✅ Answer: Pay attention to the following narrations:

1 أَحْمَدَ بْنِ مُحَمَّدِ بْنِ أَبِي نَصْرٍ عَنْ أَبِي الْحَسَنِ الرِّضَا قَالَ: سَأَلْتُهُ عَنِ الْمَسْحِ عَلَى الْقَدَمَيْنِ كَيْفَ هُوَ فَوَضَعَ كَفَّهُ عَلَى الْأَصَابِعِ فَمَسَحَهَا إِلَى الْكَعْبَيْنِ إِلَى ظَاهِرِ الْقَدَمِ فَقُلْتُ جُعِلْتُ فِدَاكَ لَوْ أَنَّ رَجُلًا قَالَ بِإِصْبَعَيْنِ مِنْ أَصَابِعِهِ هَكَذَا فَقَالَ لَا إِلَّا بِكَفِّهِ كُلِّهَا

📚 Al-Kafi, Vol. 3, p. 30

Ahmad said: I asked Imam Reza, peace be upon him, about how to wipe the two feet. So the Imam placed the palm of his hand on the toes (of the foot) and wiped it towards the two ankle bones, on the top of the foot!

So I said: May I be your ransom, what if a person wipes with two of his fingers like this? He said: No, only with the entire palm of his hand!

2 عَنْ أَبِي جَعْفَرٍ قَالَ: يُجْزِي مِنَ الْمَسْحِ عَلَى الرَّأْسِ مَوْضِعُ ثَلَاثِ أَصَابِعَ وَ كَذَلِكَ الرِّجْلُ

📚 Al-Kafi, Vol. 3, p. 29

Imam Baqir, peace be upon him, said: For wiping the head, the area of three fingers is sufficient, and likewise for the feet!

3 عَنْ زُرَارَةَ قَالَ: قَالَ أَبُو جَعْفَرٍ أَ لَا أَحْكِي لَكُمْ وُضُوءَ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ فَقُلْنَا بَلَى...

وَ مَسَحَ مُقَدَّمَ رَأْسِهِ وَ ظَهْرَ قَدَمَيْهِ بِبِلَّةِ يَسَارِهِ وَ بَقِيَّةِ بِلَّةِ يُمْنَاهُ

وَ قَالَ أَبُو جَعْفَرٍ... وَ تَمْسَحُ بِبِلَّةِ يُمْنَاكَ نَاصِيَتَكَ- وَ مَا بَقِيَ مِنْ بِلَّةِ يَمِينِكَ ظَهْرَ قَدَمِكَ الْيُمْنَى- وَ تَمْسَحُ بِبِلَّةِ يَسَارِكَ ظَهْرَ قَدَمِكَ الْيُسْرَى

📚 Al-Kafi, Vol. 3, p. 25

Imam Baqir, peace be upon him, said: Should I not describe the wudu of the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, for you? We said: Yes!

He continued until he said: And he wiped the front of his head and the back of his two feet with the moisture of his left hand and the remaining moisture of his right hand.

And Imam Baqir, peace be upon him, said: ... You wipe the hair on the front of your head with the moisture of your right hand, and with what remains of the moisture of your right hand, you wipe the top of your right foot, and with the moisture of your left hand, you wipe the top of your left foot!

4 عَنْ زُرَارَةَ وَ بُكَيْرٍ أَنَّهُمَا سَأَلَا أَبَا جَعْفَرٍ عَنْ وُضُوءِ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ فَدَعَا بِطَشْتٍ أَوْ تَوْرٍ فِيهِ مَاءٌ... ثُمَّ مَسَحَ رَأْسَهُ وَ قَدَمَيْهِ بِبَلَلِ كَفِّهِ- لَمْ يُحْدِثْ لَهُمَا مَاءً جَدِيداً ثُمَ قَالَ وَ لَا يُدْخِلُ أَصَابِعَهُ تَحْتَ الشِّرَاكِ...

قَالَ ثُمَّ قَالَ وَ امْسَحُوا بِرُؤُسِكُمْ وَ أَرْجُلَكُمْ إِلَى الْكَعْبَيْنِ فَإِذَا مَسَحَ بِشَيْ ءٍ مِنْ رَأْسِهِ أَوْ بِشَيْ ءٍ مِنْ قَدَمَيْهِ مَا بَيْنَ الْكَعْبَيْنِ إِلَى أَطْرَافِ الْأَصَابِعِ فَقَدْ أَجْزَأَهُ- قَالَ فَقُلْنَا أَيْنَ الْكَعْبَانِ- قَالَ هَاهُنَا يَعْنِي الْمَفْصِلَ دُونَ عَظْمِ السَّاقِ- فَقُلْنَا هَذَا مَا هُوَ فَقَالَ هَذَا مِنْ عَظْمِ السَّاقِ- وَ الْكَعْبُ أَسْفَلُ مِنْ ذَلِكَ

📚 Al-Kafi, Vol. 3, p. 25

Imam Baqir, peace be upon him, regarding the wudu of the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, said: ... Then he wiped his head and his two feet with the same moisture of his hand and did not take new water for them!

Then he said: And he did not insert his fingers under the thong of the sandal (Arabic)!

Then he said: Allah (in verse 6 of Surah Al-Ma'idah) says: "Wipe your heads and your feet up to the two ankles."

So (because of the 'ba' of partiality) if he wipes a part of his head or a part of his two feet, between the two ankles and the fingertips, it is sufficient for him!

He said: We asked: Where are the two ankles? He said: Here, meaning the joint, below the shin bone.

We said: What is this? He said: This is from the shin bone, and the ankle is lower and below it!

5 عَنْ مُيَسِّرٍ عَنْ أَبِي جَعْفَرٍ قَالَ: أَ لَا أَحْكِي لَكُمْ وُضُوءَ رَسُولِ اللَّه... ثُمَّ مَسَحَ رَأْسَهُ وَ قَدَمَيْهِ- ثُمَّ وَضَعَ يَدَهُ عَلَى ظَهْرِ الْقَدَمِ- ثُمَّ قَالَ هَذَا هُوَ الْكَعْبُ- قَالَ وَ أَوْمَأَ بِيَدِهِ إِلَى أَسْفَلِ الْعُرْقُوبِ ثُمَّ قَالَ إِنَّ هَذَا هُوَ الظُّنْبُوبُ

📚 Al-Tahdhib, Vol. 1, p. 75

Imam Baqir, peace be upon him, said: Should I not describe the wudu of the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, for you?.... He continued until he said: Then he wiped his head and his two feet, then he placed his hand on his foot and said: This is the ankle!

The narrator said: And he pointed with his hand to below the Achilles tendon (the thick nerve above the heel), then he said: This is the tibia (the tip of the shin bone)!

6 عن أَبِي جَعْفَرٍ قَالَ: الْوُضُوءُ وَاحِدٌ وَ وَصَفَ الْكَعْبَ فِي ظَهْرِ الْقَدَم

📚 Al-Tahdhib, Vol. 1, p. 75

Imam Baqir, peace be upon him, said: Wudu is one time, and the Imam described the ankle on the top of the foot!

7 سماعة بن مهران قال: قال: إِذَا أُخِذَ السَّارِقُ قُطِعَتْ يَدُهُ مِنْ وَسَطِ الْكَفِّ فَإِنْ عَادَ قُطِعَتْ رِجْلُهُ مِنْ وَسَطِ الْقَدَمِ فَإِنْ عَادَ اسْتُودِعَ السِّجْنَ فَإِنْ سَرَقَ فِي السِّجْنِ قُتِلَ

📚 Al-Kafi, Vol. 7, p. 223

Sama'ah said: (Imam Sadiq, peace be upon him) said: When a thief is caught, his hand is cut from the middle of the palm. If he repeats it, his foot is cut from the middle of the foot. If he steals again, he is sent to prison, and if he steals in prison, he is killed!

8 Abdullah ibn Hilal from Abu Abdullah said: I said to him, inform me why the right hand of the thief is cut and his left foot, and not his right hand and his right foot? He said: How well you have asked! If his right hand and his right foot were cut, he would fall on his left side and would not be able to stand. But if his right hand and his left foot are cut, he stands upright and straight. I said to him, may I be your ransom, how can he stand when his foot is cut? He said: The cutting is not from where you see it being cut. The foot is only cut from the ankle, and a part of his foot is left for him to stand on, pray, and worship Allah. I said to him, from where is the hand cut? He said: The four fingers are cut, and the thumb is left for him to rely on in prayer and wash his face with for prayer. I said: Who first performed this (wrong) method of cutting the hand and foot of the thief? He said: Uthman ibn Affan (...) considered it good and beautified it for Muawiyah.

📚 Al-Kafi, Vol. 7, p. 225

Abdullah ibn Hilal said: I said to Imam Sadiq, peace be upon him: Tell me why the thief's right hand (the first time) and his left foot (the second time) are cut, and his right hand and right foot are not cut?

He said: What a good question you have asked!

When his right hand and his right foot are cut, he falls on his left side and will not be able to stand. But when his right hand and his left foot are cut, he has balance and stands straight!

So I said to the Imam: How can he stand while his foot is cut?!

The Imam said: The cutting is not from where you see it being cut (by the public). The foot is only cut from the ankle, and a part of his foot is left for him to stand on, pray, and worship Allah!

I said to him: From where is the hand cut? He said: The four fingers are cut and the thumb is left so that he can rely on it in prayer and wash his face with it!

I said: Who first performed this (wrong) method of cutting the hand and foot of the thief? He said: Uthman ibn Affan (...) considered it good and decorated it for Muawiyah!

9 زرارة عن أبي جعفر في حدیث السَّرقة قال و كَان إِذَا قَطَعَ الْيَدَ قَطَعها دُونَ الْمَفْصل فإِذا قَطَعَ الرِّجْل قَطَعَهَا مِنَ الْكَعْب

📚 Faqih, Vol. 4, p. 64

Imam Baqir, peace be upon him, in the hadith of theft, said: ... Amir al-Mu'minin, peace be upon him, when he cut the hand (of the thief), he cut it from below the joint (of the fingers), and when he cut the foot, he cut it from the ankle!

✅ Points from the verse of wudu and the above and other narrations:

1. Wiping the right foot is done with the remaining moisture of the right hand, and wiping the left foot is done with the remaining moisture in the left hand, and new water is not taken for it.

2. Wiping the foot is done by placing the entire palm of the hand on the toes of the foot and pulling it towards the ankle. Of course, according to narration 2 , the area of three fingers is also sufficient.

So, the horizontal coverage of the foot for wiping, to the width of three fingers, is enough, and the best way is to wipe with the entire palm of the hand. Wiping with two fingers is explicitly forbidden in the narration, and what has become common today, that any amount of the width of the foot is sufficient, has no clear narrative support.

3. The area for wiping the foot is between the fingertips and the ankle.

4. Although there has been disagreement about the location of the ankle, and some narrations are ambiguous or vague, it can be understood from the majority of the above narrations that the location of the ankle is the dome and protrusion on the top of the foot, which is approximately in the middle of the foot, and is the same location for cutting the foot in the case of theft. Therefore, translating 'ka'b' to 'knuckle' and the like is incorrect.

5. What might be understood from narration 4 , that the area for wiping is up to the joint of the shin bone, is not explicitly stated as the shin joint and conflicts with the apparent meaning of various narrations, as well as the narration about not needing to insert the hand under the straps of the Arabic sandal, one of which is tied over the shin joint. This can only be considered as a position of precaution.

✅ After the toe bones, there are five longitudinal bones in the foot, the end of their upper part is the protrusion and dome on the top of the foot. After this part, there are several other bones that act as a barrier between these five bones and the shin bone. If we consider the joint mentioned in hadith 4 to be the joint of these 5 bones with those few barrier bones between them and the shin bone, the collection of narrations, almost consistently, specifies the location of the ankle, the middle of the foot, and the joint below the shin bone, etc., as the final limit of the wiping area.