The Shaykh’s warning regarding the issue of not distinguishing between the izar and other garments, relying on the apparent meaning of this hadith and others, and the Shaykh’s clarification that isbal occurs in the garment, its sleeve, and the turban
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The Shaykh : This leads me to remind you that it is not permissible for anyone to say, or to cling to, a superficial understanding of the hadith. The hadith says "izar," so a person might say, "Trousers are not an izar." We say, yes, trousers are not an izar; in fact, they are not Islamic clothing at all. But if the Islamic garment, which is the izar, is clothing that involves no effort or pretense, then it is no wonder that Allah (Mighty and Majestic) made it the clothing of the pilgrim and the one performing 'Umrah. If a person lengthens this beyond the prescribed limit, it is at least permissible, and he is sinful and in the Fire. It is even more so, and even more sinful, for the one who wears the clothing of the disbelievers, which is the trouser.
I confirm to you that there is a hadith stating that the ruling on isbal in the izar also applies to the shirt and the end of the turban. Therefore, lengthening the garment is not specific to the izar, even with this wording, so that the trouser would be excluded from this ruling. The turban, which has a tail from the back, if lengthened, also falls under this ruling. Likewise, the shirt whose sleeve is longer than... is also part of the isbal that is prohibited. These are all matters brought by Islam, which have today become forgotten. We say on many occasions that the reason for this returns to two things: first, the scholars' distance from studying and teaching the Sunnah, and second, the neglect of the Shari'ah rulings and their application.
In Egypt, this affliction is very widespread, unfortunately, among the scholars. You cannot find a scholar in those lands whose emblem is not the turban, this white turban. As we mentioned to you, it is a custom and not a devotional Sunnah, and it was not in this form that it developed into a piece... a piece of cloth, a length of one or two or ten cubits, meaning the opposite. Some of the shaykhs there, especially in Egypt, truly have very simple turbans, but in any case, it is the emblem of the scholars and jurists there, unlike in some other lands. Here we see some examples. As Muhammad 'Abduh (may Allah have mercy on him) said, "A turban like a tower and a robe like a sack". In Egypt, this phenomenon exists: the turban and the robe. Indeed, the sleeves are also very wide, but they are long, and so long that they almost touch the ground! You cannot see a scholar there whose robe is not long. Of course, the jibbah in language is not the izar; the izar corresponds to the rida'. The izar, in its common meaning, is a loincloth, meaning what one ties around the waist.
The questioner : ... .
The Shaykh : Yes, this is still in use today. The jibbah is not an izar, of course; it is more than an izar because it covers the body from top to bottom. So what was said about the izar undoubtedly includes the jibbah, even if this jibbah is not an izar, because the purpose is very clear: to be free from the appearances of arrogance and insolence. To be free from the appearances, I say, because here there are actually two matters: one is that a person lengthens his garment, whatever its name, intending thereby arrogance and insolence, and... this is one type. There is another who does not intend that, but he wears what is long, which is usually worn by the arrogant and the haughty. This is an appearance that indicates that, even if his intention is otherwise. The Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) prohibited lengthening the izar, meaning cutting off these appearances, whether with that intention or without it, because there is a methodology established by the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him). Therefore, we find him concerned with these appearances that contradict the Shari'ah among his Companions. I do not think, especially in the case of Hudhayfah ibn al-Yaman, that he lengthened his izar intending arrogance and... but among the things some people do not care about, and perhaps do not know, is that isbal confirms, even for one who does not intend that bad purpose, that he should not lengthen his garment. To Hudhayfah, he said, as he said, "Below that, the izar and its like have no right." He said and the hadiths in this meaning are many, and very many.
I confirm to you that there is a hadith stating that the ruling on isbal in the izar also applies to the shirt and the end of the turban. Therefore, lengthening the garment is not specific to the izar, even with this wording, so that the trouser would be excluded from this ruling. The turban, which has a tail from the back, if lengthened, also falls under this ruling. Likewise, the shirt whose sleeve is longer than... is also part of the isbal that is prohibited. These are all matters brought by Islam, which have today become forgotten. We say on many occasions that the reason for this returns to two things: first, the scholars' distance from studying and teaching the Sunnah, and second, the neglect of the Shari'ah rulings and their application.
In Egypt, this affliction is very widespread, unfortunately, among the scholars. You cannot find a scholar in those lands whose emblem is not the turban, this white turban. As we mentioned to you, it is a custom and not a devotional Sunnah, and it was not in this form that it developed into a piece... a piece of cloth, a length of one or two or ten cubits, meaning the opposite. Some of the shaykhs there, especially in Egypt, truly have very simple turbans, but in any case, it is the emblem of the scholars and jurists there, unlike in some other lands. Here we see some examples. As Muhammad 'Abduh (may Allah have mercy on him) said, "A turban like a tower and a robe like a sack". In Egypt, this phenomenon exists: the turban and the robe. Indeed, the sleeves are also very wide, but they are long, and so long that they almost touch the ground! You cannot see a scholar there whose robe is not long. Of course, the jibbah in language is not the izar; the izar corresponds to the rida'. The izar, in its common meaning, is a loincloth, meaning what one ties around the waist.
The questioner : ... .
The Shaykh : Yes, this is still in use today. The jibbah is not an izar, of course; it is more than an izar because it covers the body from top to bottom. So what was said about the izar undoubtedly includes the jibbah, even if this jibbah is not an izar, because the purpose is very clear: to be free from the appearances of arrogance and insolence. To be free from the appearances, I say, because here there are actually two matters: one is that a person lengthens his garment, whatever its name, intending thereby arrogance and insolence, and... this is one type. There is another who does not intend that, but he wears what is long, which is usually worn by the arrogant and the haughty. This is an appearance that indicates that, even if his intention is otherwise. The Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) prohibited lengthening the izar, meaning cutting off these appearances, whether with that intention or without it, because there is a methodology established by the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him). Therefore, we find him concerned with these appearances that contradict the Shari'ah among his Companions. I do not think, especially in the case of Hudhayfah ibn al-Yaman, that he lengthened his izar intending arrogance and... but among the things some people do not care about, and perhaps do not know, is that isbal confirms, even for one who does not intend that bad purpose, that he should not lengthen his garment. To Hudhayfah, he said, as he said, "Below that, the izar and its like have no right." He said