I said to Ibn Umar, "There are four practices I have seen you do that I have not seen anyone else do."He asked, "What are they?"I said, "I have seen you wearing these tanned leather sandals, and I have seen you touching only these two Yemeni corners and no others, and I have seen you not entering ihram until you place your foot in the stirrup, and I have seen you dyeing your beard yellow."He replied, "As for my wearing these tanned leather sandals, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ used to wear them and perform ablution while wearing them, and he favored them. As for touching these two corners, I saw the Messenger of Allah ﷺ touching only these two and no others. As for dyeing my beard yellow, I saw the Messenger of Allah ﷺ dyeing his beard yellow. And as for my entering ihram only when my mount stands upright with me, I saw the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, when he placed his foot in the stirrup and his mount stood upright with him, then enter ihram."
حدثنا يحيى عن عبيد الله حدثني سعيد بن أبي سعيد
قلت لابن عمر أربع خلال رأيتك تصنعهن لم أر أحدا يصنعهن قال ما هي قال رأيتك تلبس هذه النعال السبتية ورأيتك تستلم هذين الركنين اليمانيين لا تستلم غيرهما ورأيتك لا تهل حتى تضع رجلك في الغرز ورأيتك تصفر لحيتك قال أما لبسي هذه النعال السبتية فإن رسول الله ﷺ كان يلبسها يتوضأ فيها ويستحبها وأما استلام هذين الركنين فإني رأيت رسول الله ﷺ يستلمهما لا يستلم غيرهما وأما تصفيري لحيتي فإني رأيت رسول الله ﷺ يصفر لحيته وأما إهلالي إذا استوت بي راحلتي فإني رأيت رسول الله ﷺ إذا وضع رجله في الغرز واستوت به راحلته أهل
Its chain of transmission is sahih. As for his statement "from Jurayj or Ibn Jurayj," this reflects uncertainty on the part of Ubaydullah or Yahya. Malik established the correct version, narrating it in the Muwatta (1:308-309) from Saeed bin Abu Saeed, from Ubayd bin Jurayj, that he said to Abdullah bin Umar, and so on. Bukhari likewise narrated it (10:260) from Abdullah bin Maslama from Malik, and Muslim (1:330) from Yahya bin Yahya from Malik. Ubayd bin Jurayj of Madinah was a trustworthy successor. Abu Zura and Nasai both affirmed his trustworthiness, and he has no narration in the six books other than this hadith.Regarding "sibtiyyah," with the sin vowelled as kasrah, Ibn Athir said, "sibt," with kasrah, refers to tanned cowhide from which sandals are made. It was given this name because its hair had been "subita" from it, meaning shaved and removed. It has also been said that it was so named because it had been softened ("insabatat") through tanning. He also said, the objection was raised against it because such sandals belonged to people of luxury and abundance.Malik's version reads, "I saw the Messenger of Allah ﷺ wearing sandals that had no hair on them."Ibn Hajar said in Fath al-Bari, explaining "sibtiyyah," Abu Ubayd said, it means tanned leather, and he attributed this to Asmai and to Abu Amr Shaybani. Shaybani added, "tanned with qaraz (acacia bark)." He said, some people have claimed that it refers to leather from which the hair had been shaved.I (the speaker being Ibn Hajar) say, by this he was pointing to what Ibn Wahb transmitted from him and agreed with, and it seems to be derived from the word "sabt," since its meaning is "cutting," and shaving carries that same sense. This is supported by the response of Ibn Umar mentioned in this chapter (meaning Malik's version). Asmai agreed with Khalil on this, and they said, it was called "sibtiyyah" because it becomes soft ("tusbat") through tanning, meaning it becomes pliable.Abu Ubayd said, in the pre-Islamic era, people did not wear tanned sandals except those of wealth and comfort, and he cited poetry as evidence for this.