Ruling on Wiping Over Socks (Al-Jawrabayn)
✍ Compiled by: Abu Hamzah SalafiDefinition of Al-Jawrabayn and Al-Khuffayn
Al-Jawrabayn (الْجَوْرَبَيْنِ) refers to socks made of wool or cotton fabric, known in Urdu as jurāb (socks).Al-Khuffayn (الخُفَّيْن) refers to footwear made of leather.
The difference between them is only in the material; otherwise, there is no fundamental difference in ruling.
Wiping over the khuffayn is established with authentic chains in Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī. As for wiping over jawrabayn (fabric socks), the evidences will be presented in detail in this article:
① Marfūʿ aḥādīth
② Practice and consensus of the Companions
③ Narrations of the Tābiʿīn
④ Verdicts of Ahl al-Ḥadīth and the Ḥanafī jurists, especially the retraction of Imām Abū Ḥanīfah رحمه الله
⑤ A reasoned response to the anomalous attribution to Sayyid Naẓīr Ḥusayn رحمه الله
Evidences from Marfūʿ Aḥādīth
➊ Ḥadīth of Thawbān رضي الله عنه — “Al-ʿAṣāʾib wa al-Tasākhīn”
Arabic Text
بَابُ الْمَسْحِ عَلَى الْجَوْرَبَيْنِ146 – حَدَّثَنَا أَحْمَدُ بْنُ مُحَمَّدِ بْنِ حَنْبَلٍ، حَدَّثَنَا يَحْيَى بْنُ سَعِيدٍ، عَنْ ثَوْرٍ، عَنْ رَاشِدِ بْنِ سَعْدٍ، عَنْ ثَوْبَانَ، قَالَ:
«بَعَثَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ ﷺ سَرِيَّةً، فَأَصَابَهُمُ الْبَرْدُ، فَلَمَّا قَدِمُوا عَلَى رَسُولِ اللَّهِ ﷺ أَمَرَهُمْ أَنْ يَمْسَحُوا عَلَى الْعَصَائِبِ وَالتَّسَاخِينِ»
Reference: Sunan Abī Dāwūd, Kitāb al-Ṭahārah, Bāb al-Masḥ ʿalā al-Jawrabayn
Translation
Thawbān رضي الله عنه reported that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ dispatched a military expedition. They were afflicted by severe cold. When they returned to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, he instructed them to wipe over their turbans (al-ʿaṣāʾib) and over the coverings that keep the feet warm (al-tasākhīn).Grading of the Ḥadīth
✔ Al-ʿAllāmah al-Albānī: Ṣaḥīḥ✔ Shuʿayb al-Arnaʾūṭ: Isnād Ṣaḥīḥ
✔ Imām al-Ḥākim: “Ṣaḥīḥ according to the conditions of Muslim”
Reference: al-Mustadrak: 602
✔ Ḥāfiẓ al-Dhahabī: Authenticated it in al-Talkhīṣ and Siyar Aʿlām al-Nubalāʾ
Explanation of “Al-Tasākhīn”
◈ Al-ʿAllāmah al-ʿAynī (Ḥanafī):"التساخين: الخفاف، ويقال: أصل ذلك كل ما تسخن به القدم من خف وجورب ونحوهما"
“Al-Tasākhīn refers to khuffs, and originally it means everything by which the feet are kept warm, whether khuff, sock, or similar.”
◈ Imām al-Baghawī:
"أصل التساخين كل ما يسخن القدم من خف وجورب ونحوه."
“It refers to everything that warms the feet, such as khuff or socks.”
◈ Ibn al-Jawzī:
"قال أبو عبيد: هي الجوارب."
“Abū ʿUbayd said: It refers to socks.”
Conclusion
This ḥadīth establishes that the Prophet ﷺ commanded wiping over tasākhīn, which includes socks. Thus, it is a clear foundational proof for wiping over socks.➋ Ḥadīth of al-Mughīrah ibn Shuʿbah رضي الله عنه
Arabic Text
159 – حَدَّثَنَا عُثْمَانُ بْنُ أَبِي شَيْبَةَ، عَنْ وَكِيعٍ، عَنْ سُفْيَانَ الثَّوْرِيِّ، عَنْ أَبِي قَيْسٍ، عَنْ هُزَيْلِ بْنِ شُرَحْبِيلَ، عَنِ الْمُغِيرَةِ بْنِ شُعْبَةَ،«أَنَّ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ ﷺ تَوَضَّأَ وَمَسَحَ عَلَى الْجَوْرَبَيْنِ وَالنَّعْلَيْنِ»
Reference: Sunan Abī Dāwūd, Kitāb al-Ṭahārah
Translation
Al-Mughīrah ibn Shuʿbah رضي الله عنه reported that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ performed ablution and wiped over his socks (jawrabayn) and sandals (naʿlayn).Grading
✔ Al-Albānī: Ṣaḥīḥ✔ Imām al-Tirmidhī: "Ḥasan Ṣaḥīḥ"
Reference: Sunan al-Tirmidhī: 99
A supporting narration states:
«رَأَيْتُ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ ﷺ يَمْسَحُ عَلَى الْعِمَامَةِ، وَالْجَوْرَبَيْنِ، وَالْخُفَّيْنِ»
Reference: Ṭabaqāt al-Muḥaddithīn bi-Aṣbahān 1/214
This strengthens the previous narration and removes the concern of tadlīs.
