AbdulBasit
04-10-2010, 01:30 AM
If Isbaal (lowering one's pants below the ankle) is done out of pride, conceit or arrogance [or possibly even the trend nowadays that one looks 'cool' when he puts his pants down and lets them drag] - this is Haraam (prohibited) by unanimous consensus!
If, however, the Isbaal is done merely out of habit or custom & there's no pride in doing that.... we learned in "Precious Provisions" that the majority position has always been that this is not Haraam, but rather something "disliked" [مكروه].
And they interpret the unconditional texts on this topic, as being restricted or conditional to the texts that mention the Isbaal along with arrogance.
O.k. I agree with this.
But here's where the problem comes in for me: You can do that (the above) for all the texts on this topic mentioning punishment for Isbaal, but what will you do with the following set of authentic hadeeths which are quite explicit:
(1) Abu Sa'eed Al-Khudri رضي الله عنه said that the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم said: إزرة المسلم إلى نصف الساق ، ولا حرج ، - أو لا جناح - فيما بينه وبين الكعبين ، ما كان أسفل من الكعبين فهو في النار ، من جر إزاره بطرا لم ينظر الله إليه ‘The lower garment of the Muslim should come down to the middle of his shin, but there is nothing wrong (or there is no sin on him) if it comes between that point and the ankles. But whatever is lower than the ankles is in the Fire. Whoever trails his garment on the ground out of pride, Allah will not look at him."
(Recorded by Abu Daawood, no. 4093; verified to be "saheeh" by Imaam An-Nawawi, Al-Mundhiri, Ibn Daqeeq Al-'Eid, Ibn Muflih, Al-Haythami, As-Safaareeni Al-Hanbali, Al-Albaani, Al-Waadi'ee, etc.)
(2) Imaam Ahmad recorded a hadeeth of similar effect, that 'Abdur-Rahmaan Ibn Ya'qoob said: "I asked Abu Sa'eed Al-Khudri: "Did you hear anything from Allah's Messenger صلى الله عليه وسلم concerning the lower garment?" And he said: "Yes, listen! "The lower garment of the believer should come down to the middle of his shin, although there is nothing wrong if it comes between there and the ankles, but whatever is lower than the ankles is in the Fire," and he said it 3 times."
(3) The famous hadeeth in Saheeh Al-Bukhaari [3700] on the story of the "Murder of `Umar Ibn Al-Khattaab"... after he had been stabbed, he was brought to his house, and they tried to give him some drink, but everytime he drank, it would just pour right out of his stomach in front of them -- so he knew that he was about to die. * The people then began to come to visit him & give him words of comfort.
The narrator of this hadeeth, 'Amr Ibn Maymoon said at this point:
وجاء رجل شاب فقال: أبشر يا أمير المؤمنين ببشرى الله لك، من صُحْبَةٍ رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم، وقَدَمٍ في الإسلام ما قد علمت، ثم وُلِّيتَ فَعَدَلْتَ، ثُمَّ شَهَادَة. قال: وددت أن ذلك كفاف لا علي ولا لي، فلما أدبر إذا إزاره يمس الأرض، قال: ردوا علي الغلام، قال: ابن أخي ارفع ثوبك، فإنه أنقى لثوبك، وأتقى لربك
And then, a young man entered into the house and he came to 'Umar and said: "Congratulations Leader of the Believers! Rejoice at Allah's glad tidings to you - because you were blessed (by Allah) with the honor of being a Companion of Allah's Messenger, and you were blessed with superiority in Islaam which you know. Then you were appointed to be our Leader (Caliph) & you ruled with fairness and justice. And now finally you've attained shahaadah [martyrdom]." 'Umar replied: "Oh I just wish that all of these privileges will be able to counterbalance my sins & shortcomings, so that I will neither lose nor gain anything." (I just wish that on the Day of Judgment I can break even)
