Q. I have a room to pray at work but no particular Wudhu (ablution) facilities. I don't feel comfortable washing my feet in the sink or in the toilets at work because I look silly and plus my non-Muslim colleagues look at me funny and say its unhygienic, so what should I do?
A. In the name of Allah the most Beneficent and Merciful.
Wudhu is an act of worship and whilst it is obligatory it also carries great reward. Therefore one should not feel silly in taking part in an act of worship. However, there are many organisations who do not allow the washing of the feet in normal sinks due to various reasons. There are also many people who leave a lot of spilt water after they have finished, which gives the practice a bad name. If it is difficult for a person to wash their feet in public places then the following should be done:
As washing the feet is an obligation, the way around this issue is to wear leather socks known as Khuffain.
These are special socks made of leather which allow the feet to move freely so the toes can bend etc. (They are usually available in Islamic book shops.)
If a person performs full Wudhu at home then puts on these socks they can wipe over them when they need to do Wudhu again. Meaning the normal Wudhu would be done and then when it came to wash the feet they would just wet their fingers and wipe on TOP of the leather socks, first the right foot then the left. They would then not need to wash their feet.
If the person takes off the socks once full Wudhu has been done and broken, then they will need to do full Wudhu before they can put the socks back on. Once the socks have been put on they are allowed up to 24 hours (from when the Wudhu first broke) if they are a non traveller and up to 72 hours (from when the Wudhu first broke) if they are a traveller, before they need to take the socks off and wash their feet again.
They are allowed to wear normal socks on top of these special socks but need to wipe on these special socks when performing Wudhu (i.e. take off their normal socks but leave the leather socks on).
Please note some people wipe on top of normal cotton socks but according to all jurists in all four schools this is not permissible as the socks have to be waterproof.
Normal outdoor leather boots are also not sufficient as the feet cannot bend in these shoes.
Of course Allah knows best.
Comments
You need to stop worrying about feeling uncomfortable and feeling silly. Forgot what your non-Muslim colleagues think of you, you are worshipping Allah (swt). So put your feet in the sink and wash it and if anyone comes in and get scared this is an excellent opportunity to do dawah by explaining why you have your foot in the sink believe me non-Muslims would understand I have been there myself...
Haha! Love that idea!
I'm sorry but i totally disagree. I'm a Muslim woman even I think that looks nasty. I don't want to wash my hands or face after anyone washing their feet in the sink. Let's change how we are as Muslims what do you think? As of today we are dirty, nasty and not hygiene community at all. So just wash your feet at your house in your own SINK!!!
How you meant to do that when you're at work?
"How many people find fault in what they're reading and the fault is in their own understanding" Al Mutanabbi
or how about you wash your feet when you do wudu?
We cant make our own rules - that wouldnt be Islam.
"For too long, we have been a passively tolerant society, saying to our citizens 'as long as you obey the law, we will leave you alone'" - David Cameron, UK Prime Minister. 13 May 2015.
there's always wiping over socks/shoes. that's what i do. save so much time, embarrassment, annoyingness etc...
Is it true? Is it kind? Is it necessary?
I'm getting that sinking feeling...
Don't just do something! Stand there.
english teachers!
"For too long, we have been a passively tolerant society, saying to our citizens 'as long as you obey the law, we will leave you alone'" - David Cameron, UK Prime Minister. 13 May 2015.
Huh?
So what's the deal with the hand over feet thing? Is it just me or are there differences of opinion with that - something about travelling a long distance and wearing leather socks? I mean that's when i've heard that being allowed. Maybe not that exactly because I don't remember the exact criteria...
"How many people find fault in what they're reading and the fault is in their own understanding" Al Mutanabbi
travel is not a restriction. just that they are waterproof and worn for a long period of time (so not taken off at the end of the day).
Though there may be other interpretations.
"For too long, we have been a passively tolerant society, saying to our citizens 'as long as you obey the law, we will leave you alone'" - David Cameron, UK Prime Minister. 13 May 2015.
Oh yeah, that's it - being worn for a long time without being taken off
"How many people find fault in what they're reading and the fault is in their own understanding" Al Mutanabbi
3 days for travelling and a day for euh..non-travellers. and it shouldnt be seethrough. i do it on my normal socks at home (i try not to do it on the thin ones..dont feel right) but when im at school and stuff i do it on top of my shoes (providing i put my shoes on when i had wudu)
Is it true? Is it kind? Is it necessary?
If u step on wet floor/puddle, your feet shouldn't get wet through the socks.
If they do, as far as I know you can't wipe the socks for wudhu.
Better to be safe than sorry.
Don't just do something! Stand there.
Why don't u wash ur feet when ur at home :s wouldn't a day be 24 hours?
"How many people find fault in what they're reading and the fault is in their own understanding" Al Mutanabbi
Oh come on. We muslims wash our feet round about 5 times a day.
Our feet can't be as dirty as people's hands which also get washed in the sink.
Those hands are much germier as they've been in contact with you know what.
never saw this...
coz its cold, or im ill. or both.
yep 24 hours. so from like one asr to the next. but i usually put them on after fajr and take them off after ishaa.
i might get proper leather one now though...just to be out of the difference of opinion. better safe than sorry as has been said.
