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Islamic Rulings -
Living Shariah Verdicts
What are the conditions for wiping over the socks?
Please give the daleel (evidence) for that.
Praise be to Allah.
Four conditions apply to wiping over the socks.
The first condition:
That they should have been put on when one was in a
state of tahaarah (purity, i.e., when one has wudoo').
The evidence for that is what the Prophet (peace and
blessings of Allah be upon him) said to al-Mugheerah
ibn Shu'bah:
"Don't worry, because I put them one when I was
clean."
The second condition:
That the khufoof (leather slippers which cover the
ankle) or socks should be taahir (pure). If they are
naajis (impure) then it is not permissible to wipe
over them. The daleel for that is that the Messenger
of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him)
led his companions in prayer one day wearing shoes,
which he took off whilst he was praying. He said that
Jibreel had told him that there was something dirty on
them. This was narrated by Ahmad from the hadith of
Abu Sa'eed al-Khudri (may Allah be pleased with him)
in his Musnad. This indicates that it is not
permissible to pray wearing anything that is naajis,
because if the naajis thing is wiped over, the person
will be contaminated by that najaasah (impurity), so
he cannot be considered to be taahir (pure).
The third condition:
They may be wiped over when one is purifying oneself
from minor impurity (i.e., doing wudoo' after passing
wind, urine or stools), not when one is in a state of
janaabah (major impurity following sexual activity) or
when ghusl is required. The evidence for that is the
hadith of Safwaan ibn ‘Assaal (may Allah be pleased
with him) who said:
"The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah
be upon him) commanded us, when we were travelling,
not to remove our khufoof for three days and three
nights, except in the case of janaabah. But we could
keep them on and wipe over them in the case of stools,
urine and sleeping."
This was narrated by Ahmad from the hadith of Safwaan
ibn ‘Assaal (may Allah be pleased with him) in his
Musnad. So the condition is that wiping the socks may
be done when purifying oneself (doing wudoo') from
minor impurity, and it is not permissible in the case
of major impurity, because of the hadith which we have
mentioned here.
The fourth condition:
That the wiping may be done within the time specified
by sharee'ah, which is one day and one night in the
case of one who is not travelling, and three days and
three nights in the case of one who is travelling.
This is because of the hadith of ‘Ali ibn Abi Taalib
(may Allah be pleased with him) who said:
"The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon
him) stated one day and one night for the one who is
not travelling, and three days and three nights for
the one who is travelling, i.e., for wiping over the
khufoof."
This was narrated by Muslim. This period starts from
the first time one wipes over the socks when doing
wudoo' after some minor impurity, and it ends
twenty-four later for the one who is not travelling,
and seventy-two hours later for the one who is
travelling. So if we assume that a person purifies
himself for Fajr prayer on Tuesday and remains taahir
(pure, i.e., keeps his wudoo') until ‘Isha prayer on
Tuesday evening, then he sleeps and wakes up to pray
Fajr on Wednesday, and he wipes his socks at five
o'clock zawaali time, then the period begins from 5
a.m. on Wednesday and lasts until 5 a.m. on Thursday.
If we assume that he wiped his socks before 5 a.m then
he can pray Fajr on Thursday with this wiping and pray
as much as he wants as long as he remains taahir,
because according to the most correct scholarly
opinion, wudoo' is not broken when the time period for
wiping over the socks expires. That is because the
Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be
upon him) did not set a time limit for tahaarah,
rather he set a time limit for wiping over the socks.
Once that time limit expires, one cannot wipe over the
socks again, but if a person remains in a state of
tahaarah then his tahaarah is still valid, because
this is what is implied by the shar'i evidence, and
whatever is proven by shar'i evidence cannot be
invalidated unless there is further shar'i evidence to
that effect. There is no evidence to suggest that
wudoo' is broken when the time limit for wiping over
the socks expires, because what the basic principle is
that he remains as he is (i.e., taahir) until it
becomes apparent that this is no longer the case.
These are the conditions which apply to wiping over
the khufoof. There are other conditions which were
mentioned by some of the scholars, but some of these
are subject to further debate.
How to wipe
over the slippers or socks?
Praise be to Allaah.
With regard to the
beginning of the period when one may wipe over the
slippers or socks, it begins from the first time one
wipes over them after breaking one's wudu', not from
the moment one puts them on. See the answer to
question no.
9640.
The way in which one
wipes over them is to put one's wet fingers on the
toes then pass them over the feet to the shin; the
right foot should be wiped with the right hand and the
left foot with the left hand. The fingers should be
spread when wiping and it should not be repeated.
(See al-Mulakhkhas al-Fiqhi
by al-Fawzaan, 1/43).
Sheikh Ibn ‘Uthaymeen
(may Allaah have mercy on him) said: "This means that
what should be wiped is the top of the sock, passing
one's fingers from the toes to the shin only, and one
should wipe with both hands over both feet together,
i.e., the right hand should wipe the right foot and
the left hand should wipe the left foot at the same
time, just as one wipes the ears, because this is the
apparent meaning of the Sunnah, as al-Mugheerah ibn
Shu'bah said, ‘Then he wiped them both.' He did
not say that he started with the right, rather that he
‘wiped them both'. So this is the apparent meaning of
the Sunnah. If we assume that he cannot use one of his
hands then he should start with the right before the
left. Many people wipe the right foot with both hands
then the left foot with both hands, but there is no
basis for this as far as I know. No matter how it is
done, wiping the top of the slipper (or sock) is
sufficient but what we have said here is best."
(See Fataawa al-Mar'ah
al-Muslimah, vol. 1, p. 250)
You should not wipe the
sides or back of the sock because there is no report
concerning that.
Sheikh Ibn ‘Uthaymeen
said: "Someone may say that it is the bottom of the
slipper or sock that should be wiped, because this is
what is in contact with dust and dirt. But if we think
about it we will see that wiping the top of the sock
is what makes sense, because this wiping is not for
the purpose of cleaning, rather it is an act of
worship; if we were to wipe the bottom of the sock
that would make it more dirty." And Allaah knows
best.
See al-Sharh al-Mumti' by
Ibn ‘Uthaymeen, vol. 1, p. 213. |
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