I Wiped Over My Boots but Then Removed Them. Does My Prayer Count?

Answered by Ustadh Tabraze Azam

Question: Assalam alaykum

I performed wudu wiping over my boots because I was going out. I later found a prayer room and removed my boots. I was wearing socks.

Does my prayer count since I wiped over my boots and not my socks?

Answer: Wa alaikum assalam wa rahmatullah,

If you removed the boots you initially wiped over, and what you were wearing underneath was thick such that it would fulfil the conditions of valid footgear (khuffs), your prayer would be valid if you wiped over this footgear before praying. Otherwise, and if unsure about their validity as footgear, you should repeat the prayer.

The general ruling is that it is permissible to wipe over suitable boots and then remove them before proceeding to pray, if the requisite conditions are met. This is because wearing two pairs of valid footgear is akin to wearing a single set of footgear comprised of two parts. Hence, if you remove one part, the wiping is still valid on the part underneath as together they are deemed to be one set of footgear.

Note that this is valid only if the following conditions are met: (1) the boots themselves are valid to wipe over, (2) you wear suitable and valid footgear underneath the boots, (3) you wear the boots before having nullified your ritual washing (wudu), and (4) you wear the boots before having wiped over the normal footgear underneath. Practically, you would perform the ritual washing, and then wear both the footgear and boots at the same time.

However, if you removed your boots after wiping on them, and were only wearing thin socks or the like underneath, your wiping would be vitiated. Consequently, you would need to remove those socks and wash your feet before praying. The same would apply here if you were barefoot.

All of this is in the case that you were in a state of ritual purity at the time of removal. Otherwise, simply washing the feet would obviously not suffice as you would need to perform a new ritual washing (wudu) altogether before praying.

[ShaykhiZada, Majma` al-Anhur (1.49); al-Fatawa al-Hindiyya (1.32/34); Halabi, Mukhtasar Ghunyat al-Mustamli (57); Ibn `Abidin, Minhat al-Khaliq (1.190)/Radd al-Muhtar `ala al-Durr al-Mukhtar (1.179)]

Please also see: Rules Regarding Wiping Over Khuffs (Footgear) and:
The Ruling Of Wiping Over Footgear (Khuffs) and:Is It Valid To Wipe over Khuffs if They Are Worn over Socks? and: Can I Wipe Over My Footgear (Khuffs) If There Is a Tear In Them?

And Allah Most High alone knows best.

wassalam,
[Ustadh] Tabraze Azam

Checked and Approved by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani

Ustadh Tabraze Azam holds a BSc in Computer Science from the University of Leicester, where he also served as the President of the Islamic Society. He memorised the entire Qur’an in his hometown of Ipswich at the tender age of sixteen, and has since studied the Islamic Sciences in traditional settings in the UK, Jordan and Turkey. He is currently pursuing advanced studies in Jordan, where he is presently based with his family.