Is It Permissible to Pray in Shoes?

Answered by Shaykh Dr. Muhammad Abu Bakr Badhib

Question

Is it permissible to pray in shoes?

Answer

In the name of Allah, and all praise is due to Allah, and blessings and peace be upon our master Muhammad, the Messenger of Allah, his Family, his Companions, and those who follow him.

It is undoubtedly important for a Muslim to always follow the Prophetic methodology and the established legislation from the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) when performing their acts of worship. The subject of praying in shoes (or sandals) is addressed in several Prophetic narrations, which must be examined to understand the associated rulings. Scholars have dealt with these narrations as follows:

Prophetic Narrations

1. Among these narrations is one from Muslima Sa‘id Ibn Yazid al-Azdi, who said: I asked Anas Ibn Malik: Did the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) pray in his sandals? He said: Yes. [Bukhari; Tirmidhi]
2. Narrated by Abu Sa‘id al-Khudri, he said that while the Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him and give him peace) was praying with his Companions, he took off his sandals and placed them to his left. When the people saw this, they took off their sandals. When the Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him and give him peace) finished his prayer, he said: “What prompted you to take off your sandals?” They said: “We saw you take off your sandals, so we took off ours.”
   The Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him and give him peace) said: “Gabriel (Allah give him peace) came to me and informed me that there was filth on them.” He added: “When one of you comes to the mosque, let him look at his sandals; if he sees any filth on them, let him wipe it off and pray in them.” [Abu Dawud]
3. Narrated by Abu Hurayra that the Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him and give him peace) said:
   “When one of you prays and takes off his sandals, he should not harm others with them but place them between his feet or pray in them.” [Ibid.]
4. ‘Abdullah Ibn al-Sa’ib said that I was present with the Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him and give him peace) on the day of the conquest of Makka. He prayed facing the Ka‘ba, took off his sandals, and placed them to his left. [Nasa’i]
5. It is even narrated that there is a command to pray in sandals. Shaddad Ibn Aws narrated that the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) said:
   “Be different from the Jews, for they do not pray in their sandals or their shoes.” [Abu Dawud; Ibn Hibban]

These are some of the hadiths related to this issue, and the jurists have examined them.

Ibn Daqiq al-‘Id’s Explanation

Imam Ibn Daqiq al-‘Id provided a precise explanation of this matter in “Ihkam al-Ahkam.” He said:

“The hadith is evidence of the permissibility of praying in shoes, but it should not be taken as a recommendation because this does not fall within the purpose of prayer. If you say, perhaps it is a matter of adornment and completing the appearance, similar to the cloaks and garments that are recommended to be worn beautifully in prayer.

I would say that even if it is so, the contact with the ground, which often has impurities, diminishes this purpose. However, the basis of permissibility is valid evidence, so it is acted upon. The shortcoming mentioned about the shoes compared to beautifying garments prevents it from being classified as recommended unless there is legal evidence linking it to beautification, in which case this reasoning is abandoned.

Moreover, what strengthens this reasoning, unless there is evidence to the contrary, is that adorning oneself in prayer is of the third rank of interests, which are beautifications and enhancements. In contrast, considering the matter of impurity is of the first rank, which are necessities, or the second rank, which are needs, according to the difference among scholars regarding the ruling on removing impurity.

Hence, prioritizing the primary rank by avoiding what might remove it is more appropriate, and this is applied in not recommending it, while the hadith supports its permissibility. Each ruling is based on what suits it unless prevented by another factor. And Allah knows best.” [Ibn Daqiq al-‘Id, Ihkam al-Ahkam Sharh ‘Umdat al-Ahkam]

Shafi‘i School Perspective

In the Shafi‘i school, jurists discuss praying in shoes in the context of Friday and congregational prayer excuses. In the “Musnad al-Shafi‘i,” it is mentioned:

“The Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) would instruct the mu’azzin (caller to prayer), if it was a cold, windy night, to say: ‘Pray in your homes.’ This means to pray in your homes and dwellings and not endure the hardship of congregational prayer and going to the mosques, which is a concession and mercy. In some hadiths, it is mentioned: ‘When the shoes are wet, pray in your homes.’” [Shafi‘i, Musnad al-Shafi‘i bi Tartib al-Sindi]

They differed in defining shoes, and Ibn Rif‘a mentioned four interpretations:

