The Significance of The Na’layn — The Blessed Sandals
At the start of the year 2017, a friend of mine sent me a question about the significance of the “Na’layn” that looked something like this:
I replied the next day with an Evernote link that I wrote as a response. He read it and appreciated the insight. I’m now going to share the note with you. My intention is to present a collection of points to answer the question on significance as best as possible.
Firstly, what does “Na’layn” mean?
You will have heard — ‘the Sunnah Sandals’, ‘the Blessed Sandals’, ‘the Prophetic Sandals’, a ‘sign’ or even a ‘badge thing’. Whenever someone mentions the word Na’layn, they think of these things. The word has always been heard, seen or been given exposure to in connection to something to do with our Noble Messenger Muhammad (ﷺ).
It’s true — it’s a sign that many of us have seen in all sorts of places. People are seen wearing it as a badge, others on their hats and turbans all bling bling, and others have pictures. In fact these days people are placing the sign on anything they possibly can like scarves, handcuffs, buttons — anywhere. We also find the sign used by many organisations as their identity.
The Blessed Hub was founded officially in 2012 on the eve of the Isra’ and Mi’raj. It was born with the same sign for it’s identity. For us the word “Hub” is interchangeable: (1) The word Hub in English meaning “a place or thing that forms the effective center of an activity, region, or network,” and (2) The word Hub in Arabic which means “love”, a love that is magnetic in nature and gathers people. This underpined our entire vision. Everything we do and whatever we are, goes back to Allah and the Beloved Prophet Muhammad (ﷺ). Thus we have as our identity the Beloved Sandal. It is a reminder to us and to everyone of him (ﷺ).
Here Shaykh Hamza Yusuf speaks about the symbol mentioning that is even found all over Moroccan doors, Mosques in India, and Syria. He mentions how the two Blessed Sandals represent fear (symbolic of hell) and hope (symbolic of paradise).
At the simpliest level — The ‘Na’layn’ — represents the shape of the blessed sandals of the Prophet Muhammad (ﷺ).
However language (of which I claim to be no expert) and wisdom is all about using the right words in the right place at the right time. Strictly speaking, the word ‘Na’layn’ as a noun of pair meaning ‘sandals/shoes’. It comes from the word singular word Na’l.
This means that when someone says “Na’l” or “Na’layn”, it’s a general word rather than specific. This is why when we hear a reference to the Prophet’s Sandals (ﷺ), we often hear — “Na’layn Shareef” or “Na’layn Mubarak” or “Na’layn Paak” which all add on the words ‘Blessed’ or ‘Pure’. Not just because of language but out of due respect for what is being referred to.
Here Shaykh Sayyid Muhammad al-Ya’qoubi speaks about how they are a source of blessing and how the Arabs refer to them as sandals through which are are elevated because in Arabic the word Na’l can be used as a noun and a verb.
So this is what the Na’layn Mubarak is.
Now, in order the address the significance of them, I’m going to divide significance into two parts to give you a full picture.
(1) It’s significance historically and for the faithful.
(2) It’s significance to faith itself.
Before addressing it’s significance to faith itself, let’s learn about it’s historic significance.
The Historic Significance of the Na’layn Mubarak
When answering the question, ‘what’s the significance of the Na’layn Mubarak’, many have answered beautifully using historic significance already. Many scholars have addressed this. By historic, I mean thoughts and writings about the Blessed Sandals like poetry and opinions of great scholars.
For example, The Concious Muslim:
An original pair is kept in the Topkapi Palace Museum in Turkey. Relics that relate to the Prophet (ﷺ) are sacred; the sahaba gave the utmost respect to his relics and used them to seek blessings from. During his last pilgrimage the Prophet ﷺ distributed his shorn hair amongst the companions. Bilal al-Habashi’ famously rubbed his face on the grave of the Prophet (ﷺ). It is important to understand that this was all done out of love for him (ﷺ) , nothing else. The relics are only special because of him (ﷺ), and because Allāh wills them to be.
