would you feel embarrassed?

say for example you were at work/school, etc and for some odd reason the bathrooms/prayer room were locked or you couldn't access them so you had to take the next best thing which is making wudoo/praying in front of people (you live in a non-muslim country so these things seem extremely foreign to them)

Qn: would you be embarrassed to do wudoo/pray in front of them, or would you go ahead and do it anyway and not care about what they say and consider it as an act of dawah?

why/why not?

Definitely would be embarrassed. WEAK FAITH! Though, I think I overdo it though. People have better things to do. I remember I had to pray at LAX (busy airport) in the corner. Hardly anyone to nobody noticed. Last semester in college, my dhuhr Salaah was a conflict. So I contacted the MSA and they organized a room for me to pray in the middle of my classes lol.

Wudoo? Oh yes. That's most embarrassing. Alhamdulillah, Didn't have to go that far yet.... Except once at a gas station... (or was in McDonalds..?). It was the most embarrassing thing. This was 5-7 years ago. I washed one limb at a time, while nobody was looking. lol...

I would do wudhu and pray, Alhamdulillah.

it would be considered dawah but shirk must be avoided by focusing to perfect the salah to please allah and not to perfect it to grab the attention of bystanders

Abdullahii said:

it would be considered dawah but shirk must be avoided by focusing to perfect the salah to please allah and not to perfect it to grab the attention of bystanders

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exactly.

taking wudhu is not a problem though but for Salaah It would be better if you could find a room to pray where you can atleast concentrate.

not at all inshALLAH..its just the matter of fact!
the more the man is strong in faith the more of its acts will effect (Attract) the others towards the islam.
our non-verbals shows the faith of our heart purely.

ive had to do this quite a number of times and dont feel at all embarassed about either wudhu or praying, just a bit weird at washing feet in sinks since its considered rude. so i wait till its quiet or i fill a bottle and wash them somewhere else if possible

I've done it many times in my school, so many times that i do it spontaneously. Ive had people come in ''giving me the wth u doing look' lol. I remember my first few times this girl came in saw me ran out brought 4 of her friends to just stare at me. I felt like a celebrity..

I don't feel emberrassed at all, but I do like to pray with privacy.

i prefer privacy but i dont feel embarassed at all


its called cleaning myself (cleaning body = wudhu, cleaning soul =salaah) - its something to be proud of

Salaams i thought id join this discussion, luckily my uni has got a prayer room but at times when i cannot get to it, i tend to book a room, at first when my friend told me to book one of the uni rooms i was like noway there are windows in the doors people can see through them. Well now i dont care what people think.

:wa: Im not sure because i have not been in such situations and i dont have many non-Muslims around me, but if i will be in such situation, then i guess i will know then if i would be embarrassed or if i'd just go ahead and pray there in the open.

:wa:

hmm I don't know embarassed but maybe I would think I hope this isn't making them think Muslims are prayer crazy or attention seekers.

I have had 2 pray in public before and I think it's actually good it acts as dawah for non-muslims.

As for wudu if it's gotta be done it's gotta be done. Its better to purify yourself than to be seen leaving the toilets without washing your hands! ewww... now that would be embarassing!!

i done wudoo in my college toliets once but no one came in so it was kool, gd thread

nebula said:

i done wudoo in my college toliets once but no one came in so it was kool, gd thread

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I think knowing the fear of Allah in my heart, id have 2 pray. I am sure yous all would and not miss your prayers. I just would not be able 2go through the day stressing that i missed that pray for fear of being embarassed!

Lol this really wouldn't be a problem for me -I'd have no problem doing that or explaining it to anyone who may be puzzled. Your question actually reminds me of an incident in my college years, where we would use the lavatory sinks for wudhu purposes.

Anyway, a worker was on site that day and he saw me put my foot in the sink. His face was priceless. But alas, I couldn't think of something to say at the time - I had the chuckles after seeing the expression on his face, and just carried on about my business.

I should say our college teachers were very nice and accepting by allowing us a room to pray dhur in (it was during lunch hours anyway) - and we were always very grateful to whichever teacher let us use their room for the 10 minutes or so.

Once, I went to Eritrea, Africa for my summer break, my family and I went to festival (where holidaymakers learnt the culture include myself) I realise it was Muhrib prayer time but men were praying, I thought why can’t I prayer too to Allah has created me, so I prayer alone when dad, little bro and big bro done the prayer. Infont of everybody in restaurant, when I did, men were speechless and stare at me. Allah knows why! I didn’t feel embarrassed or anything! will you let ur sins of not prayer on time 2 get increased bec ur just embarrassed of strangers??

The foot in the sink is something accepted in my college now due to many people doing it

Maalik said:

The foot in the sink is something accepted in my college now due to many people doing it

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It's ok for a guy doing it, how is a girl menno do it, might rip your jilbab in the process, I find it really embarrassing, I try and avoid lessons during that time and come home and do it, but then I end up having a lot of late prayers,

I don't like praying or even doing wudu outside my house, it's uncomfortable, plus 'cause I'm weak sometimes I can't keep bending up and down, it will hurt me so I sit down and pray and if I do that in someone elses house, they will talk and it will bug me :hmm:

I guess it's easier to wipe over your socks or even take them off and wipe the water over your feet instead of lifting them up..

