his position on this issue vary, as those of Mālik’s followers did. If a person prayed with such impurity upon him, unaware of it or having forgotten it, he would not be required to repeat the prayer according to the sounder of the two reports from Ahmad. This accords with Mālik’s position, as indicated by the hadith stating: “When the Prophet—peace and blessings be upon him—removed his sandals during the prayer because of the impurity on them, he did not restart the prayer.” Likewise, when he performed the dawn prayer and then found impurity on his garment, he ordered that it be washed but did not repeat the prayer. According to the other report, the prayer must be repeated, in agreement with Abū Hanīfa and al-Shāfiʿī.

Another foundational principle concerns the removal of impurity. Abū Hanīfa’s position is that it may be removed by any effective cleansing agent, whether liquid or solid. Al-Shāfiʿī, however, holds that it may be removed only with water. Thus, even impurity that soils the underside of a leather sock, footwear, or the lower hem of a garment can be removed only by washing it with water; the same applies even to impurity on the ground.

Ahmad’s position on this matter is moderate: he accepts every method established by the sunnah. According to the sound position reported from him, impurity may be wiped from sandals and similar items with soil or the like, as established by the sunnah. It may similarly be wiped away from the two excretory passages, for in relation to the rest of the body, those two passages are like the underside of a leather sock in relation to the rest of one’s clothing, since each is repeatedly exposed to impurity.

His followers differed regarding the lower hem of a garment: is it like the underside of a leather sock, as indicated by the sunnah, given their equivalence in light of both the transmitted report on this matter and analogy? Regarding the removal of impurity from the ground by the sun and wind, a moderate position must be adopted.