This is a great question put forward by a number of noble brothers. I hope that you found as much benefit in this as the writer indeed did.

From: SOCSS Org <htspub@yahoo.co.uk>
To:
Sent: Sunday, 30 September 2012, 23:34
Subject: Re: Hanbali Position

Salam Brother Abu Ja’far

How are you? I hope all is well inshallah. I wanted to ask you what is the Hanbali position of wiping over normal socks during wudu? I remember reading on Musa Furber’s website that it was not allowed and wiping over socks for Wudu is only allowed on socks that fulfil the criteria of leather socks (very thick, can walk in them for a certain distance without ripping).

I’ve maintained the above position of not wiping over them since the Salafi brothers are the only ones who support this position and could not give me any classical scholars who supported their position. Could you let me know what the position is please?

At the same time would brother Musa Furber’s website be a reliable as a Hanbali website or would you be able to recomend any other? Unless you could mention any Hanbali fiqh books in English? I already have the translation of Ibn Qudamah (RA) Al Umdah Ul Fiqh

I am a Hanbali myself and have been since I was 16 due to not wanting to be a Salafi as I found not following an established school that the Ummah has agreed upon (out of the four) as being uncomfortable.

Wassallam

Answer:

When the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, was with one of his companions, he was wearing his khuff after having made wudu.’ At another point in the day, he was making wudu,’ and the companion was assisting him. He was about to remove the khuffs, but the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, said, “Leave them on, for the two khuffs I have entered into the wudu’ when they were put on at a time of purity.” He then wiped over them.

Collected by Imams Ahmad ibn Hanbal in his Musnad, vol.4, pp. 254-255; Abu Dawud in his Sunan, Book of Purification under the chapter of Wiping Over the Two Khuffs; Muhammad ibn Isma`il al-Bukhari in his Al-Jami` us-Sahih, Book of Purification, under the chapter of Wiping Over the Two Khuffs; Muslim ibn al-Hajjaj in his Al-Jami` us-Sahih, Book of Purification under the chapter of Wiping Over the Two Khuffs and classified as authentic.

Imam Abul Qasim al-Khiraqi (d. 334 AH/AD 946), a student of Imam Salih al-Baghdadi, a student of a Tabi`ii, Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal, stated, “And he is not allowed to wipe over the khuff that does not reach the ankles or the khuff is cut below the ankles. This is not allowed.” Al-Mughni, vol.1, pp. 329-330

Imam Muwaffaq ud-Din Ibn Qudamah, may Allah be pleased with him, ruled, “It is permissible to wipe over every type of khuff, as long as it is possible to sustain movement in them, whether it (the khuff) be from animal skin or hide, felt, or whatever else is like it. If it is of wood, timber, iron or things such as that, then some of our companions have said, ‘It is not permissible to wipe over it, for the rukhsah (dispensation) that has been related regarding the well known khuffs is by necessity and the necessity does not call for this (wiping over wood, timber or iron khuffs) in most cases.’

Al-Qadi Abu Ya`la said, ‘The analogy of the school is the permissibility of wiping over it, for indeed a khuff covers what is possible to move and sustain mobility in just as the animal skins or hide.’ ” Al-Mughni, vol.1, pp. 330-331. The Imam has also mentioned, “It is permissible to wipe over the two khuffs and whatever is like them, whether it be the thick socks or what is worn on top of the khuff, as long as they are established on the two feet.” Al-`Umdah, pp. 15-16.

Imam Abul Qasim al-Khiraqi stated, “And it is not permissible to wipe over anything except for the two khuffs or whatever is like that that is established by itself and similar to it that goes past the ankles, meaning the tony boy parts of the lower leg.

And the same thing holds for the thick sock that does not come off when one moves around in it. And if that thick sock is established by wearing a sandal over it, he may wipe over them. But if he should take the sandal off and the thick sock comes down, it nullifies wudu.’ ” Mukhtasar al-Khiraqi `ala Madhhab il-Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal, pp. 17-18.

Imam Muwaffaq ud-Din Ibn Qudamah, may Allah be pleased with him, stated, “And if the khuff is something impermissible, meaning that is stolen, or made of pure silk, it is not permissible to wipe over it according to the authoritative ruling in the school. And if he should wipe over them and pray in them, he will need to repeat wudu’ and prayer, as he was disobedient for wearing them and it is not permissible to make a dispensation in such things just as it is not permissible for the one travelling to commit acts of disobedience to have the dispensation of shortening prayers during travel.

