Some scholars, however, authenticated it, while others graded it hasan. Yet the Prophet’s consistent practice of wiping them is indisputable evidence. On the view that the hadith is authentic, must the hair growing upon the ears be shaved together with the hair of the head during the ritual shaving?

The answer is that whoever considers the hadith authentic must hold this view. But anyone who reflects on the Prophet’s shaving of his hair during the rites would not suppose that he shaved this hair, or that people are required to shave it or shorten it. According to the view that the hadith is weak, however, there is no difficulty.

Washing the feet, ………

His statement, “Washing the feet”: this is the fourth of the obligatory acts of ablution. Here, the author mentions the feet without qualification, but it must be said: up to the ankles, as Allah the Exalted says: “And wash your feet up to the ankles” [al-Ma'idah 5:6]. This is because, when mentioned without qualification, the foot does not include the heel. The evidence for this is that highway robbers have their feet amputated at the joint between the heel and the upper part of the foot, while the heel remains and is not amputated. Therefore, the author’s words must be qualified in the manner that the verse qualifies them.

The two ankles are the two protruding bones at the lower end of the shin, on either side of the foot. This is the correct view held by Ahl al-Sunnah.

However, the Rafidah say that what is meant by the two ankles is that which is raised and prominent: namely, the two bones on the upper part of the foot (1), because Allah says, “up to the ankles,” rather than, “up to the ankle-bones.” But if you say that the two ankles