Discussion Regarding Wiping the Feet

Question

In your earlier response, you mentioned the following:

It is against the rules of the Arabic language to include feet under the commandment of Masah because of the sentence construction.

Can you please explain this point bit more.

Response

To understand this better, please look at the Arabic text of the verse. Pay specific attention to the words 'رُؤُوسِكُمْ', 'أَيْدِيَكُمْ', and 'أَرْجُلَكُمْ':

يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُواْ إِذَا قُمْتُمْ إِلَى الصَّلاةِ فاغْسِلُواْ وُجُوهَكُمْ وَأَيْدِيَكُمْ إِلَى الْمَرَافِقِ وَامْسَحُواْ بِرُؤُوسِكُمْ وَأَرْجُلَكُمْ إِلَى الْكَعْبَينِ وَإِن كُنتُمْ جُنُبًا فَاطَّهَّرُواْ وَإِن كُنتُم مَّرْضَى أَوْ عَلَى سَفَرٍ أَوْ جَاء أَحَدٌ مَّنكُم مِّنَ الْغَائِطِ أَوْ لاَمَسْتُمُ النِّسَاء فَلَمْ تَجِدُواْ مَاء فَتَيَمَّمُواْ صَعِيدًا طَيِّبًا فَامْسَحُواْ بِوُجُوهِكُمْ وَأَيْدِيكُم مِّنْهُ مَا يُرِيدُ اللّهُ لِيَجْعَلَ عَلَيْكُم مِّنْ حَرَجٍ وَلَـكِن يُرِيدُ لِيُطَهَّرَكُمْ وَلِيُتِمَّ نِعْمَتَهُ عَلَيْكُمْ لَعَلَّكُمْ تَشْكُرُونَ

O Believers, when you stand up for the Prayer, wash your faces and your hands up to the elbows, and wipe your heads, and (wash) your feet up to the ankles. And if you are polluted, cleanse yourselves; but if you are sick or on a journey, or if any of you comes from the privy, or you have touched women, and you find no water, then have recourse to clean dust, and wipe your faces and your hands with it; God does not desire to put you to any hardship, but He desires to cleanse you and to complete His blessing upon you, that you may be thankful. (Quran 5:6)

In simple terms, the words 'أَرْجُلَكُمْ' and 'أَيْدِيَكُمْ' have a fatah before last parts 'كُم' whereas the word 'رُؤُوسِكُمْ' has a kasarah (that is, it is 'أَرْجُلَكُمْ' and 'أَيْدِيَكُمْ' as opposed to 'أَرْجُلِكُمْ' and 'أَيْدِيكُمْ'). If feet were to be under the commandment of wiping (امْسَحُواْ), then the actual word used for feet should have been 'أَرْجُلِكُمْ' (with a kasrah on ل) and not 'أَرْجُلَكُمْ' (with a fatah on ل). This can be appreciated further if the second commandment of wiping is carefully looked at where 'وُجُوهِكُمْ' and 'أَيْدِيكُمْ' are used (as opposed to 'وُجُوهَكُمْ' and 'أَيْدِيَكُمْ'). If feet were supposed to be an object of 'امْسَحُواْ', it should have had kasrah and should have been 'أَرْجُلِكُمْ'.

In grammatical terms, this is because the objects of 'امْسَحُواْ' are preceded by the preposition 'ب' and consequently must be in genitive case. On the other hand, the objects of 'اغْسِلُواْ' are in accusative. Since the word 'أَرْجُلَكُمْ' is also in accusative, it can only be an object of 'اغْسِلُواْ' and not an object of 'امْسَحُواْ' according to the grammar.

I have tried to explain simply as well as in grammatical terms. It is rather difficult to explain the grammar of a foreign language. If you have more questions, please do let me know.