The Ruling on Wiping Over Leather Slippers
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It is established from some of the Companions, such as Ibn 'Umar, 'Ali ibn Abi Talib, and Aws ibn Aws al-Thaqafi, in the Sunan and elsewhere, that they wiped over their slippers, and that some of them removed their slippers and then entered and prayed in the mosque, including: the hadith of Husayn ibn 'Abd al-Razzaq, which meets the conditions of the two Shaykhs. How do we reconcile this?
This has an explanation according to some scholars: It is permissible to wipe over the slippers if they cover most of the foot.
And some of them say: The foot is either covered by a leather sock and a woolen sock, in which case one wipes over them; or it is not covered by anything, in which case it is washed; or it is covered by a slipper, in which case it is sprinkled with water, which is between washing and wiping. They interpreted the hadith regarding wiping over slippers in this way and said: that the meaning is that he sprinkled it, then passed his hand over it.
In any case, the precaution for a person is not to proceed with anything unless he knows that the Sunnah has come with it, or he is convinced in his mind that the Sunnah has come with it. As for what is reported from the Companions that contradicts the apparent meaning of the Sunnah, it is not taken as a proof; rather, one excuses them and does not argue with their actions.
This has an explanation according to some scholars: It is permissible to wipe over the slippers if they cover most of the foot.
And some of them say: The foot is either covered by a leather sock and a woolen sock, in which case one wipes over them; or it is not covered by anything, in which case it is washed; or it is covered by a slipper, in which case it is sprinkled with water, which is between washing and wiping. They interpreted the hadith regarding wiping over slippers in this way and said: that the meaning is that he sprinkled it, then passed his hand over it.
In any case, the precaution for a person is not to proceed with anything unless he knows that the Sunnah has come with it, or he is convinced in his mind that the Sunnah has come with it. As for what is reported from the Companions that contradicts the apparent meaning of the Sunnah, it is not taken as a proof; rather, one excuses them and does not argue with their actions.