Silsilat al-Ahadith al-Sahihah

Sayyiduna Abdullah bin Mas’ud (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates that Sayyiduna Safwan bin Assal Muradi (may Allah be pleased with him) reports: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) was sitting in the mosque, reclining on his red cloak. I came to him and said: O Messenger of Allah! I have come to you to seek knowledge. He (peace be upon him) said: “Welcome, O seeker of knowledge. Indeed, the angels surround the seeker of knowledge and shade him with their wings, and (due to their large number) they pile up upon each other until they reach the sky of the world, because they love what the seeker of knowledge is seeking.” Sayyiduna Safwan (may Allah be pleased with him) said: O Messenger of Allah! We remain on journeys between Makkah Mukarramah and Madinah Munawwarah, so give us a ruling regarding wiping over the leather socks (khuffs). The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: “For the traveler, (wiping is allowed) for three days, and for the resident, for one day and one night.”