he should cover himself and resume the prayer; otherwise, he must start over (1).
The following are disliked during the prayer:
• sadal (2) – letting the garment hang loose;
• ishtimāl al-ṣammāʾ (3) – wrapping oneself in a single cloth with no opening for the arms;
• covering the face;
• placing a cloth or veil over the mouth and nose;
• rolling up the sleeves;
• tying a belt around the waist like a zunnār (4).
The following are forbidden:
• arrogant display in clothing or anything else;
• creating images and using them for purposes other than as carpets or cushions;
• for a male, any garment whose outward majority is silk;
• fabric woven with gold or silver threads before the alloy has completely transformed (5)(6).
Permissible, however, are: cloth whose warp is pure silk while the weft is another fiber; pure silk worn to relieve itching, in battle, against lice, or because of illness; silk used as stuffing, for decorative stripes on a garment (7), for patches, or for fringes (8) so long as none of these decorations exceeds the width of four joined fingers.
(1) “He re-starts,” that is, he breaks off the current prayer and begins it again from the beginning.
(2) al-sadl is to throw a garment over one’s shoulders without crossing one edge over the other. Ibn al-Athir writes in al-Nihaya, 2:320: “It means wrapping oneself in the garment with the hands kept inside, then bowing and prostrating in that state.” Some scholars, however, identify it with isbal (letting the garment hang down loosely). See Tuhfat al-Ahwadhi, 2:393, and Fayd al-Qadir, 6:387-388.
(3) ishtimal al-samma: covering the entire body with a single cloth in such a way that neither the hands nor the feet have an opening through which to emerge.
(4) zinnar: a thick cord that Christians fasten around their waists.
(5) In manuscripts B and C the reading is “or.”
(6) I.e. before the gold or silver is altered by fire or any similar process.
(7) ‘alam al-thawb: the decorative design or marking of a garment, especially the pattern woven or embroidered along its edges; a‘lamahu means “he placed a distinguishing mark on it.” Cf. Lisan al-Arab, 12:420.
(8) al-sajaf originally means “curtain” or “veil” and was later used for the ornamental border attached to the edges of a garment. Cf. Taj al-Arus, 12:262.