The establishment of wiping over khuffs in the Sunnah

From al-Mughirah ibn Shu'bah, may Allah be pleased with him, who said:

"I was with the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, on a journey, and I reached to remove his khuffs. He said: Leave them, for I put them on while they were pure. Then he wiped over them."

Agreed upon.

Arabic wording of the key evidence:

دَعْهُمَا؛ فَإِنِّي أَدْخَلْتُهُمَا طَاهِرَتَيْنِ، فَمَسَحَ عَلَيْهِمَا.

From Hammam ibn al-Harith, may Allah have mercy on him:

"Jarir urinated, then performed wudu and wiped over his khuffs. It was said: Do you do this? He said: Yes. I saw the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, urinate, then perform wudu and wipe over his khuffs."

Agreed upon.

Al-A'mash, may Allah have mercy on him, said: Ibrahim al-Nakha'i, may Allah have mercy on him, said: "They used to like this hadith because Jarir accepted Islam after the revelation of al-Ma'idah." Narrated by Muslim. In another narration of Muslim, the companions of Abdullah ibn Mas'ud, may Allah be pleased with him, used to like this hadith. This refutes the claim that the ruling of wiping was abrogated by the verse of wudu.

Is wiping over regular socks permissible?

The khuff is usually made of leather, while the sock is what is worn over the foot from cotton, wool, or other materials. Wiping over socks is generally permissible according to a large group of scholars. It is established from a number of companions, may Allah be pleased with them, that they wiped over socks, including Ali, Ibn Mas'ud, al-Bara', Anas, Abu Umamah, Sahl ibn Sa'd, and Amr ibn Hurayth, may Allah be pleased with them.

It is narrated from al-Mughirah ibn Shu'bah, may Allah be pleased with him:

"The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, performed wudu and wiped over the socks and sandals."

Narrated by Abu Dawud, al-Tirmidhi, and al-Nasa'i. A group of hadith scholars graded it hasan or authentic, while others spoke about its chain. The practice of a group of companions, may Allah be pleased with them, strengthens the basis of wiping over socks.

Conditions for wiping over khuffs and socks

The first condition: Wearing them after complete purification

The Muslim performs a complete wudu with water and washes his feet up to the ankles, then wears the khuffs or socks while in a state of purification. Wearing them after tayammum is not sufficient, because the concession is established for the one who placed his feet into them after water-based purification. The evidence is the Prophet's statement to al-Mughirah, may Allah be pleased with him:

"Leave them, for I put them on while they were pure."

It is safer to complete the entire wudu before wearing either sock, to avoid disagreement. If he wore them without wudu, or wore them before washing the feet, it is not permissible for him to wipe over them after breaking wudu.

The second condition: They cover the feet along with the ankles

The khuff or sock should cover the area that is obligatory to wash, meaning the whole foot along with the ankles. The ankles are the two protruding bones at the joint of the leg; they are not the heels. Therefore, wiping over a short sock that falls below the ankles and exposes them is not valid.

The third condition: They are pure

One does not wipe over a khuff or sock that is impure and then pray with impurity. If impurity gets on it and the place of impurity can be purified while the khuff or sock remains on, then the impurity must be removed before prayer.

The fourth condition: Wiping is for minor impurity

Wiping over khuffs and socks is done in wudu from minor impurity, such as urine, stool, passing wind, or deep sleep. As for janabah and anything that requires ghusl, wiping is not sufficient. Rather, the khuffs or socks must be removed and the feet washed with the rest of the body.

From Safwan ibn Assal, may Allah be pleased with him:

"The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, used to command us, when we were traveling, not to remove our khuffs for three days and their nights, except from janabah, but from stool, urine, and sleep."

Narrated by al-Tirmidhi, al-Nasa'i, and Ibn Majah, and authenticated by a group of scholars.

The fifth condition: Observing the legal duration

The resident wipes for one day and night, meaning twenty-four hours, and the traveler wipes for three days and their nights, meaning seventy-two hours.

From Shurayh ibn Hani', may Allah have mercy on him:

"I came to Aishah to ask her about wiping over the khuffs. She said: Go to Ibn Abi Talib and ask him, for he used to travel with the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him. So we asked him, and he said: The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, appointed three days and their nights for the traveler, and one day and night for the resident."

Narrated by Muslim.

The ruling on thin or transparent socks

The scholars differed regarding wiping over thin socks. The majority of those who allowed wiping over socks stipulated that the sock be thick and covering, and that one can normally continue walking in it. They did not allow wiping over transparent socks through which the skin is visible. Some scholars allowed wiping over anything that is called a sock, is normally worn, and covers the obligatory area, even if it is thin, as long as it remains on the foot.

The safer and furthest from disagreement is that the sock be covering, not transparent, stable on the foot, and covering the foot and ankles. As for a short sock that exposes the ankles, it does not cover the obligatory area.

The ruling on socks with holes

The jurists differed regarding a khuff or sock that has holes. Some stipulated that no part of the obligatory area should be visible, while a group of scholars allowed small customary holes as long as the name of khuff or sock remains and it can still be used and walked in.

Therefore, a sock with a small hole is a matter of disagreement, and the safer option is to use an intact covering sock. If the hole is large so that an obvious part of the foot is exposed, or the item is no longer considered a covering sock by custom, then wiping over it is not valid.

