Is it permissible to perform prayers with shoes on? Is the same thing valid for janazah prayer?

Is it permissible to perform prayers with shoes on? Is the same thing valid for janazah prayer?

Dear Brother / Sister,

If the shoes are clean, it is permissible to perform prayers with shoes on. In Turkey, janazah prayers are performed with shoes on all over Turkey today. For, there is no difference between janazah prayer and other prayers.

Abu Maslama narrates: I asked Anas bin Malik,"Did the Prophet (pbuh) perform prayers with shoes on?" Anas said, "Yes." (Bukhari, Salat, 24; Tirmidhi, Salat, 181)

However, if the shoes are not clean, it is not permissible to perform daily prayers or janazah prayer with them.

It is necessary to remove the impurities that prevent prayer in all prayers including janazah prayer. Accordingly, if there is no impurity that prevents prayer in a person’s shoes, it is permissible for him to perform prayers with shoes on. As a matter of fact,

"Once the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) started to perform a prayer with his shoes on; when Jibril told him that there was some impurity on them, he took them off." (Abu Dawud, Salat, 91)

It is not permissible to perform janazah prayer wearing shoes whose bottoms are dirty or by stepping on a dirty place; it is necessary to take off the shoes and perform the prayer by stepping on the shoes. In that case, the impurity under the shoe will not harm the prayer. For, the person performs the prayer by stepping on the clean surfaces of the shoes.  

It is not necessary to take off the shoes if no impurity is clearly seen on the shoes or if it is not definitely known that there is impurity on them. 

Accordingly, if there is no impurity that prevents prayer in a person’s shoes, it is permissible for him to perform prayers with shoes on. However, it is not appropriate to enter mosques with shoes on even if the shoes are clean.

Questions on Islam