walk, should we say that in this case he may wear leather socks if he cannot find sandals? Or should we say that the Messenger—may the finest blessings and peace be upon him—permitted wearing leather socks when sandals are unavailable because one needs to walk, and the area around Mecca contains valleys and mountains that generally are not free of thorns and stones that make one’s toes bleed; and that this is why he granted him the concession to wear leather socks?

The answer: What appears correct to me is that he should not wear leather socks except in case of need. If he has no need for them, as is the case in our time, then he should not wear them.

Issue: If he is permitted to wear leather socks, must he cut them so that they come below the ankles?

The scholars differed over this, holding two views:

The first: He must cut them, based on the hadith of Ibn Umar, may Allah be pleased with them both, recorded by al-Bukhari and Muslim, in which the Prophet—may Allah’s blessings and peace be upon him and his family—said: “Let him cut them so that they come below the ankles.” (1)

The second: Cutting them is not obligatory, because it is established in al-Bukhari and Muslim, in the hadith of Ibn Abbas, may Allah be pleased with them both, that the Messenger of Allah—may Allah’s blessings and peace be upon him and his family—addressed the people on the Day of Arafah and said: “Whoever cannot find sandals may wear leather socks, and whoever cannot find an izār may wear trousers.” (2) He did not command that they be cut.