One may pray in any cloth, pants, lunki or thawb, etc. as long it is modest and covers the parts of the body we are supposed to cover in prayer. One may pray in a single piece or two or three. Covering from navel to knee is an absolute requirement; however, one should wear as decently as possible as determined by the culture we live. Allah tells us to dress
“O children of Adam! Beautify yourselves when you enter the mosque (for every act of worship), and eat and drink [freely], but do not waste: verily, He does not love the wasteful!” (Qur’an: 7:31).
We learn from the sources that the Prophet (peace be upon him) as well as his companions used to wear whatever was available at the time; if a particular type of clothing had been a requirement, the Prophet (peace be upon him) would have said so explicitly.
Having said this, let me rush to point out: Some people insist on rolling up pants before prayer if they fall below the ankles; this, however, is being rigid or literalistic in the understanding of the Sunnah. For details, let me cite here from one of my earlier answers:
“Keeping the pants above the ankles is not one of the essential integrals of salah in Islam in any of the four schools; nor is it reckoned as an integral by any jurist or scholar I know. Therefore, it has nothing to do with the validity of one’s salah.
Having said this, I should also point out that a Muslim is advised not to keep his pants way far below his ankles kissing the floor. The Prophet (peace be upon him) said, “Allah will not look at those who drag their clothes on the earth out of pride.” On hearing this, Abu Bakr asked him, ‘But my clothes come off and touch the earth?” The Prophet replied, “You are not doing so out of pride.”
It is clear from the above that the Prophet (peace be upon him) was cautioning us against following the life-style of the rich and famous, who are ostentatious in the way they dress and carry themselves around. So to interpret it in the way you have indicated is to empty the Prophetic counsel of its real intent and purpose. It behooves us never to lose sight of the original intent and wisdom of the laws of Islam; otherwise, they would look meaningless and absurd.”
Thursday, Jan. 01, 1970 | 00:00 - 00:00 GMT
Views expressed by hosts/guests on this program (live dialogue, Facebook sessions, etc.) are their own and their appearance on the program does not imply an endorsement of them or any entity they represent.