First Shake Your Socks

“The Prophet (sal Allahu alaihi wa sallam) was once putting socks on in a jungle. He put on a sock and was intending to put on the second one when a crow dived and carried off the sock. The crow soared to a great height and dropped the sock on the ground. The shock of landing threw out of the sock a snake which fell at some distance. On seeing this, the Prophet (sal Allahu alaihi wa sallam) thanked Allah (subhana wa ta’ala) and observed: ‘It is the duty of every Muslim that on intending to wear socks, he should shake them first.’” [Tabarani]

The socks of the Prophet (sal Allahu alaihi wa sallam) were made of leather. So he wouldn’t have noticed anything inside them. However, even ordinary clothes could have lizards, spiders, or other creepy crawlies in them. Thus, we should follow the advice of our beloved Prophet (sal Allahu alaihi wa sallam), who was directed by Allah (subhana wa ta’ala), and shake garments before putting them on, lest there be some deadly insect hidden in them which cause us harm.