cited this hadith of al-Tahawi because it contains the reason for the prohibition, thus lending weight to one particular view among those advanced in defining that reason. In al-Fath (10/261), it states:

“Al-Khattabi said: The wisdom behind the prohibition is that sandals were prescribed to protect the feet from thorns and the like upon the ground. If one foot alone is shod, the walker must guard one foot against what he does not guard the other from, thereby departing from his natural manner of walking; moreover, he is not safe from stumbling.

“It was also said: because he has not treated his limbs equally, and one who does so may be thought to have unsound or weak judgment. Ibn al-Arabi said: It has been said that the reason is that this is Satan’s manner of walking; and it has also been said that it departs from moderation. Al-Bayhaqi said: Its reprehensibility is due to its being conspicuous, for people’s eyes are drawn to whoever is seen doing it. There is a prohibition against conspicuousness in dress; thus, anything that makes its wearer conspicuous ought to be avoided.”

I say: The soundest of these views is the one Ibn al-Arabi related: that it is Satan’s manner of walking. His introducing it with the phrase, “It has been said,” suggests that he regarded it as weak. This means that he had not come across this authentic hadith, which supports that statement; had he come across it, he could only have affirmed it decisively. Likewise, al-Hafiz’s silence regarding it suggests that he too had not come across it. Otherwise, he would have mentioned it, in keeping with his method of gathering hadiths and citing the portions relevant to the chapter—especially since there is no other report that specifies and defines the reason for the prohibition.

So take this as a precious and rare benefit, which you may not find elsewhere. Its credit belongs to Imam Abu Jafar al-Tahawi, for he preserved it for us with an authentic chain of transmission in his book, to the exclusion of dozens of other books by other authors.

Note: As for the hadith narrated by Layth from Abd al-Rahman ibn al-Qasim, from his father, from Aishah, who said:

“Perhaps the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, walked wearing one sandal.”

It is weak and cannot be used as evidence.

Al-Tirmidhi (1/329) narrated it through Huraym ibn Sufyan al-Bajali al-Kufi, and al-Tahawi through Mandal; both narrated it from Layth, with this chain of transmission.