add another pair of socks, wearing it over the first pair upon which he had already wiped while still in a state of purity, he may wipe over the second pair. The time limit, however, must be counted from the moment he wiped over the first pair, not from the second. This is the correct opinion: if someone wears a leather sock over another leather sock that has already been wiped, he wipes the outer one but bases the duration on the earlier wiping.

The state of purity in which the socks were put on has to be achieved with water. If he donned them after tayammum (dry ablution), wiping is not permissible. Imagine a traveller who has no water, performs tayammum, puts on his leather socks while in that state, then later finds water and wishes to perform wuduʾ (ablution). In this situation he must remove the socks and wash his feet, for he may not wipe over them: he did not put them on after a washing that included his feet, and tayammum covers only two limbs—the face and the hands.

Condition Two: wiping is valid only in the case of minor ritual impurity. Safwān ibn ʿAssāl said, “Except from janābah (major ritual impurity); rather, only after defecation, urination, or sleep.” Therefore, when a person becomes junub (in a state of major impurity), it is not enough to wipe over the socks or leather footwear; he must remove them and wash his feet. Major ritual purification does not allow wiping—except out of necessity for something like a splint. For the same reason, during ghusl (the full ritual bath) one must wash the head, even though in minor ablution the head is merely wiped. Janābah demands a more emphatic purification and constitutes a greater impurity, so a full bath is obligatory and wiping over footwear is invalid, as attested by this hadith and confirmed by sound reasoning and analogy.

Condition Three: wiping must take place within the period set by the Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him: one day and one night for a resident, and three days and nights for a traveller, as is also authentically reported from