What is the ruling on shortening the garment, and is the prohibition of lengthening the garment for the sake of arrogance?

The questioner : Shortening the garment is to avoid arrogance; otherwise, one is held accountable. Is that clear? Shortening the garment, according to the apparent text, is like this, right?

The Shaykh : This means we still need to hold a second session, so come back with the rule, and we are with you.

The questioner : ... .

The Shaykh : I will answer you with the answer you want. What do you think?

The questioner : ... .

The Shaykh : Let’s revive it tonight, Abu Ahmad.
Abu Layla : We are sitting, my Shaykh.

The questioner : May Allah reward you with good.
Abu Layla : If the brothers hear the question that the brother who asked it posed?

The Shaykh : There is a question we hear often, from some of the young Muslim men who are afflicted with non-Islamic clothing, meaning afflicted with wearing trousers. They hear from some Muslims that it is not permissible for the garment to be long such that it is below the ankles. So he asks: Is this ruling absolute? Is it not permissible to lengthen the garment to below the ankles, not permissible absolutely? Or is this restricted to when the lengthening is accompanied by arrogance and pride? Some writers have written on this issue, and some of them may have fame in writing, and they restricted the issue to one who does it out of arrogance and pride. My belief is that this restriction has an effect sometimes and no effect other times. The reason is that this restriction came in some hadiths, such as his saying (peace and blessings be upon him): So this is a correct and explicit text that restricts this severe warning to when one drags his garment out of arrogance. So from here we say that this restriction has an effect, but its effect is within the bounds of this severe warning: that Allah will not look at him on the Day of Resurrection. But it has no effect on the methodology of the Muslim’s clothing that the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) established as a dress code and pattern of life for Muslims, by which they are distinguished in their lives from all other nations and religions. That is his saying (may Allah pray upon him and grant him peace): — and may Allah have mercy on you — this hadith differs from that one. Here he sets a path for the Muslim in his clothing, and it is not permissible for him to deviate from it under the claim that if he deviates, he does not do so out of arrogance. No, he (peace and blessings be upon him) gave a very severe punishment to one who does it out of arrogance: that Allah will not look at him with any look of mercy on the Day of Resurrection. But practically and methodologically, it is not permissible for the Muslim to have his garment below his ankles, because if he does so, even if he did not intend arrogance, he has contradicted the methodology of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) that he established for Muslims, where he chose between three levels. The first level, which is the highest, is that his garment be short to the middle of the shin. Some people may not do this, and there is no harm, but they have lost a virtue, not an obligation. The evidence is that he (peace and blessings be upon him) said, after the highest level, which is to the middle of the shin: Meaning, it is permissible for you, O Muslim, to lengthen your garment to above the ankles if you do not want to attain the virtue of the garment to the middle of the shins. But it is not permissible for you to be excessive in lengthening your garment so that you make it below the ankles, for if you do that, you are in the Fire. So here there are two punishments: the punishment that Allah will not look at him on the Day of Resurrection, and this is for one who drags his garment out of arrogance; and another punishment that he deserves the Fire if he lengthens his garment below the ankles. Therefore, one of the methodologies of the scholars is to gather the hadiths that come on one topic so that they take a complete ruling from their totality, and it is not permissible for them to take some of these hadiths and turn away from others. So if someone claims that he lengthens his garment but does not do it out of arrogance, we may believe him or we may not believe him. What matters is not whether we believe him or deny him, but that we direct him to the fact that what he is doing is contrary to the methodology that the Messenger established for you in this threefold methodology, if that is the correct expression. Where arrogance was mentioned, it was mentioned; where it was not mentioned, it was not. We must place every hadith in its place. One who drags his garment out of arrogance, Allah will not look at him. One who does not drag his garment out of arrogance, for him is the Fire, because when the Fire was mentioned, arrogance was not mentioned specifically. When he classified this beautiful classification: And this is the best. And so was the shirt of the Messenger of Allah. If he does not do that, then at least he lengthens it to above the ankles. If he exceeds that, he is in the Fire. As for arguing with the hadith of arrogance and the action of Abu Bakr al-Siddiq (may Allah be pleased with him), it is an argument against these people who find it acceptable that when they have their robes, cloaks, shirts, or trousers tailored, they tell the tailor to make it below the ankles. What drives this person to tailor his garment contrary to, first, the guidance of the Messenger, meaning his action, and second, contrary to the methodology and teaching of the Messenger? It is very, very difficult to believe in this person who tailors his garment long in advance below the ankles, that we should have a good opinion of him, unless we reach in our good opinion the level of that Sufi who was seen one day crying. He was asked: Why are you crying? The poor thing, these two spouses are satisfying their desire on the side of the road and cannot find a shelter to cover them. Do you understand this? This is not a good opinion; this is negligence and this is foolishness. A good opinion has its places: you do not see something wrong, so you say, “Allah knows best.” This is committing a wrong or not. But to see the wrong and say, “He is doing it with good intention,” this is not a good opinion. And so Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him), when he heard that severe warning from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), said: “O Messenger of Allah, my garment or my robe falls, so I attend to it.” He said: Arguing with the action of Abu Bakr is like the argument of those who deny prayer, who accept and then do not follow it, or say: and then do not follow it, the complete verse, and so on. Arguing with the action of Abu Bakr must be taken as a whole, not as a part. Abu Bakr, when he heard that severe warning, feared for himself, even though he did not do it intentionally. First, and second, he attends to it, meaning every time he feels the garment dragging, he lifts it. How can these people who tailor their robes and let them drag like the tails of jars be compared to Abu Bakr? This cannot be an action acceptable to Allah (Blessed and Exalted is He). This is believing in part of the Book and disbelieving in part. They take the action of Abu Bakr, in which he was excused, and compare it to their action, in which they are not excused. Let us assume he does not do it out of arrogance, but he contradicts the Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah. But we are certain that they do it out of arrogance, except for one who is negligent. For example, there are many weak, poor people who go down to the market, find a ready-made shirt or dishdasha or jalabiyyah, buy it, and wear it, and if it is long below the shins, then later it becomes easy for him to find a tailor to cut it for him, and his wife may be a seamstress and be busy, and so on. But to go to the tailor and ask him, “How long should it be?” and say, “Below the ankles,” while he knows that the Messenger said such and such and said such and such, this certainly intends pride and intends arrogance. Therefore, we advise every Muslim, first, if he is afflicted with a long garment below the ankles, to shorten it at the tailor.