These sandals remind us how simple and full of humility he (ﷺ) was, and how we are not even worthy of the dust beneath them.
ʻAbd Allāh ibn Mas’ud was one of the first men to openly recite the Qurʾān, he was also known as the “keeper of the sandals” when the Messenger of Allāh (ﷺ) would sit down ʻAbd Allāh ibn Mas’ud would stand up and place the sandals under his arms. Then when the Prophet (ﷺ) would rise to leave, he would put them on his blessed feet.
Writers and poets have written some wonderful words in praise of the Noble sandals:
“May the best of blessing and peace be upon the owner of these blessed sandals. Verily I serve the image of the sandal of al-Muṣṭafā, so that I may live in both worlds under its protection.”
“If your blessed foot has not honored the earth, ablution with soil would not purify anyone.”
“If I were the sandals that protected your feet, my whole soul would sing and my bliss would be complete.”
Some may still be skeptical about the sign, and all that it encompasses for people. But I’ll leave you with one final fleeting reflection. From a very young age we are taught that heaven lies under the feet of our mothers, so what secrets and blessings must lay beneath the feet of Allāh’s beloved (ﷺ)?
Shaykh Jamir Meah also answers the question:
The sandals of the Prophet have significance. Many a scholar have written about the significance of the Na’alayn and seeking blessings from it.
Love of the Prophet is obligatory on the believers, and a part of the completion of faith. The Prophet said, ’None of you truly believes until I am more beloved to him than his very self, wealth, and all people.’ [Muslim].
There is no such thing as excess love when it comes to love of our Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). When someone truly loves a person (truly, madly, deeply as the saying goes), they love everything connected to that person. This is what is meant by the poetry of Majnun when he said of his yearning for Layla,
‘I was in the land of Layla and I kissed its walls. In my heart resides the inhabitant of this land but I love the other dwellers too.’ [Shifa al-Siqam]
Anything that reminds you of your love, is a part of your beloved, and cherished. This is what Imam Qadi ‘Iyad refers to when he writes, ‘The abode of the best of Messengers, the guide to the worlds and the performer of miracles, I feel aching, love and yearning for him. When I see those walls and plains, I will kiss them so much that my white beard will be filled with dust.’ [al-Shifa’ 2:46].
This is not an innovation, for the Companions themselves scrambled for the Prophets hair, saved drops of perspiration, and treasured his clothes, all out of love, and desiring the blessings from them. They gave the items belonging to the Prophet (peace and blessing be upon him) every veneration and attachment. The Mother of Believers, A’ishah lovingly kept the blanket in which the Holy Prophet (peace and blessing be upon him) had passed away in. Abu Hurairah relates that ‘A’ishah took out a thick blanket and showed it to us. She said, the Prophet (peace and blessing be upon him) had breathed his last in this blanket.’ [al Bukhari, Muslim]
During his lifetime (peace and blessing be upon him), Ibn Masud would hold the sandals for the Prophet when he took them off and hold them under his arms, while after his death (peace and blessing be upon him) Sayyidna Anas was the keeper of the sandals of the Prophet (peace and blessing be upon him).
This veneration of all things connected to the Prophet is explained by Qadi Iyad when he to says, ‘It is from the respect due to the Messenger (peace and blessing be upon him) that one gives reverence to all things connected with him, all places he stayed in Makka and Madina, the things he touched and all things that are known connected to him.’ [al-Shifa’]
The Prophet’s sandals have a special significance in many ways, not only because it was the sandals that the blessed feet were placed upon, but they were the sandals that were worn during the Heavenly Ascent, and when the Prophet (peace and blessing be upon him) was in the Presence of the Lord of the Worlds. Unlike where God told Sayyidna Musa to take off his sandals before intimate conversation with his Lord (Verily I am thy Lord! Therefore (in My presence) put off thy shoes: thou art in the sacred valley Tuwa.’ [20:12]), the Prophet (peace and blessing be upon him) was not asked to do so. This inspired poets from all over the world to write about the sandals. Sa’duna Umm Sa’d bint Isam al Himyarriya, a poetess from Andalusia writes,
I shall kiss the image if I do not find
A way to kiss the Prophet’s sandal
Perhaps the good fortune of kissing it
Will be granted to me in Paradise in the most radiant place
And I rub my heart on it so that perhaps
The burning thirst which rages in it maybe quenched[Sa’adat Al Darayn]
But What is The Real Significance of the Na’layn Mubarak in Relation to our Faith Itself?
