Grounding and the Sunnah — the wellness industry rediscovered bare feet on the earth and put a price on it. The Prophet ﷺ practised it freely, and taught something deeper.
In an earlier article we looked at the Sunnah of going barefoot and how the modern “earthing” trend is really a rediscovery of a prophetic practice. If you have not read it, begin with The Sunnah of Going Barefoot: What Your Feet Know That Your Shoes Do Not. Here we go deeper into two dimensions the first piece opened but did not exhaust: what the practice actually does for the body, and — more importantly — the spiritual wisdom of humility and balance that the bare foot on the earth was always meant to teach.
What Grounding Does for the Body
The modern interest in “grounding” or “earthing” rests on a simple observation: for almost all of human history, human skin was in regular direct contact with the earth, and only very recently have insulating shoes and raised floors severed that contact almost entirely. Emerging research — still young, and to be held with appropriate caution rather than overstated — has explored possible effects of direct contact with the ground on inflammation, sleep, and stress markers. What is less speculative is the biomechanical benefit: walking barefoot on natural, uneven ground engages the small stabilising muscles of the foot, strengthens the arch, improves balance and proprioception, and restores a natural gait that thickly cushioned modern shoes tend to weaken. The foot is a remarkably sophisticated structure, and it was designed to feel and adapt to the ground, not to be permanently immobilised inside rigid soles.
The prophetic practice, notably, was never one of extremes. Fudaalah ibn ‘Ubaid ؓ reported that the Prophet ﷺ “would order us to walk barefoot at least some of the time” (Ahmad 23449) — some of the time. He wore sandals and encouraged wearing them; he did not reject footwear ascetically, nor did he become attached to it. That balance is itself the first lesson: the Sunnah moves between ease and simplicity deliberately, taking the benefit of comfort without becoming its prisoner.
The Deeper Lesson: Humility Against the Earth
Beneath the physical benefits lies the reason the practice belongs to the spiritual tradition and not merely to health advice. To walk barefoot on the earth is a quiet, bodily act of humility. The same ground your bare foot touches is the ground your forehead touches in sujud; it is the substance from which you were created and to which you will return: “From it We created you, and into it We shall return you, and from it We shall bring you out once more.” (Quran 20:55). There is a wisdom in periodically removing the barrier between yourself and the earth and feeling, literally, what you stand on. It resists the subtle self-elevation of the person who is always cushioned, always raised above the ground, always insulated from the plain reality of their own createdness.
The early Muslims understood this. Many of them walked barefoot at times deliberately, not out of poverty but out of a refusal to let comfort and status harden into arrogance. ‘Umar ibn al-Khattab ؓ, at the height of his authority as leader of the believers, entered Jerusalem leading his servant’s camel on foot, his own garment patched — an image of studied humility that scandalised those who expected the pomp of kings. The bare foot on the earth belongs to that same instinct: the deliberate refusal of unnecessary elevation, the keeping of the body close to the humble reality it came from.
Simplicity as a Spiritual Discipline
Going barefoot is really one instance of a larger prophetic principle: the deliberate practice of simplicity as a training of the soul. The Prophet ﷺ, who could have lived in whatever comfort he wished, chose a life of studied plainness — sleeping on a mat that left marks on his side, going months without a cooked meal in the house, mending his own sandals and clothes. This was not a rejection of Allah’s ﷻ permitted blessings, which he enjoyed with gratitude when they came; it was a refusal to become dependent on them, so that the heart’s ease never rested on the presence of comfort. The person who can be content barefoot as well as shod, on the ground as well as raised above it, has a freedom the person addicted to comfort does not.
This is the transferable lesson for a life surrounded by more cushioning — physical and otherwise — than any generation before. Periodically choosing the simpler option when the comfortable one is available, feeling the ground under your feet, sitting on the floor, doing without a convenience you could have, is a small, repeatable training in the detachment (zuhd) that keeps the heart free. The bare foot on the earth is a fourteen-centuries-old reminder that you do not need as much between yourself and reality as you have been persuaded you do.
There is a further wisdom worth drawing out, in how the Sunnah holds body and soul together rather than treating them as separate concerns. The modern world tends to split them: physical health is the business of doctors and fitness, spiritual health the business of religion, and the two rarely meet. The prophetic model refuses that division. The same practice that strengthens the foot also humbles the heart; the same fasting that rests the gut also trains the soul; the same moderation that protects digestion also keeps the intellect clear for worship. Going barefoot is a small emblem of this larger integration — a single act that is at once good for the body, humbling to the ego, and connective to the earth we came from and return to. Recovering that integration is perhaps the deepest thing the practice offers a fragmented age: the reminder that in Islam, caring for the body and refining the soul were never two different projects but one.
The wellness industry sells “grounding” as a novelty; the Sunnah offered it freely, and wrapped it in something deeper than health — a training in humility, balance, and freedom from comfort. Feel the earth under your feet sometimes, deliberately and without extremes, and let it remind you what you are made of and where you are going. For the practice itself and its evidence, return to the original article on the Sunnah of going barefoot.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is grounding and is it part of the Sunnah?
Grounding (or “earthing”) is direct skin contact with the earth, now marketed by the wellness industry. The Prophet ﷺ practised and encouraged going barefoot at times — Fudaalah ibn ‘Ubaid ؓ reported he “would order us to walk barefoot at least some of the time” (Ahmad 23449). So the core practice is a Sunnah, though it was always balanced: he also wore and encouraged sandals, avoiding both attachment and extremes.
What are the health benefits of walking barefoot?
Biomechanically, walking barefoot on natural ground engages the foot’s small stabilising muscles, strengthens the arch, and improves balance and proprioception, restoring a natural gait that heavily cushioned shoes weaken. Emerging research has also explored possible effects of earth contact on inflammation, sleep, and stress — still young findings to be held with caution rather than overstated. The foot was designed to feel and adapt to the ground.
Why did the Prophet ﷺ encourage going barefoot?
Partly for the physical benefit, but more deeply as a training in humility and balance. Walking barefoot on the earth is a bodily act of humility — the same ground the foot touches is the ground the forehead touches in sujud, and the substance from which we were made and to which we return (Quran 20:55). It resists the subtle arrogance of the person always cushioned and raised above the ground.
Is going barefoot about rejecting comfort?
No — the prophetic practice was deliberately balanced, never extreme. The Prophet ﷺ wore sandals, enjoyed permitted blessings with gratitude, and only encouraged going barefoot “some of the time.” The point is not to reject comfort but to avoid becoming dependent on it, so the heart’s ease never rests on the presence of luxury. Being content both barefoot and shod is a real freedom.
How can I apply the wisdom of going barefoot today?
Beyond occasionally walking barefoot on natural ground for its physical benefit, apply the deeper principle: practise simplicity as a training of the soul. Periodically choose the simpler option when the comfortable one is available — feel the ground under your feet, sit on the floor, do without a convenience you could have. These small, repeatable choices train the detachment (zuhd) that keeps the heart free.