So then, when the man turned back (to exit the house), his lower garment was touching the ground. 'Umar رضي الله عنه immediately said: "Bring the young man back to me. Call the young man back to me." (When he came back to 'Umar) 'Umar said to him:
"O my nephew! ارْفَعْ ثَوبَكَ Raise your thawb. Lift up your clothes , for undoubtedly this will be purer for your clothes, وأتْقَى لِرَبِّكَ and it will save you from the punishment of your Lord." (from taqwaa - protection)
{So some people come now & use this as "irrefutable" evidence that: Look! Even when he was on the verge of death, the great `Umar was making sure to fulfill his duty/obligation of enjoining what is right and forbidding what is wrong.}
[b](4) {Now this following hadeeth is in Saheeh Muslim, no. 2086}'Abdullaah Ibn 'Umar ~ the son of the above 'Umar ~رضي الله عنهما narrates as follows:
مررت على رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم، وفي إزاري استرخاء. فقال [يا عبدالله! ارفع إزارك] فرفعته. ثم قال ( زد ) فزدت. فما زلت أتحراها بعد. فقال بعض القوم: إلى أين؟ فقال: أنصاف الساقين
"I passed by Allah's Messenger and my pants had slipped down. He said, ‘O ‘Abdullaah, pull up your lower garment!’ so I pulled it up. He said, ‘More!’ so I pulled it up more, and I have always made sure that my lower garment was pulled up properly after that ." So some people asked, "To where did you pull it up?" [Where the did the Prophet order you to continue raising your lower garment up to?] He said, "To the middle of the shins."
(5) Anas Ibn Maalik رضي الله تعالى عنه reported that the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم said: الإزار إلى نصف الساق "The lower garment should be up to the middle of the shin." فشق عليهم So (after some time) this became difficult and burdensome upon the people. فلما رأى شدة ذلك على المسلمين قال: إلى الكعبين، لا خير فيما أسفل من ذلك So when he صلى الله عليه وسلم saw how hard this was becoming upon the Muslims, he said: "To the ankles." And he said: لا خير فيما أسفل من ذلك "There is no good in what is beneath that."
{The hadeeth was recorded by Ahmad & others; verified to be "saheeh" by Noor-ud-Deen Al-Haythami, and Al-Mundhiri as well as Shaykh Al-Albaani who said about it: إسناده صحيح على شرط الشيخين "Its chain is authentic according to the criteria of the Two Shaykhs [Al-Bukhaari and Muslim]."}
(6) 'Ubayd Ibn Khaalid Al-Muhaarabi رضي الله عنه narrates that one day he was walking down the street in Madeenah --
بينا أنا أمشي بالمدينة إذا إنسان خلفي يقول: ارفع إزارك فإنه أتقى، فإذا هو رسول الله، فقلت: يا رسول الله إنما هي بردة ملحاء، قال: أما لك في أسوة. فنظرت فإذا إزاره إلى نصف ساقيه
"One time, when I was walking in Madeenah - a person behind me called out to me saying, "Raise your lower garment, for it is closer to taqwa." I turned around to find that that person was the Messenger of Allah! So I said to him, "O Allah's Messenger, this is merely a malhaa' cloth (very low quality garment)." The Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم said: "Don't you find in me a beautiful example?" So I looked at the Prophet and found that his lower garment ended in the middle of his calves."
[Verified to be [i]"saheeh" by Al-Albaani in Mukhtasar Ash-Shamaa'il, no. 97; also see As-Safaareeni Al-Hanbali's comments on this hadeeth in his شرح ثلاثيات مسند الإمام أحمدa, 1/85.]
