{"id":3349,"date":"2021-11-18T12:45:43","date_gmt":"2021-11-18T10:45:43","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/investigate-islam.com\/?p=3349"},"modified":"2021-11-18T12:46:52","modified_gmt":"2021-11-18T10:46:52","slug":"clothing-from-an-islamic-perspective","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/investigate-islam.com\/web\/?p=3349","title":{"rendered":"Clothing from an Islamic Perspective"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Clothing from an Islamic Perspective<\/h2>\n

Muslims are required to pay attention to their appearance, making sure that their clothing is beautiful and clean, especially when dealing with others and when performing the prayers, as the Qur\u2019an states, \u201cChildren of Adam, wear your best clothes to every mosque.\u201d\u00a0(Soorat Al-A\u201braaf, 7:31)<\/em><\/p>\n

Allah \ufdfb\u00a0has permitted people to wear nice clothes and put on a good appearance, as doing so is one aspect of remembering Allah\u2019s blessings upon them. As the Qur\u2019an states, \u201cSay, \u2018Who has forbidden the adornment of Allah, which He has brought forth for His servants and the good things, clean and pure, which Allah has provided for them?\u2019 Say, \u2018They are [lawful] for the believers in the present life but they shall be exclusively for them on the Day of Resurrection.\u2019 Thus We explain Our signs for a people who understand.\u201d\u00a0(Soorat Al-A\u201braaf, 7:32)<\/em><\/p>\n

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Clothing provides mankind with countless benefits<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Clothing Serves a Number of Purposes<\/h4>\n
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  1. It covers the parts of the body which must be covered in public, following the standards of modesty which are innate in all human beings: \u201cChildren of Adam, We have sent down clothing to you to conceal your private parts.\u201d\u00a0(Soorat Al-A\u201braaf, 7:26)<\/em><\/li>\n
  2. It covers the body against heat, cold and harm in general. Heat and cold are weather phenomena which can harm people. Describing the benefits of clothing which He has provided for His servants, Allah states, \u201cHe has made shelters for you in the mountains and He has made garments for you to protect you from the heat and garments to protect you from each other\u2019s violence. In that way He perfects His blessing on you so that hopefully you may devote yourselves to Him.\u201d\u00a0(Soorat An-Nahl, 16:81)<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/div>\n

    Islam is a religion which lays down rules based on the dictates of the pure nature innate in all humans (fitrah), straightforward reasoning and sound logic.<\/p>\n<\/section>\n

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    The General Rule Regarding Clothing<\/h2>\n

    Islam is a religion which lays down rules based on the dictates of the pure nature innate in all humans (fitrah), straightforward reasoning and sound logic.
    \nThe general rule in the Sharee\u201bah is that all types of clothing and adornment are allowed.
    \nIndeed, Islam does not require Muslims to wear a certain type of clothing. It considers all types of clothing lawful as long as such clothing serves the required purposes without exceeding the bounds set by Islam in this respect.
    \nThe Prophet \ufdfa\u00a0wore the same type of clothes prevalent in his time and did not order people to wear a particular type of clothing. He only warned them against certain qualities relating to clothing, for the general rule in Islamic Law regarding dealings in general, including clothing, is that everything is allowed unless there is evidence which states otherwise; this means nothing is considered forbidden except with evidence, as opposed to acts of worship, such as the prayer and fasting, which are governed by the principle of restriction, in that legally responsible people must not perform any act of worship unless it becomes clear to them that it is prescribed and approved by Allah Himself, and thus no act of worship may be performed without textual evidence from the Qur\u2019an and the Prophet\u2019s Sunnah.
    \nThe Prophet \ufdfa\u00a0said, \u201cEat, drink, dress and give charity, but without extravagance or arrogance.\u201d\u00a0(Sunan An-Nasaa\u2019ee: 2559)<\/em><\/p>\n

