Sa`d bin Abi Waqqas said, "The Prophet (ﷺ) passed wet hands over his Khuffs (socks made from thick fabric or leather)." `Abdullah bin `Umar asked `Umar about it. `Umar replied in the affirmative and added, "Whenever Sa`d narrates a Hadith from the Prophet, there is no need to ask anyone else about it."
Ablutions (Wudu') - Sahih al-Bukhari 202
This narration from Sa'd bin Abi Waqqas establishes the permissibility of wiping over leather socks (khuffs) during ablution, a significant concession in Islamic ritual purity laws.
Legal Ruling of Wiping Over Khuffs
The Prophet's action demonstrates that when a person performs complete ablution and then wears khuffs, they may wipe over them during subsequent ablutions rather than removing them, provided certain conditions are met.
This ruling applies specifically to leather socks or thick fabric socks that cover the entire foot and ankle, remain firmly in place during walking, and prevent water from reaching the feet easily.
Scholarly Authentication
Umar ibn al-Khattab's affirmation and his statement about Sa'd's reliability highlight the rigorous standards of hadith transmission. When a Companion of established truthfulness narrates directly from the Prophet, their testimony is accepted without requiring additional verification.
This approach forms the foundation of the science of hadith criticism, where the character and memory of narrators are carefully evaluated to preserve the authenticity of Prophetic traditions.
Conditions and Duration
Classical scholars derived from this and related narrations that wiping over khuffs is permitted for one day and night for residents, and three days and nights for travelers, calculated from the time of first wiping after nullification of ablution.
The wiping is performed on the upper surface of the khuffs using moist hands, fulfilling the requirement of washing feet in ablution through this symbolic act that maintains both ritual purity and practical convenience.