Question
I am participating in this year’s pilgrimage. However, my health condition requires me to wear tight ordinary underwear to prevent urine from escaping from me when I perform certain movements, as sometimes these clothes get soiled during the prayer. Given this situation, is it permissible for me to wear ordinary underwear under the pilgrim’s garment? What should I do in case this is not allowed?
Praise be to Allah
Firstly, there is a difference of opinion among the ulama about a man wearing underwear to cover his sex. This is what the scholars call ‘tubbane’. Some of them allow it even in the absence of a (specific) compulsion or need; they argue that there is no text that excludes it from what the pilgrim can wear. But the majority of the ulama forbid the wearing of underwear because they equate it with pants. Moreover, some even say that undergarments deserve to be prohibited more than pants.
Shaykh al-Islam (May Allah have mercy on him) says: « The same is true of the tubbane, which is more deserving of being forbidden than pants » (from Madjmu Fatawa, 11/206).
Ibn al-Quayyim (May Allah have mercy on him) says: « According to al-Muzani, the jurisconsults from the time of the Prophet (peace be upon him) until now have used reasoning by analogy to establish provisions to be applied in their religious affairs… He says: They all agree that the equivalent of true is true and the equivalent of false is false. No one can deny the validity of reasoning by analogy since it is only a matter of bringing together things that are similar. An example of this is the Prophet’s (PBUH) prohibition on the pilgrim wearing a shirt, pants, turban or boots. This prohibition is not limited to these things as it extends to the wearing of the jellaba, boubous, caps, gloves, underpants, etc. « This prohibition is not limited to these things, as it extends to the wearing of jellaba, boubous, caps, gloves, underpants, etc. This is to grasp the mistake made by the one who allows the wearing of underpants based on the argument that this issue is not decided in the hadith of the Prophet (peace be upon him) in which he explains what a pilgrim should not wear.
Ibn Abdul Barr (May Allah have mercy on him) says: is the same as what is mentioned in the hadith such as shirts, pants, hoods, anything that is sewn; it is not permissible for the pilgrim to wear anything of it, according to all the ulama. See at.-Tamhiid,15/104.
Al-Hafida Ibn Hadjar (May Allah have mercy on him) says: According to Iyadh, all Muslims agree that the clothes mentioned in the hadith are forbidden to the pilgrim and that the specification of shirts refers to anything that is sewn, and that the citation of turbans and hoods refers to anything that covers the head, whether it is sewn or not, and that the mention of boots refers to anything that covers the feet.
Ibn Daquiq al-Id reserves the second consensus for those who use reasoning by analogy, which is clear. By the prohibition of what is sewn, it is meant anything that is tailored for a specific use, even on a part of the body. » From Fath al-Bari,3/402.
Those who support the permission of the pilgrim to wear the tubbane argue from what has been reliably reported from Aisha (pbuh) that she allowed wearers to wear it, and from what has been reported from Ammar ibn Yassir (pbuh) that he wore it.
a) The tradition attributed to Aisha
Al-Bukhari (May Allah have mercy on him) says in his Sahih (2/558): Chapter on the use of perfume at the time of entering the state of sacredness and the garment to be worn by one who wants to enter this state…Aisha did not see any harm in the fact that those who set up her palanquin wore the tubbane. »
Al-Hafidh ibn Hadjar (May Allah have mercy on him) said: Said ibn Mansur reported the tradition of Aisha uninterruptedly through Abdurrahman ibn al-Quassim from his father who had heard from Aisha that she had made the pilgrimage with a group of her servants. When they wanted to set up her palanquin, intimate parts of their bodies were exposed. That is why she instructed them to wear tubbane, even when they were in a state of sacredness. This is a refutation of Ibn Tine’s opinion that Aicha was targeting women. For women wear sewn clothes unlike men. It seems that Aicha’s words reflect a personal opinion. Indeed, the overwhelming majority believe that there is no difference between tubbane and pants in that they are forbidden to be worn by pilgrims. From Fath al-Bari, 3/397. It can be argued that Aisha gave the above order to her servants out of necessity since their private parts were uncovered, which does not imply that wearing tubbane in the absence of necessity is permissible.
b) The tradition of Ammar
Ibn Abi Shayba reported that Habib ibn Abi Thabit said: I saw Ammar wearing a tubbane while we were in Arafat. Musannafu ibn Abi Cahyba,6/34. This is interpreted as a response to a necessity because it is quoted in Ibn Shubba’s akhbar al-madina (3/1100) that Ammar ibn Yassir (pbuh) had a sexual affliction during the time of Uthman ibn Affan (pbuh), about which he said, « I can’t hold my urine anymore.
In an-Nihaya fi gharib al-athar,2/126 it is said: « I saw Ammar wearing a dagrara= tubbane (a slip) and heard him say: I have a pain in my prostate.
In lissan al-Arab (13/71) we read: a hadith of Ammar indicates that he prayed wearing a tubbane and said: I have a pain in my prostate. Even if one were to assume that these traditions are not sure, taken individually, they at least indicate that they come from a (common) source.
What is correct is that the pilgrim is forbidden to wear a tubbane. The words of Aisha (pbuh) are interpreted as a response to a necessity. They do not relieve the pilgrim who has worn a tubban from the necessity of performing an act of atonement. Amar’s words are interpreted to mean that his behavior was justified by his prostate disease.
Shaykh Muhammad al-Amina ash-Shinquiti (May Allah have mercy on him) says: What has been reported about Aisha (pbuh) apparently indicates that she allowed (exceptionally) the tubbane to be worn by those who were in charge of setting up her palanquin because of the need to prevent them from uncovering their private parts. This means that the act is not permitted in the absence of a necessity. The knowledge is reserved for Allah Most High. Adhwaa al-Bayan,5/464.
Secondly, the wearing of the tubbane is permissible for those who work in the cargo business for example and fear that if they do not wear it, their private parts will be exposed. It is also permitted for those whose skin tears on contact with an object, if they fear that it will harm them. It may also be worn by a person who is injured in the sex and needs to protect it. The same is true for anyone who suffers from enuresis, as was the case with Ammar. In all these cases and others like them, the person concerned should perform an act of atonement, namely feeding six poor people or fasting for three days or slaughtering a sheep in accordance with the saying of the Most High: If any of you is sick or suffers from a headache (and has to shave), then let him make amends by fasting or giving alms or making a sacrifice. When you then find peace, whoever has enjoyed a normal life after making Umrah while waiting for the pilgrimage, should make a sacrifice that is easy for him. If he cannot afford it, let him fast for three days during the pilgrimage and seven days when he returns home (Qur’an, 2: 196)
Abdullah ibn Ma’qal said, « I went to Ka’bah ibn U’djra (pbuh) and asked him about the atonement. He said, « The provision was for a special case, but now it applies to all of you. He said, « I did not know that you were suffering so much or imagine that you were suffering so much. Do you own a sheep?-No.-Young three days or feed six poor people at the rate of half a saa per poor person. (Reported by al-Bukhari,1721 and by Muslim,1201.
Shaykh Muhammad ibn Salih al-Outhaymine (May Allah have mercy on him) was asked about wearing the tubbane when it prevents harm. He said: If one fears harm, there is no harm in wearing it. But then the person concerned must feed, if he can, six poor people, at the rate of half a saa per poor person. This is better. Liqaa la-bab al-maftouh, 177, question no. 16. See the answers given to question no. 20870 and question no. 49033.
Allah knows best.
