Rulings of Wiping Over Socks for Ablution Cover Image

Abdestte Çoraplar Üzerine Meshin Hükmü
Rulings of Wiping Over Socks for Ablution

Author(s): İsmail Yalçın
Subject(s): Anthropology, Law, Constitution, Jurisprudence, Islam studies
Published by: Cumhuriyet Üniversitesi İlahyat Fakültesi
Keywords: Islamic Law; Prayer; Ablution; Wiping over socks; Leather socks;

Summary/Abstract: The issue of wiping over socks is part of the more general issue of wiping over leather socks (khuffayn) for ablution (wuḍū’). Washing feet or wiping over them is a debate whose sides bases their claims on the verses of the Qur’an and supports these claims with narrations. When performing ablution, if shoes or socks are on the feet, whether one can wipe over them without taking these off and the qualities that these clothes should have is a debate based on hadith narrations. Most Muslims except for the Ja’farite are of the opinion that either washing the feet or wiping over a khuff or similar clothing that was put on while a person already had ablution can be done during ablution, while the Ja’farite think that wiping over bare feet is enough but wiping over khuff is not. There is a consensus that shoes, boots, buskins and other leather footwear qualify as khuff. However, there is disagreement over whether clothing from materials like cotton, linen, wool, and felt -usually referred to as socksqualify as khuff. For this reason, some Muslims of the world wipe over socks while others do not. There are contemporary fatwas (legal opinion) that are supportive of either of the positions. However, there are those who treat this issue beyond choosing a side in an ijtihad (process of juristic legal reasoning) and some who wipe on socks are censured strongly. In this research based on an examination of the fiqh heritage, the goal is to contribute to making this issue better understood and its fiqh ruling clearer.

  • Issue Year: 23/2019
  • Issue No: 1
  • Page Range: 353-374
  • Page Count: 22
  • Language: Turkish
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