The question of whether a man should wear his trousers above or below his ankles often leads to strong opinions. There are authentic hadiths warning men about letting their clothes fall below the ankles. But there is also a deeper lesson behind these hadiths: arrogance.
At the time of the Prophet ﷺ, wealthy and powerful people would sometimes wear long garments that dragged along the ground. It was a sign of status. Islam came to teach people humility and to remove pride from the heart.
The Prophet ﷺ said:
مَنْ جَرَّ ثَوْبَهُ خُيَلَاءَ لَمْ يَنْظُرِ اللَّهُ إِلَيْهِ يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ
“Whoever drags his garment out of pride, Allah will not look at him on the Day of Resurrection.”
(Bukhari and Muslim)
He ﷺ also said:
مَا أَسْفَلَ مِنَ الْكَعْبَيْنِ مِنَ الإِزَارِ فَفِي النَّارِ
“Whatever of the lower garment is below the ankles is in the Fire.”
(Bukhari)
This led scholars to discuss the illah, the reason behind the ruling. Is the problem simply that the cloth goes below the ankle? Or is the main problem the pride and arrogance that this style of dress represented?
The hadith of Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) helps us understand this. Abu Bakr told the Prophet ﷺ that one side of his garment sometimes slipped down unless he kept pulling it up. The Prophet ﷺ replied:
إِنَّكَ لَسْتَ مِمَّنْ يَفْعَلُ ذَلِكَ خُيَلَاءَ
“You are not one of those who does that out of pride.”
(Bukhari)
The Prophet ﷺ pointed to the state of Abu Bakr’s heart.
Ruling on trouser length
The scholars have different views on wearing trousers or other garments below the ankles. There are three main opinions: that it is haram, that it is disliked, and that it is permissible when there is no pride or arrogance.
The majority of scholars held that if a man allows his garment to fall below his ankles without pride or arrogance, it is mildly disliked (makruh tanzihan), rather than haram. This was the view of scholars including Imam al-Nawawi (may Allah have mercy on him) in his commentary on Sahih Muslim, al-Allamah al-Munawi (may Allah have mercy on him) in his commentary on al-Jami al-Saghir, and Ibn Qudamah (may Allah have mercy on him) in al-Mughni.
Some scholars took a stricter view and said that wearing a garment below the ankles is prohibited even when there is no pride. This includes the Maliki scholar Imam Ibn al-Arabi and Imam al-Dhahabi (may Allah have mercy on them).
So according to the majority view, if a man wears his trousers below his ankles without intending pride, arrogance or showing off his status, it is mildly disliked (makruh tanzihan). If he does it out of pride or arrogance, then it is haram and sinful.
This difference of opinion also helps us see that there is something deeper behind the ruling. The issue is not only the length of the garment. The hadiths repeatedly draw our attention to pride in the heart and the way that pride can show itself in how we behave towards others.
Ironically, the one with the shorter trousers may become the one with more pride in his heart.
When practicing makes us look down on others
Sometimes a person starts practicing Islam more seriously and slowly begins to feel better than other people. He prays five times a day, so he looks down on someone who does not. He goes to the mosque and thinks badly of the person who rarely goes. He follows certain Sunnahs and feels superior to someone who does not. This is dangerous.
There is nothing wrong with knowing that an action is right or wrong. A sin is still a sin. But saying, “This action is wrong,” is not the same as thinking, “I am better than this person.”
The Prophet ﷺ explained arrogance very clearly:
الْكِبْرُ بَطَرُ الْحَقِّ وَغَمْطُ النَّاسِ
“Arrogance is rejecting the truth and looking down on people.”
(Muslim)
So the real question is not only where your trousers end. It is also what is happening in your heart.
You may wear your trousers above your ankles and still look down on everyone around you. Another person may wear trousers below his ankles but be humble and soft-hearted. This does not mean that the rules of clothing do not matter. It means that outward obedience must also change the heart.
The worshipper and the sinner
The Prophet ﷺ gave us a powerful example of this.
Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated that there were two men among the Children of Israel. One of them used to sin, while the other worked hard in worship.