I know my friends pray in like public places, even in the middle of busy markets, I doubt I can ever do that, I end up watching their bags imsad

:wa:
Well, it was embarrassing for me to ask to go and pray but it wasn't to pray in public. It's funny how people react to it.
If you are, it doesn't necessarily mean that your faith is weak. I'd just say that you need to go through many of these experiences and not care anymore. I use to care what others thaught about Islam. I wouldn't even start threads because I felt as if they would look violent ,but kufis will always make fun of Islam and the Muslims, no matter what you do. People 1400 years ago would make the same mockeries people of today do.
You're an individual. Your soul is connected to Allah through salah and that's all it matters.

Read about ashaba,especially Umer Ibn Al Hattab. I find it very helpful to read the Qur'an in the night. It strenghtens me. Forget all the negative affects when it commes to ALLAH'S comends.When it comes to his commends you only need to figure out one way on how it will work out,forget all the reasons why it wont, that one way,stick to it. Try everything possible to obey him, that's jihad.
These ar eyour emosions. The shaytan tries his best to scare you.

Yeah, people run in the morning then slow down to look at me praying!!!. When making wudu they ask "are you okay" Do I look sick?!

well, I didnt know exactly how it feels to do that if you are in a place where there a lot of non-muslims around since I am in a muslim country. But if that happen, I don't think that I will feel embarrassed to pray or to make wudu. I remember I was in heathrow airport and I did wudu me and my mom without giving anyone around a second look!

Of course I will prefer a private quiet place to pray but if there is no place available, its totally okay for me to pray in the public, why I should care or think about what they think??

I think many will understand it as a kind of worshiping even if they have no idea about Islam.
Some of them even respect such act even if they are not muslim. My brother told me today that his "non-muslim" colleague in work entered his office while he was reading the quran sitting on the mat prayer, and he said that when he came to the office seeing him on that situation he said:"Oh! sorry" put a file on the desk and left the room.


Something I am wondering about when I read all replies here!!! :?
One question for all of those who was talking about putting their feet into the sink....cant u just make wudu before u go out and then wear your socks and when its time for prayer and you need to make wudu in work or Uni you can just "wipe" over your socks instead of putting your feet in the sink if that is hard for you....actually this is what I always do when I am in Uni

Scholars of Islam, As-Salamu `alaykum. What is the Fatwa regarding wiping over the socks in wudu’? Please, explain how to do it. Jazakum Allah khayran.




Wa `alaykum As-Salamu wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh.
In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful.

All praise and thanks are due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon His Messenger.

Dear brother in Islam, thanks a lot for your question which reflects your care to have a clear view of the teachings of Islam. Allah commands Muslims to refer to people of knowledge to get themselves well-acquainted with the teachings of Islam as well as all aspects of life.

First of all, it should be clear that the Shari`ah specifies that the top of the sock is to be wiped.

In his well-known book, Fiqh As-Sunnah, the late Sheikh Sayyed Sabiq states:

“The Shari`ah prescribes that the top of the sock is to be wiped. Al-Mughirah narrated: "I saw the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) wipe over the top of his socks." (Reported by Ahmad, Abu Dawud and At-Tirmidhi)

`Ali Ibn Abi Talib (may Allah be pleased with him) observed: If religion (Islam) was based on one's own reason, the bottom of socks would take precedence in being wiped over the top of socks. (Reported by Abu Dawud and Ad-Daraqutni)”

Focusing more on your question, Dr. Muzammil H. Siddiqi, former President of the Islamic Society of North America, states:

“It is permissible to wipe over the socks whether they are made of leather or some other material. So many Prophetic hadiths state that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) wiped over khuffayn or the leather socks and jawrabaiyn or light socks.

Al-Mughirah Ibn Shu`bah said: “I was in the company of Allah's Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) on one of the journeys and he went out to answer the call of nature (and after he finished) I poured water and he performed ablution; he washed his face, forearms and passed his wet hand over his head and over the khuffayn.”

The socks must cover the whole foot including the ankles. The rule is that one should make full ablution and then one should put on the socks. One can wipe over the socks if one has put them on first time after ablution.

After that the wiping over them can be done for five prayers for those who are not traveling. The traveler is allowed to wipe over the socks for three days and nights as long as he/she keeps them on.

Wiping can also be done over the shoes if they are full like socks and cover the ankles. Also one has to keep them on like socks if one wants to wipe over them.

It is not allowed to wipe over the shoes that we normally wear, because they do not cover the ankles and we take them off at the time of prayer."

May Allah guide you to the straight path, and guide you to that which pleases Him, Amen.

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How to wipe over socks in Wudu-IslamOnLine

I saw many people "prefer" to wash their feet but I think that its very okay for them to just wipe
“Allah loves people to make use of His allowances just as He loves them to comply with His commandments.”