All praise is due to Allah, the one whose hands is my life.
If I make a mistake, it is from my ego, and if I say something good it is from Allah.
A few days ago, a good friend of mine was making wudu with me, and pointed out that I was wiping over the cotton socks, which were not leather. I told him that it is permissible. He quoted me his Imam that only leather socks are allowed for this purpose. I would like to present the supporting evidence for what I said.
'God desires to lighten things for you, for the human being has been created weak' (Quran 94:28).
First, Prophet (PBUH) has asked us to make Islam easy for others, and we should always keep this command in mind, when analyzing any ruling.
Narrated Ja'far bin 'Amr: My father said, "I saw the Prophet passing wet hands over his turban and Khuffs (leather socks)." (Bukhari Volume 1, Book 4, Number 204)
Ibn Mughira narrated it from his father: The Apostle of Allah (may peace be upon him) wiped over his socks and over his forehead and over his turban. (Muslim Book 002, Number 0532)
There are many ahadith like above, which clearly permits wiping over the socks during wudu, but some scholars will put a condition that the socks have to be leather and any other material would not be acceptable.
One reason given is that Prophet (PBUH) wore only leather socks. Of course, there were no cotton socks, because it was a desert, and they needed better protection. Another reason is given that leather doesn't allow dirt to pass, but cotton sock does. Why would dirt touching our feet would be an issue, since wudu is not affected by dirt?
There is no evidence for disallowing cotton socks for this permissibility. On the contrary, the evidence is for general permissibility, because there is no mention of a reason from the Prophet (PBUH).
In fact, he wiped over his turban in the hadith above, which was not made of leather, and that gives clear evidence that we are allowed to wipe over the cloth as well as leather in this case.
Narrated 'Urwa bin Al-Mughira: My father said, "Once I was in the company of the Prophet on a journey and I dashed to take off his Khuffs. He ordered me to leave them as he had put them after performing ablution. So he passed wet hands or them. (Bukhari Volume 1, Book 4, Number 205)
From, the above hadith, there is one condition that need to be met is that we were in the state of wudu when the socks were put on. Also, if we enter an state of major impurity, then we have to wash our feet.
Here is an ideal case. A Muslim man gets up and makes wudu, then put on cloths socks, and shoes, then visits the Masjid for Fajr, then put on the shoes and goes to work. He goes to the washroom at work to make wudu for Duhar salah, and remove feet from the shoe and wipe over it. It will be acceptable, because he had wudu before putting on the covering. On top of that, he was wearing shoe all the time, so the oppotunity for feet to get filth is almost none.
Now, I would like to bring attention to a tradition that I think is dangerous. Many muslims buy leather socks from the Islamic store and wear them to masjid with the sole intention to avoid washing their feet. Leather socks are not used in normal circumstances anymore, and this act of buying leather socks to create an artificial scenario where one can wipe instead of wash, is very strange. I would just leave at that.
So, Islam has been placed upside down in this ruling by the scholar, where practicing muslim men, who are working, are being discouraged from praying salah at work, but artificially dressed men are being encouraged to buy more leather socks, which no one uses in real life, to avoid washing their feet.
I urge every muslim with a little fear of Allah and a little common sense to re-evaluate this, and follow the correct path. If you are bound by the chains of slavery of Taqleed, there is no hope. Otherwise, please make wudu before putting on cotton socks, and wipe over them at work, so we don't repel non-muslims, if they see us washing our dirty feet in the sink.
And Allah knows best.
JazakAllah Khairin
A person with no fake socks. Alhamdulilah!
Abu Arman
The only problem with your theory here is that there is no GENERAL permission to wipe over socks. The ruling is to wash your feet as per the commandment in the Quran. So to wipe over your sock, you need some serious proof. That proof exists in the hadeeth classed as mutawatir, but it is referring to a specific type of sock. Read the explanation here http://www.croydonmosque.com/pdf/Masah_wiping_upon_the_Socks.pdf
ReplyDeleteAssalamuAlaykum Brother Anonymous,
DeleteIf you do taqleed of a madhab, then nothing I will say will matter, so I apologize if I offended your religion.
If you are open to the possibility that biggest of Imam could be mistaken, then please read on.
In the science of Fiqh, the goal is to ascertain the objective and scope of the permissibility, because new innovation in technology, clothing, material, and life style, need to be ruled on. If you read the article that you referenced at the end, it contradicts your assertion that the permissibility for each material and type must be proven by "serious proof", but as long as the materials conform to similar qualities, it qualifies.
If the Prophet didn't slaughter a cow, it doesn't mean we have to import Camels to slaughter. No brother, we sacrifice the animal of similar strength and built as sheep or bigger.Of course chicken does not qualify.We do not require proof once the permissibility is established. We use analogy to determine if the new cases fits the existing rule, and unless there is a specific prohibition in Sharia, all types of socks, shoes, bandages, sandals etc are permitted.Mufti Danka attest to this ruling, and I agree with him.
However, he only allows the "leahter like" quality of socks to be used for analogy, and there is no proof to limit it to only that quality. On the contrary, wiping over turban proves that material of the covering is not intended to be limited. Prophet (PBUH) wiped over what he wore, not thinking about the material. At some occassions he wore sandals and socks and he wiped over them. Leading companions wiped over cloth socks. So, this permissibility is for ease of travelers and not meant to limit us with leather.
After saying that, you are most welcome to limit yourself to leather, as a sign of higher piety, and may Allah accept it, but asking others to abandon permissible acts requires some serious proof.
JZK
AbuArman Jumani
Assalam-o-Alaikum, mashaALLAH brother you have made Islam so easy for me, I am from a culture where we strictly use clean shoes and socks in bathrooms and toilets, I think I won't require a feet wash during wudu for years or atleast for months, in-fact why don't we declare the washing of our feet as completely unimportant, only keep it mandatory during gusl.
ReplyDeleteMay ALLAH forgive us for trying to change Islam for sake of our own ease similarly like the way people of other religions made it easy for themselves.
WaAlaykum Assalam,
DeleteI understand your frustration with where do the limit of ijtihad ends, and where does the innovation begins.
In this case, the purpose for this exception was to make it easy for the people, and making the fiqh opinion of scholar as divine rule is not appropriate.
All reliable Fuqaha and Muitahideen agree that thin socks that allow water to seep through them, do not stand upright without support, and cannot be walked in continuously, are not permissible to make masah on. Shoes are also not allowed to be wiped over. Thin socks of today that are made out of cotton, wool, nylon, etc., do not have the features of leather socks, therefore, it is not permissible to make masah over them. If someone does, their wudhu will not be valid, according to Imam Abu Hanifah, Imam Malik, Imam Shafi, Imam Ahmed ibn Hanbal, or any other Mujtahideen.
ReplyDeleteFor further details and references kindly visit http://www.albalagh.net/qa/masah_regular_socks.shtml
AssalamuAlaykum,
DeleteEven if majority of scholars agree on something, it doesn't make it the best opinion.
As mentioned earlier, these litmus test of which socks can be accepted for Masah are created by Scholars as an opinion, and never mentioned by the Prophet, so it is open to interpretation.
However, it is clear that you are pointing at the opinion of scholars that you find reliable, and it is a good thing, but their opinion are not divine rules.
Also, there are so much evidence in support of wiping over any foot wear. One of them is the following.
Sayyidina Mughirah ibn Shu'bah (RA) reported that the Prophet (SAW) performed ablution and wiped his stockings and shoes. [Sahih by Tirmidhi:Abu Dawud 159, Ibn e Majah 559]
So, lets agree to disagree.
Waterproof socks for namaz
ReplyDelete