Walking
      with shoes in the mosque
Question

                Is
      it true that Imaam Muhammad ibn ‘Abd al-Wahhaab said that walking with
      shoes in the mosque is something which is allowed in Islam, and that
      visiting graves is haraam? Please advise us, may Allaah reward you with
      good.
Praise be to Allah.Where
      did you get this from? We tell you that this is a big lie.
      
      
Imaam
      Muhammad ibn ‘Abd al-Wahhaab (may Allaah have mercy on him) was a man of
      knowledge, a scholar. He did not say these things. What he urged people to
      do, as is written in his books, is to turn to Allaah when they pray, and
      to be focused in their prayer, in obedience to the words of Allaah
      (interpretation of the meaning):
      
      
“Successful
      indeed are the believers.
      
      
Those
      who offer their Salaah (prayers) with all solemnity and full
      submissiveness” [al-Mu’minoon 23:1-2]
      
      
-
      because the person who is praying must acknowledge the greatness of the
      One before Whom he is standing. So he should not move too much, as it says
      in the report: “If the heart is focused then the limbs will be still.”
      Some scholars attributed this to the Prophet 
 (peace and blessings of
      Allaah be upon him), but al-Haafiz ibn Rajab al-Hanbali said: The
      Messenger 
 (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) did not say
      this, and there is no saheeh isnaad reporting that he said, “If the
      heart is focused then the limbs will be still”- even though the meaning
      is sound. This is the saying of one of the salaf. And this is what
      Muhammad ibn ‘Abd al-Wahhaab said.
With
      regard to walking with shoes in the mosque and his saying that this is
      allowed in Islam, this is not correct. Muhammad ibn ‘Abd al-Wahhaab did
      not say that walking with shoes in the mosque is something which is
      allowed in Islam. He said the same as was narrated in the ahaadeeth, which
      is that the Prophet 
 (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon
      him) said: “When any one of you comes to the mosque, let him look at his
      shoes, and if he sees anything dirty on them, let him wipe them, because
      they may be purified by rubbing them with dust.” This refers to shoes
      and to the mosque at that time [which was simple and unfurnished].
      However, if the mosque is furnished [with carpets and the like], we should
      keep it clean from shoes and not enter wearing shoes, lest we make the
      place dirty by bringing in something unclean on our shoes. This was
      indicated by some of the scholars and is part of what Shaykh Muhammad ibn
      ‘Abd al-Wahhaab said. He did not say that it is allowed in Islam to
      enter the mosque with shoes.
With
      regard to it being haraam to visit graves, he did not say this at all.
      Imaam Muhammad ibn ‘Abd al-Wahhaab followed the ahaadeeth, and the
      hadeeth says: “”I used to forbid you to visit graves, but now [you
      should] visit them, for they are a reminder of the Hereafter.”  (Narrated
      by Muslim, no. 977). And he (may Allaah have mercy on him) said to those
      who visit graves that when they visit them, they must abide by the
      etiquette of Islam and make du’aa’ as the Prophet 
 (peace and
      blessings of Allaah be upon him) taught his companions: when you enter the
      graveyard, say: “Peace be upon you, dwellers of these abodes, believers
      and Muslims. We will, whenever Allaah wills, join you. May Allaah have
      mercy on those of you who were first (to die) and those who were last. I
      beg of Allaah salvation for us and for you. O Allaah, deprive us not of
      reward (similar to theirs) and lead us not astray after they are gone, and
      forgive us and them.” (Saheeh Muslim,
      no. 974, 975)
      
      
This
      is what the ahaadeeth say, and Muhammad ibn ‘Abd al-Wahhaab affirmed
      this in his books. But what he said was: People should not travel
      specifically to visit graves. This is the view of Ibn ‘Abd al-Wahhaab,
      in accordance with the hadeeth of Abu Sa’eed in al-Saheehayn,
      where it says that the Prophet 
 (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon
      him) said:
“Journeys
      should not be undertaken to visit (any place) except three: al-Masjid
      al-Haraam [in Makkah], this mosque of mine [in Madeenah] and al-Masjid
      al-Aqsaa [in al-Quds/Jerusalem].”  (Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 2/50;Muslim,
      827; al-Nasaa’i, 1/277-287). He said: This hadeeth indicates that
      it is not permissible to travel specifically to visit graves, but if you
      visit them in your own city, for example, or those that do not require
      travel specifically to visit them, then this is OK. The Messenger 
      (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) used to visit graves, such as
      the graveyard of al-Baqee’, and he 
 (peace and blessings of Allaah
      be upon him)visited the
      graves of the shuhadaa’ (martyrs) and made du’aa’ for them. This is
      something which is well known. What is forbidden is travelling
      specifically to visit graves. This is something which we should not do,
      according to the hadeeth of Abu Sa’eed. Hence al-Qaadi ‘Iyaad
      al-Maaliki said: It is not permissible to travel specifically to visit
      graves. This was also the view of Ibn Rajab al-Hanbali, Ibn ‘Aqeel, Ibn
      Battah and a group of scholars. All that was said to you is not correct,
      as we have explained to you. And Allaah knows best.