, Chapter on the conditions of prayer. The place of prayer must be pure.
- al-Fatawa al-Hindiyya, Kitab al-Salah, chapter on what is disliked in prayer. Prayer on mats and carpets is permitted; decorations that distract are disliked.
Checked by our team. For a more accurate answer to your own situation, consult a scholar. Quran translation by Sahih International. Hadith Arabic from the standard editions of the six books and the Muwatta, with gradings as recorded there; the English is our own rendering. Spotted a mistake? Tell us.