I am a Sunni Muslim. My son who is 18 years old does not pray NAMAZ during working hours in his office because his does not have a private bath room where he can make WUDDO. Especially , He feels shy of taking off his socks to wash his both feet, which is an important part of Wuddo. Otherwise at home he is very regular with his Namaz. I know this is a weakness in his IMAN and I told him several time but he rather preferes to make Qada namaz at home later on.
I am wondering how many Muslims would be like him? May be be NONE.
But what should I do.
Does any body knows what SUNNI, HANAFI ullema say in this matter.
Can he do Masah of his feet without taking off Socks or Shoes ? I mean is it justifyable on the above ground?
If yes than any body knows how to make Masah of the feet over the soaks.
I will appreciate if some body who knows the Sharia (SUNNI), can answer my questions.
Sister Bushra
Your son is not the only one who is shy of performing Muslim rituals in front of others. This is the problems of many muslims living abroad. I myself some time miss prayer because I do not want myself to be embarrassed in front of other people who watch me taking of my shoes and soaks and putting legs in the basin to wash them and making a mess in the bath room. Believe me performing Namaz is not problem in this country but making wuddu is.
I think your Masah is the solution of this but honestly I do not know the procedures of it. May be some body else can help you with that.
Bushra sahiba,
First of all you should be proud of your son. He at least has a very genuine reason for missing prayers and is cautious enough to offer qadda prayers. All this, at the age of eighteen. I would say he needs words of encouragement for what he's doing and not an analysis of whether his Iman is weak or not. No one knows, which one of his(her) efforts would be liked by Allah and to what degree.
Now what's the solution to this situation.
Taking off shoes is considered a potentially inconvenient act even in sharia. A traveller (when moving for a 48 mile distance or more) is allowed to do 'masah' for his feet, during wadoo for convenience' sake.
There are other situations, where masah is allowed. Most of them relevant only in cases of foot injuries/wounds.
Your son doesn't fulfil these situations though. However, since making wadoo seems to be the only problem, I'd guess he has a secluded place at work where he can offer prayers. One thing he might do, is to do wadoo in a restroom, and just before finishing, run to that secluded place with few wet tissues. There he can take off his shoes/socks and then wipe his feet with those. The requirement for wadoo, is to make the foot wet, upto ankle length. You don't necessarily have to put your feet under running water.
If there's absolutely no way, he can do this either, that still doesn't give him license-to-masah.
The way of doing masah is very easy though. You wet your fingers (right hand) and rub the socks from heel to toe, once. It's better if you use three fingers (index, middle and ring) as it's a sunna as far as I know.
I believe if your son can do masah, he can also try the wet tissue approach with same ease.
In time, inshallah your son will be splashing water all over the place in front of his coworkers. And when that time comes, just remind him to wipe the basin counter.
I am sorry for the length of this reply.
Allah knows best.
[This message has been edited by deepblue (edited July 28, 1999).]
Adaab Auntie jee,
Indeed as brother deepblue has said, it is excellent that your son is trying to keep up with his daily prayers, masha’allaah. There is nothing more pleasing for a pious mother than to see her son striving to adhere to the commandments of Allaah and His beloved Messenger salallaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam.
I noticed that you asked for a ‘Hanafeeh opinion’. Please forgive my frankness, but so often many Muslims, in particular those from the sub-continent, tend to follow the madhabs of one of the four Imaams – Abu Haneefah, Sha’afi, Maliak, Ahmad bin Hanbal – rather than what they have actually said. There is no doubt that these figures were amongst the most renowned Scholars Islaam has seen as they all tried their utmost to adhere firmly to the Qur’aan and the Sunnah. However, some people blindly follow these Imaams and over look something important which all four of them stated, suggesting to follow the Qur’aan and Sunnah and that if their teachings contradict either of the two sources then reject their views and follow the Sunnah.
With respect to the question of Mussah, then sure enough there is a Hanafeeh opinion although this is not accurately in line with the Sunnah. Imaam Abu Haneefah's companions have narrated from him various sayings and diverse warnings, all of them leading to one thing: the obligation to accept the Hadeeth, and to give up following the opinions of the imaams which contradict it:
1. "When a hadeeth is found to be saheeh, then that is my madhhab."20
2. "It is not permitted21 for anyone to accept our views if they do not know from where we got them."22
In one narration, "It is prohibited23 for someone who does not know my evidence to give verdicts24 on the basis of my words."
Another narration adds, "... for we are mortals: we say one thing one day, and take it back the next day."
In another narration, "Woe to you, O Ya'qub25! Do not write down everything you hear from me, for it happens that I hold one opinion today and reject it tomorrow, or hold one opinion tomorrow and reject it the day after tomorrow."26
3. "When I say something contradicting the Book of Allaah the Exalted or what is narrated from the Messenger (sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam), then ignore my saying."27
With the above narrations in mind, if we take what the authentic hadeeth say about Mussah, then this has been discussed by the Scholars. Shaikh Uthaymeen has said that The wiping is a sunnah which has come to us from the Messenger (salallaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam), and it is better for the one wearing them to wipe over them, rather than taking them off to wash his feet.
The evidence for this is the hadeeth of al-Mughira bin Shu’bah (radhi’allaahu anhu) who said that the Prophet (salallaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam) made wudu. Al-Mughira said, “I moved to remove his khuffs and he said, ‘leave them, for indeed my feet were in a state of purity when I wore them.’ So he wiped over them.”
