The Ruling on Letting Garments Hang Below the Ankles and the Response to Those Who Permit It
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Some people argue in favor of letting garments hang below the ankles, provided it is not out of arrogance, by citing the statement of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) to Abu Bakr: (You are not one who does it out of arrogance). How do we respond to them?
We respond to them by stating that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: (What is below the ankles is in the Fire),And he said: (Whoever drags his garment out of arrogance, Allah will not look at him),And Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) says: (O Messenger of Allah! One side of my garment hangs down on me unless I hold it up). It hangs down on me, not intentionally, and yet he holds it up,So he said: (You are not one who does that out of arrogance),So we say to the man: If your situation is like that of Abu Bakr, where you do not intend for the garment to hang below the ankles, but it merely hangs down and you lift it up, and the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) testifies that you do not do this out of arrogance, then it is upon your head and eyes (a blessing). But how can one attain that? This and those like him who argue with falsehood to refute the truth, they bring forth the ambiguous and leave the clear,Like the one who says: If it is said to him: O so-and-so, this buying and selling that you are practicing is not permissible, ask the scholars,So he says: [Al-Ma'idah: 101]. This verse, in the time of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him), referred to people who asked about things that had not been forbidden, so they were forbidden because of their questioning, or things that had not been made obligatory, so they were made obligatory because of their questioning. This is what the verse was revealed regarding. However, now, it is obligatory for every person who is told that something is obligatory or that something is forbidden to ask and verify. In this case, one is not excused by ignorance. So if, for example, he later neglects an obligation or commits a forbidden act, having been warned but being negligent, he is not excused by his ignorance; this is due to his negligence in not asking.
We respond to them by stating that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: (What is below the ankles is in the Fire),And he said: (Whoever drags his garment out of arrogance, Allah will not look at him),And Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) says: (O Messenger of Allah! One side of my garment hangs down on me unless I hold it up). It hangs down on me, not intentionally, and yet he holds it up,So he said: (You are not one who does that out of arrogance),So we say to the man: If your situation is like that of Abu Bakr, where you do not intend for the garment to hang below the ankles, but it merely hangs down and you lift it up, and the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) testifies that you do not do this out of arrogance, then it is upon your head and eyes (a blessing). But how can one attain that? This and those like him who argue with falsehood to refute the truth, they bring forth the ambiguous and leave the clear,Like the one who says: If it is said to him: O so-and-so, this buying and selling that you are practicing is not permissible, ask the scholars,So he says: