the ankles. The upshot of Mālik’s school is what I have already outlined. It is reported from him—in the letter he wrote to Hārūn—that he imposed a fixed time limit for wiping over the leather socks, yet his own companions do not regard that report as sound. A number of scholars from Medina and elsewhere, however, did adopt the idea.

The proposed limit is three days and their nights (fifteen prayers) for a traveller, and one day and one night (five prayers) for a resident. The well-known view of Mālik and the people of Medina, by contrast, is that there is no time restriction at all: the traveller may wipe for as long as he wishes, provided he does not become junub (in a state of major ritual impurity). Still, it is recommended that he not continue wiping for more than a week so that he may perform the Friday bath, and there is another report from Mālik that one should not wipe beyond one week.

Anyone who has wiped over his khuffs and then removes them may not pray until he has washed his feet. Whoever takes off his khuffs—or even one of them—after wiping must wash his feet on the spot; if he delays, he must repeat his entire ablution.

The correct manner of wiping is to pass the wet hand over both the upper and lower surfaces of the khuff, placing one hand on top and the other underneath, then wiping forward toward the toes and back to the heel and the base of the shin, without attempting to follow every fold of the leather. If he prefers to move the lower hand from the heel toward the toe-tips, that too is acceptable, and however he wipes it is legally valid, so long as the wiping reaches the ankles. To wipe the entire khuff is disliked but still counts.

Wiping the uppers alone suffices, whereas wiping only the soles does not; if one touches the soles without the uppers, the act is invalid. Mālik nevertheless disliked limiting the wipe exclusively to the uppers and recommended—should someone do so