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:

Dear Brother,

 
Can one recite the quran from memory while wearing shoes? For example, i am sometimes running late in the morning so i pray fajir and leave but my hr long in the train i may read Yasin from memory but i am wearing shoes. Is that permissible.

 

(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:

 

Recite Quran with shoes

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.

 

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, "Jibrael came to me and informed me that there was some filth 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.

 

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.’

 

More often than not, the Messenger of Allah (saws) and the noble companions prayed with their shoes on in their humble masjid at Medinah;  simply because the Prophet’s Mosque in their times was on bare ground without any carpets or floor coverings, unlike our mosques today.  

 

When there is allowance in Shariah to offer one’s prayer in one’s shoes, there is absolutely no reason to believe, nor is there specific prohibition in the authentic and established Sunnah, regarding the believers reciting the Glorious Quran from a book or from memory while wearing 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