Is it permissible to perform wudu’ (ritual ablution) while wearing shoes and wipe over the shoes or over the socks, particularly when I am in a remote area away from home and mosques?
It is permissible to wipe over socks according to the Hanbilite scholars contrary to the position of the Malikites who do not permit wiping except over socks made of leather. Anyway this is permissible and there in no sin insha’Allah.
NOUACKCHOTT, 2 Safar/28 Dec (IINA)-Mauritanian scholar Sheikh Abdullah Bin Bayyah recently received international recognition as one of the most influential Muslims of 2011.
Sheikh Bin Bayyah was named the 31st most influential Muslim in the 3rd annual “Muslim 500? survey conducted by the Royal Islamic Strategic Studies Centre in Amman, Jordan, in co-operation with the Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding at Georgetown University.
The 76-year-old Mauritanian scholar was noted for addressing the role moderate religious leaders can play in enlightening Muslim public opinion about contemporary issues in line with a temperate attitude that calls for establishing a culture of peace, love and respect of the other.
The study, released last month, said Sheikh Bin Bayyah was unique for being respected by all sects and schools of thought, adding that his influence has grown in the wake of the “Arab Spring”. The Mauritanian scholar has condemned Syrian government attacks on mosques and innocent civilians, according to the report.
The same survey named Moroccan King Mohammed VI as the world’s second most influential Muslim leader, behind Saudi King Abdullah bin Abdul-Aziz. King Mohammed VI was cited for his “domestic reform policies and pioneering efforts in modernising Morocco and countering terrorism”.
Libyan Dr Aref Ali Nayed was the only other Maghreb leader to make the top 50.
Commenting on his selection, Sheikh Bin Bayyah told islamstory.com that it “reflects a new type of interest on the part of some Westerners in what’s going on in the Muslim world and in focusing on some positive points that take place in this world through surveys on the influence of religious scholars”.
“We would like to congratulate them on this and pray to God to grant them success,” Ould Bayyah added. “We hope that centres around the Muslim world will provide services in this field by shedding light on some authoritative figures in the Muslim world, as this would help consolidate fatwas and authoritative figures.”
Mauritanian professor Khalid Ould Ibrahim said the study was positive because it shed light on Sheikh Bin Bayyah’s moderating work regarding fiqh al aqaliyaat (Muslims living as minorities in foreign lands).
“Ould Bayyah has also been known for his attitudes that denounce violence, extremism and terrorism in the name of Islam, which prompted him to say more than once that Islam has nothing to do with bombings and the use of violence against human beings,” Ould Ibrahim said. “In addition, he blends his knowledge of religion with his knowledge of contemporary sciences; something that made him an innovating scholar.”
Researcher and activist Moussa Ould Ahmed also had praise for the sheikh, saying that he was a moderate scholar “known for his call for denouncing violence practiced by some extremists as a means for change”.
“He’s also known for his calls that seek to bring religions closer, and for his call for democracy,” Ould Ahmed added. “He also has reconciliatory attitudes towards the West and rulers in his speeches, especially in the Gulf, and particularly in Saudi Arabia.”
“Ould Bayyah has spearheaded several initiatives for establishing an Islamic thought that seeks to promulgate a type of co-existence with the other,” Ould Ahmed said. “Such initiatives include his establishment of the Global Centre for Renewal and Guidance in London, through which he seeks to unify religions and support the will of peoples away from discourse adopted by the jihadist Salafist currents.”
AH/IINA
