—meaning your clothes; that is, the garments Allah has allowed and made lawful for us. Whatever He has forbidden, we are not commanded to wear; rather, we are prohibited from it.

Those who say that Allah does not accept a person’s prayer if he practises isbāl (letting the garment hang below the ankles) cite the ḥadith mentioned by the author from Abū Hurayrah: the Prophet ﷺ saw a man whose lower garment was trailing, so the Prophet said to him, “Go and perform ablution.” The man went, performed ablution, then returned. The Prophet again said, “Go and perform ablution.” A man then asked, “Messenger of Allah, why did you tell him to perform ablution?” He replied, “He is praying while letting his lower garment hang, and Allah does not accept the prayer of one who lets his garment hang.”

This is an explicit text indicating that Allah does not accept the prayer of the person who practises isbāl; therefore his prayer would be invalid and he would have to repeat it. The author says that it was narrated by Abū Dāwūd with an authentic chain meeting Muslim’s conditions, but this is open to objection, for the ḥadith is weak and not soundly traced back to the Prophet ﷺ.

The correct view among the scholars is that the prayer of the one who practises isbāl is valid, though he is sinful. The same applies to anyone who wears a forbidden garment—such as a garment he has stolen and then prays in, or one that bears images, a cross for example, or pictures of living beings. All of that is forbidden to wear both inside and outside the prayer. Consequently, if a person prays in such clothing, his prayer is valid but he incurs sin for wearing it. This is the stronger opinion in the matter, because the prohibition here is not specific to the prayer; the ban on wearing prohibited clothing is general, whether in prayer or otherwise, so it—