Sunday 9 Jumada al-ula 1446 - 10 November 2024
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He wiped over his socks for three days when he was not travelling. Does he have to repeat his prayers for the two days?

Question

I did wudu for three consecutive days wearing the same socks, without taking off those socks, although the time when a person can wipe over his socks is one day and one night for one who is not travelling. Are my prayers on the second and third days valid, or do I have to repeat them because I went beyond the time when one may wipe over the socks?.

Answer

Praise be to Allah.

The saheeh Sunnah indicates that the time for wiping over the khuffayn (leather slippers) for one who is not travelling is one day and one night, and for one who is travelling it is three days and nights. Wiping over the socks is like wiping over the khuffayn.

Muslim (276) narrated that Shurayh ibn Haani’ said: I came to ‘Aa’ishah and asked her about wiping over the khuffayn. She said: “You should go and ask Ibn Abi Taalib, for he used to travel with the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him).” So we asked him and he said: “The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) stipulated three days and nights for the traveller, and one day and night for the one who is not travelling.”

Al-Tirmidhi (95), Abu Dawood (157) and Ibn Maajah (553) narrated from Khuzaymah ibn Thaabit (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) was asked about wiping over the khuffayn and he said: “For the traveller, three and for the non-traveller, one day.” Classed as saheeh by al-Albaani in Saheeh al-Tirmidhi.

Al-Tirmidhi (96), al-Nasaa’i (127) and Ibn Maajah (478) narrated that Safwaan ibn ‘Assaal (may Allah be pleased with him) said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) used to command us when we were travelling not to take off our leather slippers for three days and nights, except in the case of janaabah, but not in the case of defecating, urinating or sleeping.” This hadeeth was classed as hasan by al-Albaani.

Secondly:

The most correct view of the fuqaha’ is that the period begins from the first time a person wipes over his leather slippers after breaking his wudu, not from the time when he put them on or from the first time he broke his wudu after putting them on. So if a person does wudu for Fajr prayer, and puts on his leather slippers, then he breaks his wudu at nine o’clock in the morning but does not do wudu, then he does wudu at twelve o’clock, then the period for wiping over them starts at twelve o’clock, and lasts for one day and one night, or twenty-four hours.

Al-Nawawi (may Allah have mercy on him) said: al-Awzaa’i and Abu Thawr said: The time starts from when he wipes over them after breaking wudu. This was narrated from Ahmad and Dawood, and is the view which is most likely to be correct, based on the evidence. It was also the view favoured by Ibn al-Mundhir, and something similar was narrated from ‘Umar ibn al-Khattaab (may Allah be pleased with him).

End quote from al-Majmoo’, 1/512

This is what was regarded as more likely to be correct by Shaykh Ibn ‘Uthaymeen (may Allah have mercy on him), who said: Because the ahaadeeth say “the one who is not travelling may wipe” and “the traveller may wipe”, and he only comes under the heading of one who wipes after he wipes for the first time. This is the correct view.

Al-Sharh al-Mumti’, 1/186

Thirdly:

A number of scholars, including Ibn Hazm and Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah, are of the view that the state of purity does not end when the period for wiping over the socks or leather slippers ends, because there is no evidence to suggest that. Rather the state of purity comes to an end when it is invalidated by one of the things that are known to invalidate it, such as passing wind.

Al-Muhalla, 2/151; al-Ikhtiyaaraat al-Fiqhiyyah, p. 15; al-Sharh al-Mumti’, 1/216.

Based on this, if a person is in a state of purity and the time for wiping over the socks ends before Zuhr, he may pray Zuhr and subsequent prayers with that previous state of purity, until he breaks his wudu.

Based on the above:

If the period for wiping over the socks ended and you were not in a state of purity, then you have to repeat all the prayers that you offered after the time for wiping over the socks ended and you did not wash your feet.

If the time for wiping over the socks ended and you were in a state of purity, then you only have to repeat the prayers from the time when you first broke your wudu after that time ended.

And Allah knows best.

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Source: Islam Q&A