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    While Islam outlines a code of modesty, it has no fixed standard as to a type of clothing that Muslims must wear. However, Muslims may use the same type of clothes commonly used in their respective countries, with the exception of those that Islam has declared forbidden.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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    Forbidden Types of Clothing<\/h2>\n
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    1. Clothing that reveals the private parts: Muslims are required to cover their private parts with appropriate clothing, as the Qur\u2019an states, \u201cChildren of Adam! We have sent down clothing to you to conceal your private parts.\u201d\u00a0(Soorat Al-A\u201braaf, 7:26)<\/em>
      \nIslam has fixed the standards of modesty for both men and women. For men, the minimum amount to be covered is between the navel and the knee. For women who are in the presence of men not related to them, they must cover their bodies except for their face and hands.
      \nIslam requires that clothing must also be loose enough to cover the body properly. Therefore, skin-tight and see-through clothes are not allowed in Islam. In fact, the Prophet \ufdfa\u00a0warned those people who do not observe modesty in dress, calling them \u201ctypes among the people of Hellfire\u201d, one of them being \u201cwomen who are clothed yet naked\u201d.<\/li>\n
    2. Clothing that involves dressing like or imitating the opposite sex: This type of clothing is strictly forbidden in Islam and wearing it is considered one of the major sins. This imitation may be extended to include imitation in the manner of speaking, gait and movement, for Allah\u2019s Messenger \ufdfa\u00a0cursed men who wear women\u2019s clothes and women who wear men\u2019s clothes.\u00a0(Sunan Abu Daawood: 4098)<\/em>\u00a0He also cursed men who make themselves look like women and women who make themselves look like men.\u00a0(Saheeh Al-Bukhaaree: 5546)<\/em>\u00a0By directing men and women to observe different modes of dress, Islam takes into account the biological differences between them and encourages them to act in accordance with the dictates of reason and dictates of sound reason and the pure inner nature innate in all humans (fitrah).<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
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      It is prohibited to wear clothing which involves imitation of the dress traditionally worn by non-Muslims or clothing of religious significance.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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        1. Clothing that involves imitation of the dress traditionally worn by non-Muslims, such as the type of clothing worn by monks and priests and wearing a cross. This also includes clothing that is specific to a certain religion, for the Prophet \ufdfa\u00a0said, \u201cWhoever imitates a people is one of them.\u201d\u00a0(Sunan Abu Daawood: 4031)<\/em>\u00a0This imitation extends to wearing clothing of religious significance. Imitation of this type is a sign of weakness and lack of confidence in the truth one adopts.
          \nImitation here does not include wearing clothing that is predominant in one\u2019s country even if such dress is worn by the majority of non-Muslims, for the Prophet \ufdfa\u00a0used to wear clothing that was common amongst the Quraysh pagans with the exception of those clothing items that are expressly forbidden.<\/li>\n
        2. Clothing that is worn with pride and conceit: The Prophet \ufdfa\u00a0said, \u201cNo one who has an atom\u2019s weight of pride in his heart will enter Paradise.\u201d\u00a0(Saheeh Muslim: 91)<\/em>
          \nIt is for this reason that Islam warns against trailing one\u2019s lower garments on the ground out of pride. The Prophet \ufdfa\u00a0said, \u201cOn the Day of Resurrection, Allah will not even look at those who drag their garments on the ground out of pride.\u201d\u00a0(Saheeh Al-Bukhaare: 3465; Saheeh Muslim: 2085)<\/em>
          \nIslam also warns against wearing the so-called libaas ash-shuhrah (flamboyant, flashy clothing). In fact, this term refers to a number of things including any type of weird clothing which has certain qualities that attract the attention of the general public, making its wearer known for it; \u2018notorious clothing\u2019 due to its type or loud and repulsive colour; any type of clothing that makes its wearer an object of pride and fame, attracting too much attention to himself. The Prophet \ufdfa\u00a0said, \u201cWhoever wears clothes of shuhrah in this world, Allah will make him wear clothes of humiliation on the Day of Judgement.\u201d\u00a0(Musnad Ahmad: 5664; Sunan Ibn Maajah: 3607)<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
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          Extravagant clothing is forbidden, but this varies from one person to another depending on one\u2019s income and financial obligations one has to fulfil.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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          1. Silk clothing or clothing adorned with gold or silk for men: Referring to gold and silk once, the Prophet \ufdfa\u00a0said, \u201cThese are forbidden for men among my followers but permissible for women.\u201d (Sunan Ibn Maajah: 3595; Sunan Abu Daawood: 4057)
            \nBy silk is meant pure silk obtained from the cocoon of the silkworm.<\/li>\n
          2. Extravagant clothing: The Prophet \ufdfa\u00a0once said, \u201cEat, give charity and wear clothes. Let no extravagance or pride be mixed with what you do.\u201d\u00a0(Sunan An-Nasaa\u2019ee: 2559)<\/em>
            \nThe manner of dressing, however, varies from one person to another depending on one\u2019s social position. If a person is rich, he may purchase clothing that a poor person cannot afford, given his monthly outcome, economic position and other financial obligations he has to fulfil. While a piece of clothing may be considered a form of extravagance for a poor person, it may not be considered as such for a rich person.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/section>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

            Clothing from an Islamic Perspective Muslims are required to pay attention to their appearance, making sure that their clothing is beautiful and clean, especially when dealing with others and when performing the prayers, as...<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3350,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1,4],"tags":[410,411,13],"class_list":["post-3349","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-general-topics","category-about-islam","tag-clothing","tag-dress","tag-islam-2"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/investigate-islam.com\/web\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3349","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/investigate-islam.com\/web\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/investigate-islam.com\/web\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/investigate-islam.com\/web\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/investigate-islam.com\/web\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3349"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/investigate-islam.com\/web\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3349\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3351,"href":"https:\/\/investigate-islam.com\/web\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3349\/revisions\/3351"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/investigate-islam.com\/web\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/3350"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/investigate-islam.com\/web\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3349"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/investigate-islam.com\/web\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3349"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/investigate-islam.com\/web\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3349"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}