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20 / 06 / 2026
Washing the Feet in Ablution
In the verse that discusses the obligations of ablution, which is {O you who have believed, when you rise to perform prayer, wash your faces and your forearms to the elbows and wipe over your heads and your feet to the ankles}, the word 'wipe' is mentioned concerning the heads and feet. So why do we wipe the head but wash the feet, even though the command to wipe was given for both the heads and feet?
Answer
I say, and with God's success: The verse has been recited in two readings, with the accusative and the genitive. The washing is inferred from the reading in the accusative, which necessitates that the function of the feet is to be washed, as they are conjoined with the washed parts, which are the face and the hands. What is conjoined to the washed must be washed in accordance with the requirement of conjunction, as stated in Bada'i' al-Sanai' 1: 6. The apparent meaning of the reading in the genitive has been disregarded due to its contradiction with the widely accepted actions of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) in washing the feet, so washing is unanimously agreed upon among the people of Sunnah. And God knows best.
