Fatwa #201522 January 2001United States of America
Is our prayer valid if the Imam wipes [masah] over regular socks?
Question
If the Imam does Masah on ordinary socks, what should we do, Is the prayer valid? Should we repeat the prayer? Should we not pray behind the imam. Jazakallahkhair.
Answer
In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
As-salāmu ‘alaykum wa-rahmatullāhi wa-barakātuh.
Wiping [masah] over regular socks is not permissible according to all four schools [madhahib] of fiqh.
For a detailed answer and relevant proofs, please see Ask Imam # 35826 .
If you are sure that the Imam does indeed wipe over such socks, then kindly request the Imam to consider the proofs and unanimous view of all four schools as outlined in the link above. If that does not work, politely inform the masjid committee of this issue. If the committee does not intervene, pray at another nearby masjid.
As for the validity of prayer, if you are certain that the Imam performs masah on regular socks – then the prayer prayed behind him is not valid and would need to be repeated since the Imam's wudhu is not valid.
And Allah Ta’āla Knows Best
Mufti Ebrahim Desai