Ch. 8 – Rules concerning masah on leather socks

1. If one wears leather socks after having made wudu and his wudu breaks thereafter, then when he makes his wudu again, it will be permissible for him to make masah (passing of wet hands) on the leather socks. However it is preferable to remove the leather socks and wash the feet.

2. If the socks are so short that they do not cover the ankles, masah on them is not permissible. Similarly, if a person is not in a state of wudu and wears the leather socks, masah on them will not be permissible. He will have to remove them and wash the feet.

3. The person who is on a journey can make masah on the leather socks for a period of three days and three nights (72 hours). As for the one who is not travelling, for him the period is one day and one night (24 hours). This period of one day and night or three days and three nights will be calculated from the time the wudu breaks and not from the time when the leather socks were worn. For example, a person made wudu at the time of Zuhr and then wore his leather socks. Thereafter his wudu broke at the time of sunset. It will now be permissible for him to make masah right until the sunset of the following day. And if he is on a journey, then right until the sunset of the third day. Once the sun sets, it will not be permissible for him to make masah.

4. If ghusl becomes obligatory on a person he should first remove the leather socks and then have a bath. Making masah on the leather socks when bathing is not permissible.

5. Masah should be made on the top section of the leather socks and not of the soles.

6. The method of making masah is that after wetting the fingers, they should be placed in the front. Place the fingers flat on the socks with the palms away from them. Thereafter, draw or pull the fingers towards the ankles. If the palms are also placed flat on the socks together with the fingers, it will be permissible.

7. If instead of drawing the fingers from the front to the ankles, one draws them from the ankles to the front, then this will be permissible but contrary to the mustahab method. Similarly, if masah is made on the width of the leather socks and not on the length, it will be permissible but contrary to the mustahab method.

8. Masah on the soles, heels or sides of the leather socks is not permissible.

9. If the fingers were not placed flat on the leather socks but only the finger tips were placed, then this masah will not be permissible. However, if water drips continuously on the fingers and it could wet an area equal to three fingers, it will be permissible.

10. When making masah, the mustahab method is that it should be made with the palm-side of the hands. But if someone makes masah with the back of the hands, it will also be permissible.

11. A person did not make masah but went outside in the rain or walked on wet grass whereby the leather socks got wet. Masah will be complete.

12. It is fard to make masah equal to three fingers of the hands on each leather sock. Masah will not be complete with anything less than this.

13. Whatever breaks wudu also breaks masah of the leather socks. In addition to this, removing the leather socks also breaks masah. If a person is in a state of wudu and he removes his leather socks, masah will break. He will have to wash both his feet again and there is no need to repeat the entire wudu.

14. If the leather sock of only one foot was removed, it will be wajib to remove the other foot as well and to wash both feet.

15. Masah also breaks with the expiry of the period of masah. If the person is still in a state of wudu after the expiry of the period, then only the feet will have to be washed. There is no need to repeat the entire wudu. But if wudu has also broken, then after removing the leather socks, the entire wudu will have to be repeated.

16. After having made masah on the leather socks, the person’s foot got immersed in water. On account of the leather socks being loose, water went inside and the entire foot or more than half of the foot got wet. Masah will break, the socks will have to be removed and both the feet will have to be thoroughly washed.

17. If the leather socks are torn to the extent that when one walks, an area equal to three fingers of the feet becomes exposed, then masah on them will not be permissible. But if less than three fingers get exposed, it will be permissible.

18. If the stitches of the leather socks got opened but the foot is not visible from them, masah will be permissible. But if it is such that while walking they become visible and when one is not walking they cannot be seen, then masah will not be permissible.

19. If the leather socks gets open on one foot equal to two fingers, and equal to one finger on the other foot, masah will be permissible. If one foot is torn in several places and all this equals three fingers, masah will not be permissible. But if these several places do not add up to three fingers, masah will be permissible.

20. A person who was not on a journey began making masah on the leather socks. Before the expiry of one day and one night, he embarked on a journey. He can now continue making masah for three days and three nights. But if one day and one night passes before he can embark on the journey, the time will be expired. He will have to wash his feet and then wear the leather socks.

21. If a person was on a journey and then went home and one day and one night had already expired, then the leather socks will have to be removed. Masah on them will not be permissible. But if one day and one night is not over as yet, he can complete this period and cannot go beyond it.

22. If leather socks are worn over ordinary socks (cotton or woollen socks, etc.), masah will also be permissible.

23. To make masah on ordinary socks alone is not permissible. However, if they have been covered with leather, or covered in leather in the shape of men’s shoes (in other words there are leather soles upon ordinary socks), or they are so thick and hard that they can stay on without being tied, and one can walk about four to six kilometres with them – then in all these cases masah on ordinary socks is permissible.

24. Masah is not permissible on a burqah (head cover), gloves, hat or turban.

25. Masah on boots is permissible with the following conditions:

  1. that they cover the entire feet together with the ankles.
  2. the lace (or zip) closes them in such a way that the skin of the feet do not get exposed to such an extent which would make masah impermissible.

26. A person who was making tayammum had his leather socks on. When he makes wudu, he cannot make masah on those socks because tayammum is not a complete purity. This is irrespective of whether the tayammum was for ghusl only, for wudu and ghusl, or for wudu only.

27. The person who is making ghusl cannot make masah irrespective of whether it is a compulsory or sunnat bath. For example, a person raises his feet in such a way, that he washes his entire body except his feet, and after having washed his entire body, he makes masah on his feet. This is not permissible.

28. Just as the wudu of a ma’zur breaks on the expiry of a salaat time, in the same way his masah also breaks. It is wajib on him to remove his leather socks and wash them. However, if at the time of making wudu and masah of the socks, that sickness of his was not present then he will be regarded as any normal person.

29. If a major portion of his foot got wet in some way or another, the leather socks will have to be removed and the feet will have to be washed.

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