as those who pray on prayer rugs argue in justification, saying that they do so only to guard against impurity in the mosque, or on its mats and carpets, because so many members of the public tread upon them.

It is established that he prayed in his sandals, that he led his Companions in prayer wearing his sandals while they too wore theirs, and that he instructed people to pray in sandals to differ from the Jews. He also instructed that, if there was any filth on them, they should be rubbed against the earth and then worn in prayer. Sandals obviously come into contact with the ground, and the hadith explicitly states that one may pray in them after rubbing them in this manner, even if filth has soiled them. How, then, could it be recommended to place a barrier between oneself and the ground for fear of impurity, when this is his law and Sunnah?

There are four degrees in this matter. As for those who go to extremes in their obsessive misgivings, they pray neither on the ground nor on coverings spread on the ground for public use, but only on a prayer rug or something similar. How could such people pray in their sandals, when, by their reasoning, that is even less acceptable than praying on the ground? Their sandals have touched the roads along which they have walked and may have encountered impurity; indeed, in some places this may be quite likely.

If they will not pray on the ground with their feet touching it directly—even though the place where they stand is presumed pure, and they touch it only at the time of prayer—then what of sandals that have repeatedly touched roads traversed by animals and human beings, where impurity is likely to be found? For this reason, when these people offer the funeral prayer, they place their feet