Letting Garments Hang Below Your Ankles in the Maliki School

Answered by Shaykh Rami Nsour

Question: Is it permissible to let your garment below your ankles according to the Maliki madhab.

Answer: If a man wears his garment below his ankles out of pride, then there is no doubt that this is prohibited. If he does not intend that, which is the case for most people today who do that, there is a difference of opinion between it being prohibited, disliked or merely permissible. The majority of scholars of the four madhabs say that it is not prohibited. You do not have to repeat any prayers that you did while your garment was below your ankles.

The Hanafis

In Al-Fatawa al-Hindiyyah, it mentions that Abu Hanifa had an expensive shawl and would wear it below the ankles. Someone said, “Weren’t we forbidden from doing this?” He said, “That is for the people who are arrogant and we are not from amongst them.”

The Malikis

In Shaykh Al-‘Adawi’s commentary on the Risala of Ibn Abi Zayd, he discusses the two opinions in the Maliki madhab one prohibiting the matter and the other considering it disliked. He says, “In conclusion, there are varying narrations about this matter if the garment is worn below the ankle without the intention of arrogance. According to the conclusion of Al-Hattab, there is no prohibition, rather it is disliked. According to the Dhakhira [of Imam al-Qarafi], it is prohibited. What the correct opinion seems to be is that it is extremely disliked.”

The Shafi’is

Imam Nawawi, in his commentary of Sahih Muslim says, “It is not permissible to wear the garments below the ankles out of arrogance. If it is not done out of arrogance, then it is disliked. The apparent meaning of the Hadiths show that the prohibition is specific to those who do this out or arrogance.” Some of the Shafi’is, like Al-Dhahabi and Al-Hafidh Ibn Hajar, chose the opinion that it is prohibited.

The Hanbalis

According to the Hanbalis, as is found in the books Al-Iqnaa’ and Al-Mughni, it is considered disliked. Ibn Taymiyya also chose that it was disliked.

Advice

We are a middle nation and thus we must maintain middle ground. We should not allow our communities to be split over this issue, nor should we make it an issue when there are much more important issues to deal with. At the same time, we should not look down upon the sunna or those who follow it. For those who have the strength to follow the sunna of keeping the garments above the ankles they should do so. At the same time, we must not make this such a central issue that the religion is reduced to the length of your garment or your beard.