"I saw Jarir urinate, then he called for water and performed wudhu, and wiped over his Khuffs, then he stood up and prayed. He was asked about that and he said: 'I saw the Prophet(ﷺ) do exactly like this.'"
The Book of the Qiblah - Sunan an-Nasa'i 774
"I saw Jarir urinate, then he called for water and performed wudhu, and wiped over his Khuffs, then he stood up and prayed. He was asked about that and he said: 'I saw the Prophet(ﷺ) do exactly like this.'"
Scholarly Commentary
This narration establishes the permissibility of wiping over leather socks (khuffs) during ablution, which is a well-established concession in Islamic jurisprudence. The Companion Jarir ibn Abdullah al-Bajali witnessed this practice directly from the Messenger of Allah and transmitted it to the community.
The wisdom behind this concession is to ease the difficulty of removing footwear for every ablution, particularly in cold climates or during travel. This demonstrates the beautiful balance in Islamic law between maintaining purity and providing practical ease for the believers.
Scholars have detailed conditions for this practice: the khuffs must be worn after complete ablution, they must cover the entire foot up to the ankles, and the wiping is valid for a specific duration (one day and night for residents, three days for travelers). The wiping is performed on the upper surface of the khuffs with wet hands.
This hadith from Sunan an-Nasa'i serves as foundational evidence for this ruling across all schools of Islamic law, though they differ in some subsidiary details regarding the implementation.