Khuffs are the leather boots and socks are made of clothes. They both are being worn since ages. There are many people who wear them as a habbit. When it comes to ablution, some people want to wash their feet while some want to do masah i.e. wiping their feet from over the khuffs or socks. So there are proper rulings for them and these rulings have been derived from sunnah. Allah swt say in Holy Quran;
1: the first condition from this is that the person who wants to wipe on his socks should be in state of purity. That is, he should not be impure himself. If he is not pure, then he will have to make complete wudu. The evidence is given in the hadith quoted above.
2: the second stage is valid only if the first condition is met. One can wipe his feet in socks only if the socks are clean. If they are not clean, then it is obvious that salah cannot be made with putting them on. The hadith which validates it is once, prophet Muhammad pbuh offer3ed namaz in shoed which he took off during salah. Which make sit clear that if socks or khufs are dirty, they will invalidate that prayer.
3: When the wearer is in state of minor impurity but not major. The evidence, Safwaan bin Assaal radiallaahu 'anhu said, “The Messenger of Allâh sallallaahu 'alayhi wa sallam ordered us not to remove our socks for three days and nights when we were on a journey except if we were junub, but not from excretion, urination or sleep.” thus, major impurity would need proper washing.
4: the time limit set by the shariah. The evidence is; Alee radiallaahu 'anhu said, “the Messenger sallallaahu 'alayhi wa sallam set a limit of one day and night for the resident, and three days and nights for the traveler,” that is, one day and night makes it twnety four hours while three days and nights make it seventy two hours.
Thus, it is permissible to wipe over socks or khufs of the above mentioned conditions are met. Islam is the deen of ease, one must not make it hard by un necessarily doing what can be avoided.
[005:006] O you who believe! when you rise up to prayer, wash your faces and your hands as far as the elbows, and wipe your heads and your feet to the ankles; and if you are under an obligation to perform a total ablution, then wash (yourselves) and if you are sick or on a journey, or one of you come from the privy, or you have touched the women, and you cannot find water, betake yourselves to pure earth and wipe your faces and your hands therewith, Allah does not desire to put on you any difficulty, but He wishes to purify you and that He may complete His favor on you, so that you may be grateful.From this verse, some people derive that only washing of feet is an option, while the wiping of feet is derived from sunnah. It is because cleanliness is meant from wudu, so if feet are clean, then it is possible to wipe the feet. The following hadith is evidence;
al-Mughira bin Shu’bah radiallaahu 'anhu said that the Prophet sallallaahu 'alayhi wa sallam made wudu. Al-Mughira said, “I moved to remove his khuffs and he said, ‘Leave them, for indeed my feet were in a state of purity when I wore them.’ So he wiped over them.”While wiping over socks is also evident from sunnah. But it has certain conditions.
1: the first condition from this is that the person who wants to wipe on his socks should be in state of purity. That is, he should not be impure himself. If he is not pure, then he will have to make complete wudu. The evidence is given in the hadith quoted above.
2: the second stage is valid only if the first condition is met. One can wipe his feet in socks only if the socks are clean. If they are not clean, then it is obvious that salah cannot be made with putting them on. The hadith which validates it is once, prophet Muhammad pbuh offer3ed namaz in shoed which he took off during salah. Which make sit clear that if socks or khufs are dirty, they will invalidate that prayer.
3: When the wearer is in state of minor impurity but not major. The evidence, Safwaan bin Assaal radiallaahu 'anhu said, “The Messenger of Allâh sallallaahu 'alayhi wa sallam ordered us not to remove our socks for three days and nights when we were on a journey except if we were junub, but not from excretion, urination or sleep.” thus, major impurity would need proper washing.
4: the time limit set by the shariah. The evidence is; Alee radiallaahu 'anhu said, “the Messenger sallallaahu 'alayhi wa sallam set a limit of one day and night for the resident, and three days and nights for the traveler,” that is, one day and night makes it twnety four hours while three days and nights make it seventy two hours.
Thus, it is permissible to wipe over socks or khufs of the above mentioned conditions are met. Islam is the deen of ease, one must not make it hard by un necessarily doing what can be avoided.