Kinds of Clothes in Which It Is Undesirable to Perform Salah (Prayer) As Well As Otherwise

“Zurarah once asked abu ‘Abd Allah (a.s.), about foxes, fennec and squirrel and so on of hair. He (the Imam) then took out a book that he (the Imam) thought was of the dictations of the Messenger of Allah and it said, ’Salah (prayer) performed with hair of everything of inedible flesh is unlawful. Thus, Salah (prayer) performed with the fur, hair, skin, urine, dung, milk and with everything from such animals is invalid and unacceptable until one performs with something else which Allah has made of edible flesh.’ He (the Imam) then said, ‘O Zurarah, this is from the Messenger of Allah; preserve it. O Zurarah, if it is from edible animal, performing Salah (prayer) with its fur, urine, hair, dung, milk and everything from it is permissible, if you know that proper slaughtering has taken place, which makes it clean. If it is from something which is not made lawful for you to consume as food but is made unlawful, performing Salah (prayer) with it is invalid, regardless if slaughtered properly or not.’”

“I once asked abu ’Abd Allah (a.s.), about Salah (prayer) with furs. He (the Imam) said, ‘Ali ibn al-Husayn was sensitive to cold and fur from Hijaz was not sufficient for him because tanning is by the pod of a species of a tree. He would send for fur from Iraq and he (the Imam) used it, but during Salah (prayer) removed it as well as the shirt underneath the fur. When asked about it he (the Imam) answered, ’People of Iraq consider using of skins of dead animals as lawful. They think tanning makes them clean.’”

“I once asked abu ‘Abd Allah, and abu al-Hassan (a.s.), about clothes of fur in Salah (prayer). He (the Imam) said, ‘Do not perform Salah (prayer) with it unless it is made clean, by properly slaughtering.’ I then asked, ’Is proper slaughtering done with iron? He (the Imam) said, ’Yes, if it is of edible flesh.’ I then asked about that which is of edible flesh other than sheep. He (the Imam) said, ‘It is not an offense to use fur of squirrel; it is an animal that does not eat flesh and it is not of that which the Messenger of Allah prohibited; the Messenger of Allah prohibited everything that has dogtooth and claw.’”

“Abu ‘Abd Allah (a.s.), has said, ‘It is undesirable to perform Salah (prayer) in fur except those made in al-Hijaz or that you know is properly slaughtered.’”

“I once said to abu ‘Abd Allah (a.s.), ‘I enter al-Suq (market place) of Muslims, meaning thereby these people who are called Muslims and buy from them fur for business purposes. I ask the owner, ‘Is it of properly slaughtered animals?’ He says, ‘Yes, it is of properly slaughtered animals.’ Can I sell it as that from properly slaughtered animals? He (the Imam) said, ‘No, you cannot do so; however, it is not an offense to sell it and say that the one from whom you purchased has said that it is from properly slaughtered animals.’ I then asked, ‘What has destroyed it?’ He (the Imam) said, ‘It is because people of Iraq consider dead animals as clean, thinking that tanning makes it lawful and it is its properly slaughtering and then they do not remain satisfied without saying that it is from the Messenger of Allah.’”

“I once asked abu ’Abd Allah (a.s.), about the case of dead animals if any benefit thereby is permissible. He (the Imam) said, ‘No, there is no lawful benefit in it.’ I then said, ‘We are told that the Messenger of Allah once passed by the dead body of a goat and said, ‘What has happened to the owners of this goat? If they could not benefit from its flesh they could benefit from its skin.’ He (the Imam) said, ‘That goat belonged to Sawdah, daughter of Zam‘ah, wife of the Holy prophet. It was an emaciated ewe and its flesh was not useable, so they left until it died. Thus, the Holy prophet, said, ‘If the owners could not benefit from its flesh why did they not benefit from its skin after slaughtering it properly.’”

“Certain individuals of our people once wrote to abu Ja’far (a.s.), asking, ‘What do you say about fur purchased from al-Suq (marketplace)? He (the Imam) replied, ‘If it is (lawfully) guaranteed, then it is not an offense to buy it.’”

“He had asked him (the Imam) about performing Salah (prayer) with foxes (things from it) and he (the Imam) prohibited him to perform Salah (prayer) in such things and with the clothes which is the next layer. He (the man) did not know which layer was meant; the one touching the furs or the one touching one’s skin. He (the Imam) wrote with his handwriting that said, ‘It is the one that touches the skin. He (the narrator) has said that he then asked abu al-Hassan that he had asked him (the Imam) about this issue and he (the Imam) had said, ‘Do not perform Salah (prayer) with the clothes which are on its top as well as that which is beneath.’”

9. Ali ibn Mahziyar from has said the following: “Ibrahim ibn ‘Uqbah once wrote to him (the Imam) (a.s.), asking, ‘People here make socks and waistbands from the fur of foxes. Is it permissible to perform Salah (prayer) with it without Taqiyah (fear) or necessity? He (the Imam) wrote with his hand writing, ‘It is not permissible to perform Salah (prayer) with it.’”

