Answer
In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful.
All praise and thanks are due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon His Messenger.
In this fatwa:
- It is permissible to wipe with wet hands over leather socks, instead of washing the feet.
- Reliable scholars have affirmed the permissibility of wiping over cloth socks provided they are thick and not transparent.
In his response to your question, Dr. Zulfiqar Ali Shah, Member of the Executive Committee of the Fiqh Council of North America and the Religious Director of the Islamic Society of Milwaukee, states:
There is a difference of opinion among jurists regarding wiping over socks made of cloth. Many contemporary jurists permit wiping over cloth socks if they were put on in the state of wudu because cleanliness and purity can be maintained through the socks as they are usually supplemented with leather shoes or the body.
Hanafi jurists, however, require that the socks must be thick enough so that the water does not seep through them.
Allah Almighty knows best.
Editor’s note: This fatwa is from Ask the Scholar’s archive and was originally published at an earlier date.