Is it true? Is it kind? Is it necessary?
We as Muslims must show respect to others and go out of our way to show that we are a civilized people. The condition of bathrooms after some of my Brothers and Sisters have made Wuda is disgusting; water all over the floor, paper towels left on floor, sink counters covered in pools of water. They make no attempt to clean up after themselves. It really speaks volumes to non-Muslims about our character. It is not our right to destroy public restrooms with no regard for others. I have had my dress shirts soiled by getting to close to the aftermath of someone elses "foot bath." If we want respect we must show respect and earn respect. Not act like slobs and call it our religious right.
السلام عليكم ورحمة الله وبركاته
if you think about it logically.. What is more disgusting is after someone vacates themselves after answering the call of nature their hands will be dirty, right? With all forms of bacteria as it is gathering from our own waste products. So by the same logic you proposed washing feet in a sink where people was their even dirtier hands is even more disgusting.
i am not giving a fatwa or anything of the sort but just think we should always think of situations from a bigger perspective.
hope you found my response useful.
May Allah swt grant us all hidaya and taufik to become better Muslims.
Ameen
I doubt you ever need to get into such a detailed discussion. As long as you are polite, most people will just ignore you.
Either way, antibacterial soap to the rescue.
"For too long, we have been a passively tolerant society, saying to our citizens 'as long as you obey the law, we will leave you alone'" - David Cameron, UK Prime Minister. 13 May 2015.
Salaams
I totally disagree with you, what type of muslim are you? You fear non muslim however you don't fear our creator?
We should be proud to be muslim and perform wudhu in a public place without fear. Don't forget we will not be accompanied by anyone in the grave.
Let people think whatever but your iman should not be affected.why change for the benefit of others and a detriment to our rules of islam.
Cleaning up the water spillage afterwards isnt a bad thing, setting a good image is a good thing.
"For too long, we have been a passively tolerant society, saying to our citizens 'as long as you obey the law, we will leave you alone'" - David Cameron, UK Prime Minister. 13 May 2015.
Let me give you some tips
Try to keep your abulution safe as long as possible. I mostly try to offer my 3 times namaz in one time abultion. You just need to be a little bit careful for your abulition safety. We most of us offer Fajr namaz at home. Try to offer Zohar, Asr and Maghrib with one Abulution. For Isha you can again offer namaz at home.
I think below link will also help us to understand Do's and Don'ts of Wudu at work situation
http://www.islamicity.com/qa/action.lasso.asp?-db=services&-lay=Ask&-op=...
May Allah forgive us and protect us from Shaitaan.
Just a thought,
I was on Holiday near Windermere, whilst waiting for my wife to come out of the toilet i saw three Muslim ladies in their twenties set up for prayer.
They placed the mat on the floor, cleaned their hand and face. Then cleaned their feet beore stepping on to their prayer mat?
How did they clean themselves, wet wipes. [if you males don't know what wet wipes are, ask your mum or sisters]
If water was around, that should have been used. The obligation would be to wash the arms, face and feet and to wipe over the head. Where water is not available, there are alternatives which have been explained through prophetic traditions.
Wet wipes isn't acceptable though right?
Maybe they had already done the compulsory washing but were just freshening up and didn't have any water with them.
"How many people find fault in what they're reading and the fault is in their own understanding" Al Mutanabbi
Wet wipes doesn't fulfil the requirements for ablution.
The suggestion of leather socks is unnecessary. Any socks is ok. During the time of Prophet (SW) people used to wear mostly leather socks and sometimes they used to use them even as shoes. But our prophet had never mentioned that it has to be leather socks, rather he just told that wipe over your socks that’s all. Don’t be an orthodox follower, better use your ‘Aql’. This information also false that
‘Please note some people wipe on top of normal cotton socks but according to all jurists in all four schools this is not permissible as the socks have to be waterproof.’ Whree did you get this info????
Can you give the references of all Jurisdictions ??????
Brothers and sisters, having worked in a corporate I totally understand. It is our duty to project Islam correctly. Let’s go back to the Quran and analyze the verse. It clearly mentions that we should wipe not wash the feet.
Imagine washing the feet in the desert each time and then stepping onto desert sand! The Messenger of Allah salallahu Alayhi wa Sallam would not have contradicted the Quran in his practice.
So simply make masah over your feet or even cotton socks is perfectly in order. Since most of us are wearing leather shoes over our socks it doesn’t get dirty does it?
naturally if you are aware that your socks are dirty please don’t make masah over it!
I think this is the correct interpretation. Jazakallah
We are fortunate enough to have showers at work which provide ideal place to perform Wudu.
May allah bless us all for our efforts – Ameen.
I think the real issue for all of us who travel is that if there is any excuse given by Islam not to wash our feet during wudu when travelling. I believe if you break wudu and do a new wusdu using sink, wipping on leather socks will not complete your wudu. If I am corrcet in my understanding, then how do we wash our feet in ublic places without putting our feet in a sink?. In my case, due to medical condition, I cannot keep wudu more than 1/2 hour. Any response/suggestions?
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