The worshipper would keep telling the sinner:
أَقْصِرْ
“Stop.”
One day, he saw him sinning again and told him to stop. The man replied:
خَلِّنِي وَرَبِّي، أَبُعِثْتَ عَلَيَّ رَقِيبًا؟
“Leave me to my Lord. Have you been sent as a guardian over me?”
The worshipper then said:
وَاللَّهِ لَا يَغْفِرُ اللَّهُ لَكَ
“By Allah, Allah will never forgive you.”
When both men died, Allah said to the worshipper:
أَكُنْتَ بِي عَالِمًا؟ أَوْ كُنْتَ عَلَى مَا فِي يَدِي قَادِرًا؟
“Did you have knowledge of Me? Or did you have power over what is in My Hand?”
Allah then said to the sinner:
اذْهَبْ فَادْخُلِ الْجَنَّةَ بِرَحْمَتِي
“Go and enter Paradise by My mercy.”
And the worshipper was punished.
Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) said:
وَالَّذِي نَفْسِي بِيَدِهِ لَتَكَلَّمَ بِكَلِمَةٍ أَوْبَقَتْ دُنْيَاهُ وَآخِرَتَهُ
“By the One in Whose Hand is my soul, he spoke a word that ruined his worldly life and his Hereafter.”
(Abu Dawud and Ahmad. Graded sahih)
The worshipper started by trying to stop someone from sinning. That was not the problem. The problem came when he began to think he knew how Allah would judge that person.
He moved from saying, “This sin is wrong,” to saying, “Allah will never forgive you.”
That is where his worship became mixed with arrogance.
A similar narration appears in Sahih Muslim. A man said:
وَاللَّهِ لَا يَغْفِرُ اللَّهُ لِفُلَانٍ
“By Allah, Allah will never forgive so-and-so.”
Allah said:
مَنْ ذَا الَّذِي يَتَأَلَّى عَلَيَّ أَنْ لَا أَغْفِرَ لِفُلَانٍ؟ فَإِنِّي قَدْ غَفَرْتُ لِفُلَانٍ وَأَحْبَطْتُ عَمَلَكَ
“Who is this who swears that I will not forgive so-and-so? I have forgiven him and made your deeds worthless.”
(Muslim)
The practicing person and the non-practicing person
It is easy to divide people into groups: practicing and non-practicing, religious and not religious, worshipper and sinner. But we do not know how anyone will end their life.
The person you look down on today may repent tomorrow. Someone may have one clear weakness that everyone can see, but many good deeds that no one knows about.
At the same time, a person who looks very religious on the outside may be struggling with pride, envy, showing off or a hard heart.
Allah says:
فَلَا تُزَكُّوا أَنفُسَكُمْ ۖ هُوَ أَعْلَمُ بِمَنِ اتَّقَىٰ
“So do not claim purity for yourselves. He knows best who is truly mindful of Him.”
(Surat al-Najm, 53:32)
Allah also says:
إِنَّ أَكْرَمَكُمْ عِندَ اللَّهِ أَتْقَاكُمْ
“The most honoured of you in the sight of Allah is the one with the most taqwa.”
(Surat al-Hujurat, 49:13)
We cannot see taqwa simply by looking at someone’s clothes, beard, hijab or how often they attend the mosque.
What should worship do to us?
The more we worship Allah, the more humble we should become. We should still advise people. We should still say when something is wrong. We should encourage people to pray, follow the Sunnah and leave sins. But there is a big difference between wanting someone to become closer to Allah and enjoying the feeling that you are better than them.
One comes from care. The other comes from the ego. This brings us back to the question of trousers above the ankles. We can become so focused on where another person’s trousers end that we forget to look at our own heart.
The Sunnah is meant to bring us closer to the Prophet ﷺ and closer to Allah. It should make us softer, more humble and more aware of our own faults. So follow the Sunnah. Wear your clothes with humility. Advise others kindly. But do not let your worship become a reason to look down on anyone. Your trousers may be above your ankles while arrogance is still dragging behind you.