Short answer
Yes, heels are allowed in themselves. They become a problem when worn to draw men's attention, such as loud clicking or a gait meant to be noticed in public, or when they harm your health. At home, for your husband and at women's events, they are fine. The scholars of the four schools reason the same way.
Heels are mubah. Anything a woman does in public to draw the attention of non-mahram men to her adornment is forbidden, based on the Quran's ban on stamping the feet. Shoes that cause real harm should be avoided.
The four schools agree on this.
Explanation
Nothing in the Quran or Sunnah forbids heels as such. The relevant verse is about intention and effect: women should not stamp their feet to make known the adornment they hide. In the time of revelation that meant anklets that jingled. The Hanafi scholar al-Jassas drew a wider lesson from it: if even the sound of hidden jewellery may not be used to draw men's attention, then a raised voice and other ways of drawing their attention to her adornment are forbidden too.
Applying that today:
- At home, for your husband, at a wedding among women: wear whatever heels you like.
- At work or in the street: modest heels are fine. Very high or loud heels chosen to turn heads go against the spirit of hijab.
- Gait: the issue is walking in a way meant to be noticed, not the shoe itself.
- Health: the Prophet ﷺ said there should be no harm and no causing harm. If heels hurt your back or feet, it is better to give them up.
- In the mosque: take them off quietly, and keep them out of the way of others.
For the wider picture of dress in public, see the hijab guide, pants and jeans and haya in Islam.
The evidence
Quran, Surah An-Noor 24:31
وَقُل لِّلْمُؤْمِنَٰتِ يَغْضُضْنَ مِنْ أَبْصَٰرِهِنَّ وَيَحْفَظْنَ فُرُوجَهُنَّ وَلَا يُبْدِينَ زِينَتَهُنَّ إِلَّا مَا ظَهَرَ مِنْهَا ۖ وَلْيَضْرِبْنَ بِخُمُرِهِنَّ عَلَىٰ جُيُوبِهِنَّ ۖ وَلَا يُبْدِينَ زِينَتَهُنَّ إِلَّا لِبُعُولَتِهِنَّ أَوْ ءَابَآئِهِنَّ أَوْ ءَابَآءِ بُعُولَتِهِنَّ أَوْ أَبْنَآئِهِنَّ أَوْ أَبْنَآءِ بُعُولَتِهِنَّ أَوْ إِخْوَٰنِهِنَّ أَوْ بَنِىٓ إِخْوَٰنِهِنَّ أَوْ بَنِىٓ أَخَوَٰتِهِنَّ أَوْ نِسَآئِهِنَّ أَوْ مَا مَلَكَتْ أَيْمَٰنُهُنَّ أَوِ ٱلتَّٰبِعِينَ غَيْرِ أُو۟لِى ٱلْإِرْبَةِ مِنَ ٱلرِّجَالِ أَوِ ٱلطِّفْلِ ٱلَّذِينَ لَمْ يَظْهَرُوا۟ عَلَىٰ عَوْرَٰتِ ٱلنِّسَآءِ ۖ وَلَا يَضْرِبْنَ بِأَرْجُلِهِنَّ لِيُعْلَمَ مَا يُخْفِينَ مِن زِينَتِهِنَّ ۚ وَتُوبُوٓا۟ إِلَى ٱللَّهِ جَمِيعًا أَيُّهَ ٱلْمُؤْمِنُونَ لَعَلَّكُمْ تُفْلِحُونَ ﴿٣١﴾
And tell the believing women to reduce [some] of their vision and guard their private parts and not expose their adornment except that which [necessarily] appears thereof and to wrap [a portion of] their headcovers over their chests and not expose their adornment except to their husbands, their fathers, their husbands' fathers, their sons, their husbands' sons, their brothers, their brothers' sons, their sisters' sons, their women, that which their right hands possess, or those male attendants having no physical desire, or children who are not yet aware of the private aspects of women. And let them not stamp their feet to make known what they conceal of their adornment. And turn to Allah in repentance, all of you, O believers, that you might succeed.
A woman does not use her walk or sound to draw men's attention.
Sunan Ibn Majah 2340
Graded sahih... لا ضرر ولا ضرار ...
"There is no harm and no causing harm."
Footwear that harms the body should be avoided.
Where the ruling is recorded
- Ahkam al-Quran (al-Jassas), Commentary on Surah al-Nur 24:31. Draws from the ban on stamping the feet that a woman may not draw non-mahram men's attention to her hidden adornment, including by raising her voice.
Checked by our team. For a more accurate answer to your own situation, consult a scholar. Quran translation by Sahih International. Hadith Arabic from the standard editions of the six books and the Muwatta, with gradings as recorded there; the English is our own rendering. Spotted a mistake? Tell us.