So my question (obviously) is: What do we do with this set of [i]Ahaadeeth, which seem to leave no room for further dispute on this topic (?)
i.e. do we have to make sure our lower garments are above our ankles [at the very least; that is the bare minimum requirement], but it's better for us to keep them at the middle of the shins, following the example the Prophet. (?) {And at the very least, can we say that "there is more reward" in doing this [keeping the lower garment at the shins], following the 'uswah' of Allah's Messenger [especially due to the last hadeeth quoted above] ?}
If, however, the Isbaal is done merely out of habit or custom & there's no pride in doing that.... we learned in "Precious Provisions" that the majority position has always been that this is not Haraam, but rather something "disliked" [مكروه].
And they interpret the unconditional texts on this topic, as being restricted or conditional to the texts that mention the Isbaal along with arrogance.
O.k. I agree with this.
But here's where the problem comes in for me: You can do that (the above) for all the texts on this topic mentioning punishment for Isbaal, but what will you do with the following set of authentic hadeeths which are quite explicit:
(1) Abu Sa'eed Al-Khudri رضي الله عنه said that the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم said: إزرة المسلم إلى نصف الساق ، ولا حرج ، - أو لا جناح - فيما بينه وبين الكعبين ، ما كان أسفل من الكعبين فهو في النار ، من جر إزاره بطرا لم ينظر الله إليه ‘The lower garment of the Muslim should come down to the middle of his shin, but there is nothing wrong (or there is no sin on him) if it comes between that point and the ankles. But whatever is lower than the ankles is in the Fire. Whoever trails his garment on the ground out of pride, Allah will not look at him."
(Recorded by Abu Daawood, no. 4093; verified to be "saheeh" by Imaam An-Nawawi, Al-Mundhiri, Ibn Daqeeq Al-'Eid, Ibn Muflih, Al-Haythami, As-Safaareeni Al-Hanbali, Al-Albaani, Al-Waadi'ee, etc.)
(2) Imaam Ahmad recorded a hadeeth of similar effect, that 'Abdur-Rahmaan Ibn Ya'qoob said: "I asked Abu Sa'eed Al-Khudri: "Did you hear anything from Allah's Messenger صلى الله عليه وسلم concerning the lower garment?" And he said: "Yes, listen! "The lower garment of the believer should come down to the middle of his shin, although there is nothing wrong if it comes between there and the ankles, but whatever is lower than the ankles is in the Fire," and he said it 3 times."
(3) The famous hadeeth in Saheeh Al-Bukhaari [3700] on the story of the "Murder of `Umar Ibn Al-Khattaab"... after he had been stabbed, he was brought to his house, and they tried to give him some drink, but everytime he drank, it would just pour right out of his stomach in front of them -- so he knew that he was about to die. * The people then began to come to visit him & give him words of comfort.
The narrator of this hadeeth, 'Amr Ibn Maymoon said at this point:
وجاء رجل شاب فقال: أبشر يا أمير المؤمنين ببشرى الله لك، من صُحْبَةٍ رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم، وقَدَمٍ في الإسلام ما قد علمت، ثم وُلِّيتَ فَعَدَلْتَ، ثُمَّ شَهَادَة. قال: وددت أن ذلك كفاف لا علي ولا لي، فلما أدبر إذا إزاره يمس الأرض، قال: ردوا علي الغلام، قال: ابن أخي ارفع ثوبك، فإنه أنقى لثوبك، وأتقى لربك
And then, a young man entered into the house and he came to 'Umar and said: "Congratulations Leader of the Believers! Rejoice at Allah's glad tidings to you - because you were blessed (by Allah) with the honor of being a Companion of Allah's Messenger, and you were blessed with superiority in Islaam which you know. Then you were appointed to be our Leader (Caliph) & you ruled with fairness and justice. And now finally you've attained shahaadah [martyrdom]." 'Umar replied: "Oh I just wish that all of these privileges will be able to counterbalance my sins & shortcomings, so that I will neither lose nor gain anything." (I just wish that on the Day of Judgment I can break even)
So then, when the man turned back (to exit the house), his lower garment was touching the ground. 'Umar رضي الله عنه immediately said: "Bring the young man back to me. Call the young man back to me." (When he came back to 'Umar) 'Umar said to him:
"O my nephew! ارْفَعْ ثَوبَكَ Raise your thawb. Lift up your clothes , for undoubtedly this will be purer for your clothes, وأتْقَى لِرَبِّكَ and it will save you from the punishment of your Lord." (from taqwaa - protection)
{So some people come now & use this as "irrefutable" evidence that: Look! Even when he was on the verge of death, the great `Umar was making sure to fulfill his duty/obligation of enjoining what is right and forbidding what is wrong.}
[b](4) {Now this following hadeeth is in Saheeh Muslim, no. 2086}'Abdullaah Ibn 'Umar ~ the son of the above 'Umar ~رضي الله عنهما narrates as follows:
مررت على رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم، وفي إزاري استرخاء. فقال [يا عبدالله! ارفع إزارك] فرفعته. ثم قال ( زد ) فزدت. فما زلت أتحراها بعد. فقال بعض القوم: إلى أين؟ فقال: أنصاف الساقين
"I passed by Allah's Messenger and my pants had slipped down. He said, ‘O ‘Abdullaah, pull up your lower garment!’ so I pulled it up. He said, ‘More!’ so I pulled it up more, and I have always made sure that my lower garment was pulled up properly after that ." So some people asked, "To where did you pull it up?" [Where the did the Prophet order you to continue raising your lower garment up to?] He said, "To the middle of the shins."
(5) Anas Ibn Maalik رضي الله تعالى عنه reported that the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم said: الإزار إلى نصف الساق "The lower garment should be up to the middle of the shin." فشق عليهم So (after some time) this became difficult and burdensome upon the people. فلما رأى شدة ذلك على المسلمين قال: إلى الكعبين، لا خير فيما أسفل من ذلك So when he صلى الله عليه وسلم saw how hard this was becoming upon the Muslims, he said: "To the ankles." And he said: لا خير فيما أسفل من ذلك "There is no good in what is beneath that."
{The hadeeth was recorded by Ahmad & others; verified to be "saheeh" by Noor-ud-Deen Al-Haythami, and Al-Mundhiri as well as Shaykh Al-Albaani who said about it: إسناده صحيح على شرط الشيخين "Its chain is authentic according to the criteria of the Two Shaykhs [Al-Bukhaari and Muslim]."}
(6) 'Ubayd Ibn Khaalid Al-Muhaarabi رضي الله عنه narrates that one day he was walking down the street in Madeenah --
بينا أنا أمشي بالمدينة إذا إنسان خلفي يقول: ارفع إزارك فإنه أتقى، فإذا هو رسول الله، فقلت: يا رسول الله إنما هي بردة ملحاء، قال: أما لك في أسوة. فنظرت فإذا إزاره إلى نصف ساقيه
"One time, when I was walking in Madeenah - a person behind me called out to me saying, "Raise your lower garment, for it is closer to taqwa." I turned around to find that that person was the Messenger of Allah! So I said to him, "O Allah's Messenger, this is merely a malhaa' cloth (very low quality garment)." The Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم said: "Don't you find in me a beautiful example?" So I looked at the Prophet and found that his lower garment ended in the middle of his calves."
[Verified to be [i]"saheeh" by Al-Albaani in Mukhtasar Ash-Shamaa'il, no. 97; also see As-Safaareeni Al-Hanbali's comments on this hadeeth in his شرح ثلاثيات مسند الإمام أحمدa, 1/85.]
So my question (obviously) is: What do we do with this set of [i]Ahaadeeth, which seem to leave no room for further dispute on this topic (?)
i.e. do we have to make sure our lower garments are above our ankles [at the very least; that is the bare minimum requirement], but it's better for us to keep them at the middle of the shins, following the example the Prophet. (?) {And at the very least, can we say that "there is more reward" in doing this [keeping the lower garment at the shins], following the 'uswah' of Allah's Messenger [especially due to the last hadeeth quoted above] ?}