al-Khattab, may Allah be pleased with him: the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, was asked what a pilgrim in ihram may wear. He replied, “He should not wear a shirt, trousers, burnouses, turbans, or leather socks.” (1) He mentioned five things that may not be worn, although he had been asked about what may be worn. He thus answered by stating what may not be worn. This means that the pilgrim in ihram may wear anything other than these five things. He turned from mentioning what may be worn to mentioning what may not be worn because what may not be worn is less than what may be worn.

His statement, “If a male wears a tailored garment”: he expressed it as wearing tailored clothing. Yet the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, who was granted concise and comprehensive speech, did not express it as wearing tailored clothing, even though that expression is broader than the specific items he named. Rather, he mentioned specific items and enumerated them. The author, and other authors as well, ought to have mentioned what the Prophet mentioned, as we stated previously: preserving the wording of the textual evidence, even when discussing legal rulings, is preferable.

It is said that the first to use the expression “wearing sewn clothing” was Ibrahim al-Nakha‘i, may Allah have mercy on him. He was one of the jurists among the Successors, being more knowledgeable in fiqh than in hadith; hence, he is regarded as a jurist. He said, “He should not wear sewn clothing.” Since this expression was not transmitted from one protected from error, it gives rise to a problem:

First, in view of its generality.

Second, in view of what it implies.

For if we take it in its general sense, we would prohibit everything that contains stitching, because makhīṭ means something sewn; and because this expression suggests that whatever