The ruling on removing leather socks after wiping over them

Question:
May Allah reward you, Honorable Shaykh. This questioner says: Some scholars hold that merely removing the leather socks invalidates the ablution, while others do not hold that. Some of them distinguish between removing the socks while in a state of purity and removing them after having broken the purity. The question is: What is the stronger position in this issue?

Answer:
I have not looked into these opinions, but the majority of scholars hold that if the one who wiped over the socks removes them, he must wash his ablution, because by removing the socks, the place of the dispensation is gone, since the place of the dispensation is the socks themselves. So if he removes them, the place of the dispensation is gone and the ruling is gone. Some say that if he performed ablution and the time limit has not expired and he wiped, then he must remain in a state of purity even if he removes them afterward. And among them is the Shaykh al-Islam, who holds that removing the socks after wiping over them does not invalidate his ablution. He says this is like the hair of the head: if one wipes over it and then shaves it, his ablution is invalidated, even though he wiped over the hair of the head. We say there is a difference between the hair of the head and the socks, because the roots of the hair remain, and they find the hair to be permanent, or rather, its roots remain, and its roots have the ruling of the branches, unlike the socks: if they are removed, nothing remains of them, and the foot becomes exposed. And if the foot is exposed, its obligation is to be covered. The wearing of the socks was only because the foot was covered. So if what is on it is removed and it appears, its obligation is to be covered, because the covering of the foot has been removed.