Praying in shoes in a mosque where there are carpets

Praying in shoes is something that is permitted, rather the
Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) enjoined it so as
to be different from the Jews. The Prophet (peace and blessings of
Allaah be upon him) and his companions used to pray in their shoes, and the
Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) told them that they
should examine them lest there be any dirt on them. The Prophet (peace
and blessings of Allaah be upon him) took off his shoes whilst praying on
one occasion because Jibreel told him that there was some dirt on them, and
the Sahaabah also took off their shoes. All of these ahaadeeth are saheeh,
and they will be quoted and their isnaads will be discussed below, in a
fatwa from the Standing Committee. 

There is no doubt that their mosques were not furnished with
carpets, rather the floors were of sand and pebbles, so it did not matter if
they entered the mosque wearing shoes. But the mosques nowadays are
furnished with carpets and entering them with shoes may lead to introducing
dirt into the mosque. Some people are heedless and enter the mosque wearing
shoes with dirt or impure substances on them. 

If every worshipper were allowed to pray in the mosque
wearing shoes, we would need dozens of workers to clean the mosque after
every prayer, not just every day. We do not think that anyone who accepts
this would like to pray on a carpet that is full of dust and dirt, let alone
other unclean and impure substances, if people are negligent. 

The scholars of the Standing Committee were asked: 

There is a dispute about the ruling on entering the mosque in
shoes and praying in shoes. What is the Islamic ruling on that? 

They replied: 

The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him)
entered the mosque in shoes and prayed in shoes. Abu Dawood narrated in his
Sunan with his isnaad that Abu Sa’eed al-Khudri said: Whilst the
Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) was leading his
companions in prayer, he took off his shoes and placed them to his left.
When the people saw that, they took off their shoes. When the Messenger of
Allaah had finished the prayer he said, “What made you take off your shoes?”
They said, “We saw you take off your shoes, so we took off our shoes.” The
Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said:
“Jibreel (peace be upon him) came to me and told me that there was some dirt
on them.” And he said: “When one of you comes to the mosque, let him check
his shoes, and if he seeds any dirt on them, let him wipe them and pray in
them.” 

Abu Dawood also narrated from Ya’la ibn Shaddaad ibn Aws that
his father said: The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah
be upon him) said: “Be different from the Jews, for they do not pray in
their shoes or their khufoof (leather slippers).” 

And Abu Dawood narrated
from ‘Amr ibn Shu’ayb, from his father, that his grandfather said: I saw the
Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) praying
both barefoot and wearing shoes. This was also narrated by Ibn Maajah.   

But now that mosques are usually furnished with fine carpets,
the one who enters the mosque should take off his shoes and be careful to
keep the carpet clean and not annoy other worshippers because of dirt that
may get onto the carpet from the soles of his shoes, even if it is taahir
(pure). 

Fataawa al-Lajnah al-Daa’imah,
6/213, 214 

Shaykh Ibn Baaz (may Allaah have mercy on him) was asked:
What is the ruling on praying in shoes? 

He replied: 

The ruling is that it is
mustahabb after checking to make sure they are clean, because the Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) used to pray in his shoes,
and because the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him)
said: “The Jews and Christians do not pray in their khufoof (leather socks)
or shoes, so be different from them.” But if a person prays barefoot, that
does not matter, because it is proven that the Prophet (peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him) also prayed barefoot sometimes. 

If the mosque is furnished with carpets, it is better to take
the shoes off, so as to avoid making the carpets dirty or putting other
Muslims off the idea of prostrating on it. End quote. 

Majmoo’ Fataawa Ibn Baaz. 

Shaykh al-Albaani (may Allaah have mercy on him) said: I have
advised our Salafi brothers not to be so strict concerning this issue –
i.e., praying in shoes in the mosques – because there is a difference
between the mosques nowadays which are furnished with fine carpets, and the
Prophet’s Mosque in the early days of Islam. I gave them the analogy of
another example from the Sunnah, where in another story the Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) ordered the one who needed to
spit whilst praying to spit to his left or beneath his feet. This was
acceptable because the floor in the mosque where the person had to spit was
made of sand or pebbles. But nowadays the prayer-hall of the mosque is
furnished with carpets, so do they say that it is permissible to spit on the
carpets?! Both cases are the same. End quote. 

What Shaykh al-Albaani (may Allaah have mercy on him) had
previously been said by Imam Ahmad (may Allaah have mercy on him). 

Ibn Rajab (may Allaah have mercy on him) narrated in Fath
al-Baari that Bakr ibn Muhammad said: I said to Abu ‘Abd-Allaah (i.e.,
Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal): What do you think about a man spitting in the mosque
then rubbing it with his foot? He said: The hadeeth refers to a different
situation. He said: The mosques now have mats spread on the ground  and they
are not as they used to be. If he wants to spit whilst he is praying, then
he may spit to his left, if the spittle will fall outside the mosque. If he
is inside the mosque and he cannot make his spittle land outside the mosque,
then he should spit into his garment. End quote. 

So he stated that one should only spit in the mosque and rub
it with one’s foot if the mosque is not carpeted. 

If it is difficult to take off one’s shoes, as in the case of
boots worn by the military, then they may pray in their shoes, subject to
the condition that they ensure that they are clean. 

The scholars of the Standing Committee were asked: 

What is the ruling on entering the mosque with shoes,
especially since the military are required by their work to wear their boots
all the time, but the mosques are carpeted? 

They replied: 

It is permissible to
enter the mosque wearing shoes and to pray wearing them, if they are clean
and pure, but they should be checked when entering the mosque to make sure
there is no dirt on them. End quote. 

Fataawa al-Lajnah al-Daa’imah,
6/215, 216 

Based on this, it is better not to pray in the mosque wearing
shoes nowadays, except for one for whom it is difficult to take off his
shoes; he may pray in them after making sure that they are clean and that he
will not annoy those who are next to him. If this will lead to some kind of
argument and resentment, and will put others off, then it is better for him
to take his shoes off, in the interests of harmony among Muslims and not
causing enmity and hatred. The Muslim can perform the Sunnah and obey the
Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) by praying in his
shoes when that will not lead to any trouble, such as when praying in his
house, or when praying on uncarpeted ground, and so on.