It's cold: can I wipe over my socks in wudu?
One answer on this site says wiping over socks in wudu is a legitimate concession. Another says there is no sin, in winter or summer, while the conditions are kept. The conditions are below.
Why this matters in my religion
You step out before Fajr, the dawn prayer, and the tap water is painful. Taking off your socks to wash your feet feels like a hardship. You wonder whether the religion leaves any room for you.
The answers on Ftawy do speak of room. One answer calls wiping over the socks a legitimate concession, a *rukhsah*, given for ease and to remove hardship. It also holds that washing the feet and wiping are both permissible. The same answer holds that washing is better, as an extra act that completes ablution in hardship. Another says it is established from the Prophet and is the practice of the scholars.
The answer on winter wiping concerns severe cold. None of the answers used here makes cold alone the ground for wiping. They speak of conditions, which come next.
The answers name two kinds of foot covering: leather socks (*khuffayn*) and regular socks (*jawrabayn*). This article says "socks" for both.
The idea, simply
What the answers set as conditions
One answer lists these conditions for wiping:
- The socks were worn after full purity.
- They cover the feet up to the ankles.
- You can walk in them.
- They are lawful and pure in themselves.
- They are thick enough that the skin cannot be seen.
The last point is where the answers differ. That comes below.
Another answer says wiping is valid only if the socks were worn after full purity. It defines full purity as wudu, or a full bath (*ghusl*) after *janabah* (major ritual impurity), menstruation or postpartum bleeding (source). The same answer says a bath for coolness or cleanliness does not count. It counts only if you intended wudu and washed the limbs in order.
Another answer says wiping is voided if a state requiring ghusl occurs while the *khuff* is on. It says the wearer must remove the *khuff* (leather sock) and bathe.
Where the answers differ
Here the answers part ways. We set out each position with the reason it gives. We do not pick one. Our article on why fatwas differ between scholars covers the general reasons.
| Question | What the answers say | The reason given |
|---|---|---|
| Thin socks | One answer holds that wiping over a thin sock is permissible even if it shows the skin, and calls this the preponderant view | The general evidence, and making things easier for people |
| Thin socks | One answer says some scholars allow non-thick socks; others require thick socks | The first group rely on the general evidence; the second say walking calls for thick socks |
| Torn socks | One answer says the classical scholar Ibn Taymiyyah allowed wiping over a torn sock. It reports he allowed it while it still counts as a sock and can be walked in. | Not stated in the part we summarize |
The thick-sock answer adds that nothing is reported from Ibn Taymiyyah permitting light socks. It calls acting on the majority view, which requires thick socks, the more cautious course.
How long, and from when. The answer gives the wiping period, the time during which wiping counts, as one day and night for a resident. It gives three days and nights for a traveller, and calls this the majority view. For travel itself, see our travel article.
On the start of the wiping period, the answers differ on when it starts. One says it begins from the first wipe after a *[hadath*, an event that requires wudu](/f/f5a44d64787e5). It says it does not begin from the first time the socks are worn. Another says the majority count it from the hadath after putting the socks on, as al-Kasani, the Hanafi jurist, does.
On what happens at expiry, the answers differ too. One says expiry of the wiping period does not void ablution. It reasons that the time limit covers wiping, not purity. Another says that after expiry the socks must be removed and the feet washed. It adds they may then be worn again and wiped for the same period.
Schools. One answer says the Hanafi school generally permits wiping over socks in summer and winter, but with conditions. It reports that Abu Hanifa, the school's founder, reversed to his companions' view. That view allows thick socks without a leather sole, and the answer says it is the basis of the fatwa.
Another answer addresses the Malikis, followers of Imam Malik's school. It says they require a need, such as heat, cold or rough terrain, for wearing it to be obligatory. It says they do not allow it for leisure or trivial reasons.
More answers sit in the hub wiping over socks and casts.
When cold water harms
This is a separate question from socks. The answer says that if water is absent or would harm, as in illness or severe cold, *[tayammum* is allowed](/f/f33c8581fb24c). It describes tayammum as wiping the face and hands with earth. If some limbs can be washed without harm, that answer says it is required to wash them first. Tayammum then covers the rest, it says.
No answer used here joins cold, tayammum and socks in one case.
Casts, bandages and medical socks
These are medical cases, not ordinary winter socks. The glossary explains the *jabirah*, a splint or cast. One answer says failing to wipe over a cast or splint invalidates ablution, according to most scholars. Another says a medical bandage whose removal would harm or be hard takes the splint ruling. It permits wiping over it and washing the exposed part of the limb. A third answer says a medical sock whose removal would harm the patient or delay healing takes the splint ruling. In that case, it says, the whole sock is wiped.
From life
Sara takes a hot shower on a freezing evening to warm up. Afterwards she pulls on a pair of socks. At dawn she wonders whether she can wipe over them for Fajr.
No answer is written for her here, because it depends on facts the scene leaves out. The answers above point to three. Did she intend wudu and wash in order during the shower? Do the socks meet the listed conditions? When did the period begin, by the answer she follows?
What does this require of me?
- Note when you put the socks on. The answers count the period from different points, so the time matters, as this answer and this one show.
- Remember your state at that moment. The answers tie wiping to full purity.
- Look at the socks. The listed conditions include cover to the ankles and being able to walk in them.
- Know which view your teacher follows. Thin socks are where the answers differ. On torn socks, one answer reports Ibn Taymiyyah's view.
Questions you can copy to a scholar:
- I took a bath before putting on my socks. Did it count as full purity?
- My socks are thin, or slightly torn. What does my school say?
- From which moment does my period begin?
- I am travelling. Which period applies to me?
When do I need to ask a scholar?
Ask when you are unsure of the order in which you washed and dressed. Ask when your socks are thin, since the answers differ. Ask when they are torn, since only one answer reports a view. Ask when you have lost track of the time. Ask when travel starts or ends mid-period, or when a doctor has put a bandage on you.
This article cannot decide your case. It summarizes answers from Ftawy and links to each one. Follow the link for the full text.