Explanation of the report of Umm al-Dard (may Allah be pleased with her)

The Shaykh : The second report, in the terminology of hadith scholars, is not a hadith but an athar. If it is called a hadith in such cases, it is a matter of leniency, because what concerns us is that it is a mawquf report. This is because Imam al-Bukhari narrated, following the previous marfu' hadith, another mawquf report with a hasan chain. From Umm al-Dard, she said: .
The point of interest in this mawquf report is only this phrase. Let us ask: What prompted Salman to visit Abu al-Dard and cover this vast, distant distance? The beautiful thing is that he knew that with every step he took in visiting his brother, he was taking a step in visiting a brother for the sake of Allah (Mighty and Majestic). A good deed is recorded for him, another is expiated from him, and a third raises his rank. Therefore, the author (may Allah have mercy on him) presented this mawquf report with a hasan chain, as we said. From Umm al-Dard, she said: "Salman visited us, walking from al-Mada'in to Sham. He was wearing a kisaa' and an andarward." "Andarward" is a Persian word, considering that Salman al-Farisi (may Allah be pleased with him) lived in the lands of Iraq. He was wearing a kisaa', meaning a garment wrapped around him with an excess, and an andarward. It is explained in the same narration as meaning tucked-up trousers. This also requires explanation, because one might assume that tucked-up trousers refer to what some young people do today when they wear long trousers that drag on the ground. With the spirit of going to the ablution area in the mosque, they begin to perform wudu' so that the pants do not get wet from underneath. What do they do? They tuck them up. Many of them enter prayer while tucked up, and this is prohibited. Is this the tucking up intended by the narrator when he explained that Salman was wearing an andarward, a tucked-up garment? No. The precise explanation is that he was wearing a garment longer than the "tabban." The "tabban" in Arabic is the "shorts" in modern language, worn by swimmers. In Arabic explanation: the garment that has no sleeves. This garment alone covers the two private parts, so it is called "tabban" in Arabic. If it has sleeves down to the knees, it is called an andarward, as named here. If it is long, it is the known trousers with sleeves at the bottom. The purpose of this description is to show Salman's humility in his journey from al-Mada'in to Damascus. He was humble, wearing this kisaa' and this "tabban" whose sleeves reached only to the knees. Then he returns to describing the kisaa' and said: "He was wearing a kisaa' and an andarward," meaning tucked-up trousers. Ibn Shuzhab said: Salman was seen wearing a kisaa' with a "mattum al-ra's." What does "mattum al-ra's" mean? It means it has no head, meaning it is not of the type worn by the Maghrebis, a "burnus." "Mattum al-ra's" means covered, cut off, with the ears dropped. A burnus naturally has a place for the head to protect it from the cold, but this one has no head and thus no ears. So he referred to it by saying: "mattum al-ra's, with the ears dropped," meaning it was arfash. We have learned in this lesson six words or more: three Arabic and one Persian. The first is "andarward." The second is "mattum al-ra's," meaning cut off at the head. The third is "arfash," meaning long and wide. Here, the commentator explains, after it was explained in Arabic as long and wide, saying: "like the rafsh in which food is gathered." Is this Egyptian language, or is it known here as well? Food is gathered in it because they use it in the... what do you call it? A rake?
The student : Woman: ... .

The Shaykh : A rake with which food is gathered.
The student : Woman: ... .

The Shaykh : Here, the commentator is Egyptian. After explaining "arfash al-udnayn" (wide ears), he placed between crescents the comparison to the rafsh with which food is gathered. So this word... it might be an Egyptian word. Have you not heard it there?
The student : Woman: ... .

The Shaykh : ... he was arfash. Look at the proportion here. He said to Salman: "You have disfigured yourself. What did you wear? A wide kisaa' and a short qambaz, as they say today." Today, if one of us shortens his jilbab by a span or two spans, people say he is "muhaddal." And to where? To the knees. They said to him, "You have disfigured yourself." He said: "Indeed, the good is the good of the Hereafter." Allahu Akbar! This is the life we need today: the noble spiritual life that has been overwhelmed by formalities and materialism, and we no longer feel anything of the spiritual, because our materialism has dominated us. So this man draws attention. Either the one who said it to him was a Companion like him, or certainly a Tabi'i. The Tabi'un are in the second century, about whom the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) said: . So notice now that some of the Tabi'un say to a Companion, "You have disfigured yourself with this clothing." This means, as a matter of course, that competing for the world brings one closer to the hearts of people. Therefore, he (peace and blessings be upon him) said: .
We ask Allah (Mighty and Majestic) to inspire us with Islamic action, in heart and body, in the apparent and the hidden, and not to spread over us the materialism of the disbelievers, in which they were deluded, became arrogant, and transgressed on earth.