‘Ali said, “If the religion were based on opinion, it would be more important to wipe the under part of the shoe than the upper, but I have seen God’s messenger wiping over the upper part of his shoes.”
Abu Dawud transmitted it, and Darimi has something similar.
God’s messenger wiped over the shoes and I said, “Messenger of God, you have forgotten.” He replied, “No, you have forgotten. My Lord commanded me to do this.”
Narrated Hudhaifa reported God’s messenger as saying, “We have been made superior to mankind in three respects:
our ranks are formed like those of the angels; all the earth has been appointed as a mosque for us; and our earth has been appointed for us as a means of cleansing when we do not find water.”