The gate of repentance remains open until the Last Hour; Permissibility of wiping over socks; You will be among those you love in the Hereafter

“I came to Ṣafwān b ʿAssāl al-Murādī to ask him about wiping over the socks, so he asked: ‘What has brought you, O Zirr?’ So I said: ‘The desire for knowledge.’ So he said: ‘Indeed, the angels lower their wings for the seeker of knowledge, out of pleasure with what he is seeking.’

So I said: ‘Indeed there is some doubt in my chest concerning wiping over the socks after defecation and urination, and you were a man from the Companions of the Prophet ﷺ, so I came to you to ask you: Have you heard him ﷺ mention anything concerning that?’ He said: ‘Yes, he ﷺ used to order us, that when we were travelers’ - or - ‘in travel, to not remove our socks for three days and nights except, from sexual impurity, but not from defecation, urination, and sleep.’”

He said: “Have you heard him ﷺ mention anything concerning love?” He said: “Yes. We were with the Messenger of Allah ﷺ on a journey when a Bedouin with a loud voice called upon him (saying): ‘O Muhammad!’ So the Messenger of Allah ﷺ responded to him with a voice similar to him (saying): ‘Come.’ So we said to him: ‘Woe to you! Lower your voice for you are with the Prophet ﷺ, and you have been prohibited from this.’ He said: ‘By Allah, I will not lower (my voice).’ The Bedouin said: ‘Can a person love a people and yet not catch up to them ˹in terms of good deeds˺?’ He ﷺ said: ‘A person is with whomever he loves on the Day of Judgement.’”

So ˹the Prophet ﷺ˺ kept on talking to us until he mentioned a gate in the direction of the west with the width of seventy years journey - or a rider would travel its width - for forty or seventy years.” Sufyan added: “In the direction of Shām, Allah created it the day He created the heavens and the earth, being open – that is, for repentance – and it shall not be shut until the sun rises ˹from that direction˺ (on the Last Day).”  

أَتَيْتُ صَفْوَانَ بْنَ عَسَّالٍ الْمُرَادِيَّ أَسْأَلُهُ عَنِ الْمَسْحِ عَلَى الْخُفَّيْنِ فَقَالَ: مَا جَاءَ بِكَ يَا زِرُّ؟ فَقُلْتُ: ابْتِغَاءَ الْعِلْمِ۔ فَقَالَ: إِنَّ الْمَلاَئِكَةَ تَضَعُ أَجْنِحَتَهَا لِطَالِبِ الْعِلْمِ رِضًا بِمَا يَطْلُبُ۔

قُلْتُ: إِنَّهُ حَكَّ فِي صَدْرِي الْمَسْحُ عَلَى الْخُفَّيْنِ بَعْدَ الْغَائِطِ وَالْبَوْلِ وَكُنْتَ امْرَأً مِنْ أَصْحَابِ النَّبِيِّ ﷺ فَجِئْتُ أَسْأَلُكَ هَلْ سَمِعْتَهُ يَذْكُرُ فِي ذَلِكَ شَيْئًا؟ قَالَ: نَعَمْ، كَانَ يَأْمُرُنَا إِذَا كُنَّا سَفَرًا أَوْ مُسَافِرِيِنَ أَنْ لاَ نَنْزِعَ خِفَافَنَا ثَلاَثَةَ أَيَّامٍ وَلَيَالِيَهُنَّ إِلاَّ مِنْ جَنَابَةٍ، لَكِنْ مِنْ غَائِطٍ وَبَوْلٍ وَنَوْمٍ۔

فَقُلْتُ: هَلْ سَمِعْتَهُ يَذْكُرُ فِي الْهَوَى شَيْئًا؟ قَالَ: نَعَمْ، كُنَّا مَعَ النَّبِيِّ ﷺ فِي سَفَرٍ فَبَيْنَا نَحْنُ عِنْدَهُ إِذْ نَادَاهُ أَعْرَابِيٌّ بِصَوْتٍ لَهُ جَهْوَرِيٍّ: يَا مُحَمَّدُ! فَأَجَابَهُ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ ﷺ عَلَى نَحْوٍ مِنْ صَوْتِهِ: «هَاؤُمُ۔» وَقُلْنَا لَهُ: وَيْحَكَ اغْضُضْ مِنْ صَوْتِكَ فَإِنَّكَ عِنْدَ النَّبِيِّ ﷺ وَقَدْ نُهِيتَ عَنْ هَذَا۔ فَقَالَ: وَاللَّهِ لاَ أَغْضُضُ۔ قَالَ الأَعْرَابِيُّ: الْمَرْءُ يُحِبُّ الْقَوْمَ وَلَمَّا يَلْحَقْ بِهِمْ؟ قَالَ النَّبِيُّ ﷺ: «الْمَرْءُ مَعَ مَنْ أَحَبَّ يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ۔»

