Mu' meneen Brothers and Sisters,

As Salaam Aleikum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh.  (May Allah's Peace, Mercy and Blessings be upon all of you)

One of our brothers/sisters has asked this question:

As slaam alykum,

In refernce to the question where someone asked:

"Why should somebody ask you the question instead he/she can go to amil saheb or raza saheb and ask him? or possible Ask Dai Zamaan TUS thru amil saheb" (I could`nt find the Question No.)

Anyway, you said "...There is nothing in Islam which is not logical!..."

But what about the Hadeeth that states somthing like, it would be more logical to wipe under the sock, yet we still wipe over it when performing abulution. Because it is prescibed...

Does this not contradict what you say when you say there is nothing in Islam which is not logical?

I don`t mean to be rude, i`m just curiuos, and very sharp.

Sincere Regards.

(There may be some grammatical and spelling errors in the above statement. The forum does not change anything from questions, comments and statements received from our readers for circulation in confidentiality.)

Answer:

Hadith illogical

In the name of Allah, We praise Him, seek His help and ask for His forgiveness. Whoever Allah guides none can misguide, and whoever He allows to fall astray, none can guide them aright. We bear witness that there is no one (no idol, no person, no grave, no prophet, no imam, no dai, nobody!) worthy of worship but Allah Alone, and we bear witness that Muhammad (saws) is His slave-servant and the seal of His Messengers.

Your Statements: Anyway, you said "...There is nothing in Islam which is not logical!..."
But what about the Hadeeth that states somthing like, it would be more logical to wipe under the sock, yet we still wipe over it when performing abulution. Because it is prescibed... Does this not contradict what you say when you say there is nothing in Islam which is not logical? I don`t mean to be rude, i`m just curiuos, and very sharp.

My dear and beloved brother in Islam, may Allah Subhanah bless and increase your curiosity and your sharpness in the studying of His beautiful and perfect deen of Islam; for curiosity and sharpness of thought and reason are the tools that will allow one who is sincere in his search and study of knowledge to differentiate the Truth from the falsehoods.

Allah Says in the Holy Quran Chatper 30 Surah Rome verses 29-30:

29 Nay the wrong-doers (merely) fellow their own lusts being devoid of knowledge. But who will guide those whom Allah leaves astray? To them there will be no helpers.

30 So set thou thy face steadily and truly to the Faith: The pure ‘fitrah” (Nature) of Allah with which He has created the ‘fitrah’ (nature of) mankind. No change (can there be) in the work (wrought) by Allah! That is the standard Religion! But most among mankind (choose to) understand not!

Allah is our witness brother, every bit and every piece of guidance that comes from All-Wise Lord and from His Messenger (saws) is overflowing to the brim with wisdom, with logic and with mercy. Allah is our witness brother, The Lord Creator Who created mankind and his nature with His Perfect and Absolute ‘Fitrah’ (Nature) is far far Exalted, High, and Free from giving any Command or Guidance which is against the basic elements of fitrah, nature, wisdom, logic and common-sense. Without an iota of a doubt, every true believer in Allah and the Last Day will stand steadfast by the statement that there is nothing, and I reiterate absolutely nothing, illogical or devoid of wisdom and common sense in the Perfect Deen of Islam; but as the Lord Himself Says in His Glorious Quran: ‘But most among mankind (choose to) understand not!’

Your Question: But what about the Hadeeth that states somthing like, it would be more logical to wipe under the sock, yet we still wipe over it when performing abulution. Because it is prescibed... Does this not contradict what you say when you say there is nothing in Islam which is not logical?

Allah Says in the Holy Quran Chapter 5 Surah Maidah verse 6: O ye who believe! When ye prepare for prayer wash your faces, and your hands (and arms) to the elbows, rub your heads (with water), and (wash) your feet to the ankles. If ye are in a state of ceremonial impurity bathe your whole body. But if ye are ill or on a journey or one of you cometh from offices of nature or ye have been in contact with women and ye find no water then take for yourselves clean sand or earth and rub therewith your faces and hands. Allah doth not wish to place you in a difficulty but to make you clean and to complete His favor to you that ye may be grateful.

Allah Commands the believers and makes it an obligatory pre-condition for prayers that the believers perform the ablution by washing their faces, their hands and arms, wipe their heads, and wash their feet.

Said al-Mughirah ibn Shu'bah, "I was with the Messenger of Allah (saws) one night during an expedition. I poured water for him to make ablution. He washed his face and arms and wiped his head. Then I went to remove his socks and he (saws) said, 'Leave them on, as I put them on while I was in a state of purity,' and he (saws) just wiped over them." (Related by Ahmad, al-Bukhari and Muslim).

