Abdul Razzaq al-Badr said,
This chapter is dedicated to describing the shoes of the Prophet (peace be upon him) and his guidance in this regard. However, it is noteworthy to mention that it is permissible to wear anything we want, so long as what we wear is not forbidden in the religion. This is because the shoes that people wear in each era and in each culture are different. The general rule regarding clothes is that everything is permissible until there is evidence to prove it is forbidden.
Al-Bajūrī said,
Na’l refers to footwear that keeps the feet away from the floor and when the term is used it does not normally include the khuff.
The Prophet (peace be upon him) had three different types of footwear, as Ibn Sa’d narrated in his work Tabaqat al-Kubra:
· Footwear that was narrow in the middle.
· Footwear with a leather piece in the back to support the ankle.
· Footwear with a long front part, that took the shape of a tongue. It was designed this way to fit his second toe, which was the tallest of his toes.
He (peace be upon him) used to walk barefoot sometimes out of humility, especially when he would go to visit an ill person.
75. Qatādah narrated: “I asked Anas ibn Mālik to describe the sandals of Allāh’s Messenger (peace be upon him). He replied, ‘Each sandal had two qibālān.’” [91]
Ibn Hajar al-Haytamī said,
Qibālān are two ribbons fastened to the sole of the sandal. The joining point of the ribbons separates the middle toe from the next toe (i.e. the fourth toe).
76. ‘Abdullāh ibn ‘Abbās related: “The sandal of the Messenger of Allāh (peace be upon him) had two ribbons and two upper straps.” [92]
Abdul Muhsin al-Abbad said,
The ribbon refers to that which separates the toes, whereas the upper straps are that which secure the sandal to the upper part of the feet.
Abdul Razzaq al-Badr said,
This means that each sandal had two ribbons and two straps were connected with each ribbon.
77. Īsa ibn Tahmān narrated: “Anas ibn Mālik showed us a pair of sandals that had two straps and were hairless. Later on, Thābit told me that these were the sandals of the Prophet (peace be upon him).” [93]
Abdul Razzaq al-Badr said,
This indicates that Anas kept the sandals of the Prophet (peace be upon him) in his house.
78. Ubayd ibn Jurayj asked Ibn ‘Umar: “Why do you [prefer] wearing the sibti type of sandals?” He replied, “I saw the Messenger of Allāh (peace be upon him) wearing sandals that did not have hair on them, performing ablution while he had them on. This is why I like wearing them.” [94]
Al-Bajūrī and Abdul Razzaq al-Badr said,
Sibti sandals refer to the sandals made of tanned cow leather and they are called sibti because the hair falls off when the leather is dyed.
Alī al-Qārī said,
The answer of Ibn ‘Umar was to show that he prefers wearing this type of sandal to follow the guidance of the Prophet (peace be upon him) and not because of personal preference.
79. Abū Hurairah related: “The sandals of Allāh’s Messenger (peace be upon him) had two upper straps.” [95]
Al-Bajūrī said,
Alī ibn Abī Tālib and Ibn Abbās encouraged wearing yellow sandals. It is because yellow is from the colours that indicate happiness.
80. ‘Amr ibn Huraith narrated: “I saw the Messenger of Allāh (peace be upon him) praying while wearing a pair of sandals that had new soles sewn onto them.” [96]
Abdul Razzaq al-Badr said,
The Prophet (peace be upon him) used to sew the leather sole into his sandals by himself as reported in the hadīth that Imām Ahmad documented in his Musnad[97].
Al-Bajūrī said,
The Prophet (peace be upon him) had sandals that had one sole and sandals that had more than one sole.
81. Abū Hurairah narrated that the Prophet (peace be upon him) said: “One should not wear one shoe and walk. Either wear them both or remove them both.” [98]
Alī al-Qārī said,
Al-Khattabī said that [it is disliked] because it would be difficult to walk whilst wearing one shoe, not to mention that it does not look good. Others said, it is [disliked] because it would make the person unjust between their own limbs, or because it would make people question their intellect and sensibility. Abū Bakr ibn al-Arabī said, “It is disliked because it makes the person walk the walk of the Shaytan. And it is said that it is disliked because it is immodest.” Al-Bayhaqī said, “It is disliked because it makes the person known and famous and we are ordered not to attract the attention of others through our clothing or anything that may make us gain notoriety.”
Some scholars applied the same ruling on sleeves i.e. it is disliked to wear a shirt whilst having one arm in a sleeve and the other one bare.
82. Abū Zinād reports the same.
83. Jābir ibn ‘Abdullāh narrated: “The Prophet (peace be upon him) prohibited people from eating with the left hand and from wearing one sandal only.” [99]
Abdul Razzaq al-Badr said,
The prohibition of eating with the left hand applies to drinking as well.
Al-Bajūrī said,
The ruling on eating with the left hand without a necessity is that it is disliked according to the Shāfi’ī scholars and it is forbidden according to many Hanbalī and Mālikī scholars.
84. Abū Hurairah narrated that the Prophet (peace be upon him) said: “Whenever one amongst you puts on their sandals, he should begin with the right, and when one of you removes them, the left one should be removed first. Let the right side be the first when putting them on and the last when removing them.” [100]
Abdul Razzaq al-Badr said,
This shows the virtue of the right over the left in wearing shoes. It was the guidance of the Prophet (peace be upon him) to start with the right in all that which is honoured and considered a matter of adornment and beauty such as wearing the shoes, clothes, combing the hair etc. Whereas the left side is used to commence anything contrary to that such as removing the shoes, entering the toilet, and leaving the masjid etc.
Al-Bajūrī said,
The right side is honoured and therefore it comes first in every matter that is intended to be perfect and good, whilst the left side is used in matters that imperfect the status. The right side is honoured because it is what Allāh prefers and likes in everything i.e. the dwellers of Paradise stand on the right side of the Throne on the Day of Judgement and receive their books with their right hands, the angel recording the good deeds is on the right side, the scale of good deeds are placed on the right side etc.
85. Aisha narrated: “The Prophet (peace be upon him) liked to begin with the right side as much as possible; he began with his right side when he combed his hair, wore his shoes and washed his limbs when performing ablution.” [101]
Abdul Razzaq al-Badr said,
This emphasises the meaning of the previous hadīth.
86. Abū Hurairah narrated: “The sandals of the Messenger of Allāh (peace be upon him) had two upper straps, and so did the sandals of Abū Bakr and Umar. However, ‘Uthmān ibn ‘Affan was the first one to use one strap.” [102]
Abdul Razzaq al-Badr said,
This action of ‘Uthmān ibn Affan shows that the Prophet (peace be upon him) had two straps due to his personal preference and not with the intention to draw closer to Allāh. This is because if it was done for this reason, ‘Uthmān would not have left it.
Al-Bajūrī said,
‘Uthmān using one strap shows that the two straps were used because that was the custom and not because using one strap is disliked. This illustrates that it is permissible to wear any type of shoes, because wearing sandals at that time was just the custom of people.
Alī al-Qārī said,
If ‘Uthmān did not use the one strap it would have been assumed that using one strap is disliked. Thus, it shows that not wearing sandals and instead wearing anything else is permissible and not disliked.