I say, and with God's help: Wiping the neck is recommended, while wiping the throat is an innovation; for Talha ibn Masrif reported from his father from his grandfather, may Allah be pleased with him: "I saw the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, wiping his head once until he reached the nape – which is the gathering of the back of the head," and in another narration: "the first of the nape," in Musnad Ahmad 3: 481, Sunan Abu Dawood 1: 32, Sharh Ma'ani Al-Athar 1: 30, Al-Mu'jam Al-Kabir 19: 18, and Al-Sunan Al-Kabir by Al-Bayhaqi 1: 60. And because he, peace be upon him, said: "Wiping the neck is a protection from the shackles on the Day of Resurrection," Al-Iraqi said in the verification of the Hadiths of Al-Ihya 1: 159: Its chain is weak. Al-Qari said in Al-Asrar Al-Marfou'a in the fabricated reports, p. 434: Its chain is weak, and the weak can be acted upon in the virtues of deeds, and thus our imams said that it is recommended, or a Sunnah. What the majority of the Hanafis have followed is that wiping the neck is recommended, as in Al-Wiqayah, Al-Naqayah, Mulataqa Al-Abhar, Kanz Al-Daqaiq, Tuhfat Al-Muluk, Tanweer Al-Absar, and Al-Mukhtar, which is what Al-Laknawi preferred in Tuhfat Al-Talabah in the verification of wiping the neck, p. 8, where he said: "Several verbal and practical Hadiths have been reported regarding it, but their chains are weak, and some exaggerators have ruled them as fabricated in religion, and the truth in this matter is what the people of understanding have chosen, that it is recommended; whoever does it has done well, and whoever does not do it has no blame. The Hadiths reported about it, although weak, are sufficient to establish its virtue." Ibrahim Al-Halabi said, p. 11: "He limited it in Al-Kafi to being recommended, and this is the most correct; because he narrated his action, peace be upon him, in some Hadiths, but not in most of them." The complete discussion on the Hadiths regarding wiping the neck is in Tuhfat Al-Talabah in the verification of wiping the neck by Al-Kanawi, and its margin is Tuhfat Al-Kumala on the margins of Tuhfat Al-Talabah, verified by Dr. Salah Abu Al-Haj. See also: Majma' Al-Anhar 1: 16, Al-Durr Al-Muntqa 1: 16, Al-Wiqayah p. 85, Al-Naqayah 57, Mulataqa 1: 16, and Allah knows best.