There is a well-known fatwa issued by one of the students of knowledge among us, stating that prayer behind one who lets his garment hang below the ankles is invalid. What do you say about that?

The Shaykh: Yes.

The questioner : We have a fatwa that has indeed become well-known among the Muslim youth, and one of the Salafi shaykhs among us in Kuwait issued it, declaring the invalidity of prayer behind one who lets his garment hang below the ankles, and he cited as evidence the hadith: What is your opinion of this statement?

The Shaykh : The hadith is not authentic. And even though, unfortunately, Imam al-Nawawi authenticated it in *Riyad al-Salihin*, it is narrated by Abu Ja'far al-Madani, who is unknown, so the hadith explicitly stating that he has no prayer is not authentic. There is no doubt that praying while letting the garment hang below the ankles is a sin and a transgression, but this is not the position of the majority, which is the correct position in this issue. Not because it is the position of the majority, but because this is the reality: the prayer of the one who commits a sin and opposes the Shari'ah while in prayer is not invalidated, contrary to the position of the people of the Zahiri school, who invalidate the prayer of every one who prays while disobeying his Lord in his prayer.