Question
Reference number: 558252 | Prayers | March 11, 2019
What is the ruling on performing the prayer at home with shoes on?
Answer
Praise Be to Allah and Peace Be Upon His Messenger.
Performing the prayer while wearing the shoes is valid. It was narrated that Sa’id Abu Maslama asked Anas (Ibn Malik): “Did the prophet use to perform prayers with his shoes on?” He said: “Yes.” Related by A-Bukhari.
There is another prophetic hadith regarding this issue. Abu Sa’id Al-Khudri narrated that the prophet said: “When any of you comes to the mosque, he must look at his shoes. If he sees they are dirty or impure, he should wipe them and then pray in them.” These two prophetic sayings indicate that performing prayers while wearing the shoes is not exclusive to being outside, on a farm or any other place. It is also allowed to pray with shoes on wherever a Muslim is.
Abu Sa’id Al-Khudri also narrated: “it happened that the prophet was leading his companions in a prayer, then he took off his shoes and laid them at his left side. When people saw that, they took off their shoes (copying him). When the prophet ended his prayer, he asked: “What made you take your shoes off?” They said: “We saw you taking off yours, so we took of ours.” Then he said: “Gabriel came and informed me that there was filth on them.” Related by Abu Dawood
Nowadays, as long as mosques’ grounds are covered with carpets, a Muslim should take off their shoes before entering the mosque. This is to keep the mosque’s carpets clean and pure and to prevent any harm which may annoy other Muslims who perform their prayers in the mosque.