Wiping over the Leather Socks
The Zaydī View
The School of Ahl al-Bayt denies the validity of wiping over the leather socks (khuffayn). This is an issue of consensus amongst them. Imam ash-Shawkānī narrated in his Nayl al-Awṭār:
“All of the Prophet’s Progeny, the Imāmītes, the Khawārij, and Abū Bakr ibn Dāwūd al-Ẓāhirī hold that wiping [over the leather socks] is not permissible in washing the feet.”
We also have explicit statements from individual Imams of the Ahl al-Bayt, upon them be peace, that invalidate the practice of wiping over the leather socks.
I. Amīr al-Mu’minīn, Imām ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib (ʿa)
- Imām Zayd ibn ʿAlī narrated from his ancestors that ʿAlī said: “The Book [i.e. Qurʾān] supersedes wiping the leather socks.”
- Imām Zayd ibn ʿAlī narrated from his ancestors that ʿAlī said: “The Messenger of Allah (ṣ), used to wipe over the leather socks before the revelation of Sūrat al-Māʾida. After the verse in al-Māʾida (Q. 5) was revealed, he stopped wiping over the leather socks.”
II. Imām al-Ḥusayn ibn ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib (ʿa)
- Imām Zayd ibn ʿAlī narrated from his father, from his grandfather al-Ḥusayn ibn ʿAlī (ʿa): “Verily, the children of Fāṭima do not wipe over the leather socks, turbans… etc.”
III. Imām Zayd ibn ʿAlī ibn al-Ḥusayn ibn ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib (ʿa)
- Ash-Sharīf al-Ḥasanī narrated in his Tasmiyya with a chain of narrators going back to Naṣr al-Bāriqī: “I asked Zayd ibn ʿAlī regarding wiping over the leather socks. He said: We, the Ahl al-Bayt, do not wipe. Our ancestors did not wipe. I have not seen anyone from the Ahl al-Bayt wipe over the leather socks, ever.”
- Abū Khālid al-Wāsiṭī narrated in Musnad Imām Zayd that he asked Zayd ibn ʿAlī if it is permissible to pray behind one who wiped over the leather socks. Imām Zayd replied: “It is not permissible.” When Abū Khālid asked, “If one does not know whether the prayer leader washed his feet or wiped [over the khuffs], can he pray behind him?” Imām Zayd said: “It is preferable to me that one not pray behind him.”
IV. Other Imams from the Ahl al-Bayt
- Imām Muḥammad ibn Jaʿfar ibn Muḥammad ibn ʿAlī ibn al-Ḥusayn ibn ʿAlī (ʿa)
- Imām al-Ḥasan ibn ʿAlī ibn al-Ḥasan ibn al-Ḥasan ibn al-Ḥasan ibn ʿAlī (ʿa)
- Imām al-Ḥusayn ibn Zayd ibn ʿAlī ibn al-Ḥusayn ibn ʿAlī (ʿa)
Hāfiẓ Muḥammad ibn Sulaymān al-Kūfī narrated on the authority of Aḥmad ibn ʿĪsā ibn ʿAbdullāh ibn Muḥammad ibn ʿUmar ibn ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib (ʿa) that the aforementioned Imams said:
“The children of Fāṭima are in consensual agreement regarding the recitation of Bismillāh al-Raḥmān al-Raḥīm aloud and the avoidance of wiping over the leather socks…”
V. Imām al-Qāsim ibn Ibrāhīm al-Rassī (ʿa)
Ash-Sharīf al-Ḥasanī narrated that Imām al-Qāsim ar-Rassī (ʿa) said:
“The Progeny of the Messenger (ṣ) are in consensual agreement concerning the avoidance of wiping over the leather socks.”
VI. Imām al-Hādī ila al-Ḥaqq Yaḥyā ibn al-Ḥusayn ibn al-Qāsim (ʿa)
In his al-Aḥkām, he said regarding wiping over the leather socks and other garments during wuḍūʾ:
“The Progeny of Allah’s Messenger (ṣ) are in consensual agreement that one does not wipe over any of these. If anyone wipes over them, his ablution is invalid. There is no prayer except with proper wuḍūʾ. It is prohibited to wipe over the leather socks.”
VII. Imām Nāṣir al-ʿUtrūsh al-Ḥasan ibn ʿAlī ibn al-Ḥasan ibn ʿAlī ibn ʿUmar ibn ʿAlī ibn al-Ḥusayn (ʿa)
In al-Iḥtisāb, he said:
“It is upon the one accountable to take the banner of Ahl al-Bayt… and they prohibit wiping over the leather socks.”
✅ Conclusion:
The Zaydī school—along with the broader Imams of Ahl al-Bayt—are unanimous in rejecting the permissibility of wiping over leather socks. They hold that the Qurʾānic injunction in Sūrat al-Māʾida obligates washing the feet directly, and that wiping the khuffs was abrogated.