Although the Command while performing ablution is to wash one’s feet upto one’s ankles, the Messenger of Allah (saws) who understood and implemented the Commands and Guidance of His Lord better than anyone in creation, held it permissible for one who has worn his socks while in the state of purity to simply wipe over them, and that would suffice.

It is not as if the guidance of the Prophet (saws) is that every time a believer does his ablution, he must wear his socks and wipe over them; but as a mercy and to make the implementation of deen easy, if one is wearing socks and he adorned them while in the state of purity, it is allowed and permissible for them to simply wipe over them, and that would suffice.

Now, if one were to think or believe its more logical to wipe under the socks rather than follow the Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah (saws) and wipe over them like he (saws) did; one should know that the ablution even in its perfect state where the stated body parts are washed and wiped is nothing but a symbolic gesture the Lord has allowed and made it easy for the believers to purify themselves before they wish to stand in His Majestic audience for prayer!

Had the Lord Willed, He could have Commanded every believer to take a full bath or ‘ghusl’ and purify themselves completely before every prayer; but as a Mercy and not to make the implementation of the deen difficult and cumbersome for His believing slaves, the Lord commanded the symbolic gesture of washing and wiping a few stated and specific parts which would suffice for their ablution.

Thus it is not the wiping over the socks itself that makes one physically and completely clean and purified; but it is nothing more than a gesture and a leave and a mercy from Allah and His Messenger (saws) for those who wish to obey and follow them.

A bigger and better example than the wiping of socks over or under would be that of the passing of wind, which breaks one’s ablution and they have to perform the ablution again if they wish to offer their prayers; but how does the washing of the hands, feet, face, arms, and legs purify oneself when the wind has passed through the anus and that part of the body is left untouched, nor washed, nor purified during ablution???

Again, if the Lord had Willed, He could have Commanded every believer to take a full bath or ‘ghusl’ and purify themselves completely before every prayer; but as a Mercy and not to make the implementation of the deen difficult and cumbersome for His believing slaves, the Lord commanded the symbolic gesture of washing and wiping a few stated and specific parts, or in the case of not finding any water rubbing with pure earth the face and the hands, which would suffice for their ablution.

To take something which has been allowed and given in the deen by Allah and His Messenger (saws) as Mercy so as not to make the implementation of deen difficult for the believers, and say that it is illogical is just as illogical as if one owed one’s brother a sum of money (say $100.00) and he could afford to pay only a part of it (say $10.00); and the brother who is owed the money has mercy on his friend and forgives him the balance $90.00!!! Would this act be considered being merciful or righteousness on the part of the brother who forgave his friend, or illogical???

To those who sincerely believes in Allah and the Last Day and are desperate to receive the Mercy of their Lord, for someone to call Allah’s ‘Mercy’ as ‘illogical’ are themselves ‘illogical’!

My dear and beloved brother in Islam, there is absolutely no harm in searching and seeking the wisdom in any aspect of the deen; for the deen or ‘way of life’ called Al-Islam is based on the Perfect Wisdom and Knowledge of the All Knowing Lord, and every single command of the All Wise Lord is abundant in common-sense and logic. Asking any type of questions in Islam to gain more knowledge, or to confirm the Truth so that one’s heart is more content, or to understand and thus follow with more conviction the dictates of the deen is not only permissible, but absolutely encouraged in Islam.

But if the intention behind one’s questions is only for the sake of asking, or arguing to ridicule the Truth with absolutely no intention of obeying or following when the Truth is made clear to them, or to find a fault by ‘hair-splitting’ the smallest aspects of the deen, or to scorn or mock at any Command or Guidance of Allah Subhanah and His Messenger (saws), etc.; then one should fear Allah and Know that He Alone Suffices to Protect and Honor His Deen from the ones who strive against it.

Sahih Muslim Hadith 6450 Narrated by Abdullah ibn Mas'ud

Allah's Messenger (saws) said: ‘Ruined were those who came before you and indulged in hair-splitting (in the deen).’ He (the Prophet (saws)) repeated this thrice!

Sahih Al-Bukhari Hadith 9.391 Narrated by Abu Huraira

The Prophet (saws) said, "Leave me as I leave you, for the people who came before you were ruined because of their questions and their differences over their Prophets (teachings, guidance, etc.). So, if I forbid you to do something, then keep away from it. And if I order you to do something, then do of it as much as you can."

If one trusts, obeys, and follows the guidance and commands of Allah and His Messenger (saws), one can be assured of never ever being misled; but if one believes, obeys and follows any other guidance, other than that of Allah and His Messenger (saws), one can be assured of being led astray.

Whatever written of Truth and benefit is only due to Allah’s Assistance and Guidance, and whatever of error is of me alone. Allah Alone Knows Best and He is the Only Source of Strength.

Your Brother in Islam,

Burhan