Mu' meneen Brothers and Sisters,

As Salaam Aleikum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh. (May Allah's Peace, Mercy and Blessings be upon all of you)

One of our brothers/sisters has asked this question:

In Jihad Can we put shoes when we are in prayer..

(There may be some grammatical and spelling errors in the above statement. The forum does not change anything from questions, comments and statements received from our readers for circulation in confidentiality.)

Answer:

Shoes in prayer

In the name of Allah, We praise Him, seek His help and ask for His forgiveness. Whoever Allah guides none can misguide, and whoever He allows to fall astray, none can guide them aright. We bear witness that there is none worthy of worship but Allah Alone, and we bear witness that Muhammad (saws) is His slave-servant and the seal of His Messengers.

There is absolutely no such restriction in Shariah which declares that a believer, man or woman, cannot pray with their shoes on, provided his/her shoes have no filth or impurities on it. More often than not, the Messenger of Allah (saws) and the noble companions prayed with their shoes on in their humble masjid at Medina; simply because the Prophet’s Mosque in their times was on bare ground without any carpets or floor coverings, unlike our mosques today.

Abu Sa'eed reported that once the Prophet (saws) removed his shoes while he was praying, and the people behind him did likewise. When he (saws) finished the prayer, he (saws) asked, "Why did you remove your shoes?" They said, "We saw you remove yours." He (saws) said, "Gabriel (a.s.) came to me and informed me that there was some filth (impurity) on them. Therefore, when one of you comes to the mosque, he should turn his shoes over and examine them. If one finds any dirt on them, he should rub them against the ground and pray with them on."

Related by Ahmad, Abu Dawud, al-Hakim, Ibn Hibban and Ibn Khuzaimah.

But today, the floors of most mosques are well-tiled, or covered, or carpeted, etc., thus it would be considered proper to pray in such mosques without shoes. But if one is praying outdoors or on bare ground, there is absolutely no harm if one prays with his/her shoes on, provided the shoes have no filth or impurities on them.

Sunan of Abu-Dawood Hadith 652 Narrated by Aws ibn Thabit al-Ansari

The Messenger of Allah (saws) said: ‘Act differently from the Jews, for they do not pray in their sandals or their shoes.’

Whatever written of Truth and benefit is only due to Allah’s Assistance and Guidance, and whatever of error is of me alone. Allah Alone Knows Best and He is the Only Source of Strength.

Your brother and well wisher in Islam,

Burhan