Praying Wearing Sandals
By Imam Muhammad Zahid al-Kawthari (d. 1371)
Last Deputy Shaykh al-Islam in the Ottoman Caliphate
Professor of the Qur’anic Sciences (Qur’an and Hadith) at the graduate
institute of the Jami`a `Uthmaniyya Professor of Fiqh and the History of Fiqh in the Shari`a Department of the Jami`a `Uthmaniyya Professor of Arabic at Dar al-Shafaqa al-Islamiyya (Maqalat, 1994 ed. p. 261-262).
“Salat while wearing sandals is valid as long as they are ritually pure
and do not prevent placing the heads of one’s toes on the ground, as the
complete prostration demands, according to what al-Khattabi and others
mentioned.
“The Prophet’s mosque, upon him blessings and peace, was strewn with
pebbles and the apartments of his wives were connected to the mosque, so
there was not a probability that filth had reached his sandals as he had
not trodden over filthy roads. Furthermore, al-Madina the Radiant’s
alleyways were clean of dung and filth as per the care taken by the
Companions after the Prophet, upon him and them blessings and peace, had
commanded them to pay especial attention to complete cleanliness in the
houses and their porches, not to mention the houses of Allah. Hence, its
pedestrians were able to guard themselves from stepping onto filth.
Further, its soil was sandy and soft, so it was easy to avoid scattered
filth (al-rashash), and when they wanted to pour water they went far
from the alleways and dwellings looking for soft and sandy spots of
earth far from the spray.
“Whenever the Prophet, upon him blessings and peace, wanted to pass
water, he went far to a place he could not be seen by anyone. He forbade
the three causes of curses: [among them] he forbade one from doing one’s
need in the people’s pathways or in the spots they use to shade
themeselves, as narrated by Abu Dawud and others.
“The above is in complete contrast to our streets and toilets today,
where it is impossible to guard oneself from stepping into filth and
preventing spray from getting on the sandals, because the toilets today
have hard surfaces which definitely splash back, especially if a person
urinates standing as one cannot use those European-designed urinals
except standing up.
“It is authentically related that the Prophet, upon him blessings and
peace, removed his sandals when he prayed during the conquest of Makka,
so this would be the final one of the two scenarios, just as he removed
them when Gibril informed him that there was something dirty on his
sandals. It is the status of mere permissibility [of praying with
sandals on], after verifying the purity of the sandals, which is the
gist of the evidence among the verifying scholars. Whoever considers it
desirable, together with the same condition [of verified purity], did so
only insofar as it is desirable to do other than what the Jews do.
However, the People of the Book today enter their places of worship and
pray with their shoes on, so to do other than what they do would entail
removing our shoes, not praying in them.
“As for the statement of Anas, may Allah be well-pleased with him, ‘Yes’
upon being asked if the Prophet, upon him blessings and peace, prayed
wearing his sandals, this reply does not denote habit. You will find
this clarified in al-Nawawi’s commentary on Muslim in the passage where
he discusses the night prayer.
“Accordingly, the claim by some stray ['shudhdhadh' = devious, i.e.,
violating ijma`] Hanbalis that “it is Sunna to wear sandals/shoes in
Salat” has no standing proof. On the contrary, today, it is considered
rude to enter a mosque with shoes on due to the reasons mentioned by
al-Nawawi and al-Ubbi in their commentaries on Muslim, `Ali al-Qari in
Sharh al-Mirqat, [Ahmad ibn Muhammad] al-Muqri’ [al-Maghribi al-Misri]
(d. 1041) in Fath al-Muta`al [fi Mad-hi Khayri al-Ni`al, a book in
praise of the Prophetic Sandals], al-Lacknawi in Ghayat al-Maqal, Ibn
Abi Sa`id al-Sijistani in Munyat al-Mufti, and [al-Sayyid Ahmad]
al-Hamawi in [Hawashi] al-Ashbah. Rather, they have predecessors [in
voicing those reasons] in the Companions, Allah be well-pleased with
them.”
Translated by Shaykh Gibril Haddad
