What wiping is, and why it matters

In wudu, you normally wash your feet. But if you are wearing the right kind of socks, put on in the right way, you can instead wipe a wet hand over them. This is called mash (wiping) over khuffs (leather socks) or socks.

It makes wudu much easier at work, at school, in the cold, and when travelling. You do not have to take your shoes and socks off and put your feet in a sink every time.

The same idea applies to a bandage, cast or plaster on a wound. You wipe over it instead of washing under it. That has its own rules, explained further down.

Why it is allowed

Wiping over socks is one of the best-proven practices of Nabi ﷺ. Many Companions saw it.

• Al-Mughirah poured water for Nabi ﷺ on a journey. Nabi ﷺ made wudu and wiped over his khuffs¹.
• Sa'd ibn Abi Waqqas reported it. When Ibn Umar asked his father Umar about it, Umar said yes, and added: when Sa'd tells you something from Nabi ﷺ, you do not need to ask anyone else².
• Amr ibn Umayyah saw Nabi ﷺ wipe over his turban and his khuffs³.

It was never cancelled

The verse of wudu in Surah al-Ma'idah says to wash your feet⁴. So some people asked: was wiping only allowed before this verse came?

The answer came from Jarir ibn Abdullah. He was seen using the toilet, making wudu and wiping over his socks, then standing to pray. People asked him: you do this? He said yes, he had seen Nabi ﷺ do exactly the same⁵.

People were delighted with this, because Jarir became Muslim after Surah al-Ma'idah came down⁶. So Nabi ﷺ was still wiping after the verse. The wiping was never cancelled.

The four conditions

You can wipe over your socks only if all of these are true:

1. You put them on after a full wudu

Al-Mughirah once rushed to take off Nabi's ﷺ khuffs so he could wash his feet. Nabi ﷺ said: leave them. I put them on while I was pure. And he wiped over them⁷.

• So make a complete wudu, including washing both feet, then put the socks on.
• Hanafis say it is enough that your wudu is complete before it first breaks, even if you put one sock on before washing the other foot. Shafi'is and Hanbalis say finish the whole wudu first, then put on both. Finishing first is safe in every view.
• Purity from tayammum does not count for this. It must be wudu with water.

2. They cover the foot up to the ankles

The sock must cover the whole part of the foot that you wash in wudu, including the ankle bones. Ankle socks that stop below the ankle bone cannot be wiped.

3. They are clean

The socks must be pure, made of something allowed, and free of najasa (filth like urine). Stolen socks or socks made of pig skin cannot be wiped.

4. You could walk in them

Most scholars say the sock must be strong enough to walk in, and stay up on the leg by itself. This is where the schools differ about normal socks (see below).

How long you can wipe

Ali said: Nabi ﷺ set three days and nights for a traveller, and one day and night for someone at home⁸. Khuzaymah ibn Thabit reported the same limits⁹.

Malikis set no fixed limit. You can keep wiping until you take the socks off or need ghusl. But they recommend taking them off once a week, on Friday.

When does the clock start?

• Hanafis, Shafi'is and Hanbalis: from the first time your wudu breaks after you put the socks on.
• Some Hanbali scholars, in another view from Imam Ahmad: from the first time you wipe.

Example: you make wudu and put on your socks at 6 am for Fajr. Your wudu breaks at 10 am. You first wipe at 1 pm for Dhuhr. Most scholars say you can wipe until 10 am the next day. The other view says until 1 pm.

Travelling in the middle

• Started wiping at home, then set off on a journey: Hanafis say you now get the traveller's three days. Shafi'is and Hanbalis say you finish with the home limit of one day.
• Started wiping on a journey, then came home: all agree you now have the home limit. If you already passed 24 hours, take off your socks and wash your feet.

How to wipe

• 1. Make wudu as normal: hands, mouth, nose, face, arms, head, ears.
• 2. When you reach the feet, wet your hands.
• 3. Put your fingers on the toes of the right sock and wipe up the top of the foot toward the shin, once.
• 4. Do the same for the left foot.

Al-Mughirah said Nabi ﷺ wiped on the top of the socks¹⁰.

Top, not bottom

Ali said: if religion were by opinion, the bottom of the sock would be more worth wiping than the top. But I saw Nabi ﷺ wipe the top¹¹.

This teaches a big lesson: in worship, we follow what Nabi ﷺ did, even when our own logic would choose something else.

How much to wipe

• Hanafis: at least the width of three fingers on the top of each foot.
• Shafi'is: any part of the top is enough.
• Hanbalis: most of the top of the foot.
• Malikis: the whole top is required, and wiping the bottom too is recommended.

Wipe once. Do not wipe three times, and do not wash the socks. Washing them instead of wiping is disliked.

Which socks can be wiped

Socks with a hole

• Hanafis: a small hole is fine. It is too big when it is the size of three small toes.
• Malikis: a small hole is fine. A large hole, about a third of the foot, stops the wiping.
• Shafi'is and Hanbalis: any hole that shows part of the foot you must wash stops the wiping.
• Some scholars, including Ibn Taymiyyah, say any sock that people still wear can be wiped. The Companions were often poor, and their socks were rarely perfect.

Socks over socks

• Hanafis, Malikis and Hanbalis: if you put on both pairs while in wudu, you may wipe the outer pair.
• Shafi'is: you must wipe the inner pair, by reaching your wet hand under the outer one.
• If you wipe the outer pair and later take it off, Hanafis say wipe the inner pair. Hanbalis say make a new wudu.

What ends the wiping

• Anything that breaks wudu breaks your wudu as normal. You make wudu again and wipe again, as long as the time has not run out.
• You need ghusl. Safwan ibn Assal said: when we travelled, Nabi ﷺ told us not to take off our khuffs for three days, except for janabah, but not for using the toilet or sleeping¹⁴. So for ghusl, the socks always come off.
• The time runs out.
• You take them off, or most of the foot slips out of the sock.

If you take them off, or the time runs out, while still in wudu

• Hanafis and Shafi'is: just wash your feet. The rest of your wudu stays.
• Malikis: wash your feet straight away. If you wait a long time, make the whole wudu again.
• Hanbalis: make a new wudu.
• Some scholars, including Ibn Taymiyyah, say your wudu stays and you do not need to do anything until it breaks.

Wiping over a turban or a hijab

In wudu, you wipe over your head. Nabi ﷺ sometimes did this over his turban. Al-Mughirah said he wiped over his forelock, his turban and his khuffs¹⁵. Another Companion saw him wipe over his turban and khuffs¹⁶.

• Hanafis and Malikis: wiping over a turban alone is not enough. You must wipe part of the head itself: Hanafis say a quarter of it, Malikis say all of it.
• Shafi'is: wipe a little of the hair, like the front, and then you may complete the wipe over the turban.
• Hanbalis: you may wipe over a turban that is wound round the head and under the chin, if you put it on in wudu. It has the same time limit as socks.

For women: the hijab

• Hanbalis allow a woman to wipe over a head scarf that is wrapped under her chin, if she put it on in wudu.
• Hanafis, Malikis and Shafi'is: she must wipe at least part of the hair itself. She can slip her wet hand under the front of her scarf and wipe the front of her head. Shafi'is say a few hairs are enough.
• At work or in public, the easy way is to push your hand under the front of the hijab and wipe. You do not need to take it off.

Bandages, casts and plasters

A jabirah is anything that covers an injury: a bandage, a cast, a splint, a plaster or a dressing. If washing under it would harm you, or you are told not to take it off, you wipe over it instead.

There is no strong hadith on this, but the Companions did it, and all four schools agree it is allowed. It follows the rule that Allah does not make things hard for you¹⁷.

How it is different from socks

The steps

• Wash every part of your wudu (or ghusl) as normal, around the bandage.
• When you reach the bandaged part, wipe a wet hand over the whole bandage once.
• If even wiping would harm, leave it, and make tayammum for that part, as explained in Tayammum.

Where the schools differ

• Hanafis and Malikis: it does not matter if you put the bandage on without wudu. Just wipe.
• Shafi'is: wash what you can, wipe the bandage, and also make tayammum. If it was put on without wudu, or covers much more than the wound, some prayers may need to be made up later. Ask a local scholar.
• Hanbalis: it should be put on in wudu. If it was not, and taking it off would harm, wipe over it and also make tayammum.
• The bandage should cover only what is needed, plus the small area needed to hold it in place.

Small things people ask about

• A plaster on a finger: if taking it off and washing would hurt the cut, keep it on and wipe over it. If it can come off easily without harm, take it off and wash.
• Contact lenses: you do not wash the inside of the eye in wudu, so lenses are no problem. Keep them in.
• A cast taken off: once the bandage or cast comes off for good and the wound is healed, wash that part from then on. If you are still in wudu when it comes off, scholars differ on whether to wash just that part or redo the wudu. A fresh wudu is safe in every view.
• Nail polish or paint: this is not a bandage. It stops water reaching the nail, so it must be removed before wudu. See Wudu.

Learn it step by step

Want short, easy lessons with quizzes? Try the Wiping over socks unit: three short lessons on why it is allowed, how long and how to wipe, and which socks count.

Related chapters: Wudu, Ghusl, Tayammum. To see wudu with pictures, open the step-by-step wudu page.

Common questions

I made wudu at home before work and put on my socks. Can I wipe over them at work?

Yes. You put them on after a full wudu, so you can wipe for 24 hours from when your wudu first broke. Just check your socks meet your school's rules on thickness.

I put my socks on and then remembered I had not washed my feet. Can I still wipe later?

No. The socks must go on after the feet are washed¹⁸. Take them off, finish your wudu, then put them back on.

I am flying for 14 hours. What about wudu?

Make wudu and put on your socks before you leave. On the plane you only need to wash your face, arms and so on at the small sink, wipe your head, and wipe your socks. As a traveller you have up to three days.

I wiped over my socks today, and then had a wet dream. Can I keep wiping?

No. For ghusl, the socks come off and you wash your whole body, feet included¹⁹. After ghusl you can put them on again and start a new count.

My son wears school socks. Can he wipe over them?

If they are thick and cover the ankles, many scholars allow it. If they are thin, scholars differ. Follow your local masjid. Either way, teach him to put them on after wudu at home.

I wear hijab at work. Do I have to take it off for wudu?

No. Slip your wet hand under the front of the scarf and wipe the front of your head. Hanbalis also allow wiping over a scarf wrapped under the chin.

I have a cast on my arm for six weeks. Do I wipe over it the whole time?

Yes. A cast has no time limit. Wash everything else, and wipe a wet hand over the whole cast, in wudu and in ghusl. Try to keep it dry with a cast cover when you shower.

I forgot when my time started. What should I do?

Take the safe side. Count from the earliest time it could have started. If you are not sure, take off your socks and make a full wudu.