He merely disliked for the man to walk in his sandals due to the vanity they contain, for sabt (tanned leather) sandals were of the attire of people of luxury. Antara said (4):
As for us, [the evidence is] the command of the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) in the report that preceded, and the least of its states is that it is recommended. Also, removing the sandals is closer to humility, is the habit of the humble, and shows respect for the deceased Muslims. The Prophet’s (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) report that the deceased hears the clatter of their sandals does not negate the dislike (karaha), for it indicates that this occurred from them, and there is no dispute that it occurred and that they performed it despite its being disliked (5). However, if the walker has an excuse that prevents him from removing his sandals, such as fear of thorns on his feet or impurity touching them, then walking in sandals is not disliked. Ahmad said regarding a man entering the graveyards where there are thorns, that he should remove his sandals: "This places a hardship on the people, until a man walks in the thorns. If he does it, that is good and it is more cautious, and if he does not do it, it is fine," meaning there is no harm. This is because an excuse prevents the obligation in some cases, and the recommendation is preferred. Removing khuffs (leather socks) does not fall under the recommendation, as removing them is burdensome. It has been narrated from Ahmad that when he wanted to go out to a funeral, he would wear his khuffs, despite his command to remove sandals. The Qadi mentioned that the dislike does not extend from sandals to shimshakat (a type of shoe) (6) nor others, because the prohibition is not supported by a reason (ta'lil), so it does not extend beyond its specific subject.
Section: It is disliked to walk on graves. Al-Khattabi said: It has been established that the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) forbade
= The Book of Funerals. Sunan Abi Dawud 2/195. And al-Nasa'i, in: The Chapter on Facilitation Regarding Non-Sabtiyyah Sandals, the Chapter on Questioning in the Grave, and the Chapter on the Questioning of the Disbeliever, from the Book of Funerals. Al-Mujtaba 4/79. And Imam Ahmad, in: Al-Musnad 3/126, 233. And in an abridged form in 2/347, 445. (4) The second hemistich of a verse from his Mu'allaqa, its first hemistich is: * A champion, as if his garments were in a thicket * His Diwan 103. (5) In [A] and [M]: "its dislike". (6) We have not found it in the lexicons available to us.
