In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
With pens of longing,
And the ink of love,
We record lines more precious than gold,
In describing the Master of all creation,
Peace and blessings of Allah be upon him.
The Prophetic characteristics (Shama'il).
Chapter: What has been narrated regarding the leather socks (khuff) of the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him.
On the authority of ‘Abdullah Ibn Buraydah, from his father,
That the Negus (al-Najashi) gifted the Prophet, peace be upon him,
Two black, plain leather socks.
He wore them, then performed wudu,
And wiped over them.
In this hadith,
The noble Companion informs us,
Buraydah Ibn al-Husayb, may Allah be pleased with him,
That the Negus,
Who was the King of Abyssinia,
And whose name was Ashama Ibn Abjar,
Was the king of Abyssinia during the time of the Prophet, peace be upon him,
And he embraced Islam during his lifetime,
Though he did not migrate to him,
And the Prophet, peace be upon him, prayed over him,
The funeral prayer in absentia.
His statement "gifted the Prophet, peace be upon him,"
"Two black, plain leather socks,"
Means their color was black,
And "plain" (sadhijayn),
Means they were unadorned,
Without hair on them,
And without any color contrasting with their own.
His statement "he wore them,"
Means he was in a state of purity (tahara),
And the particle "fa" (then) implies immediacy.
The Prophet, peace be upon him,
Was gracious in accepting the gift,
And hastened to make use of it,
Which brings joy and happiness to the giver.
And his statement,
"Then he performed wudu and wiped over them,"
For wiping over the leather socks, the hadiths are mutawatir (widely transmitted),
From the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him,
Both while traveling and while at home.
From al-Sha‘bi, who said:
Al-Mughirah Ibn Shu‘bah, may Allah be pleased with him, said:
Dihyah gifted the Prophet, peace be upon him,
Two leather socks, and he wore them.
In this hadith,
It is mentioned that Dihyah al-Kalbi, may Allah be pleased with him,
Gifted the Prophet, peace be upon him,
Two leather socks, and he wore them,
Peace and blessings of Allah be upon him.
This is among the many virtues
Of the character of the Prophet, peace be upon him,
With his Companions,
As he would accept their gifts,
And reward them with something even better.
Chapter: What has been narrated regarding the sandals (na‘l) of the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him.
On the authority of Qatadah, who said:
I asked Anas Ibn Malik, may Allah be pleased with him,
"What were the sandals of the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, like?"
He said:
"They had two straps (qibalan)."
In this hadith,
Anas Ibn Malik, may Allah be pleased with him, was asked
About the nature of the sandals of the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him,
And he informed us that they had two straps.
"Qibalan" is the dual form of "qibal,"
Which is the fastener or the leather thong that is tied, the strap that goes between the two toes.
It helps with a person's comfort in walking and the stability of the footwear on the foot.
These sandals are closest to what people today call "zanuba" (flip-flops).
On the authority of Ibn ‘Abbas, may Allah be pleased with them both, who said:
The sandals of the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, had two straps,
With double-layered thongs.
In this hadith as well, the Companion ‘Abdullah Ibn ‘Abbas, may Allah be pleased with them both, describes
The sandals of the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him,
As having two straps,
And the meaning of "two straps" has already passed.
"With double-layered thongs" (mathnay shirakihima),
"Mathnay" comes from "tathniya" (doubling),
Which is making a thing into two.
The "shirak" is one of the straps of the sandal,
Meaning that the sandal of the Prophet, peace be upon him, had a fastener,
In which two thongs had been placed.
On the authority of ‘Isa Ibn Tahman, who said:
Anas Ibn Malik, may Allah be pleased with him, brought out to us
Two hairless sandals,
That had two straps.
He said:
Then Thabit later narrated to me from Anas, may Allah be pleased with him,
That they were the ones worn by the Prophet, peace be upon him.
In this hadith,
Anas Ibn Malik, may Allah be pleased with him,
Brought out to some of the Tabi‘un two hairless sandals,
That had two straps.
"Jardawayn" (hairless),
Means there was no hair on them.
It is said "ard jardā'" (barren land),
Meaning there is no vegetation on it.
Then this Tabi‘i said:
Thabit narrated to me after that,
From Anas, may Allah be pleased with him,
That those two sandals belonged to the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him,
And Anas Ibn Malik, may Allah be pleased with him, had kept them
After the passing of the Prophet, peace be upon him.
On the authority of ‘Ubayd Ibn Jurayj,
That he said to Ibn ‘Umar, may Allah be pleased with them both:
"I see you wearing sabti sandals."
He said:
"I saw the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, wearing sandals that had no hair on them,
And he would perform wudu while wearing them,
So I love to wear them."
In this hadith,
‘Ubayd Ibn Jurayj asks
‘Abdullah Ibn ‘Umar, may Allah be pleased with them both,
Saying:
"I see you wearing these sabti sandals."
"Sabti" is attributed to "sabt,"
Which is tanned cowhide.
It is called "sabti,"
Because its hair has been "subitat" (removed) from it,
Meaning it was removed through a tanning process.
So "sabti" sandals
Are those made from tanned cowhide,
From which the hair has fallen off.
And his statement, may Allah be pleased with him,
"I saw the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him,
Wearing sandals that had no hair on them,"
This is the meaning of "sabti."
When sandals are made from the hides of cattle,
Sometimes the hair remains on them completely,
Sometimes light hair remains on them,
And sometimes it is removed entirely.
