Glossary of Unfamiliar Terms
• sarāwīl (trousers): the word may be treated as masculine or feminine. It is morphologically singular although it looks like a plural; its plural form is sarāwīlāt. The term is of foreign origin that was Arabized.
• barānis: plural of burnus—a garment whose hood is joined to the body of the cloth, formerly worn by early Muslim ascetics and still used today in the Maghrib.
• khifāf: plural of khuff; footwear that is worn on the feet and reaches halfway up the shin.
As for jawārib (socks), they are whatever covers the ankles; their legal ruling is the same and will be discussed, Allah willing.
• massahu (“touched it”): means that something came into contact with it.
• wars: a yellow plant used for dyeing cloth and noted for its pleasant fragrance.
• zaʿfarān (saffron): a perennial bulbous plant from the iris family, likewise used as a dye.
• “lā tantaqib” (she must not wear a face veil): intiqāb is when a woman covers her face with a khimār and leaves two openings for her eyes to see through.
• quffāzayn (a pair of gloves): dual of quffāz—an item made for the hands from cloth, leather, or other materials, protecting them from cold, similar to what falconers wear.
• al-kaʿbayn (the two ankles): the two protruding bones at the ankle joint.

Overall Meaning
The Companions—may Allah be pleased with them—understood that the state of ihram is marked by an appearance different from that of ordinary dress. A man therefore asked the Prophet ﷺ about the garments that a pilgrim in ihram is allowed to wear.

Because it is in fact more concise—and therefore more fitting—to ask about what must be avoided, since the prohibited items are few and the Prophet ﷺ was endowed with succinct, all-embracing speech, he ﷺ replied by listing the clothing a pilgrim must shun, while everything else remains basically permissible. In this manner abundant knowledge is conveyed.

The Prophet ﷺ proceeded to enumerate every article of dress that is forbidden to a male pilgrim in ihram together with its like, saying: “He must not wear a shirt”—that is, anything tailored and sewn to the shape of the body—“nor turbans, nor burnuses,” meaning any head covering that clings to the head, “nor …”