negate his wiping over socks and sandals. Therefore, when a trustworthy narrator transmits this report from al-Mughīrah, it must be accepted, since it in no way contradicts the other narration from him about wiping over the leather socks. In fact, every transmitter of this ḥadith is reliable, and its chain is sound according to al-Bukhārī’s criteria. Shaykh Taqī al-Dīn Ibn Daqīq al-ʿĪd states in al-Imām:

“Those who declare the ḥadith authentic do so—after establishing the uprightness of Abū Qays, the narrator from Hudhayl—because it does not conflict with the majority’s report in any contradictory manner; rather, it is additional information that does not oppose what they have transmitted. Moreover, it is an independent route: Hudhayl narrating from al-Mughīrah, a chain unshared by the famous versions.”

This is the precise evaluation of the ḥadith in light of the principles of ḥadith science. Do not be swayed by what some scholars quote in disparagement of it; their judgment rests on a flaw that is not harmful, as we have explained. Whoever desires further detail may consult Aḥmad Muḥammad Shākir’s critical edition of Sunan al-Tirmidhī, 2/167–168, Irwāʾ al-Ghalīl no. 101, and Ṣaḥīḥ Abī Dāwūd, pp. 147–148.

He also writes after the preceding ḥadith: “The intended ruling concerned wiping over the socks; mention of wiping over the sandals only came incidentally.”

I say: Such wording might suggest that wiping over sandals is impermissible. To pre-empt that misunderstanding I say: Authentic reports establish that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) wiped over sandals alone, with no reference to socks. This is narrated from ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib, Aws ibn Abī Aws al-Thaqafī, and Ibn ʿUmar, and Ibn al-Qaṭṭān declared these chains sound, as noted in al-ʿIrāqī’s Sharḥ ʿUlūm al-Ḥadīth, p. 12. I have examined their chains in detail in Ṣaḥīḥ Sunan Abī Dāwūd, ḥadiths 150 and 156.