Arabic (Original)
حَدَّثَنَا أَبُو نُعَيْمٍ، حَدَّثَنَا يُونُسُ، عَنْ أَبِي إِسْحَاقَ، عَنْ عَبْدِ خَيْرٍ، قَالَ رَأَيْتُ عَلِيًّا رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ تَوَضَّأَ وَمَسَحَ عَلَى النَّعْلَيْنِ ثُمَّ قَالَ لَوْلَا أَنِّي رَأَيْتُ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ فَعَلَ كَمَا رَأَيْتُمُونِي فَعَلْتُ لَرَأَيْتُ أَنَّ بَاطِنَ الْقَدَمَيْنِ هُوَ أَحَقُّ بِالْمَسْحِ مِنْ ظَاهِرِهِمَا.
English Translation
It was narrated that ’Abd Khair said: I saw Hadrat Ali (may Allah be well pleased with him) doing wudoo’ and wiping over his shoes. Then he said: “If I had not seen the Beloved Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) doing what you have seen me do, I would have thought that the bottoms of the feet were more deserving of being wiped than their tops”.