As for the first report, he counted it among the narrations of Aws and inserted between Aws and Ya‘la ibn ‘Ata’ a narrator named ‘Ata’ Abū Ya‘la.

Regarding the wording, he also added the phrase “and his feet.”

Ahmad likewise recorded it (4/8) through this same route but without the words, “and he wiped over his sandals and his feet.” In my view the earlier version is stronger, for two trustworthy transmitters—Hammad and Shurayk—agree upon it, whereas their lone opponent, Hushaym, is well-known for frequent tadlīs, as stated in al-Taqrīb, and he reported it only with an ambiguous “from” (ʿan) link.

Ahmad (1/148) and al-Dārimī (1/181) also narrated—on the authority of ʿAlī (may Allah be pleased with him), and the following is Ahmad’s wording—: “Abū Nuʿaym told us; Yūnus told us, from Abū Isḥāq, from ʿAbd Khayr, who said: I saw ʿAlī perform wuduʾ and wipe over the sandals, then say: ‘Had I not seen the Messenger of Allah ﷺ do exactly what you have just seen me do, I would have thought the inner part of the feet more deserving of wiping than the outer.’” This chain is sound.

Al-Aʿmash corroborated him, transmitting from Abū Isḥāq the wording: “I used to believe the inner part of the feet had a greater claim to wiping than the outer, until I saw the Messenger of Allah ﷺ wiping the outer.” Ahmad recorded this (1/114, 124).

It appears that some transmitters omitted the mention of the sandals, so the report should be understood as wiping over the sandals, as the first narration makes clear.

Al-Suddi likewise transmitted it from ʿAbd Khayr in similar terms, stating: “He wiped over his sandals and then said: ‘Such is the wuduʾ of one who remains pure so long as he has not broken that state.’”