What is the ruling on wearing trousers for one whose job requires it, such as a carpenter or the like? Then he spoke about those who claim necessity.

The questioner : [Except for one who is compelled, not transgressing or exceeding limits.] I am not transgressing or exceeding the limits of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), but my life and work circumstances make me wear, for example, a watch on my left hand, and also trousers, which is closer to imitating the disbelievers. So, is it obligatory for me to be strict with myself and leave my job, for example, or should I continue in this state?

The Shaykh : If you moved away from the watch at this time and restricted yourself to just the trousers, because I do not believe there is a difference between wearing the watch on the right or left hand, in terms of the necessity that compels a person to wear his watch on the left hand, whereas regarding the trousers, it is possible to imagine this as a necessity, even if only from the perspective of some people. As for the watch, where is the necessity that compels a person...

The questioner : ...during work...

The Shaykh : During work, you take it off the right hand and put it on the left, but after work? Are you not at work? So why on the left hand? Where is the necessity?

The questioner : It is a habit, a habit.

The Shaykh : Yes, therefore I returned to my statement: if you left the watch at this time, because it is not a precise example, whereas wearing trousers may be a precise example for some people in some circumstances. So when the observation regarding the watch came to you, I said, for example, a blacksmith or carpenter who uses heavy striking, the watch may be exposed to some damage. Although this is not a consistent rule for all watches, especially those called shock-resistant, but not every watch is safe. Ask an expert about it. Perhaps you know that I used to have watches in the past, but not every watch is safe from being exposed to some damage from violent shaking. So if the owner of the watch fears that something may happen to the watch, this is not an excuse for him to make it a habit, as you finally returned to reality and said, "This is the habit." So here our topic comes to the second rule, which is opposing the polytheists. We return to the topic of trousers, and this is truly a sensitive topic. The verse you mentioned: The scholars derived from it the well-known rule among them: "Necessities permit the prohibited." But due to their precision in understanding the Book of their Lord, they found a precise indication in the verse that it does not give this rule in its absolute form, "Necessities permit the prohibited." And so they qualified it by saying: "Necessity is estimated by its degree." "Necessity is estimated by its degree." Where did they take this qualification from? From His saying: Meaning, except for the amount to which you were compelled. And I say, in the way of clarification, this addition to that rule, "estimated by its degree," is like a man who was exposed to death by hunger and found forbidden meat, so he ate it. It is not permissible for him to eat from this meat until he is full, even if he found it delicious in taste or nature, as is the case with the disbelievers who lived a period of their lives finding the filthiest meat, namely pork, delicious. We can imagine a disbeliever from among these disbelievers who lived his life eating from this abominable, impure meat, then Allah (Mighty and Majestic) guided him and he became a Muslim. I do not imagine such a new Muslim that his morals and habits would change in one leap. That is, while he was taking pleasure and finding it delicious in his disbelief to eat pork, suddenly after testifying that there is no god but Allah and that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah, he finds it abominable. This does not happen immediately; rather, it comes with persistence in obeying Allah and following the rulings of the Shari'ah of Allah. And so, if we assume a person fell into extreme hunger and feared death from it and found nothing but forbidden meat, it is not permissible for him to eat from this forbidden meat until he is full, even if he found it delicious due to the old habit I mentioned earlier. Rather, he eats only the amount that satisfies his hunger and saves his life from death. This is the meaning of the saying of Allah the Exalted: So now, regarding the trousers, first, what is the necessity for wearing trousers? What is the necessity?

The questioner : For example, he works in a company or an institution, and it happened that a statement was issued prohibiting wearing...

The Shaykh : That is it. Is this job in this company a necessity?

The questioner : The job?

The Shaykh : Listen, it is not just the job. Is the job in this company that forces the Muslim to oppose the Shari'ah of Allah a necessity? Or is this job a necessity? If you say it is a necessity, bring it so we can see where the necessity is. We said earlier , meaning, to save yourself from the reality of death. So if you were working in a company and the company forced you to oppose the religion, and you left the job in this company, do you fear death? Say it plainly, no.

The questioner : .

The Shaykh : Say it plainly, no.

The questioner : Of course, no, if Allah wills.

The Shaykh : Yes, so where is the necessity? From this example, we imagine that many people, and we know this from our life experience, and I have reached old age as you see, they call things that are needs from which one can do without, "necessity." Then, based on this naming, they apply the rule "Necessities permit the prohibited." My brother, where is the necessity? There is no necessity. And here in this gathering, one of our brothers applied for a job in one of the companies, and the transaction proceeded according to the routine followed in every company. When only the final agreement remained, they said, with special diplomacy from them, "Only if you wear trousers instead of the dishdasha (thobe)." So it was said to them, why? They said, "This is the law." The man, and praise be to Allah, in our view, and we do not certify anyone before Allah, fears Allah and is mindful of Him and believes that provision is in the hand of Allah first, and then believes in some details that came in the Book regarding this issue. Among them is the saying of Allah the Exalted: So he quit the job with three dismissals, with no return to it at all. He is living and living in freedom, which is better than being a slave to that company. So our naming of some matters as "necessity" is a wrong naming, and what is built on a wrong thing is wrong. So if this is the ruling on trousers, what is your opinion on the ruling of the watch?