—or even a cloak—so that it falls lower than the ankles, he has committed one of the grave major sins, whether he does so out of pride or for some other motive. In this ḥadith the Prophet ﷺ draws a clear line between what is worn in arrogance and what is not. Whoever lets it trail out of arrogance, Allah will not look at him on the Day of Resurrection; and when we add to this the ḥadith of Abū Dharr cited earlier, we understand that Allah will neither look at him nor speak to him, nor purify him, and that a painful punishment awaits him.

As for what merely descends below the ankles, the penalty is limited to punishment by the Fire; the fourfold punishment does not apply to him.

He then mentioned the ḥadith of Ibn ʿUmar: the Prophet ﷺ ordered him to raise his izār, so he lifted it. The Prophet said, “Higher,” and he lifted it again. The Prophet repeated, “Higher,” until a man asked, “To where, O Messenger of Allah?” He answered, “To the middle of the calves.” In other words, the extra raising should not surpass the midpoint of the calf; from mid-calf down to the ankles is all permissible, and the closer it is to mid-calf, the better.

As for the report of Umm Salama, may Allah be pleased with her, that the Prophet ﷺ granted women leave to let the hems of their garments hang a handspan lower, she said, “Then their feet will be uncovered.” He replied, “Let them extend it a forearm’s length—no more,” because a woman’s foot is part of her ʿawrah. If it becomes visible to people and they see it, that would