“…If it is wide, drape its two edges across your body, and if it is tight, fasten it around your hips.”

Muslim included this wording within his long narration, and it was likewise recorded by Abū Dāwūd, al-Ḥākim, and al-Bayhaqī. Al-Ḥākim said, “It is sound according to Muslim’s criteria,” and al-Dhahabī concurred, yet both of them erred in treating it as a supplement to Muslim.

Third route: from Shuraḥbīl ibn Saʿd, who entered upon Jābir while he was praying … and narrated a report to the same effect. Aḥmad and al-Ṭaḥāwī (in Sharḥ al-Maʿānī) transmitted only the portion traced back to the Prophet. All its transmitters are trustworthy men used by the two Shaykhs except Shuraḥbīl; he is truthful (ṣadūq) but his memory became confused toward the end, as stated in al-Taqrīb.

Fourth route: from Ibn Jurayj, who said: Abū al-Zubayr reported that Jābir said: The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, “Whoever prays in a single garment should envelop himself with it.” This was also recorded by Aḥmad and al-Ṭaḥāwī. All of its transmitters are narrators used by Muslim, though both Ibn Jurayj and Abū al-Zubayr are mudallis.

The ḥadith is an explicit proof that wrapping oneself is obligatory when the garment is wide; the unrestricted report of Abū Hurayrah must therefore be understood accordingly. The obligation is further reinforced by the Prophet’s ﷺ prohibition against neglecting this practice, and a prohibition denotes impermissibility. A number of the early scholars have adopted this view