Wearing shorts in mosques and shopping malls: Not permitted
It is often said, “Eat what you desire, and wear what others desire.” This saying needs no explanation or commentary. Yet, what we have witnessed recently is a reversal of this adage, as “shorts” have become the norm for many, unfortunately including the elderly, without any sense of modesty or shame, and with no regard for children in primary and even middle school who are also seen wearing shorts. True, this may be considered a matter of personal choice; however, it is equally true that there are standards, ethics, and feelings that must be respected by those who wear shorts, especially in shopping malls, where crowds are dense and women and girls are present. This applies equally to clinics, hospitals, and charitable associations. I do not believe that anyone who respects their own dignity would allow themselves to stand in such places in shorts, unless they have entirely lost their sense of modesty, which is a different matter altogether.
In the houses of God, where one stands before the Creator, it is required to wear an izar (a traditional wrap garment) from the mosque if available, out of respect for the One before whom we stand, with humility and reverence—not with the legs of the worshipper exposed through shorts, particularly when the person is elderly. The sight is most unseemly when one sees such an individual strolling through a shopping mall with his parents and children, flaunting his shorts, despite having passed his fifties and having legs that even children would not wish to see. The decent person feels no objection to this sight in front of the thousands inside the mall, without any shame or modesty, at a time when the wife should have prevented her husband from going out in shorts, whether to the mosque or the mall, at the very least out of respect for others, if not out of self-respect.
It is utterly disgraceful to see a man with exposed legs strolling through associations, commercial centers, mosques, or at his doctor’s clinic. We often encounter “short-wearers,” a group of those whom we see in mosques rushing to obtain an izar to cover their shorts for prayer. But how do they pray when they fail to get one? Do they pray with their private parts exposed, or do they return home and learn the meaning of respecting the mosque, respecting the One before whom they stand, and respecting public decency? Long may you live. Yousef Al-Shahab
