Siyar Aʿlām al-Nubalāʾ - Shams al‑Din al‑Dhahabi - (3/234)

Siyar Aʿlām al-NubalāʾShams al‑Din al‑Dhahabi

I say: Any article of dress that breeds haughtiness and self-glorification in a person must be abandoned, even if it contains neither gold nor silk. We see a young man wearing a woollen farajiyyah (1) lined with fur that costs about four hundred dirhams, and the arrogance and swagger are plain in his gait. Should you counsel him and reprimand him gently, he grows obstinate and says, “There is no conceit or pride in me,” whereas that noble man Ibn ʿUmar used to fear such a thing for himself.

Likewise you will see the pampered jurist: when he is faulted for having a farajiyyah tailored so that it hangs below his ankles, he is told,

“The Prophet—peace and blessings be upon him—said, ‘Whatever part of the lower garment is below the ankles is in the Fire.’”

He replies, “He only said that about someone who drags his lower garment out of arrogance, and I do not do it arrogantly.” Thus you find him stubbornly persisting, acquitting his foolish soul, taking an independent, general text and restricting it with another independent report that speaks specifically of arrogance, and granting himself licence by citing the words of al-Ṣiddīq, when he said, “O Messenger of Allah, my lower garment (izār) slips down,” and the Prophet answered, “You, Abū Bakr, are not among those who do it out of arrogance.”

We say: Abū Bakr—may Allah be pleased with him—did not initially fasten his izār so that it was let down over his ankles; rather, he tied it above the ankle, and only afterwards would it sometimes slip.

The Prophet—peace and blessings be upon him—also said, “The believer’s izār should reach the middle of his calves; there is no sin upon him between that point and the ankles.”

The same prohibition applies to anyone who cuts his trousers so that they cover his ankles, to excessively long sleeves, and to lengthening the tail of the turban. All of this stems from concealed arrogance lodged in the soul. One may be excused through ignorance, but the scholar has no excuse if he fails to censure the ignorant.

If a sumptuous siyaraʾ robe (2) of gold thread, silk, and kundus (sable fur) is presented to a dignitary, the reports prohibiting the hides of predatory beasts and wearing them make it unlawful. Yet the man drags it behind him, struts about in it, swings his arm, and grows angry with anyone who does not congratulate him on these forbidden things—especially if it is a robe of investiture for a ministerial office, an oppressive post, the supervision of customs (3), or the prefecture of police. Let him then prepare himself for abhorrence, dismissal, humiliation, and beating, and in

(1) al-farjiyya: a loose, long-sleeved robe, usually made of cotton, silk, or wool. (2) as-sirya (with a short i after the initial consonant and a long a at the end): a type of burud (striped mantle) woven from silk. (3) al-maks: a toll or tax collected by the maks-collector, also called the ’ashshar; in the printed edition it has been mistakenly rendered as "malbas" (garment).

