Wiping Over Khuffs

Chapter One

Wiping over leather Socks

The hadith I have used is by no means to go against the great Imams i.e. Imam Malik, Imam Shafi’i and Imam Ahmad bin Hanbal. There method of Salaah is also correct as it is according to the Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace).

The hadith quoted are to show that the Fatwas of Imam Abu Hanifa are according to the Sunnah as the Ghair Muqalids object to this.

Note: The hadith numbers before the hadith indicate the different chains of narrations, hence, each chain will count as a separate hadith.

Hadith 1-2

Al-Mughira ibn Shu`ba said: “The Prophet made wudu and wiped over his jawrabayn and sandals (na`layn).” 1

1 Both Ibn Majah (Sunan, book of al-Tahara wa sunanuha) and Tirmidhi (Sunan, book of Tahara) narrated it through Abu Qays al-Awdi (d. 120) and Tirmidhi said: “It is hasan Sahih.

It is adopted by Sufyan al-Thawri, Ibn al-Mubarak, al-Shafi’i, Ahmad, and Ishaq, who all said: One may wipe over the jawrabayn even if not wearing sandals provided they are thick.”

Hadith 3

Ibn Majah also narrated it from Abu Musa al-Ash`ari and added that al-Mu’alla said: “I do not know that he narrated this except he mentioned both the jawrabayn and the sandals together.” 

Hadith 4

al-Nasa’i (Sunan, book of Tahara) narrates the same report as above from al-Mughira through Abu Qays and then says: “We do not know anyone who followed Abu Qays in this narration. What is sound and correct from al-Mughira is that the Prophet wiped over his khuffs [only].”

Hadith 5-6

Ahmad in his Musnad and Abu Dawud (Sunan, book of Tahara) narrate the same report from al-Mughira through Abu Qays and the latter says: “ ‘Abd al-Rahman ibn Mahdi used not to narrate this hadith because what is recognized from al-Mughira is that the Prophet wiped over his khuffs [only].”

Hadith 7-12

Hammam an-Nakha’i who said, “Jarir ibn ‘Abdullah urinated, performed ablution and wiped over his soft leather boots.” It was said to him, “You do that, and you have urinated?” He said, “Yes, I saw the Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) urinate and then do likewise.” Said Ibrahim, “They were amazed at that hadith, because Jarir had embraced Islam ten years after the revelation of Surah al-Ma’idah, one of whose verses (5:6) requires that the feet be washed.” 

2 Bukhari, Muslim, Abu Dawud, Ahmad, and at-Tirmidhi

3 Muwatta if Imam Muhammad.

Hadith 13

Sa’id ibn ‘Abd ar-Rahman ibn Ruqaysh narrated, ‘I saw Anas bin Malik come to Quba. He urinated, and then water brought, and he did wudu. He washed his face and his arms to the elbows, wiped his head, wiped over his leather socks, and then prayed.’

Hadith 14

Malik informed us: “Nafi’ informed me, that ibn ‘Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) urinated at the market and then did ablution. He washed his face and arms and wiped his head. Then, when he entered the mosque, he was called to someone’s funeral that he might pray (the funeral prayer) for him, so he wiped over his leather socks and then prayed.”

4 Muwatta of Imam Muhammad

5 A Ghayr Muqallid.

Hadith 15-18

Shawkani5 in Nayl al-awtar (1:180), concerning the list of the Companions cited by Abu Dawud as permitting wiping over the jawrabayn, says that Ibn Sayyid al-Nas in his Sharh al-Tirmidhi added: `Abd Allah ibn `Umar, Sa`d ibn Abi Waqqas, Abu Mas`ud al-Badri, and `Uqba ibn `Umar.

Hadith 19-27

Those who wiped over the jawrabayn are: ‘Ali ibn Abi Talib, Ibn Mas‘ud, al-Bara’ ibn ‘Azib, Anas ibn Malik, Abu Umama, Sahl ibn Sa’d, `Amr ibn Hurayth, and it has also been narrated from ‘Umar ibn al-Khattab and Ibn `Abbas.”

There are many other ahadith, however, I believe this will suffice.

Common Sense

The meaning of “Khuf” in Arabic applies only to socks made out of leather. Tell me can anyone walk in ordinary socks for three miles or would you rather wear leather socks and then walked for three miles?

Statements Scholars

The Hanafis also have a dispensation (rukhsa) in wiping over the thick jawrabayn or soft non-leather shoe [whether made of wool (suf), cotton (qutn), linen (kattan), or fur (sha`r), or felt (wabr)], provided they are not transparent and provided they are thick enough to walk a parsang or more with — a distance of about three miles — without their wearing out and showing the skin, and provided they hold up by themselves.

