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Q & A --> Congregational Prayer --> The Ruling for Praying Wearing (Sandals or Shoes) in the Mosque

Question : A question was asked about the ruling for praying wearing ni‘al (sandals or shoes) in the mosque.

Fatwa in Brief: Praying wearing sandals or shoes (ni‘al) is permitted; mosque carpets are no reason to remove one’s shoes/sandals.

Shaykh Ibn al-‘Uthaymin, Majmu‘ Fatawa wa Rasa’il, 12/387

Response:

There is nothing to prevent a Muslim from praying in his/her shoes/sandals in an empty space, or one that is guaranteed not to get dirty (talwith) However, if the mosque contains a clean cover/carpet, we should protect it from being spoilt (talawuth), even from a substance that is ritually pure [such as mud].

Commentary:

It is an in keeping with the Sunna of the Prophet to rebuild, to service and maintain old mosques. This is based on a hadith, included by Bukhari and Muslim and attributed to ‘Uthman Ibn ‘Affan (r.a.), in which the Prophet (upon him be peace) states that “He who has built a mosque for God, the Exalted, will have a house built for him in Paradise”.

The scholars agree that Muslims are to keep mosques free of all ritual impurities (najasat/ qadhurat). It is not allowed to bring impurity into the mosque, or for anyone who has ritual impurity on his body or clothes, or with [open] wounds [blood/pus being forms of najasa], to enter the mosque.

It is also recommended to maintain the appearance of mosques by removing all other substances, even if they are ritually pure. Thus, the mosque should be kept clean of mucus, saliva and other similar excretions [though all of these are ritually pure, thus their presence does not negate a Muslim’s prayers, or nullify his/her ablutions]. In the collections of Bukhari and Muslim, Anas (r.a) reports that the Prophet (upon him be peace) found dried saliva in the mosque; and he scratched this away with his own hand. He said that “spitting in the mosque is a sin; for this to be forgiven, it [the saliva] should be buried”. Likewise, it is disliked to bring unpleasant smelling substance into the mosque, on the basis of the following hadith: “He who eats garlic or onions should remain away from us, and from our mosque”.[1] It was also narrated that, when he saw a man wiping his sandals on a column in the mosque, Abu Hanifa said to the man: “if you had wiped it with your beard, it would have been better for you [implying that it is more appropriate to spoil one’s self, than the mosque – though both acts are disliked]”.[2]

One who wants to enter a mosque should take his sandals or shoes off before he enters so as to guard against defiling (talwith) the mosque. It has been said that entering the mosque wearing sandals/shoes is poor ethics (su’ al-adab). Regarding ‘Ali, it is reported that he had two pairs of sandals. After he performed wudu’, he would wear one pair to the mosque’s door; then he would change into the other pair to enter the mosques where he prayed.[3] This was when the surface of the mosque was crushed rock. How different is the situation now that it is covered with carpets?

If a mosque is covered with a clean cover or carpet, we must protect it from being polluted, or spoilt even from a ritually pure substance [such as mud, saliva, and so on]. Hence, the above legal opinion, that declares entering a mosque with shoes legal runs counter to the aims of both the law and one’s mind (‘aql). Today’s mosques are covered with expensive carpets and cleaned on a daily basis by machines so that their floors and surfaces remain in pristine form. Shoes invariably carry [some degree of] filth, and may even carry ritual impurities (najasat) [such as excrement, etc.]. Praying when wearing shoes is a concession (rukhsa). But this is not a recommended practice, and this matter is not a required aspect of prayer.

In Fatawa al-Islam: Su’al w Jawab, under the supervision of Shaykh Muhammad Salih al-Munjid:

Today’s mosques are covered with carpets. Entering these mosques wearing shoes will contribute, over time, to a layer of dirt (awsakh) in the mosque. Indeed, perhaps some people will become more negligent still and enter the mosque with shoes that carry filth and ritual impurities. If it people had been encouraged to pray in mosque wearing their shoes, we would have needed vast numbers of workers to clean up after each prayer. I do not believe that those who currently permit Muslims to wear their shoes during prayers will want to pray in dirty (even filthy and ritually impure) mosques. Here, Shaykh al-Albani [who is often mentioned as a proponent of wearing shoes in mosques] advises caution:

Regarding the matter of wearing shoes/sandals (ni‘al) in the mosque, I have advised our Salafi brothers not to go to extremes. The difference between now and the time of the Prophet (upon him be peace) is that our mosques are covered in carpets. I compare this with an example from the Sunna: the Prophet (upon him be peace) encouraged those who needed to expel their saliva, or mucus, while praying, to spit on their left, or under their feet. Now, it obvious that this advice only made sense when the mosque floor – where the person felt that s/he had to spit – was made of sand, or of crushed rocks. These days, however, mosque floors are covered with carpets. Should we now say that it is permitted to spit on the carpets?! This matter [wearing shoes in the mosque] is like the previous one [spitting in the mosque].[4]

In conclusion, there is nothing to prevent Muslims from praying in their shoes/sandals in empty spaces, or in places guaranteed to be ritually pure. However, if the public [wears shoes/sandals and] prays in a public mosque, and those responsible for this mosque must then spend great time and effort to clean the mosque [floor] of the filth [that has been traipsed in], then the legal opinion that Muslims may pray wearing shoes is liable to lead to dissent (fitna) and to open the door to evil (sharr) [by causing arguments and division].

And God knows best.

Dr. Ahmad ‘Id


[1] Mutalib, Ula al-Nahy, 2/254.

[2] Al-Sarkhasi, Al-Mabsut, 1/85.

[3] Al-Bahr al-Ra’iq 2/37 [author Ibn al-Mujayn].

[4] Shaykh al-Albani, Fatawa al-Islam, Su’al wa Jawab, Part I, q. no. 69793, p. 5670.