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.