“Imam Ahmad said: Wiping over the soft non-leather shoe is impermissible unless it is thick-textured (jawraban safiqan) and stands alone on one’s leg without collapsing, just like the khuff, and the people used to wipe on the jawrabayn only because, in their usage, it provided the same function as the khuff and stood up on the leg like the khuff, allowing one to come and go with it.”

Shawkani in Nayl al-awtar (1:178) said: “The khuff is a leather shoe which covers the ankle-bones. The jurmuq (spat) is larger than it and is worn over it, while the jawrab is larger than the jurmuq.” This definition, as well as Imam Ahmad’s specifications, give an idea of the jawrab that is different from even the largest woolen socks available today, and invalidates the view of those who claim that the jawrab merely refers to “socks.”

Says Ibn Hajar in Fath al-Bari, “All of the preservers (of hadith) are of the opinion that wiping over the soft leather boots has come through a continuous transmission. Some have collected all of its narrations (from among the companions), and its number exceeds eighty. This includes hadiths from the ten people who were promised Paradise.”

The narration’s in regard to masah ‘alal khuffain (performing masah on leather socks) are established by Tawaatur (overwhelming number of narration’s), In regard to this, Imaam Abu Hanifah said, “I did not declare the validity of performing masah on leather socks until its evidence was clear to me as daylight” (AI-Bahr-ur-Ra’iq, vol. 1, p. 173.)

Moreover, masah ‘alal khuffain is proven and established in narration’s from more than eighty companions of the Prophet . Hafiz Ibn Hajar says in Fathul-Baari, (Naylul Awtaar, vol. 1, p.176). “An overwhelming group of the Huffaz (Experts in Hadith who had memorized large number of ahadith) have declared that masah ‘alal khuffain is established by Tawaatur), and some of them have mentioned that they collected and enumerated the narration’s from the companions of the Prophet and found them to be more than eighty in number, from which ten of them are narrated by the Asharah-e-Mubasharah (the ten companions that were given glad tidings of Paradise in a single gathering from the Prophet .”(Naylul-Awtaar, vol. 1, p. 176).

Hasan Al- Basri (R.A.) says, “I met seventy companions who participated in the Battle of Badr, all of whom believed in the performing of masah ‘alal khuffain.”(Talkheesul-Habeer, vol. 1, p. 158, and Bada’e us-Sana’e, vol, 1, p.7).

The safest view on the material allowed for wiping over is that of the author of `Awn al-ma`bud whereby the established evidence is leather shoes or leather socks. In fact, it is an exclusive condition for wiping in the Maliki school. The hadiths on the jawarib cannot be used as evidence for establishing the wiping on the socks, because there are fundamental dissimilarities between the jawarib and modern socks. The former was hand-made, large, and apt to replace the entire shoe in traveling, whereas modern socks are machine-made and flimsy, even the thickest wool socks, so that one may not wear them and go out except under his or her shoes. At the very least, the three stipulations that the material for wiping over should be thick, water-proof, and resistant to wear and tear so as not to become transparent when walking with it over a certain distance, should be met scrupulously by Allah’s servants if they wish to safeguard their prayer and their wudu’ with a clear conscience. The Prophet said: “Leave what causes you to doubt and keep what does not cause you to doubt.” Tirmidhi narrated it from `Ali and he graded it hasan Sahih. And Allah knows best.

Conclusion

Therefore, the permission of making masah is only specific with the leather socks.

Regarding other types of socks the command of the Qur’anic verse of washing the feet must be implemented. However, if the material of the socks is so thick that is equal or better than leather socks, that is(a) water does not penetrate through them, (b) they do not have to be tied with something in order for them to stay upright, and ~ it is possible to walk with them at least one mile. In such types of socks there are differences of opinions among the Jurists. Some say, since they have retained the same qualities of leather socks, therefore it should be permissible to make masah over them. Others say that Tawaatur is established only for wiping over leather socks, thus it is not permissible to wipe over any other type of socks.

My question is split into two parts:

1. i) “Did the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) wipe over his socks all the time?”
2. ii) “Did the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) do this until he passed away?”

Hope you can prove these two questions and when doing so I do not want to hear the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) wiped his socks etc. but I want Sahih hadith that clearly (no meanings or interpretations) states the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) wiped his socks all the time and that he did this action until he passed away. Good luck!