Shaykh al-Islam acted upon this view on one of his journeys. He said (21/215): “When I travelled by courier, the journey became arduous for us, and the prescribed period for wiping had elapsed. It was not possible to remove the leather socks and perform minor ablution except by leaving the travelling party or delaying them in a manner that would harm them through having to wait. I therefore came to consider it more probable that, in cases of need, there is no prescribed time limit, as we have said regarding a bandage. I understood Umar’s hadith and his statement to Uqbah ibn Amir, ‘You have acted in accordance with the sunnah,’ in this light, thereby reconciling the reports. Then I found it explicitly stated in Ibn A'idh’s Maghazi that he had travelled by courier—as I had—when Damascus was conquered … So I praised Allah for this agreement.” He said: “This is a highly beneficial issue.”

I say: By Allah, he spoke the truth. It is among the rare examples of his juristic insight—may Allah reward him on our behalf with the best reward. Shaykh Ala al-Din al-Muradi related in his book al-Insaf (1/176) that Shaykh al-Islam said in al-Ikhtiyarat: “The period for wiping is not subject to a time limit for a traveller for whom removing and putting on the leather socks is burdensome, such as a courier dispatched on Muslim affairs.” He approved of this. It is found in the separate edition of al-Ikhtiyarat (p. 15).

2623 — “Who instructed you to torment yourself?! Fast the month of patience, Ramadan, and one day of every month.” I said, “Increase it for me.” He said, “Fast the month of patience and two days of every month.” I said, “Increase it for me; I have the strength.” He said, “Fast the month of patience and three days of every month.”

It was recorded by al-Bukhari in al-Tarikh al-Kabir (4/1/238–239), al-Tayalisi in his Musnad (31), and al-Tabarani in al-Mu'jam al-Kabir (19/194/no. 435), through Hammad ibn Yazid ibn Muslim: Mu'awiyah ibn Qurrah narrated to us from Kuhmas al-Hilali, who said: