Q: In wudhu,Why don’t you do masah (wipe) over thin cotton socks?
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A: Because there is no saheeh Hadith to prove that. Give us a saheeh Hadith and we’ll think about it.
There is no Hadith in saheeh Bukhari nor in saheeh Muslim which would mention the masah over thin cotton socks. There are plenty of saheeh Hadith in both books regarding masah on LEATHER socks. But not a single one regarding masah over THIN COTTON socks.
Some people show us an English translation of saheeh Bukhari, saying this is the Hadith for masah on socks. The reality is that they confuse ‘khuffayn’ with ‘jawrabayn’
The translators portray khuffayn as thin cotton socks. Whereas khuffayn is an Arabic word which is used solely for ‘leather socks’. Thin socks are called ‘JAWRABAYN’ so this seems to be a deliberate ploy of some translators.
There is a hadeeth for ‘jawrabayn’ in Sunan abi Dawood, however, it is not Saheeh, it’s Dhaeef, in fact imam Bayhaqi has classed it as ‘Munkar’.
Imam Abu Dawood narrated the Hadith of jawrabayn and commented thus;
“Abdul Rahman ibn Mahdi would not quote this Hadith, as it is narrated from Mughirah ibn Shu’ba’ radhiyallahu anhu, Whereas what is well known in the Hadith of Mughirah Ibn shu’ba is that, “Rasulullah sallallahu alayhi wasallam wiped over Khuffayn (leather socks).” (Not over jawrabayn, In other words, Jawrabayn here is Wahm (mistake).
Imam Abu Dawud goes on to say, ‘This Hadith (of jawrabayn) is also narrated from Abu Musa, however, the chain is not Muttasil (connected) nor Qawiyy (strong)’.
(Abu Dawud Pg22)
The great Salafi scholar Sheikh Abdul-Rahman Al Mubarakpuri writes in Tuhfatul Ahwazi Sharhut-Tirmizi, “(Imam Tirmizi has classed this Hadith as ‘Saheeh’) However, 1) Imam Bayhaqi has narrated the Hadith of Mughirah and said that the Hadith is Munkar. 2) Sufyaan Thawri has classed it Dhaeef and so has 3) Abdur-Rahman ibn Mahdi, 4) Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal, 5) Yahya ibn Maeen, 6) Ali ibnul Madini and 7) Imam Muslim ibn Hajjaj. What is actually recorded from Mughirah is the Hadith of wiping over leather socks. Imam Nawawi (ra) has mentioned that ‘Had all the above Muhadditheen been alone, they would have been put ahead of Imam Tirmizi (ra)’.
Another point is that Jarh (disparagement) supersedes Ta’deel (declaring suitability), and two narrators in this chain are Dhaeef (of weak memory), 1) Abu Qays al-Awadi and 2) Hudhail ibn Shurahbil.
Sheikh Mubarakpuri goes on to say “There are two other Ahadith from Ibn Mas’ood (ra) and Bilal (ra) but they are also Dhaeef and unsuitable as evidence”. Thereafter, he mentions the chain of both hadeeth and their weaknesses.
He concludes saying:
والحاصل انه ليس فى باب المسح على الجوربين حديث مرفوع صحيح خال عن الكلام هذا ما عندي والله اعلم
“The conclusion is, that with regards to wiping over cotton socks, there is no Marfoo’ Hadith which could be classed as Saheeh and free from dispute”
For more detail read the following fatwa on our website.
Q775: Is it permissible to wipe over thin cotton socks during wudhu?