From amongst the various relics that have been passed down from generation to generation is the Sandal (Nah’l) of Rasulullah ﷺ. The Sandal holds a special significance not only because they were worn by Rasulullah ﷺ on this physical earth, but also during the Heavenly Ascent (Mi'raj) into the divine presence of Allah s.w.t. This is in contrast to Sayyidina Musa a.s who was commanded to remove his sandals when he was brought to converse with Allah s.w.t.

It is truly I. I am your Lord! So take off your sandals, for you are in the sacred valley of Ṭuwa.

[Surah Taha:12]

A companion by the name of  Sayyidina Abdullah ibn Mas’ud was the first person to recite the Qur’an publicly and is amongst the ten companions who were promised paradise while still alive, proudly held the title of “Keeper of the Sandals” for his service  of taking care of the blessed Sandals of Prophet ﷺ. Each time Rasulullah ﷺ stood, Sayyidina Abdullah ibn Mas’ud would quickly pick up the sandals and place them under his arms, and when he ﷺ stood up, Sayyidina Abdullah ibn Mas’ud would place them onto the sacred feet of Rasulullah ﷺ

Across time, various scholars, saints and poets have written numerous works and poem in honour of the sandals. These works serve as a means of obtaining the barakah from their respective forms of expression.  Most importantly, it showed the amount of adab (etiquettes) they had for the blessed sandals of Rasulullah ﷺ thus demonstrating to us that a lover holds on to anything that reminds them of the Beloved. 

The great muhaddith, Imam Zayn al-Din al-Iraqi said in a portion of his poem:

And his noble and sanctified Sandals- 

Glad tidings to the one who touches them with his 

brow!

They each have two toe-straps and mid-foot straps

Hairless, all their hair having been removed 

In length they are a hand span and two fingers;

In width, the distance between the [lateral] and [medial] ankles,

Seven fingers in width, and the mid-foot five fingers

In width, and above the mid-foot six fingers -

know this. 

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

In more recent times, the scholar, judge, poet and lover of Rasulullah ﷺ., Imam Yusuf al-Nabhani wrote;

Verily I serve the image of the sandal of Mustafa 

So that I may live in both worlds under its protection

Out of great honor and an outpouring love for Rasulullah ﷺ, Imam Ahmed Rida Khan once said:

“ Don’t you dare say that the clothing of the Nabi ﷺ Is dusty. Rather, say that the dust took refuge on the clothing of the Prophet ﷺ” 

Therefore, as exemplified by these great people, we should honour anything related to the Prophet ﷺ. Even if it is just his sandals , we should be careful in never claiming that anything is related to Prophet ﷺ is dirty and not sacred.