So if he did travel to commit acts of disobedience, it is not permissible for him to wipe over the khuffs for more than one day and one night, as a day and a night are not specified for travel nor does it count as one of the dispensations. So it is not from the dispensations, which is the opposite of wiping over the khuff for more than one day and a night. Indeed the dispensations of travel are not permissible to use to commit acts of disobedience. And this includes the shortening and combining of prayers.” Al-Mughni, vol.1, pp. 330-331

This means that the khuff is made out of some permissible substance, whether that is camel, horse, buffalo, goat, caribou, zebra, deer or any other type of cattle/livestock (that have been slaughtered according to how Allah has mentioned in the Qur’an and Sunnah), or it is felt, wood, iron, steel, metal, wool, polyester and so forth.

As for khuffs made from hide, if it was an impermissible animal that was killed, or it was a permissible animal killed unlawfully (cf. Surat ul-Ma’idah (5), ayah), then even if the hide was tanned, it would not be lawful to pray in these, although one might wear them.

This has to do with the thickness of the khuff or what is like it. Thickness does not mean water proof. We will give some examples of what the scholars intend when they mention thickness.

Imam Baha’ ud-Din al-Maqdisi, may Allah be pleased with him, commented, “And it is permissible to wipe over the the jawrab and the jarmuq. This is due to what has been narrated from al-Mughirah, may Allah be pleased with him, that the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, wiped over his jawrab and his sandals.

And this is collected by Imams Abu Dawud and at-Tirmidhi, with at-Tirmidhi adding, ‘This hadith is authentic.’ Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal said, ‘Wiping over the socks (tr. Note: Ar. jawarib) has been mentioned by seven or eight companions of the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him.’

And the jarmuq has the same meaning as the khuff, because it is worn and covers the foot, making it possible to sustain movement in it. Thus it is like the khuff.

The jawrab as a condition must be thick, in that it covers the foot, for when it is thin, it shows the foot and it is not permissible to wipe over it as it is not covering it. And this is the same for the torn khuff in that one may not wipe over it. And it must be established on the foot by itself without being tied, then if it falls from the foot by movement or due to heaviness, then it is not permissible to wipe over it.”

The Imam says further, “And for the jarmuq, the condition is that it reaches the ankles as it is the place that is compulsory to have covered. And it is necessary for both ankles to be covered, just like the rest of the foot.” Al-`Uddah, Sharh ul-`Umdah, pp. 50-51

Imam Mansur al-Buhuti, may Allah be pleased with him, explained the matter, “Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal, may Allah be pleased with him, said, ‘I feel no worry in my heart about the issue of wiping, as there are some forty ahadith from the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, on the subject.’

And the thick jawrab is what is worn on the foot over the khuff without it being made of hide, as the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, wiped over the jawrab and the sandals as is collected by Imams Ahmad and others and declared authentic by Imam at-Tirmidhi.

And one may wipe over anything like them, meaning what resembles the khuff and the jawrab, like the jarmuq. And the jarmuq is the small khuff, it is is permissible to wipe over it as the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, did so. And this is collected by Imam Ahmad and others.” Ar-Rawd ul-Murbi` bi-Sharhi Zad il-Mustaqni`, pp. 35-36

Imam Muwaffaq ud-Din Ibn Qudamah, may Allah be pleased with him, explains this, “One of the conditions is that it covers the area that would normally be exposed for wudu,’ and this area must be covered in totality. And if any of the foot is exposed, it is not permissible to wipe over it, as the ruling is what covers the area that is to be wiped over.

And the ruling is that whatever is exposed is to washed, meaning the feet, so there is no way to join between them, the feet must be fully covered and just as if one of them became exposed it would not be permissible to wipe over them. And if a hole formed in a thick khuff that had an outside of animal hide and an inside of yarn or strings and the strings or yarn became exposed, it would be permissible to wipe over them.

This is because the foot is still covered. And even if there is a long hole that does not expose the foot, it is permissible to wipe over it. But if the khuff is thin and this happens, it is not permissible to wipe over it as the foot is not covered.

And if there is padding when the hole opens up in the khuff and it is firmly placed where the foot does not become exposed when he walks, it is permissible to wipe over it, as this is just like yarn or strings inside of the footgear and not the foot.

The second point is that it must be possible to sustain movement within the khuff or thing like the khuff. So if it falls down or away from the foot by movement or due to it being heavy, it is not permissible to wipe over them, as what is called for is that one can sustain movement in them, whether it is animal hide, clothing or thick socks.

This is due to what has been narrated from al-Mughirah, may Allah be pleased with him, that the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, wiped over his socks and his sandals.