Wasn’t the above enough? Wasn’t the above also within the context of faith? Well the truth is the above is all centered around respect and honour for the Blessed Sandal and it leaves people asking the real question they want to ask. “What justifies the symbol and its use in xyz?”, “Is it not a bit overkill? etc
The aim of this part of the article is to present a certain point of view that has not been heard. A point of view that can be accepted and can be rejected. Our aim is to demonstrate significance rather than action. We will address the above question.
But firstly, let’s mention Dr. Hafiz Ather Hussain al-Azari who speaks about the significance of the Blessed Sandals within a series of beautiful short Hadith lessons. To save you time I’ll tell you some of the main points below.
The first point made is that it’s important to remind ourselves that each and every aspect of a Messenger/Prophet is important. This importance extends to what they wear including the shoes they wear. When we pray the two ra’kah of nafl after the Tawwaf of the Ka’bah we pray next to the footprints of Sayyiduna ‘Ibrahim (‘alayhis salaam). The footwear of Musa (‘alayhis salaam) is also mentioned in the Holy Qur’an when Allah called him for conversation (Surah Taha). He was asked to remove his sandals due not only to humility and respect for whose Presence he was entering but, due to the blessings of the surface he was on.
An interesting reflection here is that unfortunately many of us begin to question those that love and respect the Blessed Sandals…but they don’t question themselves when they wear tops, t-shirts, hoodies or bottoms that are littered with logo symbols, other graphics and text.
Dr Ather then mentions the narrations that record what we know about the Blessed Sandals of the Great Messenger (ﷺ) and how they were. The noble companions made a note of everything for a reason and they knew his (ﷺ) sandals. For example: “The sandal of the Prophet (ﷺ) had two straps.” [al-Bukhari, by Anas]. The Beloved Messenger (ﷺ) wore his sandals sitting down, wearing the right first, then the left, and wore different types of sandals (according to al-Kurdi perhaps over 100 different types).
Here’s a Hadith that informs us of it’s significance
In the talk, Dr Ather al-Azhari he mentions a narration of Abu Hurayrah (May Allah be pleased with him) recorded in the Mishkaat. Let’s talk about this in more detail.
This Hadith is also found in Sahih Muslim [book 1, 31/54/50], in the Book of Imaan (Faith) reported by Abu Hurayrah (May Allah be pleased with him). It’s a long Hadith that recalls some events and then conversations begin. We won’t go into detail over all of it as other important points would need to be elaborated upon taking us away from the topic at hand.
Abu Hurayrah says he was within a gathering around the beloved Prophet (ﷺ) when he suddenly left and didn’t return. Worried what had happened, Abu Hurayrah got up and went looking for him. He ended up finding him (ﷺ) within a garden. The beloved Prophet (ﷺ) noticed someone was there near the gate and asked him, “Is that Abu Hurayrah? What is the matter with you?”…
After explaining he came out to find him due to concern he says…
“He addressed me, ‘O Aba Hurayrah!’ and gave me his sandals [na’l] and said: ‘Go with both my sandals, and when you meet anyone outside this garden who testifies that that there is no god but Allah, being assured of it in his heart, gladden him by announcing that he shall go to Paradise.’”
The first person he happen to meet was the last he met — it was ‘Umar (May Allah be pleased with him). So ‘Umar asked him, “What are these sandals, O Abu Hurayrah?” Abu Hurayrah says he replied saying: “These are the sandals of the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) with which he has sent me to gladden anyone I meet who testifies that there is no god but Allah, being assured of it in his heart, with the announcement that he would go to Paradise”. He then narrates that ‘Umar hit him on his chest making him fall on his back. Telling him: “Go back, O Abu Hurayrah!”.
