❖ Source: Fatawa Ameenpuri by Shaykh Ghulam Mustafa Zaheer Ameenpuri
❖ Question:
What is the ruling on wiping over the leather socks (mūzay/khuffayn) during ablution?
Wiping over the leather socks (khuffayn) is permissible, provided they were worn while in a state of wudu. This practice is supported by mutawātir (mass-transmitted) hadiths and the consensus (ijmā‘) of the Ummah.
❀ Hāfiz Ibn ‘Abd al-Barr رحمه الله (d. 463 AH) said:
روى عن النبى صلى الله عليه وسلم المسح على الخفين نحو أربعين من الصحابة واستفاض وتواتر
"Nearly forty Companions narrated from the Prophet ﷺ the act of wiping over the khuffayn, and this practice became well-known and mutawātir."
(Al-Tamhīd: 11/137)
❀ ‘Allāmah Ibn Māzah al-Hanafī رحمه الله (d. 616 AH) stated:
يجب أن يعلم بأن المسح على الخفين جائز عند عامة العلماء بآثار مشهورة قريبة من التواتر
"It must be known that wiping over the khuffayn is permissible according to the majority of scholars, based on reports that are nearly mutawātir."
(Al-Muḥīṭ al-Burhānī: 1/166)
❀ Hāfiz Ibn Daqīq al-‘Īd رحمه الله (d. 702 AH) stated:
قد اشتهر جواز المسح على الخفين عند علماء الشريعة، حتى عد شعارا لأهل السنة، وعد إنكاره شعارا لأهل البدع
"The permissibility of wiping over the khuffayn is so widely accepted among the scholars of Sharī‘ah that it has become a distinguishing mark of Ahl al-Sunnah, and denying it is considered a sign of the people of innovation."
(Iḥkām al-Aḥkām Sharḥ ‘Umdat al-Aḥkām: 1/113)
❀ ‘Allāmah ‘Abd al-Qādir al-Hanafī رحمه الله (d. 775 AH) said:
جاءتني مثل ضوء النهار...
"Clear proofs, like the light of day, have come to me from the Qur’an. The verse regarding wudu is general and summarized due to the different qirā’āt. The Prophet ﷺ clarified it: when the feet were bare, he washed them; when wearing khuffayn, he wiped over them. The reports on wiping are near mutawātir — even mutawātir in meaning — due to their numerous chains and narrators."
(Al-Jawāhir al-Muḍī’ah: 1/470)
❀ ‘Allāmah Ibn Ḥajar al-Haythamī رحمه الله (d. 974 AH) said:
جواز مسح الخفين وهو إجماع من يعتد به...
"The permissibility of wiping over the khuffayn is the consensus of all reliable scholars. Any opposing view from some imams is interpreted. Nearly eighty Companions narrated this practice, which is why some scholars declared the hadiths as mutawātir. I fear that denying this could lead to disbelief."
(Ashraf al-Wasā’il: p. 136)
❀ ‘Allāmah Mullā ‘Alī al-Qārī al-Hanafī رحمه الله (d. 1014 AH) said:
قد تواتر عند أهل السنة حديث المسح على الخفين فى الحضر والسفر
"Among Ahl al-Sunnah, the hadith of wiping over the khuffayn — whether during residence or travel — is established as mutawātir."
(Jam‘ al-Wasā’il: 1/128)
➤ Wiping over leather socks (khuffayn) is a firmly established and widely accepted Sunnah practice.
➤ It is permissible when the socks were worn in a state of wudu.
➤ Mutawātir narrations and consensus of the Ummah affirm this.
➤ Denying this established Sunnah is a sign of innovation, and in some cases, could be deemed disbelief.
❖ Question:
What is the ruling on wiping over the leather socks (mūzay/khuffayn) during ablution?
✔ Answer:
Wiping over the leather socks (khuffayn) is permissible, provided they were worn while in a state of wudu. This practice is supported by mutawātir (mass-transmitted) hadiths and the consensus (ijmā‘) of the Ummah.
✿ Statements of the Scholars:
❀ Hāfiz Ibn ‘Abd al-Barr رحمه الله (d. 463 AH) said:
روى عن النبى صلى الله عليه وسلم المسح على الخفين نحو أربعين من الصحابة واستفاض وتواتر
"Nearly forty Companions narrated from the Prophet ﷺ the act of wiping over the khuffayn, and this practice became well-known and mutawātir."
(Al-Tamhīd: 11/137)
❀ ‘Allāmah Ibn Māzah al-Hanafī رحمه الله (d. 616 AH) stated:
يجب أن يعلم بأن المسح على الخفين جائز عند عامة العلماء بآثار مشهورة قريبة من التواتر
"It must be known that wiping over the khuffayn is permissible according to the majority of scholars, based on reports that are nearly mutawātir."
(Al-Muḥīṭ al-Burhānī: 1/166)
❀ Hāfiz Ibn Daqīq al-‘Īd رحمه الله (d. 702 AH) stated:
قد اشتهر جواز المسح على الخفين عند علماء الشريعة، حتى عد شعارا لأهل السنة، وعد إنكاره شعارا لأهل البدع
"The permissibility of wiping over the khuffayn is so widely accepted among the scholars of Sharī‘ah that it has become a distinguishing mark of Ahl al-Sunnah, and denying it is considered a sign of the people of innovation."
(Iḥkām al-Aḥkām Sharḥ ‘Umdat al-Aḥkām: 1/113)
❀ ‘Allāmah ‘Abd al-Qādir al-Hanafī رحمه الله (d. 775 AH) said:
جاءتني مثل ضوء النهار...
"Clear proofs, like the light of day, have come to me from the Qur’an. The verse regarding wudu is general and summarized due to the different qirā’āt. The Prophet ﷺ clarified it: when the feet were bare, he washed them; when wearing khuffayn, he wiped over them. The reports on wiping are near mutawātir — even mutawātir in meaning — due to their numerous chains and narrators."
(Al-Jawāhir al-Muḍī’ah: 1/470)
❀ ‘Allāmah Ibn Ḥajar al-Haythamī رحمه الله (d. 974 AH) said:
جواز مسح الخفين وهو إجماع من يعتد به...
"The permissibility of wiping over the khuffayn is the consensus of all reliable scholars. Any opposing view from some imams is interpreted. Nearly eighty Companions narrated this practice, which is why some scholars declared the hadiths as mutawātir. I fear that denying this could lead to disbelief."
(Ashraf al-Wasā’il: p. 136)
❀ ‘Allāmah Mullā ‘Alī al-Qārī al-Hanafī رحمه الله (d. 1014 AH) said:
قد تواتر عند أهل السنة حديث المسح على الخفين فى الحضر والسفر
"Among Ahl al-Sunnah, the hadith of wiping over the khuffayn — whether during residence or travel — is established as mutawātir."
(Jam‘ al-Wasā’il: 1/128)
Summary:
➤ Wiping over leather socks (khuffayn) is a firmly established and widely accepted Sunnah practice.
➤ It is permissible when the socks were worn in a state of wudu.
➤ Mutawātir narrations and consensus of the Ummah affirm this.
➤ Denying this established Sunnah is a sign of innovation, and in some cases, could be deemed disbelief.
