Q.| After praying at a mosque, I mistakenly took the turbah,^[1] which belonged to that mosque, with me when I left. What am I supposed to do now? Do I have to return it to that same mosque?

A.| It must be returned to that same mosque.

[1] Turbah is the clay tablet Shias use to place their foreheads on while in the prostration position of a canonical prayer. According to Shia ritual law, during prostration the forehead must be placed on soil (or some other items) to signify the worshiper’s lowliness before God. Therefore, placing the forehead on rugs, carpets, and other such items is deemed as nullifying the prayer. The Farsi term for this clay tablet is muhr.