Answer by the Shaykh to some questions concerning wiping over socks and leather socks.

The Shaykh : Then ... the man and the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) after he had performed ablution, so he said in his supplication "O Allah, have mercy on me and on Muhammad, and do not let anyone share in our mercy!", so what did the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) reply to him? He said , so look at this man who has narrowed a wide expanse of the mercy of Allah with this speech of his, which has absolutely no effect. Why? Because he is making a supplication, and when a supplication is deviant and contrary to the Sunnah of Allah in His creation, it is not raised from the earth. So when the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) said to this Bedouin he said -... otherwise, otherwise, if Allah wills, the matter is finished tonight, and the choice is in what Allah has chosen - , so the Messenger (peace be upon him), as you hear in this hadith, says to the one who spoke incorrectly , knowing that this narrowing is verbal, having no effect or impact on the society at that time, let alone having an impact on the society that comes after, following his statement in this deviant phrase. So what do we say about a person who knows that this condition has no basis in the Book of Allah or in the Sunnah of His Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him), and yet he actually restricts the people from a wide expanse of the mercy of Allah because he says this ... because it is evident from him that the length of the person is two or three fingers, that this sock cannot be wiped over because it is possible to walk in it for half an hour, because it does not stand on its own on the leg. Why? Because it is transparent. So we say that all these conditions have no evidence from the Book or from the Sunnah. And since it is established, as we mentioned, that the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) wiped over the leather socks, wiped over the socks, and wiped over the sandals, and did not stipulate any of these conditions, it is not permissible for us to restrict the people from this breadth of the mercy of Allah, which is from the Shari'ah of the Qur'an . So we return to the socks with holes. And although I see that this question, as they say today, is moot, because the woman who wears these socks, I do not think she thinks first that she will pray, then thinks second that it is permissible to wipe over the socks absolutely or not permissible, then thinks third, I wonder if it is permissible to wipe over these socks or not. But we say, and a question may arise that is more delicate than this: flesh socks. Some women are afflicted with praying in such socks, so it is possible that a question may arise: Is it permissible to wipe over flesh socks? So I say that the motive for such questions is actually an idea present in the minds of many people, which is that the socks over which wiping is permissible must be thick and prevent water from reaching the foot. I say this is my opinion, and perhaps I may say that this is a philosophy in Islam that is foreign, which Islam does not know. What is the connection between the sock being thick, not transparent, and not allowing water to pass through, and the establishment of wiping over the sock from the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him)? There is no connection to that, except the assumption that it is a condition that the sock must prevent the arrival of water. I say, following 'Ali ibn Abi Talib, who said "If the religion were by opinion, I would say that wiping the bottom of the leather sock is better than wiping the top, but I saw the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) wiping over the leather socks", meaning not on the bottom of the leather socks. If the religion were by opinion, 'Ali would say wiping from the bottom, because the bottom is what is affected by impurity and dirt, whereas the top is not so. But he said "I saw the Messenger of Allah wiping over the leather socks". And I said, as Abu Hanifa (may Allah have mercy on him) said, if the religion were by opinion, I would say that it is obligatory to take a full bath from urine and suffice with ablution for the emission of semen! Meaning wet dreams, contrary to what is established in the Shari'ah. They said to him, why? He said, because urine is impure by the consensus of the scholars, so it is more likely that it be said that taking a full bath from it is obligatory than saying that taking a full bath from the emission of semen is obligatory, which is disputed regarding its impurity. But he said, the religion is not by opinion, but the text came thus, with the obligation of taking a full bath from the emission of semen, which is disputed regarding its purity and impurity, and the non-obligation of taking a full bath from the emission of urine, which is agreed upon to be impure.
I say, quoting from these two Imams, 'Ali ibn Abi Talib and Abu Hanifa al-Nu'man ibn Thabit, I say, if the religion were by opinion, I would say, O people, wiping over socks that allow water to reach the foot is better than not wiping over the sock that does not allow water to pass through. Why? Because the original state is the arrival of water to the foot, so if something of this original state is realized, it is better than it not being realized. But the truth is, this is a philosophy, whether we call it this or that, but we return to the infallible transmission, which is the wiping of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) over the socks, so we wipe, and then it does not concern us afterwards to know the thickness of the sock, whether it is a Kurdish sock or is it a Kurdish sock? Do you have a half-Kurdish one? ... or is it, for example, less than that? All of this falls under exaggeration, like His saying, Blessed and Exalted is He, . This is from exaggeration in the religion. Wiping over the socks is not permissible except with such and such a condition. Where did these conditions come from? You have many scholars, so ask them, if they speak, what is their proof for these conditions? And I challenge any person who can bring a slight evidence for any of all these conditions. There is only one condition, only one condition for the permissibility of wiping over the socks, and over the sandals, and over the leather socks, which is that they be worn in a state of purity, and that it be in a specific time: one day and night for the resident, and three days and nights for the traveler. All of this came from the conditions for the permissibility of wiping over these three things. Yes.