Azami 1698

Ibn Majah (558) and Daraqutni (1/199) both narrated it through the route of Haywa bin Shurayh, from Yazid bin Abu Habib, from Hakam bin Abdullah Balawi, from Ali bin Rabah Lakhmi, from Uqba bin Amir who said, then he mentioned it. The wording given is that of Ibn Majah, while with Daraqutni it reads that Uqba bin Amir related that he came to Umar at the conquest of Damascus, and he said, "I was wearing khuffs, and Umar said to me, 'How long has it been, Uqba, since you removed your khuffs?' I calculated from one Friday to the next and said, "Eight days." He said, "You have done well and hit upon the sunnah."Daraqutni said, "Jareer bin Hazim also narrated it, from Yahya bin Ayub, from Yazid bin Abu Habib, from Ali bin Rabah, from Uqba bin Amir, from Umar, with this same account, and he said, 'You have hit upon the sunnah,' without mentioning anyone between Yazid and Ali bin Rabah." End of quote.Its chain is hasan because of Hakam bin Abdullah Balawi. Ibn Main deemed him trustworthy, while Dhahabi said, "Unknown," because no one narrated from him except Yazid bin Abu Habib. The conclusion is that he does not fall below the rank of hasan.Musa bin Ali bin Rabah corroborated this, from his father, from Uqba bin Amir, who said, "I set out from Syria toward Madinah," and he related something similar. This was narrated by Hakim (1/199), and from him Bayhaqi (1/280), through another route, from Bishr bin Bakr, who said, Musa bin Ali narrated to us with his chain. Hakim said, "Sahih according to the criterion of Muslim, though the two of them did not include it." Bayhaqi said in al-Kubra (1/280), "We have also related from Umar bin Khattab, may Allah be pleased with him, a fixed time limit. Either he came back to this view when confirmation reached him from the Messenger of Allah regarding the time limit, or his statement that agrees with the well-known sunnah is more fitting to be followed."I say, it is related from Ibn Umar that he did not set any fixed time limit for it, and this is the view held by Malik and Layth bin Saad, who said there is no fixed duration for wiping, rather one may wipe as long as ghusl has not become obligatory upon him. Some scholars have interpreted Umar bin Khattab's statement, "You have hit upon the sunnah," as applying to necessity, such as a traveler in haste during his journey, for whom occupying himself with removing his footwear is not difficult, like a courier dispatched on business serving the interests of the Muslims. See Ikhtiyarat Sheikh Islam bin Taymiya (p. 65).Bukhari, may Allah have mercy on him, did not include the hadith about the time limit, even though the narrators of the hadith of Ali bin Abu Talib are comparable to Bukhari's own narrators, and he praised the hadith of Safwan bin Assal. Perhaps he held the view that there is no fixed time limit. There are other hadiths bearing this same meaning, though all of them contain some defect.Among them is the hadith of Ubayy bin Umara, who said, "O Messenger of Allah, may I wipe over the khuffs?" He said, "Yes." He asked, "For a day?" He said, "For a day." He asked, "For two days?" He said, "For two days." He asked, "Three?" He said, "Three, and as long as you wish." This was narrated by Abu Dawud (158), from Yahya bin Main, who said, Amr bin Rabi bin Tariq narrated to us, who said, Yahya bin Ayub informed us, from Abdul-Rahman bin Razin, from Muhammad bin Yazid, from Ayub bin Qatan, from Ubayy bin Umara, who said, then he mentioned it.Abu Dawud said, "Ibn Abu Maryam Misri narrated it, from Yahya bin Ayub, from Abdul-Rahman bin Razin, from Muhammad bin Yazid bin Abu Ziyad, from Ubada bin Nusai, from Ubayy bin Umara, and in it he said, 'until it reaches seven,' whereupon the Messenger of Allah said, 'Yes, and whatever seems fit to you.' Its chain has been reported with variations, and it is not a strong one." Daraqutni narrated it in his Sunan (1/198) and said, "This chain cannot be established as sound. There has been considerable disagreement over it concerning Yahya bin Ayub, which I have explained elsewhere, and Abdul-Rahman, Muhammad bin Yazid, and Ayub bin Qatan are all unknown." See for further detail, Minna Kubra (1/181–182).Among them also is the hadith of Anas, that the Messenger of Allah said, "When one of you performs wudu and puts on his khuffs, let him pray in them and wipe over them, and then not remove them if he does not wish to, except after major impurity." This was narrated by Hakim in Mustadrak (1/181) through the route of Abdul-Ghaffar bin Jazairi, who said, Hammad bin Salama narrated to us, from Ubaydullah, from Abdullah bin Abu Bakr and Thabit, from Anas, who said, then he mentioned it. Hakim said, "Sahih according to the criterion of Muslim," and also said, "Its narrators, every one of them, are trustworthy." Dhahabi took issue with this and said, "Abdul-Ghaffar alone narrated it, and while he is trustworthy, the hadith itself is anomalous."Among them also is the hadith of Maymuna, who asked the Prophet about wiping and said, "O Messenger of Allah, may a person wipe over the khuffs at any time, without removing them?" He said, "Yes." This was narrated by Ahmad (26827), and the wording given is his, and Abu Yaala (6/no. 7059), both through the route of Abu Bakr Hanafi, who said, Umar bin Ishaq bin Yasar, brother of Muhammad bin Ishaq, narrated to us, and said, "I read a document belonging to Ata bin Yasar, in the presence of Ata bin Yasar, and it said, Maymuna asked the Messenger of Allah," then he related the hadith. The wording of Abu Yaala reads, "I read to Ata a document he had with him, and in it was, Maymuna, the wife of the Prophet, told me that she said, 'O Messenger of Allah, does a man remove his khuffs at every hour?' He said, 'No, rather he wipes over them as much as he wishes.'"Daraqutni also narrated it (1/199) through Ahmad bin Hanbal, and Haythami quoted from Daraqutni that he said, "Umar bin Ishaq bin Yasar is not strong," and said, "Ibn Hibban listed him among the trustworthy." See Majma al-Zawaid (1/258).I say, even if it is established as sound, it should be understood as applying to the fixed time limit.