So he went back to the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ), and was about to break into tears. All along ‘Umar happened to be following him in his tracks. The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) asked him what was up. So he told him that he happened to meet ‘Umar and conveyed the message to him. But he hit me on my chest, making me fall and ordered me to go back to you. ‘Umar is around so the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) asked him directly: “What prompted you to do this, O ‘Umar?” He said: “O Messenger of Allah (ﷺ), may my father and mother be sacrificed for you, did you send Abu Hurayrah with your sandals to gladden anyone he met and who testified that there is no god but Allah, and being assured of it in his heart, with the tidings that he would go to Paradise?” The Beloved (ﷺ) said: “Yes”.
‘Umar then said: “Please don’t do it, because I fear that people will reply solely on it; let them go on doing (good) deeds.”
The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: “Well, let them”.
Learning Point 1:
The main point that this Hadith is presenting is that the one who believes in the declaration of Tawheed not just by tongue but his heart will be granted paradise. What is most telling of this is that Imam Muslim chose to record this Hadith under the Book of Faith and within ‘The Chapter on the evidence that one who dies with faith will definitely enter paradise.’ This indicates towards the significance of the Hadith being centered around faith. Obvious right? But the Hadith itself shows us that the sandals of the Prophet (ﷺ) have a link to faith too. Let’s see how.
Learning Point 2:
Why would the Prophet (ﷺ) give Abu Hurayrah his sandals in the first place? Was it not sufficient to go out and make an annoucement? Didn’t the Prophet (ﷺ) say whoever says La ilaha illallah will surely enter paradise? He (ﷺ) did indeed but that was just the aspect of the tongue.
The scholars of Hadith have actually said that the reason for giving Abu Hurayrah the sandals was because it served as a sign to provide evidence that what Abu Hurayrah was saying wasn’t from himself. An evidence that he was speaking on behalf of or speaking a message that came directly from the Prophet (ﷺ) himself. This point alone — tells us that there is a link between the Prophet’s blessed sandals (ﷺ) and faith. However, this isn’t the strongest argument and doesn’t stand for the following reasons…
The question to ask is, who didn’t know Abu Hurayrah amongst the companions and why would they not trust him? Who would doubt his statements when he was from the amongst the most learned companions who passed on a large amount Hadith of the Prophet (ﷺ)? — In fact many of the Hadith concerning the blessed sandals, clothing and more come from him. He wasn’t amongst those who lied. So some of our teachers have said the reason for being given the sandals here was for different reasons.
What’s the reason? Well, the Blessed Sandals weren’t placed into the hands of Abu Hurayrah to prove authenticity of statement or as evidence of truthfulness. But the reason, as one of our teachers informed us, was because they were actually to present a sign or evidence of what this person of paradise represented and had to connect his/her heart to. In other words, if those that wanted a sign of who a person of paradise is — the Blessed Sandals were the sign. Which explains why the subcategory of the Hadith is ‘the Chapter on the evidence that one who dies with faith will definitely enter paradise’.
In other words, the Beloved Prophet (ﷺ) gave Abu Hurayrah to present two things, to speak his word but also show something:
(1) His word of glad tiding [something to say]; and
(2) His sandals [something to see].
The indication here being the one who says, “There is no God but Allah” should believe it in his heart but the statement also needs to be attached to the Prophet (ﷺ). And his Blessed Sandal is symbolic and representatitve of his person (ﷺ). The Faith remains attached to him has glad tidings to paradise. From another perspective the word was to inform of what the Prophet (ﷺ) said and the Blessed Sandals were to show and elaborate what being assured of it in ones heart meant.
Learning Point 3:
Hadith traditions can also teach us about opposites. If one thing is mentioned, there is a meaning within it’s opposite. So taking the above point for example. We learn in opposite that those who say the same words, “There is no God but Allah” but with disregard for the heart — the Prophet (ﷺ) and his blessed sandals saying: “They are just his shoes that he wore? They are just sandals — Big deal”… For them, the glad tiding isn’t exactly the same. The next point will illustrate why.
Learning Point 4:
Dr Ather mentions all of the companions knew the sandals of the Prophet (ﷺ), much as they would his clothing, his attributes and mannerisms. They studied everything.
Abu Hurayrah was given a task to convey words but we notice something significant in the Hadith. When he goes to ‘Umar, Abu Hurayrah hadn’t spoken a word yet and ‘Umar had only one thing on his mind — the blessed sandals. If someone was to come to you and address you but, they have someone’s shoes in there hand, it’s natural that you’re going to wonder what on earth is going on.
So it appears that ‘Umar’s first glance was on the blessed sandals which may have been something that the Prophet (ﷺ) knew would happen. And so to test the believers he gave Abu Hurayrah the sandals. However, the approach of ‘Umar suggests he knew something important was going on. He was curious but, if all the companions knew the Blessed Sandals of the Prophet (ﷺ) why would he ask — What are these sandals? It wasn’t because he didn’t know whose they were, it was because he wanted to start a conversation around the blessed sandals. He knew him having them meant something important was going on. As if to say in ones mind, “Hmmm Abu Hurayrah is carrying the Prophet (ﷺ)’s sandals, there must be something going on.” Note he didn’t ask why rather what.
Abu Hurayrah then tells him about declaring ones faith in the manner described with the attachment of the heart being the most important thing. There’s the statement, there’s the action of the heart and then there’s the sandal. From these points, our teachers tell us this indicates that the believer isn’t the one of the tongue alone, but the one of the heart too. And the heart is represented by the Blessed Sandal (meaning the Prophet (ﷺ)).
Learning Point 5:
Why would ‘Umar hit Abu Hurayrah and cause him to fall, when he has the Prophetic sandals in his hand? Where is the respect? — ‘Umar was a big physical guy being amongst the tallest of the companions. He was also amongst the most tactiful. He did this not out of disrespect or not believing his words, he did this because he knew what Abu Hurayrah would do next. He would go to straight to the Beloved Prophet (ﷺ) just as he’d ordered him and that’s why ‘Umar follows Abu Hurayrah. He also knew this would give him a chance to come into the company of and question the Beloved Prophet (ﷺ). Ultimately ‘Umar’s concerns were nullified. ‘Umar’s actions all went back to the Prophet (ﷺ). He was only concerned with the sandals (heart) rather than the statement (word), the actions (heart) rather than the statements (word).
Meaning, the Blessed Sandal and the Prophet’s (ﷺ) status is of real significance to the believers faith but also their place within paradise. It is the sign of a believer, it is the sign of faith, it is a sign of being someone of paradise and a necessary part of faith.
Even non-Muslims recognised the Na’l
Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal (May Allah be pleased with him) mentions the narration of Ja’far wherein he recalls the time when the companions went to seek asylum in Ethiopia under the king Negus (or an-Najashi). The conversations they had over what the Prophet (ﷺ) preached and what he believed in.
Many of us are well aware of this scene and has been narrated by many authoratative Imams including Imam Abu Nu’aym and Imam Ibn Kathir. It’s also narrated in the Mustadrak ‘ala Sahihayn by Abu ‘Abd Allah Muhammad bin ‘Abd Allah al-Hakim an-Nisapuri (May Allah be pleased with them) in the chapter of commentary on Surah an-Nisa.
The narrations end with Najashi and his statements. His statements include him accepting what the companions had to say and also eventually believing in the Message. He is recorded to have said that had it not been that he was king, he would have left Ethriopia to seek the company of the Prophet (ﷺ) and he would carry and kiss his sandals.
And thus we see the signifcance of the Blessed Sandal from various perspectives. In a nutshell, it is a sign representing every dear to the believer.
Anything good is from Allah and anything bad is from our own being. May Allah forgive us for our mistakes, give us His love and the love of those actions that bring us closer to Him and the love of His most beloved (ﷺ) and those whom he loved and loves.
If you liked what you read, give us a ‘♥’ below and share this with all your friends.
