Shia Islam: Wiping the feet in wu\u1e0d\u016b\/18<\/p>\n
Wiping the feet in wu\u1e0d\u016b\u02be
\nIslamic jurists are divided about whether the believer must wash or wipe his feet when performing wu\u1e0d\u016b\u02be. Some of them say it is obligatory to wash the feet; the Im\u0101miyya say that wiping is correct. D\u0101w\u016bd b. \u02bfAl\u012b, the leader of the Z\u0101hiriyya and N\u0101\u1e63ir al-Kab\u012br, a leader of the Zaydiyya, advocate a combination of wiping and washing. \u1e24asan al-Ba\u1e63r\u012b says the wu\u1e0d\u016b\u02be maker is free to choose between the two.<\/p>\n
Muslims used to observe how the Prophet made wu\u1e0d\u016b\u02be day and night, at home and on journeys, so why is there any disagreement? This shows that jurisprudence (ijtih\u0101d) can take the most straightforward issue and turn it into the most contentious one.<\/p>\n
There is a Qur\u2019anic verse which explains in clear terms how to perform wu\u1e0d\u016b\u02be. If there is any ambiguity, it must have occurred in the minds of the Muslims in the following years, because the verse is exceedingly clear:<\/p>\n
\u2018O you who have faith! When you stand up for prayer, wash your faces and your hands up to the elbows, and wipe a part of your heads and your feet, up to the ankles. If you are junub, purify yourselves. But if you are sick, or on a journey, or any of you has come from the toilet, or you have touched women, and you cannot find water, then make tayammum with clean ground and wipe a part of your faces and your hands with it. Allah does not desire to put you to hardship, but He desires to purify you, and to complete His blessing upon you so that you may give thanks.\u2019 (Q5:6)<\/p>\n
Exegetes differ about the declension of the word \u2018your feet\u2019 (arjulakum) in the first part of the verse. According to the seven different major recitations it can be read with either a kasra or fat\u1e25a, which alters its grammatical position in the sentence. The reciters Ibn Kath\u012br, \u1e24amza, Ab\u016b \u02bfAmr and \u02bf\u0100\u1e63im based on the recitation of Ab\u016b Bakr, recite with kasra \u2013 arjul-i-kum. Meanwhile, N\u0101fi\u02bf, Ibn \u02bf\u0100mir and \u02bf\u0100sim based on the recitation of \u1e24af\u1e63 recite it with a fat\u1e25a \u2013 arjul\u2013a\u2013kum. (Majma\u02bf al-Bay\u0101n, 2\/163)<\/p>\n
It is fundamentally unlikely that the Prophet recited the same verse in two completely different ways, as this would introduce ambiguity to the Qur\u2019an on an issue that the divine revelation should be speaking clearly about; the Qur\u2019an sets instructions for everyday life and ambiguity has no place there.<\/p>\n
The Im\u0101miyya say the verse recommends wiping no matter how it is pronounced. If both \u2018your heads\u2019 and \u2018your feet\u2019 take kasra, then they are in conjunction (\u02bfa\u1e6df), which makes them both objects of the same verb \u2013 \u2018wipe\u2019. On the other hand, if \u2018your feet\u2019 takes fat\u1e25a then it is still in conjunction with \u2018your heads\u2019 as an object of the verb, but it does not take the Arabic preposition bi, which makes \u2018your heads\u2019 take kasra \u2013 \u2018bi ru\u02be\u016bs\u2013i\u2013kum.\u2019 Therefore it takes fat\u1e25a because it is the direct object of a verb. To better illustrate this, we can look at the following verse:<\/p>\n
\u2018\u2026an announcement from Allah and His Messenger to all the people on the day of the greater hajj: that Allah repudiates the polytheists and His Messenger\u2026\u2019 (Q9:3)<\/p>\n
The second occurrence of \u2018His Messenger\u2019 in this verse at first appears to be the object of \u2018repudiates\u2019 (i.e. God repudiates His own Messenger!), however this is not the case as when we look at the declension of the Arabic word \u2018His Messenger\u2019, we notice it has taken \u1e0damma \u2013 \u2018wa ras\u016bl\u2013u\u2013hu\u2019, which means it cannot be the object of repudiates, but rather is the subject of the sentence, like \u2018Allah.\u2019 So this renders the meaning \u2018Allah repudiates the polytheists, as does His Messenger.\u2019<\/p>\n
The original text of this verse in Arabic is the best indication that the previous verse calls for wiping the feet during wu\u1e0d\u016b\u02be. Those who advocate washing the feet are frustrated by the grammar of the verse and they try to justify their reading based on torturous interpretations Arabic grammar. They say that the word \u2018washing\u2019 in the verse also involves the feet, as \u2018your feet\u2019 is actually in conjunction with \u2018your faces\u2019, which also has a fat\u1e25a, hence the two are both objects of the same verse.<\/p>\n
