Istifa al-Aqwal fi Tahrim al-Isbal ala al-Rijal
- Author died
- 1182 AH
- Editions
- Maktabat Dar al-Quds
Istifa al-Aqwal fi Tahrim al-Isbal ala al-Rijal (Exhaustive Treatment of Statements on the Prohibition of Lowering Garments for Men) is a legal treatise written by the Yemeni scholar Muhammad ibn Isma'il al-San'ani (1099–1182 AH / 1688–1768 CE) addressing the juridical ruling on men wearing clothing that extends below the ankles (isbal).
Subject and Content
The treatise examines the prophetic reports regarding men wearing garments below the ankles. Al-San'ani compiles a collection of hadiths indicating the prohibition of isbal and argues against the position of scholars who permit it when not done out of vanity or arrogance (li-ghayr al-khuyala').
In reconciling the relevant narrations, al-San'ani contends that general hadiths stating that whatever falls below the ankles is in the Fire establish an absolute prohibition, while hadiths stating that God will not look upon the one who trails his garment out of pride assign a specific, heavier punishment to pride itself; he argues that this distinction refutes the claim that isbal is prohibited only when accompanied by conceit. He further reinforces his conclusion by citing earlier authorities who maintained that lowering garments below the ankles is impermissible regardless of intent.
Manuscript and Title Variations
The author named the work Istifa al-Aqwal fi Tahrim al-Isbal ala al-Rijal. In the manuscript index and cover of the copy preserved in the Great Mosque Library in Sanaa (within composite volume no. 1, folios 53–57), it is titled Istifa al-Istdilal fi Bayan Tahrim Isbal al-Thiyab ala al-Rijal (Exhaustive Demonstration of the Prohibition of Lowering Garments for Men). The manuscript is written in regular Naskh script, measures 33 × 23 cm with 35 lines per page, and was transcribed around 1175 AH. It begins with the praise:
الحمد لله الذي أسبل على الأنام ستره... "Praise be to God Who has lowered His veil over mankind..."
It concludes with:
ولا يجوز تأخيره عن وقت الحاجة، وأي حاجة أشد من مقام النهي والله أعلم. "...and delaying it beyond the time of need is impermissible, and what need is greater than the occasion of prohibition? And God knows best."
The work has also been referred to in some later Yemeni legal answers under the slight variant Ihtifa al-Aqwal fi Tahrim al-Isbal.
Publication History
The treatise was edited by 'Uqayl ibn Muhammad ibn Zayd al-Maqtari and published by Maktabat Dar al-Quds in Sanaa (1st edition, 1412 AH / 1992 CE). It was also edited by Khalid ibn Muhammad ibn 'Uthman al-Misri and published within Majmu' al-Rasa'il al-Fiqhiyyah li-l-San'ani by al-Faruq al-Hadithah li-l-Tiba'ah wa-l-Nashr.
Answer updated