Wearing Medical Shoes during Umrah for a Necessity

Answer:

All perfect praise be to Allah, The Lord of The Worlds; and may His blessings and peace be upon our Prophet Mohammad. First, there are many types of shoes and each has its ruling as regards the person assuming Ihram for Hajj or Umrah: 1-If the shoe reveals the heels and the tips of the toes , such as-what the people of Shaam(Syria) call today- " Shahatah", Sandals", "Shibshib", Hafayah" or "Zannobah" and in other countries " Madass" or "Ne`al", and the like, then wearing it is permissible even if it is form-fitting because it doesn't cover the foot. The reason for forbidding certain shoes is that they cover the feet, not that they are form-fitting. 2-If the shoe covers only the toes or the heel or both of them, such as "Khoof", "Kondarah", "Boots" or "Madas that covers the toes but uncovers the heel", then these are impermissible for the person in a state of Ihram to wear, unless he couldn`t find the first type. If he wears them, then he has to cut out the part that covers the heel bones. However, if it was necessary to wear the second type, although the first type was available, then it is permissible; however, he becomes liable to offer Fidyah(i.e. compensation/ransom) , which is one of the following: fasting for three days, feeding six needy persons half a Sa` each or slaughtering a sheep and dividing it amongst the poor persons of the Haram area. "E`anat At-Talibeen", a Shafite book, stated, "In conclusion, shoes that uncover the heels and the tips of toes are always permissible; whereas, those which cover only the toes or the heels are impermissible, save when the first type is hard to find." Accordingly, if the medical slippers mentioned in the above question uncover the tips of the toes and the heels, then they are permissible to wear, even if they are form-fitting, and the questioner is absolved from the liability. On the other hand, if the questioner wears the medical shoes that cover the tips of the toes, then he either feeds six needy persons of the Haram area one Sa` each from the regular food of that country(about 1200 Grams), or fasts three days wherever he is. And Allah knows best.