Washing or Wiping the Feet in Wudu? – A Detailed Qur’an and Sunnah Analysis
Source: Ahkam wa Masail – Issues of Purification, Vol. 1, p. 81
Shia scholars claim that in the verse of wudu from Surah al-Ma’idah —
﴿فَاغْسِلُوا وُجُوهَكُمْ وَأَيْدِيَكُمْ إِلَى الْمَرَافِقِ وَامْسَحُوا بِرُءُوسِكُمْ وَأَرْجُلَكُمْ إِلَى الْكَعْبَيْنِ﴾
— the word "وَأَرْجُلَكُمْ" is connected to "وَامْسَحُوا بِرُءُوسِكُمْ", implying wiping instead of washing.
They cite certain qira’at, grammatical interpretations, and narrations from Tafsir works to support this view.
Ahl al-Sunnah do not claim the kasrah (زیر) in بِرُءُوسِكُمْ is due to jarr al-mujawarah (proximity). The Shia attribution of this reasoning to Sunni scholars, and its alleged refutation by Fakhr al-Din al-Razi, is unfounded. They are challenged to produce the exact wording from al-Razi claiming this.
In Tafsir Jami‘ al-Bayan, when Hasanayn (RA) read "أَرْجُلِكُمْ" (with kasrah), ‘Ali (RA) corrected them to "وَأَرْجُلَكُمْ" (with fatha) and explained:
"هٰذَا مِنَ الْمُقَدَّمِ وَالْمُؤَخَّرِ مِنَ الْكَلَامِ"
“This is from the rearrangement of the sentence,” meaning the feet are to be washed, not wiped.
This directly supports the fatha reading and nullifies the waaw ma‘iyyah interpretation used to justify wiping.
The Shia claim that Sahabah practiced wiping like Hasanayn (RA). Ahl al-Sunnah request explicit text from Jami‘ al-Bayan or Fath al-Bayan clearly stating that the Sahabah considered wiping obligatory.
Citations from these Tafsirs are incomplete. Ahl al-Sunnah request the original passages showing that the Sahabah or Imam al-Baqir (RA) explicitly held wiping as obligatory, without the full context that supports washing.
Shia references (e.g., Kanz al-‘Ummal, Musnad Ahmad, Nayl al-Awtar, Sharh Ma‘ani al-Athar) are challenged to produce explicit wording from the Prophet ﷺ commanding only wiping the feet in wudu.
If his translation omits “wash” in this ayah, the exact words must be shown to verify whether it implies wiping or is simply linguistically open to the intended meaning of washing.
ھذا ما عندي والله أعلم بالصواب
Source: Ahkam wa Masail – Issues of Purification, Vol. 1, p. 81
Shia Position: Wiping the Feet is Obligatory
Shia scholars claim that in the verse of wudu from Surah al-Ma’idah —
﴿فَاغْسِلُوا وُجُوهَكُمْ وَأَيْدِيَكُمْ إِلَى الْمَرَافِقِ وَامْسَحُوا بِرُءُوسِكُمْ وَأَرْجُلَكُمْ إِلَى الْكَعْبَيْنِ﴾
— the word "وَأَرْجُلَكُمْ" is connected to "وَامْسَحُوا بِرُءُوسِكُمْ", implying wiping instead of washing.
They cite certain qira’at, grammatical interpretations, and narrations from Tafsir works to support this view.
Ahl al-Sunnah Response
① Clarifying the Grammatical Misunderstanding
Ahl al-Sunnah do not claim the kasrah (زیر) in بِرُءُوسِكُمْ is due to jarr al-mujawarah (proximity). The Shia attribution of this reasoning to Sunni scholars, and its alleged refutation by Fakhr al-Din al-Razi, is unfounded. They are challenged to produce the exact wording from al-Razi claiming this.
② Qira’ah of Hasanayn (RA) Corrected by ‘Ali (RA)
In Tafsir Jami‘ al-Bayan, when Hasanayn (RA) read "أَرْجُلِكُمْ" (with kasrah), ‘Ali (RA) corrected them to "وَأَرْجُلَكُمْ" (with fatha) and explained:
"هٰذَا مِنَ الْمُقَدَّمِ وَالْمُؤَخَّرِ مِنَ الْكَلَامِ"
“This is from the rearrangement of the sentence,” meaning the feet are to be washed, not wiped.
This directly supports the fatha reading and nullifies the waaw ma‘iyyah interpretation used to justify wiping.
③ Practice of the Sahabah
The Shia claim that Sahabah practiced wiping like Hasanayn (RA). Ahl al-Sunnah request explicit text from Jami‘ al-Bayan or Fath al-Bayan clearly stating that the Sahabah considered wiping obligatory.
④ Tafsir al-Kabir and Tarjuman al-Qur’an References
Citations from these Tafsirs are incomplete. Ahl al-Sunnah request the original passages showing that the Sahabah or Imam al-Baqir (RA) explicitly held wiping as obligatory, without the full context that supports washing.
⑤ Hadith Evidence Claimed for Wiping
Shia references (e.g., Kanz al-‘Ummal, Musnad Ahmad, Nayl al-Awtar, Sharh Ma‘ani al-Athar) are challenged to produce explicit wording from the Prophet ﷺ commanding only wiping the feet in wudu.
⑥ Shah Rafi‘ al-Din’s Urdu Translation
If his translation omits “wash” in this ayah, the exact words must be shown to verify whether it implies wiping or is simply linguistically open to the intended meaning of washing.
Conclusion
- According to Ahl al-Sunnah, the Qur’anic verse and authentic Sunnah require washing the feet in wudu.
- ‘Ali (RA)’s correction to Hasanayn (RA) affirms the fatha recitation and the obligation of washing.
- The waaw ma‘iyyah interpretation breaks the verse’s syntactic flow and is rejected.
- Shia evidence often uses partial quotations, whereas the full contexts contradict their claim.
ھذا ما عندي والله أعلم بالصواب
