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My Dog Used to Play With My Shoes. What Should I Do Regarding Their Purity?

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Answered by Ustadh Salman Younas

Question: 1. For many years I lived with my parents who have a dog. Our dog would often times playfully take our shoes in her mouth. I can’t remember which of my shoes she did this with. What should I do?

2. When I visit my parents, can I follow the Maliki position that dog’s spit is pure?

Answer: Assalam alaykum

1. The basis is that your shoes are pure. If you have doubts regarding whether a certain pair of shoes was effected by dog saliva, this alone would not be sufficient to establish the ruling of impurity. As such, you can ignore these doubts.

2. It would be permitted for you to follow the Maliki position although the more precautious approach would be to wash the effected area in order to avoid the difference of opinion on the issue.

For more see: Can I Pray in Clothes that Were Licked by a Dog?

[Ustadh] Salman Younas

Checked and approved by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani

Ustadh Salman Younas graduated from Stony Brook University with a degree in Political Science and Religious Studies. After studying the Islamic sciences online and with local scholars in New York, Ustadh Salman moved to Amman. There he studies Islamic law, legal methodology, belief, hadith methodology, logic, Arabic, and tafsir.

Is a Henna Event Permissible?

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Answered by Ustadh Salman Younas

Question: I am getting married soon and had two questions:

1. Is a Henna event permissible? It will be an only women’s gathering in which girls will put henna on their hands and there will be food.

2. There is a tradition in which the sisters of the bride hide the groom’s shoe until he gives them a mutually agreed on sum of money. Is this ok to do?

Answer: assalamu `alaykum

1. There’s no harm in specifying a day to have a Henna event for your upcoming wedding as long as what is taking place during the event is permissible (applying henna and serving food is).

Similarly, there is nothing wrong in calling this event a Mehndi.

2. The groom may, of course, give a monetary gift to his in-laws. As for the practice of ‘stealing’/hiding the groom’s shoes, this is primarily a cultural practice that occurs in Indian and Pakistani weddings. As long as there is (a) no shariah contraventions (such as physical touching between non-mahrams or the groom’s male relatives chasing the women etc.) or (b) specific imitation of others’ religious ceremonies, the act itself would be permitted.

I would add that a wedding in Islam is an important event connected to the completion of our religion. While expressions of joy and entertainment are permitted, also try to make it an event that demonstrates your thankfulness to God for all of His blessings.

May you have a blessed wedding.

Salman

Checked & Approved by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani

Prayer and Wudu Wearing Shoes

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Answered by Ustadh Tabraze Azam
Question: I have seen people in KSA praying with wearing their Shoes. I checked with some people and they said that it is in Hadith.
Please confirm if it is allowed to pray wearing shoes. What about the Wudu wearing shoes?
Answer: Assalamu alaikum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh,
I pray that you are in the best of health and faith, insha’Allah.
(1) It is permitted to pray wearing shoes as long as they are free from the excused amount of filth.
(2) It is permitted to wipe over boots [= which are above the ankle] and the like which have the meaning of the footgear (khuff), as long as the requisite conditions are fulfilled.
Please also see: Rules Regarding Wiping Over Khuffs (Footgear) and: Wiping over Knitted Socks During Ablution (Wudu) and: Questions Regarding Wiping Over Khuffs (Leather Socks)
And Allah alone gives success.
Wassalam,
Tabraze Azam
Checked & Approved by Faraz Rabbani

Wearing Sandals on Hajj

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Answered by Ustadha Shaista Maqbool

Question: Wearing Sandals on Hajj

In the Name of Allah, Most Merciful, Most Kind.

Answer : The upper part of the foot (around the cuneiform bones of the foot) must be uncovered during ihram. The sandals that you wore have a strap on top of this very part of the foot, and therefore, yes, there was a violation in your ihram. Hence, you need to determine what type of expiation you owe.

The Ruling

A Muslim pilgrim prays on Mount Mercy on the plains of Arafat outside the holy city of Mecca December 7, 2008. More than two million Muslims began the haj pilgrimage on Saturday, heading to a tent camp outside Mecca to follow the route Prophet Mohammad took 14 centuries ago. REUTERS/Ahmed Jadallah (SAUDI ARABIA)

REUTERS/Ahmed Jadallah (SAUDI ARABIA)

If a man* wore something stitched or covered his foot, or head continuously for the entire day or the entire night, or the equivalent of either of them, he must make a sacrifice. If he did so for less than this time, he must give charity. (see: Ibn Abideen, Hashiyah)

[*The rulings of clothing are specific to men as women are exempt from these considerations; The only exception is in the covering of the face, in which women are also accountable for.]

Explanation:

  • “Continuously” meaning without interruption. Removing the item even momentarily e.g. for wudu, is considered an interruption.
  • The “entire day” here means the Islamic day: from dawn or Fajr prayer to sunset or the Maghrib prayer; and “night” meaning from sunset/Maghrib prayer to dawn/Fajr prayer.
  • “The equivalent of either of them” meaning if he had worn the item for an equivalent of either the day or night, he owes a sacrifice. So, if the day was 10 hours long and the night was 14 hours, one would have to determine whether or not he was wearing the item for 10 hours continuously, using the shorter of the two. Therefore, if he put on the item in the middle of the day or night, rather than at the beginning, he must calculate the time he was wearing it.

One should note that in most cases the continuity of the wearing is interrupted, and when there has been an interruption, the timing starts all over, ie. intervals are not added together. Therefore, in most cases charity would be obligatory, not sacrifice.

It should also be noted that unlike sacrifice, there isn’t a minimum period of time for charity, such that one must pay charity even if he wore any of these items for only a moment. Additionally, he pays charity for each “wearing” of the item, as long it is less than a day/night. For example, if he wore the item for 10 hours but would remove it each hour, he must pay 10 times of the obligatory amount of charity.

Nevertheless, in the cases where one did wear an item for more than an entire day or night, the following details should be paid attention to:

If he wore the item for more than a day or night, he still owes only one sacrifice, (i.e. he doesn’t owe 2 sacrifices for wearing it for longer than one day). The latter is also the case even if he removed the item [after having worn it continuously for a day or night] at night, for example, with an intention to wear it again during the day. However, if he removed it with the intention to discontinue wearing it, and thereafter did wear it again, he must give two sacrifices. (Hashiyah, Ibn ‘Abideen). Hence, the intention plays a major role in determining the number of sacrifices one owes.

A sacrifice is fulfilled by the slaughtering of a sheep, goat or having a share of a seventh in the sacrifice of a cow or camel. The slaughter must take place in the sacred territory in Mekkah. When one is outside Mekkah, he may authorize someone there to do the sacrifice on his behalf.

For charity, it is obligatory to give approximately 2 kg of wheat for every violation or its value in money. Charity may be given anywhere and is not restricted to the sacred territory.

And all praise if for Allah, Lord of the Worlds.