However, this is patently incorrect because this involves a completely unrelated sentence about wiping the feet interposing between the two sides of a grammatical conjunction \u2013 something which is not allowed in Arabic grammar!<\/p>\n
It is clear to every reader that every Muslim, making wu\u1e0d\u016b\u02be, has to wipe over his head and feet. But unfortunately, interpretations have given an ambiguous form to this religious practice. One of them is definitely unreal and you must have noted that those who call for washing the feet fail to justify their interpretation. Some others are used to making philosophies saying washing also includes wiping. But religious instructions could not be changed as we wish. A large number of Companions of the Prophet have said that the feet must be wiped over during wu\u1e0d\u016b\u02be. Here are some quotes:<\/p>\n
Ibn \u02bfAbb\u0101s says: wu\u1e0d\u016b\u02be includes two washings and two wipings.<\/p>\n
Anas b. M\u0101lik used to wet his feet when he wiped over them. One day he heard \u1e24ajj\u0101j b. Y\u016bsuf calling on worshippers to wash their feet. Anas interrupted him saying: \u2018God has said the truth and \u1e24ajj\u0101j b. Y\u016bsuf is lying.\u2019 Then he recited this Qur\u2019anic phrase: \u2018wipe over your heads and your feet to the ankles.\u2019<\/p>\n
\u02bfIkrama, a disciple of Ibn \u02bfAbb\u0101s, said: \u2018Feet must be wiped over and not washed.\u2019<\/p>\n
Sha\u02bfb\u012b sayid: \u2018Gabriel has ordered the Prophet to wipe over his feet in wu\u1e0d\u016b\u02be. But in tayammum, the face and the hands are wiped over while it is not necessary to wipe the head and feet. Therefore, if the feet were to be washed in wu\u1e0d\u016b\u02be, they would have to be wiped over in tayammum.\u2019<\/p>\n
Qat\u0101da interprets the verse as follows: \u2018God has ordered two washings and two wipings. But some groups keep reading the verse differently to justify their recommended washing for the feet.\u2019 (Tafs\u012br \u1e6cabar\u012b, 6\/82\u201383)<\/p>\n
The practice of the Infallible Imams
\nThe infallible Sh\u012b\u02bfa Imams, who are all heirs to the Prophet, and who have been described by the Prophet to be on the same level as the Qur\u2019an say the Prophet used to wipe over his head and feet. To that effect, Imam al-B\u0101qir says: \u2018I explain to you how the Prophet performed his wu\u1e0d\u016b\u02be. He filled his hands with water, washed his face and finally he wiped over his head and feet.\u2019 (Was\u0101\u02beil al-Sh\u012b\u02bfa, 1\/ch. 15)<\/p>\n
Attempts to prove that washing is compulsory
\nThose who say the feet must be washed interpret the Qur\u2019anic verse as recommending wiping. But at the same time, they try to justify their opinion that the feet must be washed in wu\u1e0d\u016b\u02be by claiming that some a\u1e25\u0101d\u012bth refer to washing feet. Thus, if we wash our feet we will be doing both (washing and wiping), as wiping is included in washing but washing is not included in wiping.<\/p>\n
If they refer to a\u1e25\u0101d\u012bth from Sunn\u012b sources about washing, they must know that the same Sunn\u012b scholars have also narrated accounts of wiping. Due to such contradictions, the view that is in agreement with that of the Qur\u2019an should be taken as correct.<\/p>\n
They claim that Imam \u02bfAl\u012b once told a man that there has been a different arrangement in the verse of wu\u1e0d\u016b\u02be and that God has ordered the feet to be washed while the head is wiped over. Had Imam \u02bfAl\u012b mentioned such a thing, his close associates would have recorded and recounted it. Imam al-B\u0101qir has narrated the way the Prophet used to make wu\u1e0d\u016b\u02be and Qur\u2019anic verses are clear because they give instructions to people.<\/p>\n
Ibn \u02bfUmar says: \u2018The Prophet was lagging behind us on a trip. We returned to look for him and, at the time of \u02bfa\u1e63r pryaers, when we were very tired, we found him. We made wu\u1e0d\u016b\u02be and wiped over our feet. At that time, the Prophet said loudly: \u2018Woe to the heels of fire!\u2019 and repeated this three times in total. (\u1e62a\u1e25\u012b\u1e25 Bukh\u0101r\u012b, 1\/18)<\/p>\n
For more details on this issue, readers can refer to our book, al-In\u1e63\u0101f f\u012b Mas\u0101\u02beil D\u0101m f\u012bh\u0101 al-Khil\u0101f.<\/p>\n
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Shia Islam: temporary marriage \/ 17<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n