Obligation for Prostration on hard surface in Salah

Is it allowed to pray on soft surface and on cloth or carpet? I read somewhere from TabarAni(needs verification) that Abdullah ibn Masood refused to pray or prostrate on anything but the earth > Majma’ al-Zawa’id by, Volume 2 page 57 Hadith 2272: > > وعن أبي عبيدة أن ابن مسعود كان لا يصلي أو لا يسجد إلا على الأرض‏.‏ > > “Abu Ubaidah narrates that the companion Ibn Mas’ud never prayed or > prostrated except on the soil” I also got these quotes(unverified) Hazrat Ibn Tayyimia said: > Praise be to the Lord of the Worlds, as for the Salat on the prayer > mats on which the Salat Performer prays, that is NOT from the Sunnah > of the SALAF of Muhaajireen or Ansar and Nor from the Sunnah of > Tabi’een after them; on whom is the blessing/favor of Allah on the > promise of the Prophet Mohammad (pbuh&f) BUT INFACT all of these > people PRAYED in the MOSQUE on SOIL. Not even One of them ever took a > PRAYER MAT / CARPET to pray on for their Salat. And it is narrated > from Abdul Rahman ibn Mahdi: > > When the CARPETS/PRAYER MATS (first) came to Madinah then Malik > ordained about confiscating them (or forbade people from using them) > and then it was said to him, that is Abdulrahman ibn Mahdi. > > So He said: And Truly Know! that verily the CARPET / PRAYER MAT in > OUR mosque is a BI’DAH (Innovation). And (this is) in the Sahih > (tradition) from Abi Sa’eed al-Khudri in the tradition of Eitikaaf al > Nabi (s)” > > Mujmoo al Fatawa by Ibn Taymeeya Volume 22 page163 Online Link: > http://arabic.islamicweb.com/Books/taimiya.asp?book=381&volume=22&page=163 I also found some unverified quotes from Ahle Hadith scholars Shawkani and Wahiduzzaman who cringed the idea of praying on cloth or a soft surface. So what was the practice of Sahaba in this issue?