Following a Madhab, Wiping Over Socks, and Tasbeeh After Prayer

Answered by Sidi Faraz A. Khan

Question: Alsalamu alaykum,

1. When one is looking for answers, do they have to be based according to a madhhab? Would simply seeking an answer that is based on the sunna suffice?

2. When one is wiping over socks do they have to be thick socks , ensuring that water does not seep through to the foot or would any foot covering suffice?

3.When one is doing tasbee7 after salat , can one pray “fard” as well as “nafl: then do the tasbee7 or must one do the tasbee7  after every prayer ?

Answer: I pray this finds you in the best of health and faith.

(1)  The madhhabs are not separate from the Sunna; rather, they are the codification of the Noble Sunna based on the ijtihad (independent legal deduction) of inheritors of the Beloved Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him).

So it is not a matter of seeking an answer from a madhhab versus an answer from the Sunna; rather, the answer based on one of the maddhabs is an answer based on the Sunna.

For more information on the madhhabs and how they represent the Sunna, please see the following articles:

What is a Madhhab? Why is it necessary to follow one?

Understanding the Four Madhhabs

(2) Yes, the socks that one can wipe over must be thick enough such that water does not seep through, and such that one could walk a distance of approximately 3.4 miles without significant tear. Most thick socks in the West fulfill these [and other] conditions.

(3) In the Hanafi school, one prays the sunna prayers first, and then sits to do the tasbeeh [33 SubhanAllah, 33 Alhamdulillah, and 34 Allahu akbar]. [Maraqi l-Falah; Hadiyya Ala’iyya]

See also:

A Reader on Following Schools of Thought (Madhabs) 

And Allah knows best.
wassalam
Faraz

Checked & Approved by Faraz Rabbani