Short answer
In the Hanafi school, only over leather khuffs or over socks thick and strong enough to act like them. Ordinary cotton, nylon or wool socks do not qualify, so you have to take them off and wash your feet. The Hanbali school allows wiping over ordinary socks that cover the foot.
Wiping is allowed over leather khuffs, and over socks that are thick enough that you could walk about three miles in them, they stay up without being tied, water does not soak through to the foot, and the skin cannot be seen. Thin socks do not meet these conditions.
Other madhhabs
- Shafi'i
- Socks qualify only if they are strong enough to walk in and stop water from soaking through, which ordinary socks are not.
- Maliki
- Only leather khuffs, or socks covered with leather, may be wiped over.
- Hanbali
- Wiping over socks (jawrab) is allowed if they cover the area of the foot that must be washed and stay up on their own.
Explanation
Wiping over khuffs (leather socks) in place of washing the feet is established by a large number of hadiths. On a journey, al-Mughirah bent down to pull off the Prophet's ﷺ khuffs, and he told him to leave them, since he had put them on with clean feet, and wiped over them.
The question is which socks count as khuffs. There is a hadith that the Prophet ﷺ wiped over jawrabs (socks), which al-Tirmidhi graded sound, while other hadith masters criticised it. The Hanafi school allows wiping over socks only when they do the job of a khuff. Its conditions:
- thick enough that water does not soak through to the foot when wiped
- strong enough to walk about three miles (one farsakh) in without tearing
- stay up on the leg without elastic or tying
- cover the foot up to and including the ankles
- you put them on after a complete wudu
Everyday socks, including most sports and thermal socks, fail these tests, so a Hanafi must wash the feet. Leather khuffs and some thick specialised socks sold for this purpose pass. If you are unsure about a product, check it against the conditions above.
For how long you can wipe and how, see the time limit for wiping over khuffs.
The evidence
Sahih al-Bukhari 206
Sahih... دعهما فاني ادخلتهما طاهرتين ...
"Leave them, for I put them on when my feet were clean."
Establishes wiping over khuffs and the condition of wearing them after wudu.
Where the ruling is recorded
- al-Hidaya, Kitab al-Taharat, chapter on wiping over khuffs. Wiping over socks is allowed only when they are thick or leather-soled.
- Radd al-Muhtar (Ibn Abidin), Kitab al-Taharah, chapter on wiping over khuffs. The conditions for thick socks.
- Kashshaf al-Qina', Kitab al-Taharah, chapter on wiping over khuffs. The Hanbali permission to wipe over socks.
This answer is pending review by the scholars on our team. Quran translation by Sahih International. Hadith Arabic from the standard editions of the six books and the Muwatta, with gradings as recorded there; the English is our own rendering. Spotted a mistake? Tell us.