59 – Abu Bakrah (may Allah be pleased with him) reports that the Prophet ﷺ “granted the traveller a concession to wipe for three days and their nights, and the resident for one day and one night; once he has performed a full purification and then put on his two khuffs, he may wipe over them.” It was recorded by al-Dāraqutnī and declared sound by Ibn Khuzaymah (1).

Hadith grading
This ḥadīth is ṣaḥīḥ. Al-Ḥāfiẓ states in al-Talkhīṣ that Ibn Khuzaymah transmitted it—with the wording cited above—and that al-Khaṭṭābī authenticated it; al-Bayhaqī further relates that al-Shāfiʿī considered it sound. It is also narrated by Ibn Mājah, Ibn Ḥibbān (4/154), Ibn al-Jārūd (2/232), Ibn Abī Shaybah (1/2163), al-Dāraqutnī, and al-Tirmidhī in al-ʿIlal.

Vocabulary
• rakhkhaṣa: he granted a rukhsah (legal concession); plural rukhaṣ. It denotes facilitation and ease in a ruling.
• “When he has purified himself”: here, purification refers to removing minor ritual impurity.

Points derived from the ḥadīth
1 – The traveller may wipe for three days and nights, whereas the resident may wipe for one day and one night.
2 – Wiping is valid only when it follows a complete ablution and the khuffs are put on immediately thereafter.
3 – The traveller is allowed the longer period because he is more likely to need it, owing to the hardship of travel, cold weather, going barefoot, and saving time; the resident, enjoying relative ease, is not in such need.