the wiping being accompanied by flowing water. This is indicated by His words:

“Up to the ankles.”

He thus commanded that they be wiped up to the ankles.

Furthermore, wiping in the restricted sense is the flowing of water together with washing; these are two forms of wiping in the general sense, which means bringing water into contact with the part concerned. In such cases, Arabic usage allows one of two expressions to suffice, as in the saying:

“I fed her straw and cold water.”

Yet water is given to drink, not fed. Likewise, the poet says:

“I saw your husband in the fray,
Girded with a sword and spear.”

Yet a spear is not girded on. Another example is the saying of the Most High:

“There will circulate among them boys of everlasting youth,”

“With goblets, pitchers, and a cup,”

through to His words: “And fair maidens with beautiful, wide eyes.” Similarly, mentioning one of the two expressions sufficed here, although what was intended was washing. This is indicated by His words, “Up to the ankles,” and by the other Quranic reading, together with the Sunnah transmitted through numerous independent chains.

Those who say that the feet are to be wiped without water flowing wipe them up to “the ankle bones,” not “the two ankle bones.” Such a person therefore contradicts each of the two readings, just as he contradicts the Sunnah transmitted through numerous independent chains. Neither the apparent meaning nor any underlying meaning supports his position, nor does any known Sunnah. It is merely an error in understanding the Quran and ignorance of its meaning and of the Sunnah transmitted through numerous independent chains.

The mention of wiping the feet suggests that the feet may be wiped, unlike the face and hands, which are not wiped under any circumstances. This is why, concerning wiping over the two leather socks worn on the feet, there are reports