saying:

“Let no one pray in a single garment with none of it covering his shoulder.”

Yet praying barefoot is permissible. This shows that covering this part of the body is more beloved to Allah than covering the feet with sandals. If, then, a general need warrants such a concession concerning the body without requiring compensation, there is all the more reason to permit this.

If it is said, “Then someone who cannot find an upper wrap should be permitted to wear a tunic, a robe or something similar,” the answer is:

The need can be met by draping such a garment crosswise over oneself, securing it and knotting its two ends, so that it serves as an upper wrap. This is unlike the situation in which one cannot secure it, for the ends of a tunic, robe or similar garment will not stay on one’s shoulders. The same applies to small upper wraps.

Whatever a pilgrim in ihrām finds—a tunic or a similar garment such as a robe, or a hooded cloak or a similar tailored garment—he can use as an upper wrap if he secures it. He must therefore be granted permission to do so, even if knotting were prohibited in principle. The same applies if it is disliked: when there is a need, it ceases to be disliked. Likewise, he is permitted to wear a money belt to safeguard his wealth and to knot its two ends if it will stay in place only when knotted. His need to cover his shoulders is greater still, so he is undoubtedly permitted to knot such a garment when necessary.

In describing what is forbidden to a pilgrim in ihrām and what he is prohibited from doing, the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, did not use any general wording that encompasses knotting an upper wrap. Rather, when he was asked what clothes a pilgrim in ihrām may wear, he said: “He must not wear a tunic, hooded cloaks, turbans or trousers