• The first is that they are the footwear used for walking.
• The second is that they are the surface of the ground, as narrated by Qadi Husayn in al-Ta‘liqa.
• The third is that they are the feet.
• The fourth is that they are the small stones on the road, as narrated by Mawardi. [Ibn al-Rif‘a, Kifayat al-Nabih ]

In “al-Sharh al-Kabir” by Rafi‘i, he said: “And severe mud; there are two opinions; the most correct, as mentioned in the book, is that it is an excuse, based on the Prophet’s saying: ‘When the shoes are wet, pray in your homes.’ The second opinion is that it is not an excuse because there are means to deal with it, like wearing boots and sandals, but this is problematic with rain.” [Rafi‘i, al-Sharh al-Kabir]

Shafi‘i jurists also discussed the ruling on bringing shoes into the mosque. Shaykh Zakariya al-Ansari said in “Asna al-Matalib”: “Nawawi mentioned in his ‘al-Majmu‘’ the prohibition of bringing impurity into the mosque, as it contaminates the mosque’s air and adds to the ugliness. Obviously, this applies when there is no necessity, as it is permissible to bring in shoes that have impurity if there is no risk of spreading it.”

Imam Nawawi’s Fatwa

I conclude my response by quoting a fatwa from one of our great scholars, Imam Nawawi, on this very issue:

Question: Did it authentically narrate that the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) took off his sandals during prayer, and his Companions took off their sandals, so he asked them about it and disapproved of it?

Answer: Both narrations are authentic. Praying barefoot is better because it was the predominant practice of the Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him and give him peace). He only prayed in sandals at times to demonstrate its permissibility. He took them off when Gabriel (Allah give him peace) informed him that they had impurity. He disapproved of his Companions taking off their sandals because it is disliked for a person to introduce new actions into the prayer without need. [Nawawi, Fatawa al-Nawawi]

Summary

Praying in sandals is permissible, whether in the mosque or elsewhere, provided they are clean and free from actual impurities. It is not said that praying in sandals is a sunna in the sense of being recommended, as Imam Ibn Daqiq al-‘Id and Imam Nawawi have rejected this view because the action was to demonstrate permissibility, and it occurred in certain Prophetic circumstances, as explained by Imam Nawawi.

It is also important to consider the change in circumstances and the different state of mosques today compared to the time of legislation. Today, mosques have carpets and furnishings, and entering with sandals is highly inappropriate.

A Muslim should avoid actions that others find objectionable and not disrupt the tranquility of their own worship or that of others. One should not hastily act on hadiths without understanding the scholars’ interpretation.

And Allah knows best.
[Shaykh] Dr. Muhammad Abu Bakr Badhib

Shaykh Dr. Muhammad Abu Bakr Badhib is a prominent Islamic scholar from Yemen. He was born in Shibam, Hadhramaut, in 1976. He received his degree in Shari‘a from Al-Ahqaf University, a master’s degree from the Islamic University of Beirut, and a PhD in Usul al-Din from Aligarh Muslim University (AMU).

He studied under great scholars such as Shaykh al-Habib Ahmad Mashhur al-Haddad, Shaykh Fadl Ba‘ fadl, Habib Salim al-Shatiri, Habib Ali Mashhur bin Hafeez, and others. He has served as the Director of Publications at Dar al-Fiqh, the former Deputy Director of Cultural Relations at Al-Ahqaf University, a former Assistant for Employee Affairs at Atiyah Iron Company, a researcher at the Sunna Center affiliated with the Dallah al-Baraka Foundation, and a researcher at Al-Furqan Foundation’s Makka al-Mukarrama and Madina al-Munawwara Encyclopedia branch.

Currently, he is a researcher at Al-Furqan Foundation’s Makka al-Mukarrama and Madina al-Munawwara Encyclopedia branch, teaches traditionally through the Ijaza system at Dar al-Fuqaha in Turkey, supervises the Arabic department at Nur al-Huda International Institute (SeekersGuidance), and is a member of the Board of Trustees of the Manuscript House in Istanbul.

His works include “The Efforts of Hadhramaut Jurists in Serving the Shafi‘i School,” “Contributions of Hadhramaut Scholars in Spreading Islam and its Sciences in India,” “Hada’iq al-Na‘im in Shafi‘i Fiqh,” in addition to verifying several books in Fiqh, history, the art of biographies, and Asanid (chains of narration).