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Fatwa CenterPraying behind someone who did not wash his feet during ablution
Question
Several years ago, I prayed Salaatul 'Asr with a stranger at an airport. He led the prayer. I had noticed that while making his wudoo', he had reomved his socks and wiped over only the top part of his feet. Questions: - Should I have let him lead me in salaah? - Should I repeat the salaah now? - What evidence exists for this way of making wudoo', even if weak? - What group/sect of muslims make wudoo' like this? Thank you.
Answer
All perfect praise be to Allaah, The Lord of the Worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allaah, and that Muhammad, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, is His slave and Messenger.
The Muslim scholars agreed that it is an obligation to wash the feet when performing ablution. Abu Layla 
said: “The companions of the Prophet 
agreed in a consensus that the feet must be washed in ablution.”
Many scholars 
like An-Nawawi and others reported that there is a consensus among the scholars that it is an obligation to wash the feet when performing ablution.
Therefore, whoever performs ablution and does not wash his feet, but just wipes over them, then his prayer is void and he is obliged to make it up. Similarly, the prayer of a person who is led by such a person who wiped over his feet is void as well, if he knew how he (the person leading him) performed ablution.
There is no evidence neither in the Book of Allaah nor in the Sunnah of the Prophet that it is sufficient to wipe over the feet when performing ablution. However, some Dha’eef [inauthentic] narrations were reported about the permissibility of wiping over the feet instead of washing them but this is not confirmed from the Prophet and contradicts the well-known authentic narrations about washing the feet when performing ablution.
Therefore, you are obliged to make up that prayer which you performed with that man.
Finally, it is the Shiites who perform ablution in this way.
For more benefit, please refer to Fatwa 84841.
Allaah Knows best.
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