Regarding wiping over a splint and the like

The author says: “It is legislated to wipe over a splint or anything similar that is fastened to an injured limb, on account of several hadiths transmitted on the matter. Although each report is weak, their multiple chains strengthen one another, making them acceptable as proof of its permissibility. Among those reports is the hadith of Jābir in which a man was struck by a stone that split his head … .”

I say: In declaring this hadith sound the author has followed al-Ṣanʿānī, al-Shawkānī, and others, yet all of them overlooked the rule I set out in the Introduction, Principle 10, whose gist is that a hadith does not gain strength from numerous chains when every one of those chains is severely weak. These reports are of that very kind, and they number four. Let us, therefore, outline their defects briefly:

First: The hadith of Jābir cited in the book, the pertinent wording of which is: “He should bind or compress the wound … .” We have already shown earlier that this clause is anomalous, so there is no need to repeat the discussion.

Second: The report from ʿAlī who said, “One of my forearms broke, so I asked the Messenger of Allah ﷺ and he instructed me to wipe over the splints.” Al-Ḥāfiẓ Ibn Ḥajar remarks in Bulūgh al-Marām: “Ibn Mājah recorded it with a chain that is exceedingly weak.” His commentator al-Ṣanʿānī said: