Is Wiping over Khuff Valid When One Injured Foot Is Covered by a Bandage?


Hanafi Fiqh

Answered by Ustadh Sufyan Qufi

Question

If I put a bandage on my foot after making wudu, and then put on socks which fulfill the conditions of wiping, does the bandage underneath the sock have any effect on the ruling of wiping?

Answer

In the name of Allah, Most Compassionate, Most Merciful,

I pray this finds you in the best of states.
It is valid to wipe over Khuffs even if one of your feet is covered by a bandage covering an injury. [Shurunbulali, Nur al-Idah]

This ruling is because wiping over a bandage covering an injury has the status of washing what is under it. This is because one is allowed to wipe over a bandage when one is unable to wash the skin directly over an injury. Thus, one cannot do more than wipe the bandage in order to perform wudu. Thus, this wiping has the status of washing.

Allah, Most High, says: “Allah does not require of any soul more than what it can afford.” [2.286]   [Shurunbulali, Maraqi al-Falah; Tahtawi, Hashya ‘ala Maraqi al-Falah]

Thus wiping over the bandage and washing the rest of the foot fulfill the duty to wash the feet fully in order to be allowed to wipe over the Khuffs.

And Allah knows best.
Wassalam
[Ustadh] Sufyan Qufi
Checked and Approved by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani

Ustadh Sufyan Qufi is an advanced seeker of knowledge, originally from Algeria, who grew up in France. He began searching far and wide for answers to the fundamental questions of life and was disappointed at the answers he found. Then he connected with various traditional teachers and gradually connected with SeekersGuidance. He embarked on his journey of learning through the various teachers at SeekersGuidance, including his mentor Shaykh Faraz Rabbani. He studied numerous texts in Islamic Law, Theology, Hadith, and other areas with Shaykh Faraz Rabbani and other teachers, including Shaykh Abdurrahman al-Sha‘ar, Shaykh Ali Hani, and others. He is an active instructor at SeekersGuidance and answers questions through the SeekersGuidance Answers Service.