However, there are 4 conditions for wiping over the socks:
the first: that he be in a state of purity when he wore them. And the evidence for this is his (salallaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam) saying to Mughira, ‘leave them, for indeed my feet were in a state of purity when I wore them’
The second: that the khuffs or jawaarabs (i.e. foot coverings) be pure and clean. If they have filth on them then it is not permissible to wipe over them. And the evidence for this is that the Messenger of Allaah (SAW) prayed with his Companions one day in shoes, and during the prayer he removed them. Then afterwards he informed his Companions that this was because Jibraa’eel had informed him that they had filth or dirt on them. And this indicates that the prayer is not acceptable when there is something in it which is impure, and because when the wiper wipes over the filth it sullies him also, and then he is also not in a state of purity.
The third: that he wipes over them when he is in a state of minor impurity, not when he is junub or in any state that necessitates the ghusl. And the evidence for that is the hadeeth of Safwaan bin Assaal (RA) who said, “The Messenger of Allaah (SAW) ordered us not to remove our socks for three days and nights when we were on a journey except if we were junub, but not from excretion, urination or sleep.” So the condition is set that the wiping is only for minor impurity, not for the major impurity due to this hadeeth.
The fourth: that the wiping be for the period determined by the Sharee’ah, and that is a day and a night for one who is resident, and three days and nights for the one on a journey. This due to the hadeeth of Alee (RA) who said, “the Messenger (SAW) set a limit of one day and night for the resident, and three days and nights for the traveler,” meaning for wiping over the khuffs. Related by Muslim. And this period starts the first time one wipes over the socks, and it finished 24 hours after for the resident and 72 hours after for the traveler. So if we were to assume that one purified himself for fajr on Wednesday at 5am, and he remained in this state till the Ishaa prayer, then he slept and woke for fajr at 5am on Thursday then he has to make wudu with washing his feet as the period has expired. But were he to make wudu before 5am then his wiping is valid and he can pray fajr with this wiping. And he can keep praying as much as he wishes afterwards as well with that same wudu, for the wudu does not become void when the period of wiping ends according to the strongest opinion of the scholars. And this is because the Messenger (SAW) did not set a time period for the state of purity, but he set a time period for the wiping only.
So when the period for wiping has finished then there is no wiping after this, but if he was in a state of purity when the period expired, then his state of purity remains. This is because this state of purity has been established according to the dictates of the sharee’ah, so then it cannot be removed except by an evidence from the sharee’ah, and there is no evidence for the state of wudu ending as the time period for the wiping ends. And because the basic principle is that everything endures according to what it is upon until it’s termination is made clear.
So these are the conditions that are set for wiping over the khuffs (foot covering). And there are other conditions that some scholars have mentioned but some of these are problematic.
it is permissible to wipe over torn or thin khuffs, because the purpose of the khuff is not to cover the outer skin, rather it is to protect the feet and benefit them….(?)…so there is no difference in this between a thin, thick, torn or complete sock.
The important point is that a long as the term khuff is applicable to the item, then wiping over it is permissible.
The meaning of the khuff is that which is worn upon the foot being made of leather and it’s likes. The meaning of Jawaarab is that which is worn on the foot being made of cotton and it’s likes, and it is what is referred to commonly as shurraab (socks, stockings).
If a person removes his socks and then puts them back on again and he is in a state of wudu, then if this wudu was his first wudu (i.e. the one in which he washed his feet) and this did not break for the duration he had his socks on, then there is no problem in him putting his socks on and wiping over them again when he makes wudu. But if this wudu was a wudu in which he wiped over his socks then it is not permissible for him to put his socks on and continue wiping over them, because it is necessary for him to wear them when his feet have been purified with water, and in this case the purity is with wiping over the socks, this is what is known from the speech of the People of Knowledge.
But if one were to say that if he put his socks on again while he was still in a state of purity, even if it were the purity of wiping over the socks, then he could continue wiping over them as long as the period of wiping lasted then this is a strong opinion. But I do not know of anyone who held this opinion, and the thing which prevents me from holding this opinion is that I have not come across anyone from the People of Knowledge who holds this opinion, so if one of the People of Knowledge were to have this opinion then this would be the correct one according to me. This is because the purity gained from wiping is a complete state of purity, so it is desirable to say that if he can wipe over his socks after putting them on after having washed his feet, then he can wipe over them after the purification of wiping over them. But I have not seen anyone who holds this opinion.
Therefore removing the socks (in this second case) does not invalidate his state of purity but it invalidates his wiping, so if were to put them on again another time and broke his wudu then it is necessary for him to remove his socks and wash his feet when he makes wudu. The important point is that it is necessary for him to have put the socks on when he has made a wudu in which he has washed his feet (in order to wipe over them later on) as far as we know from the speech of the People of Knowledge.
*How about if a person wipes over his shoes in the first instance, then in the second he removes his shoes and wipes over his socks, is this wiping of his correct? Or is it necessary for him to wash the feet? *
There is a difference of opinion over this. So from the People of Knowledge are those that opine that if one were to wipe over one of the two khuffs, be it the upper or the lower then the ruling remains with that and the wiping does not move to the second.
And from them are those that opine that it is permissible for the wiping to move to the other for as long as the period of wiping remains. So for example, if one were to wipe over the shoes, then he removed them and wished to make wudu, then he can wipe over his socks. This is the strongest opinion. Likewise if he were to wipe over his socks, and then put on another pair, or put on a pair of shoes, then there is no problem in his wiping over the upper layer for as long as the period of wiping remains. But the period is calculated from the point of the first wiping, not the second.
… And Allaah Knows Best.
I’m sorry this has been a long post, but I thought it was important to address the main issues in this topic.
Kindest regards,
W’salaam
[This message has been edited by Hasnain (edited August 02, 1999).]
[This message has been edited by Hasnain (edited August 02, 1999).]