QUESTION:
On the night of Mi’raj, was the Holy Prophet ﷺ wearing his blessed slippers or was he bare footed? Zaid says that he ﷺ was not wearing his blessed slippers because this would have been disrespectful.
ANSWER:
Whether or not the Holy Prophet ﷺ was wearing his blessed slippers on the night of Mi’raj is an issue which is not proven from any Sahih and famous narration, therefore I cannot give a definite answer about this. This is why Sadr-ul-Shariah (رحمه الله تعالى) says:
“It is common that on the night of Mi’raj the Holy Prophet ﷺ went on the arsh wearing his blessed slippers, public speakers also narrate a report about this, whereas there is no proof for this. However it is also not proven whether he was bare footed. Therefore it is appropriate to stay silent about this issue”.
[Bahar-e-Shariat part 16 pg 152]
Sayyiduna Sheikh Isma’il Makki (رحمه الله تعالى) reports in his Tafsir that on the night of Mi’raj, when the Holy Prophet ﷺ was about to take off his blessed slippers Allah (تعالى) said:
تقدم علي بساط العرش بنعليک ليتشرف العرش بغبار نعل قدميک و يصل نور
العرش يا سيد الکونين إليک
Translation: “Come onto the ‘Arsh with your slippers so that the ‘Arsh may be blessed by the dust of your feet”.
[Ruh-ul-Bayan vol. 5]
Similarly in Zarkani-‘alal-Mawahib vol. 6, Sharh-Shifa-lil-Khifaji vol. 2, Ma’arij-ul-Nubuwwat etc, there is mention that on the night of Mi’raj the Holy Prophet ﷺ was about to take his blessed slippers off but then he heard a voice, ‘O Muhammad ﷺ do not take your slippers off so that the ‘Arsh can be blessed with them’, he ﷺ said ‘O Allah You told Sayyiduna Musa (عليه السلام) to take his slippers off on the holy mountain’, Allah (تعالى) replied; ‘O Abul Qasim ﷺ, come close to Me, you are not like Musa, he is My Kaleem and you are My Habeeb’.
To consider this disrespectful is inappropriate because it is proven that the Holy Prophet ﷺ many times performed his Salah wearing his ﷺ blessed slippers, despite the fact that in Salah a person is in the court of Allah (تعالى) and especially in a state of sajdah.
Sa’eed bin Yazid asked Hazrat Anas (رضى الله عنهما) if the Messenger of Allah ﷺ prayed Salah wearing his blessed slippers, he replied ‘yes’.
[Sahih Muslim]
There is no difference of opinion amongst scholars in the permissibility of praying Salah in pure slippers in fact some scholars say it is better.
“Praying Salah wearing slippers is better”
[Tafsir-ul-Qurtubi vol. 11 pg. 117]
According to the majority of the Qur’anic commentators Sayyiduna Musa (عليه السلام) was told to remove his slippers because they were unclean, just like once the Holy Prophet ﷺ removed his blessed slippers during prayer and the Sahabah saw him and removed theirs but were instructed not to.
[Sunan Nasai]
In ‘Sharh-ul-Shifa’ Imam Khifaji (رحمه الله تعالى) says:
ذالک ليس بصحيح ولا ثابت
“This is not strong (Sahih) & not proven”, this comment does not prove that the hadith is fabricated (maudoo’), as is mentioned in books of Hadith-Principles.
Also a weak (da’eef) hadith is reliable in matters of excellences (fadaail), therefore in this issue the safest option is to follow the opinion of Sadr-ul-Shariah (رحمه الله تعالى) which is to remain silent and not comment about this matter.
Allah تعالى is most knowing.
Answered by Mufti Shams ul Huda Misbahi
Translated by Mawlana Muhammad Rashid Madani
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