Ankle (ka'b)

In the lexicon ka'b is the knot between two reeds, and the two ka'bs of a man are the two bones that stand out on either side of the foot. For most jurists ka'b is the bone that protrudes where the shin meets the foot; the Hanafis also apply it to the bone on the top of the foot at the strap line, and they take the first sense in ablution and the second in the sacred state, to be cautious ¹.

The jurists agree that washing the feet up to the ankles is obligatory in ablution, on the verse in Surat al-Ma'ida, verse 6 ¹.

One in the sacred state who cannot find sandals cuts leather socks below the ankles and wears them, on the report of Ibn Umar: "do not wear shirts, turbans... except one who cannot find sandals, let him wear leather socks and cut them below the ankles." This is the majority view; the preferred Hanbali view is that he does not cut them ¹.

One of the conditions of a sock that may be wiped over in ablution is that it covers the part of the foot that must be washed, including the ankle, on all sides ².

Most jurists hold that a thief's foot is cut at the joint of the ankle, as 'Umar did. Some early scholars held that it is cut from the middle of the foot, leaving the heel to walk on, which 'Ali is said to have done and which is attributed to Abu Thawr ².