Isbal

Q 3: The Prophet (peace be upon him) forbade trailing of clothes, but if a man lets his clothes down without arrogance or self conceit, would this be Haram (prohibited)? Also, in case of the European clothes that we wear nowadays? If a man lengthens his trousers slightly below the ankle, will Allah punish him for this?

A: Hanging the Izar (garment worn below the waist), shirt or trousers and suchlike down below the ankles is absolutely Haram (prohibited), whether it is intended to boast or show self conceit or not, for it actually involves conceit, also due to the general saying of the Prophet (peace be upon him): The part of the Izar (garment worn below the waist) which hangs down below the ankles is in Hell Fire Related by Ahmad and Al-Bukhari, but this does not include the part of Izar or whatever hangs down to the ankles. However, if a person does not pay attention, his Izar may get loose sometimes till it surpasses the ankles, in such a case, there is no problem in leaving it as is, for this does not involve pride or self conceit. It is narrated on the authority of ibn `Umar (may Allah be pleased with both of them) that he said: The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said: Whoever trails his garment on the ground out of pride, Allah will not look at him on the Day of Resurrection, thus, Abu Bakr said: Someone has become miserable [he means himself], (Part No. 24; Page No. 7) my Izar slips down if I do not pay attention to it, He (peace be upon him) said: "You are not one of those who do it out of pride" Related by Ahmad, Al-Bukhari, Abu Dawud Al-Nasa'y and Al-Tirmidhy. However, some scholars have restricted the prohibition of hanging the Izar down below the ankles to the intention of doing this out of boasting being limited to this in the story of Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him), and in the Hadith narrated on the authority of Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Prophet (peace be upon him) said: Allah will not look at a person who trails his Izar (lower garment) out of arrogance Related by Ahmad, Al-Bukhari and Muslim. However, what is correct, is the generalization of the prohibition, due to the general authentic Hadith mentioned in this regard, besides what is mentioned above in the story of Al-Siddiq (i.e. Abu-Bakr) (may Allah be pleased with him).May Allah grant us success. May peace and blessings be upon our Prophet Muhammad, his family, and Companions.