Does Removing the Leather Sock Break Purity

The disagreement

• The scholars agreed that the invalidators of purity when wiping over socks are the exact same as the [standard] invalidators of ablution
• They disagreed on whether the act of removing the leather sock itself invalidates the wuḍūʾ of the one who wiped over.

The opinions

• If he removes the sock and washes his feet, his purity remains, even if the washing is delayed:
• Held by: Abū Ḥanīfah and al-Shāfiʿī.
• If he removes the sock, he must wash his feet immediately after removal; otherwise, he must restart the purity (wuḍūʾ) from the beginning:
• Held by: Mālik.
• If he removes them, his purity is nullified
• Held by: Aḥmad

Effect of the disagreement

• Scenario 1: One who removes the sock at Dhuhr and washes his feet before Asr remains in a state of purity.
• Scenario 2: One who removes the sock and immediately washes his feet remains in a state of purity.
• Scenario 3: One who removes his socks must perform a new wuḍūʾ from the beginning, otherwise his prayer is invalid.

Reason for the disagreement

• Is wiping over the leather socks an original act in itself, or is it a substitute for washing the feet while they are concealed within the socks?

The Evidences for Opinions 1 & 2: Because wiping over the socks is a substitute for washing. Once the sock is removed, the ruling of the substitute is lifted and the requirement for the feet to be washed returns. If the feet are washed, purity is complete.

Māliki madhab adds that immediate washing is required due to the obligation of continuity (الموالاة) in wudu.

• Opinion 3: Because wiping over the socks is a substitute for washing the feet. Therefore, removing the sock is like a person performing al-tayammum who then finds water; his purity is nullified immediately. Also, continuity (الموالاة) in wuḍūʾ is a condition for its validity.

References

(Maraji' al-Mas'alah)

Bidāyat al-Mujtahid wa Nihāyat al-Muqtaṣid (1/48), Badā’iʿ al-Ṣanā’iʿ (1/149), Tabyin al-Haqa'iq (1/147), al-Maʿūnah (1/31), al-Fawakih al-Dawani (1/253), al-Muhadhdhab (1/94), al-Bayan (1/166), al-Sharḥ al-Kabīr (1/432), al-Mughnī (1/367), al-Muḥallā (2/103), Sharḥ Ibn Zāḥim (1/144).