Khuf
As winter holiday is coming soon, most of us must be very excited and are looking forward for our-well-planned-activities especially the one organised by FAMSY. With all the ski trip, winter trip 09 and Jalinan Musim Dingin, is it still applicable for us to practise our daily routine as a muslim. Just imagine, having to perform wudu’ before each prayer while the temperature can go below 4 degrees and water heater may not be available. But remember brothers and sisters, Islam is a very practical way of life. So here is an article regarding dispensation (rukhsah) we can apply during our travel.
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For those who study overseas especially where muslims are minority, performing wudhu’ is a trouble since there might not be a specific place for it in university or workplaces. We ended up getting stared in the public toilet for washing our feet in the sink. As much as we wanna believe that our feet is cleaner than everyone’s face since we wash it A LOT, it still is not a practical way to go. Islam is a deen of practicality. Where there is difficulty, there is always a rukhsah (relief or dispension). So, instead of having to twist our back trying to wash our feet in the 1.5m high sink, it is permissible to wipe over the khuf/ socks / shoes. The basis of this rukhsah is the following hadith in Sahih Muslim;
Al-Mughîrah b. Shu`bah gives the following account; “Allah’s Messenger (peace be upon him) lagged behind and I did so along with him. He relieved himself and after doing so he said: “Do you have water with you.” I passed him a vessel of water and he washed his hands and face. Then he started to roll up the sleeve of his robe from his forearm but the sleeve became too tight, so he brought his arm out from below the robe and tossed the robe over his shoulder. He then washed his forearms. He wiped over his forelock and his turban and his socks. Afterwards, he got back on his steed and I got back on mine and rode until we came upon some people standing in prayer, being led in prayer by `Abd al-Rahmân b. `Awf. He had already completed a unit of prayer with them. When he realized that the Prophet (peace be upon him) was present, he began to step back, but (the Prophet) motioned to him and he kept praying. When he uttered the salâm, the Prophet (peace be upon him) stood up and I stood up with him and we prayed the unit of prayer that we had missed.”
What is khuf?
Khuf is a special type of socks made of leather. Scholars differ on the permissibility of using nylon, woollen or cotton socks. However, some shafi’iyah scholars allow using such socks in place of a khuf should it fulfil certain conditions. This opinion is supported by Seikhul Islam Ibn Taimiyah in his Majmu’ alFatawa.
Conditions for khuf / socks
1) The socks must be strong enough to enable walking in them without tearing.
2) The socks should remain in position without being tied and should not slip.
3) Water must not be able to seep through.
4) The socks must not be transparent.
How to wipe the khuf / socks
Draw the fingers of the right hand on the upper surface of the sock starting from the toes up to the foreleg (just above the ankle). It should be done once only on each sock. The right hand should be used for the right sock and the left hand for the left sock.
Validity of wiping over the socks
For it to be valid it is essential to put on the khuf/ socks after complete Wudhu has been made. Thereafter if Wudhu breaks, it will be permissible to wipe over the socks without washing the feet when Wudhu is being made.
Validity for a muqeem (non-travellers) is 24 hours while for the musafir (travellers) is 72 hours in condition that the socks haven’t been removed throughout the time. (The period will be reckoned from the time the Wudhu breaks, not from the time the Khuf/socks were put on).
In the next entry, we will look at rukhsah in prayers for travellers.
Reference:
1. Fatwa from Sheikh Abdullah Khatib regarding Placing the Socks as Khuf.
This article is adapted from famsy survival kit which was release earlier this year as guidance for new students in Australia.
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