Is it obligatory to pray on the ground and carry a stone to prostrate on, as the Shiites claim? And is it impermissible to pray except on a turbah (clay tablet), without a prayer rug, given that there are hadiths in Bukhari indicating that the Prophet, may God’s prayers and peace be upon him, prayed on the ground?

It is not a condition to prostrate on earth or what is derived from it. Rather, it is permissible to prostrate on any pure spot, or on a pure garment, mat, or prayer rug. This is the guidance of the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, and the consensus of the Sunnis, contrary to the Rafidah (Shiites) who stipulate prostration on a turbah (clay tablet) and claim that prostrating on the soil of Karbala has a great reward. This is a fabrication against the religion and a violation of the Sunnah (definition) of the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, who prayed on a khumrah (small mat), a mat, and a carpet, and would place the edge of his garment to prostrate on it during intense heat.

As for the Rafidah's preference for praying on the soil of "Karbala," it is an invention of their imams and has no basis in religion. Sheikh Al-Albani denied the existence of any prophetic narrations indicating the virtue or sanctity of the soil of Karbala, or the desirability of prostrating on it. He clarified that what the Shiites promote in this regard is falsehood and deception, such as their claim that the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, was the first to take a piece of earth to prostrate on, or their lies against the Companions that they sought blessings from the soil of Hamza's grave and prostrated on it, or their lies against Masruq ibn al-Ajda' that he used to carry with him a brick made of the soil of Madinah to prostrate on.