Is it permissible to wipe over one’s socks after removing them following a previous wiping and then putting them back on?

The questioner : Praise be to Allah, and may peace and blessings be upon the Messenger of Allah. This is a well-known question. If a man removes the sock over which he wiped and prays, there is no harm on him and his prayer is valid. So, if he puts the sock back on and then his ablution is broken, is it permissible for him to wipe again? Knowing that there is scholarly consensus (ijma') that this is not permissible, what is your opinion?

The Shaykh : If you mean what you are saying by "consensus," what is the opinion in the face of consensus? We say that this wiping is not permissible, as you cited the consensus, because this wiping does not meet the fundamental condition, which is that the socks or stockings must be put on while in a state of purity. Here, he did not put them on while in a state of purity, so this is a fundamental condition. I do not know of the consensus, but the evidence for this is clear.
Al-Halabi : Is it not possible to contest this on the grounds that when he put them on the second time, he was in a state of purity, otherwise it would not have been permissible for him to pray?

The Shaykh : How do you mean?
Al-Halabi : Now, he removed his sock; he prayed, and his prayer was valid.

The Shaykh : He removed the sock over which he had wiped.
Al-Halabi : Yes, and he prayed.

The Shaykh : And he put them on while in a state of complete purity.
Al-Halabi : Originally, and fundamentally, the second time?

The Shaykh : No, no, originally.
Al-Halabi : Originally, of course, he put them on while in a state of complete purity.

The Shaykh : He put them on while in a state of complete purity and wiped over them.
Al-Halabi : After his ablution was broken, he then prayed; he removed them and prayed, so now his prayer is valid.

The Shaykh : Yes, exactly.
Al-Halabi : Because if he put them on a second time, does that mean he was not in a state of purity when he put them on?

The Shaykh : What are you saying? His ablution was broken.
Al-Halabi : His ablution was broken, but he had wiped.

The Shaykh : He wiped in the previous instance.
Al-Halabi: Yes.

The Shaykh : Okay, now when he came back and put the socks on, did he put them on while in a state of complete purity?
Al-Halabi : Not in the original state of purity, but in the state of purity from wiping.

The Shaykh : Okay, the same question comes up in another way: Is the purity from wiping a complete purity?
Al-Halabi : The word "complete," my professor, where is the evidence for that?

The Shaykh What does it mean?
Al-Halabi : Two states of purity, and here two states of purity, otherwise it would not have been permissible for him to pray.

The Shaykh : I mean, if a man in the same situation had wiped for the first time and prayed, then his ablution was broken, and he removed the stockings, then put the stockings on, then performed ablution and wiped over them, would that be permissible?
Al-Halabi : It is not permissible, because he put them on without any wiping.

The Shaykh: All right.
Al-Halabi : He put them on while his ablution was broken.

The Shaykh : Okay, but is it correct to say that if he did that, he put them on while in a state of complete purity?
Al-Halabi : No, of course, professor, he put them on while his ablution was broken.

The Shaykh : Okay, now if the scenario is as you described, does the previous hadith apply to it: "two states of purity"? The intended meaning is not the legal purity, but the linguistic purity, meaning they are washed with water. Does this apply to the second scenario?
Al-Halabi : With this detail, no, but I mean...

The Shaykh : Is this what is intended?
Al-Halabi : Who said this, professor, is it a weak opinion?

The Shaykh : This is the opinion of the Hanafis.
Al-Halabi : Do the Hanafis say this?

The Shaykh : Yes, this is absolutely incorrect; in the name of Allah.

The questioner : Now, the scenario the brother raised and inquired about, where he wipes and puts them on over a wiping, this is not purity; he is putting them on over something washed.

The Shaykh : Yes, exactly.

The questioner : Shaykh, there is another question.

The Shaykh : In the previous scenario, he put his socks on while in a state of complete purity, then wiped during the Dhuhr prayer, for example, then removed the ones he had wiped over and put them on during the Asr prayer. In the first scenario, the period for wiping began at Dhuhr, the first time he wiped over them, correct?

The questioner: Correct.

The Shaykh : In this case, where he removed the socks and put them on during Asr, is he allowed to wipe over them until Dhuhr, or has the period for wiping ended?
Al-Halabi : Based on your answer, it has ended, of course.

The Shaykh : It has ended, of course.
Al-Halabi : Yes, I say based on the answer, it has ended; it is finished, even if it is less than two prayers.

The Shaykh : Whatever it is, the example is intended for approximation, not for specific determination, so there is no issue; this is not permissible.