Step 9 of 12
Washing the Feet
Wash your right foot up to and including the ankle bones, three times, then the left foot the same way. The ankles are the two bones that stick out on either side of the foot.
Run your fingers, ideally the little finger of the left hand, between your toes so that the water reaches between them, and pay attention to the heels and the soles, which are easily missed.
When the Prophet ﷺ saw people whose heels had stayed dry, he called out: "Woe to the heels from the Fire." Washing the feet is an obligation named in the verse, and the four schools agree on it. Wiping over leather socks (khuffs) in place of washing has its own conditions and is covered separately.
All four schools agree on this step.
- Qur'an 5:6
- Sahih al-Bukhari 163 Sahih · in the two Sahihs
- Sahih Muslim 241Sahih · in the two Sahihs
- Jami' al-Tirmidhi 39Graded by Ahmad Muhammad Shakir: Hasan Sahih · Al-Albani: Hasan Sahih · Bashar Awad Maarouf: Hasan · Zubair Ali Zai: HasanSahih
- Jami' al-Tirmidhi 40Graded by Ahmad Muhammad Shakir: Sahih · Al-Albani: Sahih · Bashar Awad Maarouf: Hasan · Zubair Ali Zai: HasanSahih
What the hadith grades mean
- Sahih (authentic): an unbroken chain of trustworthy, precise narrators, free of hidden flaws or contradiction. It is acted upon.
- Hasan (good): like sahih, but a narrator's precision is slightly lighter. It is also accepted and acted upon. "Hasan sahih" means it reaches sahih by its routes.
- Da'if (weak): a break in the chain or a narrator who is not reliable enough. It is not used to establish beliefs or rulings.
- Very weak (munkar, matruk): a seriously flawed chain or a narrator accused of lying. It is not relied on at all.
- Mawdu' (fabricated): falsely attributed to the Prophet ﷺ. It may not be narrated as his words except to warn against it.
- The two Sahihs: every hadith with a full chain in Sahih al-Bukhari and Sahih Muslim is accepted as sahih by the scholars of hadith.
- Historical report: biographies and histories (Ibn Ishaq, Ibn Sa'd, al-Tabari) record events with chains that are often incomplete. They are used for the story, not for rulings.
- Hadith scholars grade a narration; the four madhhabs do not. Where a hadith carries a ruling, the page shows which schools act on it.
The positions of the four schools are summarised from their standard references and are pending review by a qualified scholar. Follow the school you were taught, and for your own situation, ask a scholar.
Create a free account to keep your place as you go. Create a free account · Sign in