How to reconcile the hadiths that specify a time limit for wiping over the leather socks with those that do not?

The questioner : How is the reconciliation achieved regarding the time limit and the lack thereof for wiping over the leather socks? For example, the hadiths of Safwan, Ali, and Khuzaymah regarding the time limit, alongside the hadith of 'Uqbah ibn 'Amir where 'Umar said to him, "You have hit upon the Sunnah"?

The Shaykh : There is no contradiction between the hadiths that specify a time limit and the statement of 'Umar to 'Uqbah, "You have hit upon the Sunnah." This is because 'Uqbah was a courier and had been sent on a mission to 'Umar ibn al-Khattab. He exercised independent legal reasoning (ijtihad), and he did not have enough time to observe the time limit mentioned in the authentic hadiths, which state that a traveler wipes for three days and three nights. The original ruling regarding the time limit is based on the hadith of Ali and others, which states that for a resident it is one day and one night, and for a traveler it is three days and three nights. As for the story of 'Uqbah, it does not carry a general indication. Rather, 'Umar's statement, "You have hit upon the Sunnah," applies to a situation like the one 'Uqbah was in: the state of a person in a hurry to fulfill an important Islamic interest, aiming to reach the Muslim caliph as soon as possible. Therefore, there is no contradiction between the hadiths that specify a time limit—especially since they are reports traced to the Prophet—and 'Umar's statement, "You have hit upon the Sunnah," because he said that in a specific situation. As is well known, there is no contradiction between the specific and the general.