What is the ruling for keeping one’s garment long?

Keeping one’s garment long, meaning letting it go past the ankles and touch the floor, used to be a sign of haughtiness and arrogance which is a major sin and amongst the worse diseases of the heart. It destroy one’s spiritual life and progress to the point that some of the pious Muslims have stated that, “a sin that causes abasement and causes one to feel broken is better than a good deed that causes one to be haughty and arrogant.”

The act of keeping one’s trousers or garment long is tied to arrogance in the hadith of the Prophet who said, “whomsoever drags their garment out of arrogance, God will not look at them on the Day of Resurrection. So Abu Bakr said, ‘one part of my garment sags should I consider this [act] from what you have mentioned’ so the Prophet said, ‘you are not amongst those who do this out of arrogance.’”

Therefore keeping one’s garment long and having it go past the ankles and drag on the floor is itself not prohibited, rather its impermissibility draws from the fact that it was a sign of arrogance especially during the time of the Prophet. Accordingly the scholars have agreed that any form of arrogance is prohibited whether it is related to clothes or not. However, they have differed on the ruling of keeping the garment long making a distinction between those who do it out of arrogance and those who do not. Others have stated that it is a reprehensible act as it is an imitation of those who do it out of arrogance.

Sheikh al-Buhuti has stated, “If someone keeps their garment long out of necessity such as covering the ailment of the feet then it is permissible as long as it is without arrogance. Ahmad has stated in a narration that keeping one’s garment long and dragging it in prayer as long as there is no arrogance, is fine.” Al-Shawkani has stated:

The apparent restriction of “out of arrogance” is an indication a priori that keeping a garment long without arrogance is not a part of this threat. Ibn Abdul Barr has stated, “keeping the garment long without arrogance does not fall into the mentioned threat except that the act is looked down upon.” Al-Nawawi has stated, “[keeping the garment long] is a reprehensible act, and this is the quoted statement of Imam al-Shafi‘i as al-Buwiti has stated in his compendium on the statements of Imam al-Shafi‘i that, ‘it is not permissible to keep one’s garment long in the prayer or elsewhere out of arrogance. However, doing this elsewhere, i.e. outside of prayer, is a lighter act based on the statement of the Prophet to Abu Bakr.’”

Keeping the garment long if it is without haughtiness and arrogance is permissible as has been stated by the school of Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal, and the prohibition lies in the arrogance even if it occurs by not keeping the garment long. Also the custom of people has changed and today it is not amongst the habits of the arrogant to keep their clothes long, and therefore keeping ones garment long today cannot be an act that imitates the actions of the arrogant and the haughty.

God is most high and all knowledgeable.