Assalaamu Alaikum!
Welcome to 2024! We are excited to share with the ummah that we are working on a new travel prayer mat that will change how you pray.
I converted to Islam in January 2023 and immediately started working toward establishing the prayer. In Atomic Habits by James Clear, he lays out the four steps to creating a new habit: Make it Obvious, Make it Attractive, Make it Easy, Make it Satisfying.
I ensured I had a sejadah in my bedroom to easily pull it out for prayer times. I bought sarongs, so I had an easy way to ensure I was properly covered during my prayers. I downloaded the Muslim Pro application for my phone that showed the Qibla, had the Quran verses with recitation, and helped me track my prayers and fasting during Ramadan. I found another iPhone application called the NamazApp, which acts like an imam to guide the prayer so you can follow along and not miss any critical elements. I even discovered Wudu Socks that allow me to wudu at home, and while I'm in wudu, I can put on the wudu socks and go to work. When at work, it's not a problem to wudu in the bathroom sink anymore because the wudu socks allow you to wipe the top of the socks with wet hands. No more trying to get my feet into the sink for wudu.
But there was always one thing that I couldn't find. A prayer mat I wanted to travel with. I travel a lot, and if I had a chance to pray Fajr on a beach, I wanted a prayer mat that I could count on. I searched high and low. The cheap little nylon travel prayer mat I bought at first would blow away in any significant wind and I questioned how waterproof it could really be. There are other travel sejadahs on the market but they are all variations of the nylon prayer mat. No structure, questionable wind resistance and waterproofness.
It was frustrating to have so many other tools available to help me in my struggle to pray the five fard prayers a day but not have a reliable travel prayer mat. I felt constrained to pray indoors and find rooms to pray in. I wanted to go outside to pray. I wanted to pray Fajr on a beach (even in a downpour rainstorm). I wanted to experience Allah's creation while offering my supplication to the only one worthy of worship.
Then I remembered something I had used in the past. I had previously trained to participate in triathlons. One of the key concepts in triathlon is the transition. The athletes must transition from an open water swim to the bicycle event and later from bicycle to running. The swim to bike transition is critical. You need to get dry, and you need to stay clean. I bought an Adventure Mat, a foldable rubber mat that I used for my transition training while training at a reservoir. It stayed dry, it didn't blow away in the wind, and most importantly, it stayed clean. It was specifically designed to fold up with the clean side on the inside, so it stayed clean. The only problem was that it was only made for standing on and therefore it was too short to sujud on. But what if I could get one that was longer?
That thought is what started this journey toward creating the Sejadah Safar. I contacted the creator of the Adventure Mat, and after a few discussions of what this product would be and what I wanted, we established a new company to produce the Sejadah Safar. A travel prayer may that won't blow away, that won't soak through and will stay clean so you don't have to worry about where you can pray when you leave the house.
The design is finished and we are about to produce the first prototypes. Inshallah, we will be ready to sell the Sejadah Safar in late Spring 2024. Then the ummah will have a new tool to help us all pray when we need to, where we want to.