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:

I need to aks a question that is it neccesary for a women to offer an Eid Prayer?

Can a men or women pray salat with his/her shoes on or praying salat with his/her shoes?

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Answer:

Can one pray 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 no one (no idol, no person, no grave, no prophet, no imam, no dai, nobody!) worthy of worship but Allah Alone, and we bear witness that Muhammad (saws) is His slave-servant and the seal of His Messengers.

Your Question: I need to aks a question that is it neccesary for a women to offer an Eid Prayer?

Umm Atiyah reports: "We were ordered by the Messenger of Allah (saws) to go out with the single and menstruating women to the two Eid prayers in order to witness the good and the supplications of the Muslims. The menstruating women would be separate from the others (would not offer their prayer, but they would listen to the Eid sermon)."

Related by al-Bukhari and Muslim.

Ibn Abbas reports that the Prophet (saws) would take his wives and daughters to the two Eid prayers..

Related by Ibn-Majah and al-Baihaqi.

Ibn 'Abbas reports: "I went out with the Prophet (saws) on the day of breaking the fast (Eid-ul-Fitr) or day of the sacrifice (Eid-ul-Adha), and he (saws) prayed and gave a khutbah, and then he went to the women and admonished them, reminded them of Allah, and ordered them to give charity."

Related by al-Bukhari.

Shariah requires every believer, man, woman and child to attend the two Eid prayers, including the women who are married, single, young, old, and even the menstruating women. The Eid prayers are ‘fard’ (obligatory) but unlike the five obligatory prayers which are known in Shariah as ‘fard-ayn’ (absolutely obligatory on each adult believing individual), the two Eid prayers are ‘fard-kifayah’ which means that if some people in the believing community perform the obligatory act it would suffice for the whole community.

Your Question: Can a men or women pray salat with his/her shoes on or praying salat with his/her shoes?

There is absolutely no such restriction in Shariah which declares that a believer, man or woman, cannot pray with their shoes on, provided his/her shoes have no filth or impurities on it. More often than not, the Messenger of Allah (saws) and the noble companions prayed with their shoes on in their humble masjid at Medina; simply because the Prophet’s Mosque in their times was on bare ground without any carpets or floor coverings, unlike our mosques today.

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, "Gabriel 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.

But today, the floors of most mosques are well-tiled, or covered, or carpeted, etc., thus it would be considered proper to pray in such mosques without shoes. But if one is praying outdoors on bare ground, there is absolutely no harm if one prays with his/her shoes on, provided the shoes have no filth or impurities on them.

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