In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
The Senior Scholars Project in Kuwait is pleased,
in cooperation with the Foundation of Shaykh 'Abd al-'Aziz Ibn Baz,
may Allah have mercy on him,
to present to you:
"The Fiqh Choices
in Matters of Worship and Transactions,
from the Fatwas of His Eminence, the Eminent Imam,
'Abd al-'Aziz Ibn 'Abdullah Ibn Baz,
may Allah have mercy on him,"
compiled and arranged by Shaykh
Khalid Ibn Sa'ud Ibn 'Amir al-'Ajmi.
The Book of Purification:
Chapter on Wiping over Leather Socks (Khuffayn),
Splints, and Turbans.
The eminent Imam Ibn Baz, may Allah have mercy on him, said:
The Sunnah is to begin with the right foot before the left,
because of the saying of the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him:
"When you perform ablution, begin with your right side."
Related by the compilers of the Sunan with an authentic chain of narration.
If one wipes the right foot with the right hand
and the left foot with the left hand,
there is no harm, provided one begins with the right foot.
And if one wipes both of them using either the right hand or the left hand,
there is no objection.
The duration for wiping begins
from the first wipe after breaking ritual purity,
for it has been soundly narrated from the Prophet, peace be upon him,
in authentic hadiths that which indicates this.
Among the conditions for wiping over socks
is that they must be thick and concealing.
If they are transparent, it is not permissible to wipe over them,
because in such a state, the foot is treated as uncovered.
Wiping over leather socks is prescribed
when they cover the foot and the ankles,
are pure, and are made from the leather of any animal
that is classified as ritually pure,
provided one put them on while in a state of ritual purity.
If the tear or hole is slight,
such that it is considered slight by custom,
the correct view is that, Allah willing, it does not impair the validity,
because people are commonly afflicted with this,
especially the poor.
It is permissible to wipe over socks,
which are woven fabrics meant to cover the feet,
whether made of cotton, wool, or other materials.
The ruling on wiping over leather socks
and wiping over fabric socks is identical,
according to the more correct of the scholars' opinions.
Removing that which has been wiped over invalidates the ablution,
and it is counted among the nullifiers of wudu.
If one wiped over the shoes along with the socks
and then took off the shoes,
he must remove the socks, and his ablution is invalidated;
that is, if he had wiped over both of them together,
then the ablution is invalidated by removing either one of them.
However, if he restricted the wiping strictly to the socks
and then put on shoes,
it is not invalidated by doing so,
because the ruling at that point applies solely to the socks.
The shoe alone is not wiped over,
because it does not cover the ankles;
rather, one may wipe over the socks along with the shoes,
since it is authentically established from the Prophet, peace be upon him,
that he wiped over both socks and shoes,
in an authentic hadith.
It is permissible to wipe over boots
along with whatever portion of the socks is exposed,
and the ruling will apply to both of them together.
Whenever one takes off the boot after breaking ritual purity,
it becomes obligatory to take off the sock
and repeat the ablution for prayer and the like.
But if one wiped over the sock without wiping the boot,
that is sufficient,
provided the socks cover
the area obligatory to wash,
and removing the boot will not harm his purity.
It is permissible to wipe over leather socks and fabric socks
in both winter and summer.
If a man sustained a wound,
the time for prayer entered,
and he performed ablution
except that he did not wash the area of the wound
because it was actively bleeding:
what was obligatory in this case
was for you to place a dressing over the wound—
a piece of cloth wrapped around it,
or something similar
that arrests and stops the bleeding—
so that you could wipe over this dressing.
If that was not feasible,
you should have performed tayammum for the wounded area after performing ablution.
However, binding it with a bandage or dressing
and then wiping over it
is what was obligatory.
So if you did not do that,
then making up the prayers that you offered
without either wiping or tayammum
is the safer and more prudent course for you.
If someone wipes for longer than the prescribed duration for wiping,
he must repeat the prayer;
this is the correct view,
because the duration of wiping is strictly limited.
Whoever puts on leather socks or fabric socks—
that is, regular socks—
while not in a state of ritual purity,
and then wipes over them and prays out of forgetfulness,
his prayer is invalid,
and he must repeat all the prayers
that he performed with that wiping.
It is preferable and more prudent
that the person performing ablution should not put on the sock
until he has washed his left foot;
this is the view most apparent from the evidence.
If someone puts on the right sock
before washing the left foot,
he ought to take off the leather sock
or the fabric sock from his right foot
prior to wiping,
and then reinsert his foot into it
after washing the left foot,
so that he exits from the scholarly disagreement
and takes precaution regarding his religion.
The turban is like the leather socks:
it must be preceded by ritual purity.
Thus, if one puts on a turban fastened beneath the chin
while in a state of purity,
he may wipe over it for a day and a night.
If a woman winds her headscarf (khimar)
around her head
and it is difficult for her to remove it,
she may wipe over it for a day and a night,
provided she put it on while in a state of ritual purity,
exactly like the leather socks.
However, if it is not fastened securely,
such as an ordinary turban or the ghutrah,
wiping over them is not permitted,
because removing them entails no hardship;
the same applies to an ordinary headscarf.
A splint may be wiped over,
removing it entails no hardship,
the same applies to an ordinary headscarf.
A splint may be wiped over,
even during major ritual impurity (janabah) and menstruation.
Then, when the area beneath it heals,
it is not obligatory to repeat the ritual bath (ghusl).
The Fiqh Choices.