Fatwa ID: 05841

Answered by: Shaykh Ahmed bin Mohamed Umarji

Question:

We have read in our books that it is impermissible to do masah on leather socks that do not hold up themselves without tying, so what about a zip on the socks? Isn’t that holding up the socks?

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

Answer:

For the leather socks to be able to stay up without being held up is a condition for the Validity of Masah.¹ The reasoning behind this condition as stated in Hashiah At-Tahtawi is that the socks should be thick enough that if it is put on the feet they won’t slide down. When the socks are very thin there is a higher chance that it slips off.² In the case of Leather socks, the leather is thick enough that it stands up by itself. The zip is only there to make it easier to wear.

Only Allah knows best

Written by Shaykh Ahmed bin Mohamed Umarji

Checked and approved by Mufti Mohammed Tosir Miah

Darul Ifta Birmingham

1 والخامس استمساكهما على الرجلين من غير شد – الكتاب: نور الإيضاح ونجاة الأرواح في الفقه الحنفي – الناشر: المكتبة العصرية – صفحة: 35

2  لثخانته إذ الرقيق لا يصلح لقطع المسافة – الكتاب: حاشية الطحطاوي على مراقي الفلاح شرح نور الإيضاح – الناشر: دار الكتب العلمية بيروت – لبنان – صفحة: 131