What is your opinion regarding those who say that those who wear their lower garment to the middle of the calf are innovators, and who warn their sons against them?
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The questioner : O Shaykh, may Allah forgive you, what is your opinion regarding what some of the common people say about those who wear their lower garment to the middle of the calf?
The Shaykh : Who are those?
The questioner : Those who wear their lower garment to the middle of the calf, saying that they are deviating or that they are innovators regarding this Sunnah, and perhaps they warn their sons from sitting with anyone who wears his lower garment to the middle of the calf?
The Shaykh : I see that this is ignorance, ignorance on their part of the Sunnah. The one who says: that raising the lower garment or the trousers or the robe to the middle of the calf is not a Sunnah, is ignorant of the Sunnah.
Rather, there is no doubt that it is a Sunnah, but it is a Sunnah that is not obligatory. That is, for you, from the middle of the calf down to the ankles, because the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) spoke of the one who lowered his garment to below the ankles and was silent about the rest. And it is known that the Companions used to lower their garments to below the middle of the calf, do you understand?
This is Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) saying to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him): And if his lower garment had been to the middle of the calf, then if it had fallen to the ground, his private parts would have been exposed. This indicates that the Companions (may Allah be pleased with them) wear this and that.
And the people in this matter are three categories: a strict category that sees this as a sign of the believer, and that whoever does not have his garment to the middle of his calf has a deficiency in his faith. And among them are those who are the opposite of this, seeing that the middle of the calf is ostentation, and that it is not befitting, and perhaps they deny the Sunnah, as I mentioned in this question.
And among them is a middle group that says: the Sunnah is to the middle of the calf, but if it falls to below that and does not exceed the ankles, there is no harm in it.
And it is not said: that this person is not upon the Sunnah. The Companions in the time of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him), the best of the Companions absolutely, are Abu Bakr. And we know from this authentic hadith in *the two Sahihs* that his lower garment was not to the middle of his calf, because if his lower garment had been to the middle of his calf and it had hung loosely on him until it reached the ground or fell below the ankles, what would follow from that? The exposure of the private parts. Yes, yes.
The Shaykh : Who are those?
The questioner : Those who wear their lower garment to the middle of the calf, saying that they are deviating or that they are innovators regarding this Sunnah, and perhaps they warn their sons from sitting with anyone who wears his lower garment to the middle of the calf?
The Shaykh : I see that this is ignorance, ignorance on their part of the Sunnah. The one who says: that raising the lower garment or the trousers or the robe to the middle of the calf is not a Sunnah, is ignorant of the Sunnah.
Rather, there is no doubt that it is a Sunnah, but it is a Sunnah that is not obligatory. That is, for you, from the middle of the calf down to the ankles, because the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) spoke of the one who lowered his garment to below the ankles and was silent about the rest. And it is known that the Companions used to lower their garments to below the middle of the calf, do you understand?
This is Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) saying to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him):
One of the two sides of my lower garment hangs loosely on me unless I hold it in place.
إن أحد شقي إزاري يسترخي علي إلا أن أتعاهدهAnd the people in this matter are three categories: a strict category that sees this as a sign of the believer, and that whoever does not have his garment to the middle of his calf has a deficiency in his faith. And among them are those who are the opposite of this, seeing that the middle of the calf is ostentation, and that it is not befitting, and perhaps they deny the Sunnah, as I mentioned in this question.
And among them is a middle group that says: the Sunnah is to the middle of the calf, but if it falls to below that and does not exceed the ankles, there is no harm in it.
And it is not said: that this person is not upon the Sunnah. The Companions in the time of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him), the best of the Companions absolutely, are Abu Bakr. And we know from this authentic hadith in *the two Sahihs* that his lower garment was not to the middle of his calf, because if his lower garment had been to the middle of his calf and it had hung loosely on him until it reached the ground or fell below the ankles, what would follow from that? The exposure of the private parts. Yes, yes.