And this is collected by Imams Abu Dawud and at-Tirmidhi, with at-Tirmidhi adding, ‘This hadith is authentic.’ Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal said, ‘Wiping over the socks has been mentioned by seven or eight companions of the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him.’ And the reason for this allowance is that it is worn and covers the foot and is possible to sustain movement in it, just like the khuff.

If someone should take pieces of blanket and tie them on the legs, it is not permissible to wipe over them, as they are not established by themselves. They are only established by tying them.” Al-Kafi fi Fiqh il-Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal, vol.1, pp. 58-60

Imam Muwaffaq ud-Din, may Allah be pleased with him, states further, “And so it is permissible to wipe over the two socks only so long as they possess the same ruling as the khuffs, namely 1) they are thick, meaning that no part of the foot is exposed 2) one is capable of sustained movement within them.” Al-Mugni, vol.1, pp. 330-331.

Imam Muwaffaq ud-Din Ibn Qudamah, may Allah be pleased with him, said the following, “It is not permissible for the one travelling to commit acts of disobedience to have the dispensation of shortening prayers during travel. So if he did travel to commit acts of disobedience, it is not permissible for him to wipe over the khuffs for more than one day and one night, as a day and a night are not specified for travel nor does it count as one of the dispensations.

So it is not from the dispensations, which is the opposite of wiping over the khuff for more than one day and a night. Indeed the dispensations of travel are not permissible to use to commit acts of disobedience. And this includes the shortening and combining of prayers.” Al-Mughni, vol.1, pp. 330-331

The expression one day and night which in the Arabic appears as ‘yawman wa laylan’ has a few points to it. This means one day and one night. But how do we understand what is meant by this speech? We will look at the Words of Allah and then examine the context.

The Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, commanded that the traveller may wipe over his khuffs three days and their nights while the resident may wipe over this khuffs for one day and one night. Collected by Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal in his Musnad, vol.6, pp. 26-27.

Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal, may Allah be pleased with him, said of this narration, “This is the most noble hadith on the subject of wiping over the khuff, because it took place during the Battle of Tabuk. This was the very last battle the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, took part in so it was the last action on the subject.” Al-`Uddah Sharh ul-`Umdah, pp. 50-51.

There have been some in this particular era that have taken this and the other ahadith on the subject to be referring to 24 hours. They would reason that as we are on a 24 hour clock, the wiping of the khuff would end at 12am, which would signal a new day in countries such as the United States, United Kingdom, Canada and others.

However, we would need to take a closer look at the hadith. The hadith of the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, advises, “Three days and their nights.”

The word for “day” used in Arabic is “yawm” while the word used for “night” is “lail” in Arabic. We will need a definition of these terms in context. When defining the word “yawm,” Imam Ibn Mandhur, author of the most authoritative Arabic dictionary, defined it as, “The well known period of time referred to by this title which is from sunrise to sunset.” Lisan ul-Arab, vol.12, pp. 773-774.

The same author goes on to define the expression “lail” as, “Lail is the end of the nahar and its’ beginning is from the setting of the sun. The night is the opposite of the nahar and the night is the shadows while the day is the light.

So when speaking of them singly, one would say, ‘a night and a day.’ ” He said further, “Nahar is the name of every day while lail is the name of every night…and the opposite of the day is the night…so night is the opposite of the day and the day is the opposite of the night.” Lisan ul-`Arab, vol.11, pp. 720-722.

The gist of this definition is that the “day” for a Muslim begins at sunset. Thus sunset on Monday night becomes Tuesday, so from sunset on Monday to sunset on Tuesday, the night that comes first and then the daylight up until sunset is counted as one “day,” which in this example would be Tuesday.

We can see that this is what is referred to in the hadith when we were given permission to wipe over the khuff for three days and “their nights.”

And what is more, the 24 hour clock did not start to become popular globally until AD 1300 onwards, but before hand the Muslims would have no such understanding of a 24 hour clock.

So the hadith, the dictionary definition and the scholars show us that the understanding for a “day” and the wiping period would be from sunset to sunset.

Thus one who was a resident and did his first wiping over the khuff at the time of sunset prayer, would be allowed to do so until the next sunset. Once that next sunset came, a “day” would have elapsed and he would have to remove the khuffs and make wudu’ by washing his feet as normal.

The same would be the case for the traveller given permission to wipe over the khuffs for three days and their nights.

originally cited from the text: The Primer by Imam Musa al-Qaddumi, translated by al-Hajj Abu Ja`far al-Hanbali, pp. 37-41