The CONFUSION of Ihraam and “STITCHES”

by Asma bint Shameem

QUESTION

Can men use a belt that has STITCHES on it while in ihraam?

Or use a towel or blanket that has STITCHES?

What about sandals that have STITCHES?

ANSWER

In order to answer that, we should first try and understand the ”concept” behind the prohibition of STITCHED CLOTHES for men in ihraam.

🍃 The Prophet ﷺ said:

“The muhrim should not wear a shirt, pants, a burnous, or shoes, unless he cannot find any sandals, in which case he may wear something that comes below his ankles.” (al-Bukhaari, Muslim)

So what is prohibited, is to wear clothes that are specifically “stitched” or “SEWN” to FIT the BODY of a man like a shirt, pants etc.

And similarly it’s prohibited for women to wear the Niqaab and gloves because it’s “stitched” or “sewn” to FIT the face and hands, for women.

Why is that?

That’s because when we’re at hajj, it’s supposed to be a PRACTICE SESSION for the Day of Judgment when we will all be resurrected NAKED and barefoot.

Hajj is a reminder that one day we will all be brought back to life and we will be called to a place of gathering where we will stand for 50,000 years.

Then answer our Master and Creator for what we did in the dunya.

So we are supposed to take off our clothes during hajj as a REPRESENTATION of BEING NAKED that day.

Obviously we can’t be naked when we go for hajj.

So the men “take off their regular clothes that are stitched or sewn to fit their body” and they cover themselves with two sheets of ihraam.

Similarly women cannot be naked at hajj, so they uncover only their face and hands by taking off the niqaab and gloves.

So it’s not really the “STITCHES” that are forbidden.

It’s the CLOTHES that are sewn and worn on the body that are forbidden.

So the man CAN cover himself with a blanket or even an ihraam sheet that has ‘stitches’ on it.

Or wear a belt that has stitches on it.

Or put on a money pouch that has stitches on it.

Or use sandals that have stitches in them.

All of that is permissible.

🍃 Shaikh Ibn Uthaymeen said:

“There is nothing wrong with wrapping a shirt around one's body without wearing it, and there is nothing wrong with wearing an ‘abayah as a rida’, so that it is not worn in the usual fashion.”

(Manaasik al-Hajj wa’l-‘Umrah (p. 64)

That’s because it’s not that there can’t be any “stitches” on a garment.

Rather it’s the CLOTHES that are forbidden.

Think about it this way...

If there was a shirt that was GLUED TOGETHER, and was not “sewn”, would that be allowed for a man to wear in ihraam?

No, it would NOT be allowed for a man to wear in ihraam even though there was not a single stitch on it!

Hope that clears the issue.

And Allaah knows best