“I once wrote to abu Muhammad (a.s.), asking if it is permissible to perform Salah (prayer) with a cap of pure silk or silk brocade. He (the Imam) wrote, ‘It is not lawful to perform Salah (prayer) with pure silk.’”

“Once I was in the presence of abu ‘Abd Allah (a.s.), when a man of al-Khazzazin came and said, ‘I pray to Allah to keep my soul in service for your cause, ‘What do you say about performing Salah (prayer) with al-Khazz? He (the Imam) said, ‘It is not an offense to perform Salah (prayer) with it.’ A man then said to him (the Imam), ‘I pray to Allah to keep my soul in service for your cause, it is dead and it is manufactured and I know it. Abu ‘Abd Allah (a.s.), said, ‘I know it more than you do.’ The man said, ‘It is manufactured and no one knows more than I know.’ Abu ‘Abd Allah (a.s.), then smiled and asked, ‘Do you say that it is an animal that comes from water? Or you say that it is caught from water and is brought out and when it is away from water it dies?’ The man said, ‘You spoke the truth, I pray to Allah to keep my soul in service for your cause, that is how it is.’ Abu ‘Abd Allah (a.s.), said to him, ‘So you say that it is an animal that walks on four feet and it is not like whales in the case of which its properly being slaughtered is its coming out of the water.’ The man said, ‘Yes, by Allah that is what I say how it is.’ Abu ‘Abd Allah (a.s.), said, ‘Allah, most High has made it lawful and its proper slaughtering is its dying like whales for which proper slaughtering is its dying.’”

“I once asked abu Ja‘far al-Thaniy (a.s.), about furs if performing Salah (prayer) with it is permissible. He (the Imam) asked, ‘Which kind of fur is it?’ I replied, ‘Fennec, squirrel and sable. He (the Imam) said, ‘You can perform Salah (prayer) with fennec and squirrel. Do not perform Salah (prayer) with the fur of sable.’ I then asked about foxes. He (the Imam) said, ‘No, you cannot perform Salah (prayer) with it but you can wear it after Salah (prayer). I then asked, ‘Can I perform Salah (prayer) with the layer of clothes next to it?’ He (the Imam) said, ’No, you cannot do so.’”

“Abu ’Abd Allah (a.s.), has said, ‘If a man covers himself with a loincloth up to his two breast he can perform Salah (prayer) with it. He (the narrator) has said that he read in the letter of Muhammad ibn Ibrahim to abu al-Hassan (a.s.), in which he had asked about fennec if it is permissible to perform Salah (prayer) with it. He (the Imam) had written, ‘It is not an offense to perform Salah (prayer) with it.’ He had written asking about the skins of foxes and he (the Imam) had written, ‘It is undesirable.’ He had written asking about lining of silk (not the one from silkworm) if performing Salah (prayer) with it is permissible. He (the Imam) had written, ‘It is permissible.’”

“I once asked abu al-Hassan (a.s.), about performing Salah (prayer) with sable, squirrel and fox. He (the Imam) said, ‘There is nothing good with all of it except squirrel which is an animal that does not eat meat.’”

“Abu ‘Abd Allah (a.s.), disliked to perform Salah (prayer) with clothes that had portraits on them.’”

“I once asked abu Ja’far (a.s.), about the shawl made by Zoroastrians if I can perform Salah (prayer) with it. He (the Imam) asked, ‘Can it be washed with water?’ I replied, ‘Yes, it can be washed.’ He (the Imam) said, ‘It is not an offense to perform Salah (prayer) with it.’ I then asked about cloths made by the weavers if I can perform Salah (prayer) with it. He (the Imam) said, ‘Yes, you can do so.’”

“I once asked him (the Imam) (a.s.), about a Jurmuq (a larger slipper worn over another one) if it is permissible to perform Salah (prayer) with it and I showed it to him (the Imam) and he (the Imam) said, ‘It is permissible to perform Salah (prayer) with it.’”

“I once asked abu al-Hassan (a.s.), about a man who performed Salah (prayer) with a bird in his sleeve. He (the Imam) said, ‘If he is afraid about it then it is not harmful.’ He (the narrator) has said that he then asked him (the Imam) about anklets if women and children could use them during Salah (prayer). He (the Imam) said, ‘It is not an offense if they are silent, but if they make noise then it is not permissible.’”

“Abu ‘Abd Allah (a.s.), has said, ‘A man does not perform Salah (prayer) with a waistband which has an iron key.’”

“Abu ‘Abd Allah (a.s.), has said that the Messenger of Allah has said, ‘A man does not perform Salah (prayer) wearing an iron ring.’” “It is narrated that if a key is inside cover then it is not an offense.” (Ahadith 1-35 of this chapter are best explained by fatwa.)