Wiping over Khuffs and Qualifying Thick Socks: Conditions, Duration, and Method

Read the bilingual lesson for Wiping over Khuffs and Qualifying Thick Socks: Conditions, Duration, and Method and test your understanding with a focused quiz.

Lesson

1. Scope of the Concession

صَحَّ الْمَسْحُ عَلَى الْخُفَّيْنِ فِي الْحَدَثِ الْأَصْغَرِ لِلرِّجَالِ وَالنِّسَاءِ، وَلَوْ كَانَا مِنْ شَيْءٍ ثَخِينٍ غَيْرِ الْجِلْدِ

• Wiping over qualifying khuffs is a substitute for washing the feet in minor ritual impurity only.
• It applies to men and women, resident or traveler.
• The text does not restrict the concession to leather alone: a sufficiently thick non-leather sock can qualify when the stated conditions are met.
• It does not substitute for washing the feet in Ghusl.

2. Conditions 1–2: Prior Washing and Ankle Coverage

وَيُشْتَرَطُ لِجَوَازِ الْمَسْحِ سَبْعَةُ شُرُوطٍ: الْأَوَّلُ لُبْسُهُمَا بَعْدَ غَسْلِ الرِّجْلَيْنِ وَلَوْ قَبْلَ كَمَالِ الْوُضُوءِ إِذَا أَتَمَّهُ قَبْلَ حُصُولِ نَاقِضٍ، وَالثَّانِي سَتْرُهُمَا لِلْكَعْبَيْنِ

1. The feet must have been washed before the khuffs are put on. Full Wudu may be completed afterward, provided no invalidator occurs before completion.
2. The khuffs must cover the ankles.

3. Conditions 3–4: Walkability and Tear Limit

وَالثَّالِثُ إِمْكَانُ مُتَابَعَةِ الْمَشْيِ فِيهِمَا، وَالرَّابِعُ خُلُوُّ كُلٍّ مِنْهُمَا عَنْ خَرْقٍ قَدْرِ ثَلَاثِ أَصَابِعَ مِنْ أَصْغَرِ أَصَابِعِ الْقَدَمِ

3. They must be footwear in which continued walking is realistically possible. This is why rigid glass, wood, or iron examples fail the condition.
4. Each khuff must be free of a tear/opening equal to three of the smallest toes. Smaller tears on one khuff are combined; tears on the two separate khuffs are not combined with each other.

4. Conditions 5–7: Self-Support, Water Barrier, and Remaining Forefoot

وَالْخَامِسُ اسْتِمْسَاكُهُمَا عَلَى الرِّجْلَيْنِ مِنْ غَيْرِ شَدٍّ، وَالسَّادِسُ مَنْعُهُمَا وُصُولَ الْمَاءِ إِلَى الْجَسَدِ، وَالسَّابِعُ أَنْ يَبْقَى مِنْ مُقَدَّمِ الْقَدَمِ قَدْرُ ثَلَاثِ أَصَابِعَ مِنْ أَصْغَرِ أَصَابِعِ الْيَدِ

5. The khuffs remain on the feet without needing to be tied merely to stay in place.
6. They are thick enough that water does not immediately pass through to the skin.
7. Enough of the front of each foot must remain to provide the legal wiping area — the width of three of the smallest fingers of the hand. If the front of the foot is absent below the ankle so that this area does not remain, wiping on that khuff is not valid.

5. Duration and When the Clock Starts

وَيَمْسَحُ الْمُقِيمُ يَوْمًا وَلَيْلَةً، وَالْمُسَافِرُ ثَلَاثَةَ أَيَّامٍ بِلَيَالِيهَا، وَابْتِدَاءُ الْمُدَّةِ مِنْ وَقْتِ الْحَدَثِ بَعْدَ لُبْسِ الْخُفَّيْنِ

• Resident: 1 day and 1 night (24 hours).
• Traveler: 3 days and 3 nights (72 hours).
• The clock begins at the first Wudu-invalidating event after the khuffs were put on in the required state, not when the khuffs were first worn.

6. Obligatory Area and Sunnah Method

وَفَرْضُ الْمَسْحِ قَدْرُ ثَلَاثِ أَصَابِعَ مِنْ أَصْغَرِ أَصَابِعِ الْيَدِ عَلَى ظَاهِرِ مُقَدَّمِ كُلِّ رِجْلٍ، وَسُنَنُهُ مَدُّ الْأَصَابِعِ مُفَرَّجَةً مِنْ رُؤُوسِ أَصَابِعِ الْقَدَمِ إِلَى السَّاقِ

• The Fard minimum is the area of three small hand-fingers on the upper front of each khuff, wiped once.
• The Sunnah method is to spread the wet fingers and draw them from the toes toward the shin.
• Wiping only the sole, heel, side, or leg-shaft does not satisfy the Fard because it misses the legal area.
• If the required upper-front area is wetted in another direction, such as widthwise, the wipe can be valid but the Sunnah method has been left.

Practice questions

Question 1

A resident performs Wudu and puts on leather socks on Friday at 12:00 PM. His Wudu is invalidated at 3:00 PM on Friday. When does his permission to wipe over the socks expire?

Saturday at 12:00 PM
Saturday at 3:00 PM
Monday at 3:00 PM
Friday at 12:00 PM

Question 2

Wiping over leather socks is valid during both Wudu and Ghusl.

Question 3

What is the maximum size of a tear or hole allowed in a single leather sock for wiping to remain valid?

Less than the width of three of the smallest toes of the foot
Exactly equal to the width of five toes
No tears or holes are allowed at all
Less than the size of the whole heel

Question 4

If the left sock has a tear equal to two toes and the right sock has a tear equal to two toes, wiping over them is invalid because the combined sum of tears is four toes.

Question 5

Which surface of the leather sock is obligatory to wipe during Wudu?

The bottom sole of the sock
The vertical sides of the sock
The upper surface of the front part of the sock
The heel area only

Question 6

Match the traveler and resident statuses with their correct maximum wiping durations according to the text:

Question 7

Sort these actions according to whether they satisfy the obligatory wiping area.

Question 8

Which statement correctly describes the purity required before putting on the khuffs?

Both feet must be washed before wearing them, and the rest of Wudu may be completed afterward if no invalidator occurs before completion.
A person may wear them after washing only one foot.
No washing is needed before wearing them.
They must always be worn only after every part of Wudu is fully completed first.

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