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Respecting Culture As An Adab When Deciding To Perform Wuzu And Salah
When deciding to take religious concessions, to what extent does Adab matter?
For example, in the USA, it is often considered bad manners to wash your feet in your hand sink: https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=13922989
Let’s say for example – you did not do Wudhu before leaving the house; Masah over socks is not possible. Now you are outside and the time for prayer has arrived. What do you do?
(i) ask your employer to leave work for 20 minutes so you can do Wudhu at the mosque: would be considered bad manners and disrespectful to co-workers
(ii) do wudhu in the sink? it could be argued that it is acceptable if the co-workers are asked, but in the current multicultural climate, people would be pressured to consent, even if they inwardly disagreed
(iii) tayamum with a rock?
(iv) delay prayer until you get home?
(v) bring a water bottle to do Wudhu outside in the parking lot –> again, this would tacitly be considered bad manners
This situation would be very different in a country like Egypt, where social norms would accept this. Considering nuances like this, to what extent should Muslims make an effort before availing concessions like Tayammum or Qadha prayer? In the hierarchy of discharging our religious obligations, how do we navigate these factors?
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3 Replies
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Respecting Culture As An Adab When Deciding To Perform Wuzu And Salah
updated 2 years, 4 months ago
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In all ibada rituals, the principle is to move down to the closest secondary form (e.g. combining prayers) when there’s usr (hardship) (Further Detail: Discussion 66552). A general ruling can’t be made because the situation with one person may justifiably be a hardship, while with another it might be mere inconvenience. Therefore, the final decision on whether or not a particular situation can be justified as hardship rests with the individual. The same goes for these cultural conflicts, therefore, after assessing one’s situation, one may opt for any of the options mentioned above.
If employer is flexible about such breaks, then sure one can ask them directly or at the very least, there is no harm in inquiring about whether they’d be willing to give such breaks or not. If not, then one can offer Salah in their work station while sitting and in case of any impediment regarding Wuzu (cultural or otherwise), one can perform Tayammum on their work desk (doing it with a rock is not necessary. It is just a symbolic action and can be done on any clean surface). The bottom line is that one should try their best to offer Salah on time, in whatever possible shape feasible. And even if one feels that is not an option, then they can Offer Salah as soon as they are out of such situation.
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Thank you for your detailed answer 🙂
I feel very comfortable with the idea of combining prayers in hardship, but have struggled to find good evidence to support moving to Qada prayer as the next step. I am sure Ghamidi Sahb has an excellent rationale, I am just trying to understand the details better for personal peace.
For example, I remember he referenced the Hadith where Bilal was unable to wake up the Prophet (PBUH) and his companions. But in this case, scholars often point out that (i) forgetfulness and (ii) sleep where the only two reasons given. In these cases, it was physically impossible to pray. There is also the incident of the Battle of the Ditch, where Asr was combined with Maghrib, but people also point out that this was a life and death situation.
The solution proposed by Ghamidi Sahb seems the most logically sound to me. However, I am hoping to understand more about his perspective on this.
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If you want to understand Ghamidi Sahab’s perspective in more detail, please refer to the videos posted in the following thread:
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