قُلْتُ: كُلُّ لِبَاسٍ أَوْجَدَ فِي المَرْءِ خُيَلاَءَ وَفَخراً، فَتَرْكُهُ مُتَعيِّنٌ وَلَوْ كَانَ مِنْ غَيْرِ ذَهَبٍ وَلاَ حَرِيرٍ، فَإِنَّا نَرَى الشَّابَّ يَلْبَسُ الفَرَجِيَّةَ (١) الصُّوفَ بِفَرْوٍ مِنْ أَثَمَانِ أَرْبَعِ مائَةِ دِرْهَمٍ وَنَحْوِهَا، وَالكِبْرُ وَالخُيَلاَءُ عَلَى مِشْيَتِهِ ظَاهِرٌ، فَإِنْ نَصحْتَهُ وَلُمْتَهُ بِرِفقٍ كَابَرَ، وَقَالَ: مَا فِيَّ خُيَلاَءُ وَلاَ فَخْرٌ، وَهَذَا السَّيِّدُ ابْنُ عُمَرَ يَخَافُ ذَلِكَ عَلَى نَفْسِهِ. وَكَذَلِكَ تَرَى الفَقِيْهَ المُتْرفَ إِذَا لِيْمَ فِي تَفصيلِ فَرَجِيَّةٍ تَحْتَ كَعْبَيْهِ، قِيْلَ لَهُ: قَدْ قَالَ النَّبِيُّ ﷺ: (مَا أَسْفَلَ مِنَ الكَعْبَيْنِ مِنَ الإِزَارِ فَفِي النَّارِ) . يَقُوْلُ: إِنَّمَا قَالَ هَذَا فِيْمَنْ جَرَّ إِزَارَهُ خُيَلاَءَ، وَأَنَا لاَ أَفعلُ خُيَلاَءَ، فَترَاهُ يُكَابِرُ، وَيُبرِّئُ نَفْسَهُ الحمقَاءَ، وَيَعْمَدُ إِلَى نَصٍّ مُستقِلٍّ عَامٍّ، فَيَخُصُّهُ بِحَدِيْثٍ آخرَ مُسْتقلٍّ بِمَعْنَى الخُيَلاَءِ، وَيَترخَّصُ بِقَوْلِ الصِّدِّيْقِ: إِنَّهُ يَا رَسُوْلَ اللهِ يَسْتَرخِي إِزَارِي، فَقَالَ: (لَسْتَ يَا أَبَا بَكْرٍ مِمَّنْ يَفْعَلُهُ خُيَلاَءَ) . فَقُلْنَا: أَبُو بَكْرٍ ﵁ لَمْ يَكُنْ يَشُدُّ إِزَارَهُ مَسْدُوْلاً عَلَى كَعْبَيْهِ أَوَّلاً؛ بَلْ كَانَ يَشُدُّهُ فَوْقَ الكَعْبِ، ثُمَّ فِيمَا بَعْدُ يَسْتَرخِي. وَقَدْ قَالَ ﵊: (إِزْرَةُ المُؤْمِنِ إِلَى أَنْصَافِ سَاقَيْهِ، لاَ جُنَاحَ عَلَيْهِ فِيْمَا بَيْنَ ذَلِكَ وَبَيْنَ الكَعْبَيْنِ) . وَمِثْلُ هَذَا فِي النَّهْيِ لِمَنْ فَصَّلَ سَرَاويلَ مُغَطِّياً لِكِعَابِهِ. وَمِنْه طُولُ الأَكمَامِ زَائِداً، وَتَطوِيْلُ العَذَبَةِ. وَكُلُّ هَذَا مِنْ خُيَلاَءَ كَامنٍ فِي النُّفُوْسِ، وَقَدْ يُعذَرُ الوَاحِدُ مِنْهُم بِالجَهْلِ، وَالعَالِمُ لاَ عُذْرَ لَهُ فِي تَرْكِهِ الإِنْكَارَ عَلَى الجَهَلَةِ، فَإِنْ خُلعَ عَلَى رَئِيْسٍ خِلعَةٌ سِيَرَاءُ (٢) مِنْ ذَهَبٍ وَحَرِيْرٍ وَقُنْدُسٍ، يُحرِّمُهُ مَا وَردَ فِي النَّهْيِ عَنْ جُلُودِ السِّبَاعِ وَلُبْسِهَا، الشَّخْصُ يَسحَبُهَا وَيَختَالُ فِيْهَا، وَيَخْطُرُ بِيَدِهِ وَيَغْضبُ مِمَّنْ لاَ يُهَنِّيْهِ بِهَذِهِ المُحَرَّمَاتِ، وَلاَ سِيَّمَا إِنْ كَانَتْ خِلْعَةَ وَزَارَةٍ وَظُلْمٍ وَنَظَرِ مَكْسٍ (٣) ، أَوْ وِلاَيَةِ شُرطَةٍ، فَلْيَتَهَيَّأْ لِلمَقْتِ وَلِلعَزْلِ وَالإِهَانَةِ وَالضَّرْبِ، وَفِي

(١) الفرجية: ثوب واسع طويل الأكمام، بتخذ من قطن أو حرير أو صوف. (٢) السيراء: بكسر السين وفتح الياء والمد: نوع من البرود تتخذ من حرير. (٣) المكس: الضريبة التي يأخذها الماكس وهو العشار، وقد تحرفت في المطبوع إلى " ملبس ".