At that point, the sandal is described as "jardā'" (hairless),
And as "sabti."
And his statement "he would perform wudu while wearing them,"
It is possible that he, peace be upon him,
Performed wudu while they were on his feet,
And did not take them off,
Or that he performed wudu and then put on the sandals,
While his feet were still damp from the wudu.
And his statement "so I love to wear them,"
Meaning ‘Abdullah Ibn ‘Umar, may Allah be pleased with them both, loved
To wear sabti sandals,
Because he saw the Prophet, peace be upon him,
Wearing them.
And ‘Abdullah Ibn ‘Umar, may Allah be pleased with them both,
Is known for being among the people most
Loving and following of the Prophet, peace be upon him.
On the authority of ‘Umar Ibn Hurayth, may Allah be pleased with him, who said:
I saw the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him,
Praying in two patched sandals.
In this hadith,
The Companion informs us,
That Hurayth, may Allah be pleased with him,
Saw the Prophet, peace be upon him,
Praying in two patched sandals,
Meaning they were sewn and mended.
"Khasf" and "raq'" (patching),
Is the joining of one thing to another.
And he, peace be upon him,
Used to patch his own sandals with his own hands,
As in the hadith of ‘A’ishah, may Allah be pleased with her,
When it was said to her:
"What did the Prophet, peace be upon him,
Do in his house?"
She said: "Just as one of you does;
He would patch his sandals,
And mend his garment."
And in the hadith is
His prayer, peace be upon him,
In sandals,
And this has been authentically established from him,
In his Sunnah, both in word and deed.
So there is no issue regarding its permissibility,
When the floors of the mosques
Are dirt and gravel,
Or when the prayer is in the desert.
However, after mosques were prepared with carpets,
It is appropriate for whoever enters the mosque
To remove his sandals out of consideration for the cleanliness of the carpets,
And to prevent harming the worshippers
By what might affect the carpets,
From the impurities on the soles of the shoes,
Even if they are technically pure.
On the authority of Abu Hurayrah, may Allah be pleased with him,
That the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, said:
"None of you should walk
In one sandal;
Let him wear them both,
Or let him take them both off."
The author, may Allah have mercy on him, has finished
What relates to the description of his sandals,
Peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
And has begun to mention his guidance,
Peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
In wearing sandals,
So he brought forth this hadith,
The Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, said:
"None of you should walk"
"in a single sandal."
This means in a state where
one foot is shod
and the other is bare.
His statement,
"Let him put on both of them,"
or "let him take off both of them,"
means that one should either walk
with both feet shod
or walk with both feet bare.
As for having
one foot bare
and the other shod,
this is what the Prophet,
peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, forbade.
It has been said
that this is so one does not
imitate the Shaytan,
because it is mentioned in some narrations
that the Shaytan walks
with a single sandal.
It has also been said
that this is to avoid
causing injustice to the body,
for the Sharia has commanded man to be just,
even with his own body.
If one walks with a single sandal
and the other foot is bare,
and the ground is
hot or cold,
the bare foot is treated unjustly.
The Sharia came
to forbid injustice.
It is mentioned that Sheikh
Ibn Baz, may Allah have mercy on him,
was asked by someone who said,
"If the second sandal
is a step away from me,
or two steps,
may I walk to it with one sandal?"
The Sheikh replied,
"If you are able
not to contradict the Sunnah,
even for a single step, then do so."
On the authority of Jabir,
may Allah be pleased with him,
the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
forbade a man from eating
with his left hand,
or walking in a single sandal.
This hadith indicates
that the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
forbade a man from eating
with his left hand.
This ruling is not restricted
to men only;
rather, the address is directed to women
as well.
Eating with the left hand
also includes the prohibition of drinking with it.
For the Shaytan eats
and drinks with his left hand.
On the authority of Abu Hurayrah,
may Allah be pleased with him,
the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
said:
"When one of you puts on sandals,
let him begin with the right,
and when he takes them off, let him begin with the left."
So let the right foot
be the first to be shod
and the last to be unshod.
This hadith shows
that the right side is given precedence
over the left in putting on footwear.
This is why it was the practice of
the Prophet, peace be upon him,
to love starting with the right in matters
that involve honor and adornment,
such as grooming his hair,
putting on his sandals, and all his affairs.
He would prioritize
the left in the opposite of that,
such as taking off a sandal,
entering the lavatory,
and exiting the mosque.
The reason for starting
with the left when removing footwear
is that wearing them is a form of honor,
as it is a protection for the body.
Since the right is
more honorable than the left,
it is given priority in wearing them,
and delayed in removing them,
so that the honor remains with it longer
and it receives a greater share of it.
Whoever begins
putting on sandals with the left
has acted poorly by contradicting
the Sunnah,
though it is not forbidden for him
to wear his sandal.
On the authority of 'Aishah, may Allah be pleased with her,
she said:
"The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
loved to start with the right as much as he could
in his grooming,
his putting on of sandals, and his purification."
In this hadith,
the Mother of the Believers,
'Aishah, may Allah be pleased with her, informs us
that the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
used to love
starting with the right when putting on
his sandals,
when combing his hair,
when grooming it,
and in his purification,
so he would begin with the right hand
and the right foot.
Her statement "as much as he could"
is evidence for maintaining this practice
wherever possible,
whenever he was able,
and when no obstacle prevented him from doing so.
The hadith has more to follow,
if Allah wills.
And Allah knows best.
Upon our Prophet Muhammad,
and upon his family and companions,
all of them.