Ali al-Qari (1/479) writes: “The wisdom behind this is that the shoulder should not be left entirely bare, for that is closer to decorum, more in keeping with modesty before the Lord, and more complete in fulfilling the command to ‘adorn yourselves’ at the time of worship. Allah knows best.” The outward sense of the prohibition in this wording therefore points to unlawfulness, just as the outward sense of the first wording points to obligation. A number of the early scholars adopted this, among them Imam Ahmad—may Allah have mercy on him—whose well-known view is that if someone prays with an uncovered shoulder while able to cover it, the prayer is invalid; he thus treated it as a condition for validity. The same is stated by Ibn Hazm in al-Muhalla (4/70). A second report from Imam Ahmad, however, states that the prayer is valid but the person is sinful for omitting the covering. The majority—Malik, Abu Hanifa, al-Shafiʿi and others—hold that the prohibition is one of discouragement and the command one of recommendation. Hence, if a man prays in a single garment that covers his ʿawra (nakedness) but leaves nothing over his shoulder, the prayer is valid yet disliked, whether or not he is able to place something on his shoulder. Al-Nawawi says in Sharh Muslim: “The proof for the majority is the Messenger’s statement: ‘If it is wide, wrap yourself with it; if it is narrow, gird it about your waist.’” I say: I do not understand how this hadith can be used to deny the obligation, when it clearly supports the view of Ahmad and others, namely the distinction between a wide garment—where wrapping oneself with it is obligatory—and a narrow garment—where it is not. Just as the Prophet commanded that one gird himself with it when it is narrow, and that command is obligatory, so too his command to wrap oneself with it when it is wide is obligatory. This view—that it is mandatory to cross the two ends of the garment over the shoulders—is the strongest in terms of evidence and proof, and al-Bukhari inclined to it, as his arrangement in the Sahih indicates, according to al-Hafiz, who said: