Question (Q-98)
Due to the heat, the youth attend the Masjid in vests instead of wearing shirts. When we ask them they say that the body parts that have to be hidden are only those between the naval and the knees. My question is whether Ṣalāh is valid in this situation.
Answer:
When a bondsman performs Ṣalāh then he is in attendance at the Special Court of Allāh The Almighty. This is why it is very good to perform Ṣalāh in the clothing of the pious. How can a person attend the Court of the Almighty wearing such clothing that he would not wear when attending an important office of the world?
Allah the Almighty states,
خُذُواْ زِينَتَكُمۡ عِندَ كُلِّ مَسۡجِدٖ
“Adorn yourself when you go to the Masjid.” (Sūrah Al-Aʿrāf 7:31)
The meaning of this is,
أي كلما صليتم
“i.e. whenever you pray.”
So this means that one should wear good clothing when performing Ṣalāh.
Al-Imām Al-Nasafī states in Tafsīr Madārik,
السنة أن يأخذ الرجل أحسن هيئاته للصلوة لأن الصلاة مناجاة الرب
“The Sunnah is that the male adopts the best form and appearance for Ṣalāh because Ṣalāh is a conversation with the Lord.”
Ḥaḍrat Ṣadr al-Sharīʿah Al-Aʿẓamī رحمه الله states,
“The one who possesses clothing but performs Ṣalāh wearing a half sleeve or a vest in spite of this then this is makrūh al-tanzīhi (disliked in a minor way).”
(Fatāwā Amjadiyyah, Volume 1)
والله تعالى أعلم وعلمه أتم
Allah, the Exalted, knows best. His Knowledge is Complete.
Written by: Mufti Shamsulhuda Khan Misbahi (May Allah preserve him)
