He says in his letter: What is the textual evidence that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) used to pray in his shoes? And since the mosques in the time of the Messenger of Allah (peace and
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The questioner : He says in his letter: What is the textual evidence that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) used to pray in his shoes? And since the mosques in the time of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) were not carpeted as they are now, what is your opinion, may Allah preserve you, regarding the fact that shoes bring dust and dirt to these carpets? Is it permissible? Yes, let us limit ourselves to this question, okay?
The Shaykh : As for the textual evidence that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) used to pray in his sandals, it is what is established in the two Sahihs from the hadith of Anas (may Allah be pleased with him). He was asked: Did the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) pray in his sandals? He said: "Yes". And the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) commanded prayer in sandals in opposition to the Jews.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : And he sometimes commanded the removal of the sandals. So based on this, we say that if a person is wearing sandals, it is not recommended to remove them for the sake of prayer, nor is it recommended to put them on for the sake of prayer. Rather, if the sandals are on his feet, he prays in them without removing them, and if they are not on his feet, he does not intend to pray in them. It is the same as wiping over the leather socks: if the socks are on his feet, he should not remove them to wash his feet, and if they are not on his feet, he should not put them on for the sake of wiping over them.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : But if a person fears harm in this matter, there is no harm in him leaving that and removing his sandals.
The questioner : There is harm to...
The Shaykh : Harm to the mosque.
The questioner : Yes, harm to the mosque.
The Shaykh : For many people, when they see someone they follow praying in his sandals, they pray in their sandals without regard for what is proper.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : What is proper is that when a person wants to enter the mosque, he looks at his sandals. If he sees in them any harm or filth, he wipes them with dust until it is removed, and thereby the sandals become pure. But most people today do not observe this condition and do not conduct themselves with this proper conduct. So you find them entering the mosques without looking at their sandals or their leather socks, i.e., boots and the like. Rather, they enter just like that with the harm and filth in their sandals and boots, until you sometimes find pieces of animal dung in the mosque itself.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : And this is undoubtedly contrary to what is prescribed and contrary to proper conduct. So if a person fears that people will fall into this matter, and he leaves it out of fear of that—meaning, leaving the prayer in sandals out of fear of this harm—we hope that there is no harm in that, if Allah wills.
The Shaykh : As for the textual evidence that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) used to pray in his sandals, it is what is established in the two Sahihs from the hadith of Anas (may Allah be pleased with him). He was asked: Did the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) pray in his sandals? He said: "Yes". And the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) commanded prayer in sandals in opposition to the Jews.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : And he sometimes commanded the removal of the sandals. So based on this, we say that if a person is wearing sandals, it is not recommended to remove them for the sake of prayer, nor is it recommended to put them on for the sake of prayer. Rather, if the sandals are on his feet, he prays in them without removing them, and if they are not on his feet, he does not intend to pray in them. It is the same as wiping over the leather socks: if the socks are on his feet, he should not remove them to wash his feet, and if they are not on his feet, he should not put them on for the sake of wiping over them.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : But if a person fears harm in this matter, there is no harm in him leaving that and removing his sandals.
The questioner : There is harm to...
The Shaykh : Harm to the mosque.
The questioner : Yes, harm to the mosque.
The Shaykh : For many people, when they see someone they follow praying in his sandals, they pray in their sandals without regard for what is proper.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : What is proper is that when a person wants to enter the mosque, he looks at his sandals. If he sees in them any harm or filth, he wipes them with dust until it is removed, and thereby the sandals become pure. But most people today do not observe this condition and do not conduct themselves with this proper conduct. So you find them entering the mosques without looking at their sandals or their leather socks, i.e., boots and the like. Rather, they enter just like that with the harm and filth in their sandals and boots, until you sometimes find pieces of animal dung in the mosque itself.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : And this is undoubtedly contrary to what is prescribed and contrary to proper conduct. So if a person fears that people will fall into this matter, and he leaves it out of fear of that—meaning, leaving the prayer in sandals out of fear of this harm—we hope that there is no harm in that, if Allah wills.