Salah in short sleeve Jubba
Question
There was a recent message being circulated about the view of one of one of the elders that wearing a short-sleeved jubbah that are short in sleeves (exposing the elbows) is permissible. I was always under the impression that it was makrūh. Please clarify.
بسم الله الرحمن الرحیم
Answer
Exposing the elbows in Ṣalāh is not makrūḥ in itself. What is makrūḥ is the use of thiyāb al-bidhlah which has been described as dirty clothes or clothes that a person would not wear when visiting important people. It is makrūh tanzīhī (disliked) to perform Ṣalāh in such clothes although the Ṣalāh is valid. Examples in our context could include a sports shirt which a person has used for football. In so far as the short-sleeve Jubbah is concerned, this is permissible because it is not regarded as disrespectful and does not fall under thiyāb al-bidhlah. Mawlānā ʿAbd al-Ḥayy Laknawī (d. 1304/1886) explicitly mentions that clothes which a person would wear when meeting senior people is not makrūh. Mufti Rashīd Aḥmad Ludyānwī (d. 1422/2002) clearly affirms that short-sleeve kurtā is permitted without any karāhah, unless if it is regarded inappropriate to wear in a normal gathering. Given that the short-sleeve Jubbah is not generally regarded inappropriate, it is permissible.
Further, some of our jurists have mentioned that it is makrūh (tanzīhī) for the shoulders to be bare during Ṣalāh. This is also understood from some ḥadīths. This also affirms that exposing the elbows in Ṣalāh is in itself not makrūḥ, otherwise this would have been mentioned by the jurists and transmitted in the ḥadīths. In addition to this, our jurists have mentioned the desirable (mustaḥab), permissible and disliked (makrūh) clothes for Ṣalāh. They have not mentioned anything in relation to exposing the elbows. It is true that some Muftis of the recent past have mentioned this, however, this is in the context of their local custom (ʿUrf).
Note: People should dress appropriately for Ṣalāh and avoid thiyāb al-bidhlah. However, if someone dresses with such clothes, he should not be rebuked and discouraged from attending the Masjid. Rather, he should be allowed to perform Ṣalāh, after which he can be advised in a gentle manner. It should also be noted that sometimes there are legitimate reasons why people cannot change their clothes for example due to travelling or work constraints. One should be mindful of this because there are many people who do not perform Ṣalāh or attend Masjids. Our actions should not be disproportionate and should not discourage anyone from the Masjid, because of a disliked (makrūh tanzīhī) act.
عن أبي هريرة أن سائلا سأل رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم عن الصلاة في ثوب واحد، فقال رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم: أولكلكم ثوبان، رواه البخاري (٣٥٨). قال في الأصل (١/١٢): قلت: أرأيت الرجل يصلي في ثوب واحد يتوشح به أو في قميص واحد وهو صفيق هل تكره له ذلك؟ قال: لا اكرهه ولا بأس بذلك. قلت: وكذلك لو كان إمام قوم؟ قال: نعم، انتهى۔
فلم يذكر محمد كراهة كشف المرفق في الأصل ولا في غيره، ولم يذكرها الفقهاء، وإنما ذكروا كراهة إعراء المناكب وثياب البذلة. قال ابن مازة في المحيط البرهاني (١/٣٧٧): قال نجم الدين في كتاب الخصائل: قلت لشيخ الإسلام: إن محمدا يقول في الكتاب: لا بأس بأن يصلي في ثوب واحد متوشحا به، وقال: مراد محمد أن يكون ثوبا طويلا يتوشح به، فيجعل بعضه على رأسه وبعضه على منكبيه، وعلى كل موضع من بدنه، أما ليس فيه تنصيص على إعراء الرأس والمنكبين، وقد روي أن أصحاب رسول الله عليه السلام كانوا يكرهون إعراء المناكب في الصلاة، وكذلك يكره الصلاة في ثياب البذلة، روي أن عمر رضي الله عنه رأى رجلا فعل ذلك، فقال: أرأيت لو كنت أرسلتك إلى بعض الناس أكنت تمر في ثيابك هذه، فقال: لا، فقال عمر: الله أحق أن تتزين له، انتهى. وهو كالصريح بأن كشف الذراع ليس بمكروه.
وقد ذكر الفقهاء اللبس المستح…
There are two issues here:
- Leaving the elbows/arms uncovered
- Wearing clothing that one would not go out with in public.
As for the first, I have yet to come across a statement in any of the Hanafi books of fiqh, stating this to be Makruh. I have searched in detail, have asked numerous Muftis, but no one has been able to produce one such ruling from the reliable books of the madhab.
The Fiqh books mention the issue of folding sleeves, however this is makruh due to it being forbidden in Hadith, as one would be preventing the sleeves from making sajdah.
Some Urdu Fatawa use the texts on folding the sleeves for t-shirts, however those texts don’t apply here.
As for the second, maybe 50 years ago, wearing a short-sleeve shirt or a T-shirt would have been something one would not wear out in public.
Today, people wear it everywhere, so it isn’t classfied as thiyab al-bidhlah ie. clothing one wouldn’t wear in public. It is makruh to perform salah in things like pyjama’s, as these wouldn’t be worn in public. Short-sleeves are not so.
So one is allowed to perform salah in clothing that is short-sleeved, as long as it is such clothing that one would normally wear in public.
As for Nabi’s qamis sleeves being until the wrists, that doesn’t necessitate shorter sleeves being makruh, just as it doesn’t negate other items of Nabi having shorter sleeves. In fact, some of the clothing attributed to Nabi in museums do have short sleeves, even though this isn’t proof.
It is for this reason, that the normally very strict author of Ahsan al-Fatawa, Mufti Rashid Ahmed Ludhyanwi, clearly gave permission for salah with a short sleeve kurta.
Se Ahsan al-Fatawa Vol. 3 Pg. 407-408.
And Allah Ta’ala knows best
