and sometimes barefoot, as reported in Sunan Abī Dāwūd and the Musnad from Abū Sa'īd al-Khudrī, may Allah be pleased with him, concerning the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace:

“He prayed and took off his sandals, so the people took off theirs. When he finished, he asked, ‘Why did you take off your sandals?’ They replied, ‘We saw you take yours off, so we took ours off.’ He said, ‘Gabriel came to me and informed me that there was some impurity on them. When one of you comes to the mosque, let him turn his sandals over. If he sees any impurity, let him wipe it off on the ground, then pray in them.’”

This shows that they prayed in their sandals and that they did so in the mosque, since they were not walking in them over floor coverings. It also shows that if someone sees filth on his sandals, he should wipe them on the ground and pray in them. He need not wash them, nor take them off at prayer time and place his feet on them, as many people do.

The Sunnah supports all of this. In the two Sahīh collections and the Musnad, Abū Salama Sa'īd ibn Yazīd said:

“I asked Anas, ‘Did the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, pray in his sandals?’ He replied, ‘Yes.’”

In Sunan Abī Dāwūd, Shaddād ibn Aws reported that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said:

“Differ from the Jews, for they do not pray in their sandals or leather socks.”

He thus commanded us to act differently from them in this respect, since they remove their leather socks and sandals when praying. According to what is reported about them, they follow the example of Moses, peace be upon him, who was told when Allah spoke privately to him:

“Take off your sandals. Indeed, you are in the sacred valley of Tuwā.”

Thus, we were forbidden to imitate them