When does the wiping period begin?

The stronger view is that the wiping period begins from the first wipe after breaking wudu, not from the time the socks are worn, and not merely from the time wudu is broken.

For example: a person performs wudu for Fajr at five o'clock and wears his socks, then his wudu breaks at ten in the morning, then he performs wudu and wipes over his socks for Zuhr at twelve. The wiping period begins at twelve, so the resident may wipe until twelve the next day, unless something occurs that ends the permissibility of wiping.

The phrase "a day and a night" does not mean that he only has five prayers. What matters is time, not the number of prayers.

The correct method of wiping step by step

1. The Muslim performs wudu as usual until he reaches the feet.
2. He wets his hands with water without needing to soak the socks.
3. He passes his hands once over the top of the khuffs or socks. It is enough that the wiping reaches the upper part of each of them. Among the forms mentioned by jurists is that he passes his hand from the direction of the toes toward the leg, but this direction is not a condition for the validity of wiping.
4. He wipes the top of the feet. It is not prescribed to wipe the bottom of the khuff or sock, nor the heel.
5. It is permissible to wipe both feet together, and it is permissible to begin with the right then the left. The matter is broad.

Ali ibn Abi Talib, may Allah be pleased with him, said:

"If the religion were based on opinion, the bottom of the khuff would be more deserving of wiping than its top. But I saw the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, wiping over the top of his khuffs."

Narrated by Abu Dawud, and authenticated by a group of hadith scholars.

The wiping is not repeated three times. The Sunnah is one wipe over the top.

What ends the permissibility of wiping?

The permissibility of wiping ends in the following cases:

1. The wiping period ends: twenty-four hours for the resident and seventy-two hours for the traveler.
2. Removing the khuffs or socks, or removing one of them, after wiping over them has begun.
3. Janabah or anything else that requires ghusl occurs.
4. A condition allowing wiping disappears, such as a large amount of the obligatory area becoming exposed because the sock tears.

As for urine, stool, passing wind, sleep, and the like, they invalidate wudu, but they do not end the concession of wiping as long as the period remains. Rather, the Muslim performs wudu and wipes over his khuffs or socks again.

Does removing the sock or the end of the period invalidate wudu?

One should distinguish between the end of the permissibility of wiping and the invalidation of wudu itself. The scholars differed regarding someone who removes his khuffs after wiping, or whose wiping period ends while he is still in a state of wudu.

The majority of jurists held that removing what was wiped over affects his purification, though they differed over whether he only washes his feet or repeats wudu. A group of scholars, including Ibn al-Mundhir, Ibn Hazm, and Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah, held that his wudu is not invalidated merely by removing them, because purification was established by evidence and does not disappear except by an established invalidator. A number of verifying scholars chose this view.

Likewise, the ending of the wiping period does not invalidate wudu according to this stronger view. If the period ends while he is in wudu, he remains in wudu and may pray with it. But if his wudu breaks after that, he may not wipe again; rather, he removes the socks, performs wudu, washes his feet, and then wears them upon a new purification.

Whoever wants to be cautious and avoid disagreement after removing them or after the period ends may renew his wudu and wash his feet.

If the state of residence and travel changes

Whoever begins wiping as a resident and then travels before completing the resident's period may, according to the stronger view, complete the period of a traveler, because his ruling has become the ruling of a traveler. Whoever begins wiping while traveling and then returns to his town or intends residence completes the period of a resident. If a day and night have already passed, the wiping period has ended.

Wiping over more than one sock

If the Muslim performs wudu and wears two socks over one another before his wudu breaks, he may wipe over the upper sock. If he removes the upper sock after wiping, and the lower sock had been worn upon the same water-based purification, then according to a recognized view he may wipe over the lower sock after that, while the period remains counted from the first wipe and does not begin anew. But if he wore the upper sock after his wudu had broken and before performing wudu, he may not wipe over it, because he did not wear it while purified. Since this issue has many forms, when unsure, it is safer to wipe over the layer that he wore after a complete wudu, or to wash his feet in the next wudu and then wear what he wants upon a new purification.

The difference between wiping over socks and wiping over a splint

Splints and medical bandages have a different ruling. Wiping over them is according to need, is not restricted to one day and night or three days, is permissible in minor and major purification when needed, and the entire visible covered area is wiped as much as possible. As for the khuff and sock, they have the conditions and duration mentioned, and they are not wiped over in ghusl from janabah.

Common mistakes in wiping over khuffs and socks

• Wearing socks without complete wudu and then wiping over them.
• Wiping over a short sock that does not cover the ankles.
• Counting the period from the time of wearing, while the stronger view is that it begins from the first wipe after breaking wudu.
• Wiping the bottom of the sock or washing it with water instead of wiping its top.
• Repeating the wiping three times, while the Sunnah is one wipe.
• Believing that wiping is only permissible in winter or travel.
• Wiping after janabah without removing the socks and performing ghusl.
• Continuing to wipe after the period has ended.
• Believing that every invalidator of wudu cancels the right to wipe; the correct ruling is that he performs wudu and wipes as long as the period remains.
• Confusing the rulings of socks with the rulings of medical splints.