2 – The impurity that clings to a pair of khuffs is purified simply by wiping or rubbing them on the ground; water is not required.

3 – This reflects the generosity and ease of the Sharīʿah. Because a khuff comes into constant contact with the earth, it is frequently afflicted by dirt and impurity. If cleansing it were limited to washing with water, this would be burdensome and would also ruin the khuff through repeated exposure to water.

4 – The well-known view in Imām Aḥmad’s school is that nothing is purified except by water; therefore a khuff is not cleansed by wiping it on the ground or rubbing it with soil, for water alone has been designated for removing impurities and nothing else can take its place.
A second report from Imām Aḥmad, however, states that a khuff is purified by rubbing it against the ground. This opinion was chosen by al-Muwaffaq, the commentator, Taqī al-Dīn, and a group of scholars. Al-Furūʿ says, “It is the more apparent view,” and it is the stronger position both textually and rationally, for Abū Dāwūd’s Sunan (385) transmits through several chains that the Prophet ﷺ said: “Then let him rub them with earth, for earth is their purifier.”

5 – Shaykh al-Islām observed: “The Prophet ﷺ never issued a universal command that impurities be removed exclusively with water. On the contrary, he permitted their removal without water in a number of cases: using stones for istijmār, cleansing one’s shoes, and cleaning a woman’s trailing hem.” This is the sound position.