فَمَا زَالَ يُحَدِّثُنَا حَتَّى ذَكَرَ بَابًا مِنْ قِبَلِ الْمَغْرِبِ مَسِيرَةُ عَرْضِهِ أَوْ يَسِيرُ الرَّاكِبُ فِي عَرْضِهِ أَرْبَعِينَ أَوْ سَبْعِينَ عَامًا۔ قَالَ سُفْيَانُ: قِبَلَ الشَّامِ خَلَقَهُ اللَّهُ يَوْمَ خَلَقَ السَّمَوَاتِ وَالأَرْضَ مَفْتُوحًا - يَعْنِي لِلتَّوْبَةِ - لاَ يُغْلَقُ حَتَّى تَطْلُعَ الشَّمْسُ مِنْهُ۔  

“I came to Safwan bin ʿAssal Al-Muradi so he said to me: ‘What has brought you, O Zirr?’ So I said: ‘The desire for knowledge.’ So he said: ‘It has been conveyed to me that the angels lower their wings for the seeker of knowledge, out of pleasure with what he is doing.’” He said: “So I said to him: ‘Indeed there is something wavering’ - or - ‘some doubt in my chest concerning wiping over the Khuff after defecation. So have you retained anything from the Messenger of Allah ﷺ concerning that?’ He said: ‘Yes, when we were travelers, he ﷺ used to order us not to remove our Khuff for three days and nights, except from sexual impurity, but not from defecation, urination, and sleep.’” He said: “So I said: ‘So have you memorized anything from the Messenger of Allah ﷺ concerning love?’ He said: ‘Yes, we were in one of our journeys with the Messenger of Allah ﷺ when a man, a harsh, foolish Bedouin, who had been at the end of the group, called him with a loud voice, saying: “O Muhammad! O Muhammad!” So the people said to him “Mah! Indeed, you have been prohibited from this.” So the Messenger of Allah ﷺ responded to him with similar to his voice: “Come.” So he said: “A man loves a people but he has not reached them?” He said: ‘So the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: “A man is with whomever he loves.”’ Zirr said: “He did not cease reporting to me until he had reported that Allah, the Mighty and Sublime, has appointed a gate in the west - its width is the distance of a seventy-year journey - for repentance: it shall not be locked until the sun rises from its direction, and that is the Statement of Allah, Blessed be He and Most High, of the Ayah: The Day some of the signs of your Lord come, no soul shall be benefited by its believing.”  

أَتَيْتُ صَفْوَانَ بْنَ عَسَّالٍ الْمُرَادِيَّ فَقَالَ لِي مَا جَاءَ بِكَ قُلْتُ ابْتِغَاءَ الْعِلْمِ قَالَ بَلَغَنِي أَنَّ الْمَلاَئِكَةَ تَضَعُ أَجْنِحَتَهَا لِطَالِبِ الْعِلْمِ رِضًا بِمَا يَفْعَلُ قَالَ قُلْتُ إِنَّهُ حَاكَ أَوْ قَالَ حَكَّ فِي نَفْسِي شَيْءٌ مِنَ الْمَسْحِ عَلَى الْخُفَّيْنِ فَهَلْ حَفِظْتَ مِنْ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ ﷺ فِيهِ شَيْئًا قَالَ نَعَمْ كُنَّا إِذَا كُنَّا سَفَرًا أَوْ مُسَافِرِينَ أُمِرْنَا أَنْ لاَ نَخْلَعَ خِفَافَنَا ثَلاَثًا إِلاَّ مِنْ جَنَابَةٍ وَلَكِنْ مِنْ غَائِطٍ وَبَوْلٍ وَنَوْمٍ قَالَ فَقُلْتُ فَهَلْ حَفِظْتَ مِنْ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ ﷺ فِي الْهَوَى شَيْئًا قَالَ نَعَمْ كُنَّا مَعَ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ ﷺ فِي بَعْضِ أَسْفَارِهِ فَنَادَاهُ رَجُلٌ كَانَ فِي آخِرِ الْقَوْمِ بِصَوْتٍ جَهْوَرِيٍّ أَعْرَابِيٌّ جِلْفٌ جَافٍ فَقَالَ يَا مُحَمَّدُ يَا مُحَمَّدُ فَقَالَ لَهُ الْقَوْمُ مَهْ إِنَّكَ قَدْ نُهِيتَ عَنْ هَذَا فَأَجَابَهُ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ ﷺ نَحْوًا مِنْ صَوْتِهِ هَاؤُمُ فَقَالَ الرَّجُلُ يُحِبُّ الْقَوْمَ وَلَمَّا يَلْحَقْ بِهِمْ قَالَ فَقَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ ﷺ الْمَرْءُ مَعَ مَنْ أَحَبَّ قَالَ زِرٌّ فَمَا بَرِحَ يُحَدِّثُنِي حَتَّى حَدَّثَنِي أَنَّ اللَّهَ جَعَلَ بِالْمَغْرِبِ بَابًا عَرْضُهُ مَسِيرَةُ سَبْعِينَ عَامًا لِلتَّوْبَةِ لاَ يُغْلَقُ حَتَّى تَطْلُعَ الشَّمْسُ مِنْ قِبَلِهِ وَذَلِكَ قَوْلُ اللَّهِ ﷻْ ( يومَ يَأْتِي بَعْضُ آيَاتِ رَبِّكَ لاَ يَنْفَعُ نَفْسًا إِيمَانُهَا ) الآيَةَ