Conclusion
The narration explicitly states that the Prophet ﷺ wiped over socks. It is established through multiple chains and graded authentic by the scholars of ḥadīth.Practice of the Companions رضي الله عنهم
Wiping over socks is not only established through marfūʿ aḥādīth but also through numerous reports from the Companions:① ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib رضي الله عنه wiped over socks.
Reference: al-Awsaṭ li-Ibn al-Mundhir 1/479
② Anas ibn Mālik رضي الله عنه wiped over socks.
Reference: al-ʿIlal wa Maʿrifat al-Rijāl 2/5644
③ ʿAbdullāh ibn Masʿūd رضي الله عنه wiped over socks and sandals.
Reference: Majmaʿ al-Zawāʾid 1/1381
④ Al-Barāʾ ibn ʿĀzib رضي الله عنه considered wiping over socks permissible.
Reference: Muṣannaf Ibn Abī Shaybah 1/1983
⑤ Abū Umāmah رضي الله عنه wiped over socks, khuffs, and turban.
Reference: al-Awsaṭ 1/485
Conclusion
Numerous Companions practiced wiping over socks, and no opposing statement is authentically reported from them. This indicates a practical consensus (ijmāʿ ʿamalī).Statements of the Tābiʿīn
Among those who permitted wiping over socks:✔ Nāfiʿ (student of Ibn ʿUmar)
✔ Saʿīd ibn Jubayr
✔ Saʿīd ibn al-Musayyib
✔ Ḥasan al-Baṣrī
✔ Ibrāhīm al-Nakhaʿī
✔ ʿAṭāʾ ibn Abī Rabāḥ
✔ Sufyān al-Thawrī
All of them regarded socks as equivalent to khuffs.
Position of the Scholars
✔ Imām Aḥmad رحمه الله
Permitted wiping over socks.✔ Imām Isḥāq ibn Rāhawayh رحمه الله
“Sunnah has continued from the Companions and Tābiʿīn regarding wiping over socks, and there is no disagreement among them.”
Reference: al-Awsaṭ 1/302
✔ Shaykh al-Islām Ibn Taymiyyah رحمه الله
"It is permissible to wipe over socks if one can walk in them, whether leather-covered or not."
Reference: Majmūʿ al-Fatāwā 21/174
✔ Ibn Qudāmah رحمه الله
“The Companions wiped over socks, and no opposition appeared among them, so it was consensus.”
Reference: al-Mughnī 1/215
Ḥanafī Position and Retraction of Abū Ḥanīfah
✔ Abū Yūsuf and Muḥammad permitted wiping over thick socks.
Reference: al-Mabsūṭ 1/104
✔ Al-Zaylaʿī reported that Abū Ḥanīfah retracted his earlier view shortly before his death, and the fatwā is upon this retraction.
Reference: Tabyīn al-Ḥaqāʾiq 1/217
✔ Al-Kāsānī reported that Abū Ḥanīfah himself wiped over socks during his final illness and stated:
“I have done what I used to prevent people from doing.”
Reference: Badāʾiʿ al-Ṣanāʾiʿ 1/10
Verdicts of Ahl al-Ḥadīth Scholars
✔ Shaykh Zubayr ʿAlī Zaʾī رحمه الله: “Yes, wiping over socks is permissible.”✔ ʿAllāmah ʿAbdullāh Roparī رحمه الله: Same time limit as khuffs — one day and night for resident, three days and nights for traveler.
✔ Ḥāfiẓ ʿAbd al-Sattār Ḥammād رحمه الله: Permissible whether thick or thin.
Regarding the Attribution to Sayyid Naẓīr Ḥusayn رحمه الله
The attribution that he denied wiping over socks is incorrect and baseless. His methodology was adherence to Qurʾān and Ḥadīth, and the evidences for wiping over socks are abundant. His students also issued verdicts permitting it. The confusion arose from discussions about extremely thin, transparent socks, not thick socks in general.
Final Conclusion
✔ Wiping over socks (fabric) and khuffs (leather) is permissible.✔ Established by authentic marfūʿ narrations.
✔ Practiced by the Companions.
✔ Affirmed by the Tābiʿīn.
✔ Supported by leading scholars of ḥadīth and fiqh.
✔ Even Imām Abū Ḥanīfah رحمه الله retracted to this position.
Therefore, any opposing view is anomalous and rejected, in light of the overwhelming evidences from the Sunnah and the consensus of the Salaf.
