In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
The story of our mother Eve.
Eve and the beauty of clothing.
O Eve.
What is the purpose of wearing clothes?
And when do we judge what we wear?
That it is beautiful clothing.
We can, O Eve,
find the answer in the Qur'anic verses
that speak about clothing.
Among them is His saying, the Exalted:
"And when he tasted of the tree,"
"their private parts became apparent to them,"
"and they began to fasten together"
"and they began to fasten together"
"from the leaves of Paradise."
And He, the Exalted, said:
"And Allah has made for you,"
"from what He has created, shadows,"
“And Allah hath given you, of that which He hath created, shelter from the sun; and hath given you places of refuge in the mountains, and hath given you coats to ward off the heat from you, and coats (of armour) to save you from your own foolhardiness. Thus doth He perfect His favour unto you, in order that ye may surrender (unto Him).” (16:81)
"and has made for you"
"garments to protect you from the heat,"
"and garments to protect you from your violence."
“And Allah hath given you, of that which He hath created, shelter from the sun; and hath given you places of refuge in the mountains, and hath given you coats to ward off the heat from you, and coats (of armour) to save you from your own foolhardiness. Thus doth He perfect His favour unto you, in order that ye may surrender (unto Him).” (16:81)
"that you might submit."
And He, the Almighty and Majestic, said:
"And tell the believing women"
"to lower their gaze"
"and guard their private parts,"
"and guard their private parts,"
"and guard their private parts,"
"and not expose their adornment"
“And tell the believing women to lower their gaze and be modest, and to display of their adornment only that which is apparent, and to draw their veils over their bosoms, and not to reveal their adornment save to their own husbands or fathers or husbands' fathers, or their sons or their husbands' sons, or their brothers or their brothers' sons or sisters' sons, or their women, or their slaves, or male attendants who lack vigour, or children who know naught of women's nakedness. And let them not stamp their feet so as to reveal what they hide of their adornment. And turn unto Allah together, O believers, in order that ye may succeed.” (24:31)
"and let them wrap their headcovers"
"over their chests,"
"and not expose their adornment"
"except to their husbands,"
"or their fathers,"
"or their fathers,"
"or their husbands' fathers,"
"or their sons,"
"or their husbands' sons,"
"or their brothers,"
"or their brothers' sons,"
"or their sisters' sons."
“And tell the believing women to lower their gaze and be modest, and to display of their adornment only that which is apparent, and to draw their veils over their bosoms, and not to reveal their adornment save to their own husbands or fathers or husbands' fathers, or their sons or their husbands' sons, or their brothers or their brothers' sons or sisters' sons, or their women, or their slaves, or male attendants who lack vigour, or children who know naught of women's nakedness. And let them not stamp their feet so as to reveal what they hide of their adornment. And turn unto Allah together, O believers, in order that ye may succeed.” (24:31)
“And tell the believing women to lower their gaze and be modest, and to display of their adornment only that which is apparent, and to draw their veils over their bosoms, and not to reveal their adornment save to their own husbands or fathers or husbands' fathers, or their sons or their husbands' sons, or their brothers or their brothers' sons or sisters' sons, or their women, or their slaves, or male attendants who lack vigour, or children who know naught of women's nakedness. And let them not stamp their feet so as to reveal what they hide of their adornment. And turn unto Allah together, O believers, in order that ye may succeed.” (24:31)
Through these verses, we realize that the purpose of clothing is to cover the 'awrah (intimate parts), protect against heat and cold, and conceal adornment from men; clothing is an adornment and beauty that people adopt.
Al-Tahir Ibn 'Ashur, may Allah have mercy on him, said: "His saying, 'and they began to fasten together from the leaves of Paradise,' is a narrative of the beginning of human action to cover their deficiencies and their ingenuity in avoiding what they dislike, and in improving their condition according to what their imagination suggests to them."
This is the first manifestation of civilization that Allah established in the minds of the two progenitors of humanity; for when they felt their private parts in both senses, they recognized some of their aspects—namely, the 'awrah—and there arose in their souls a feeling of the ugliness of their exposure.
So they began to hide them from their sight out of repulsion and aversion. Since they felt this through innate inspiration—with no one to teach them or instruct them—it was established in the souls of people that exposing the 'awrah is ugly by nature and that covering it is mandatory.
If the purpose of clothing is to cover the 'awrah, then the 'awrah of a man differs from the 'awrah of a woman. Therefore, the difference between men's and women's clothing returns to what is suitable for men and what is suitable for women, which corresponds to what men are commanded to do and what women are commanded to do.
Women are commanded to cover themselves and observe hijab, rather than displaying their beauty or appearing immodestly.
O Eve, if this is the purpose of clothing, what are the conditions required for clothing that will fulfill the covering of your 'awrah in front of men?
I will not discuss all the conditions here, but I will mention one condition of clothing, and you should contemplate the rest of the conditions in specialized books.
'Abd al-Karim Zaydan, may Allah have mercy on him, said: "The purpose of clothing is to cover and shield the woman's body from the sight of non-mahram men, to prevent temptation and corruption."
There is no doubt that clothing which does not achieve this purpose because it describes the woman's body and highlights its size and limbs,
is not, in reality, covering the body, nor is it shielding it from the sight of non-mahram men, nor is it preventing temptation, the stirring of desire, or the occurrence of corruption.
For this reason, the religious prohibition came against tight clothing for women; it is required to be loose and flowing so that it does not describe any part of her body, nor define its size, nor highlight it to onlookers.
This command was explicitly stated in a hadith of Usamah Ibn Zayd, may Allah be pleased with him.
He said: "The Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, clothed me with a thick Qubti garment that was among those gifted to him by Dihyah al-Kalbi, so I gave it to my wife."
The Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, said: "Why do you not wear the Qubti garment?" I said: "O Messenger of Allah, I gave it to my wife."
He said: "Order her to wear an undergarment beneath it, for I fear it will describe the shape of her bones." Narrated by al-Bayhaqi.
The ghilalah is a piece of cloth placed under the garment, called a lining. So, what the Prophet, peace be upon him, feared was not the Qubti fabric itself,
but rather the description of the shape of the bones, not the description of the skin. Dr. 'Abd al-Karim Zaydan, may Allah have mercy on him, said:
"This is an explicit text that the forbidden aspect of this Qubti garment is its describing the shape of the body and its limbs, not that it reveals the skin color, as is the case with thin clothing."
Placing an undergarment beneath clothing to prevent the revealing of the shape of a woman's limbs is a religious matter commanded by the Prophet, peace be upon him, in this hadith,
so that the woman may achieve the complete covering she was commanded to observe. Clothing that describes the body is that which clings to it or reveals the shape of its limbs due to its extreme tightness,
or when a woman wears loose clothing but pulls it tight against herself while walking, thus describing the shape of her bones.
O Eve, beautiful clothing is a desire for you and for your peers among the daughters of Eve.
But true beauty in clothing is manifested through your adherence to the conditions of clothing established by the pure Shari'ah.
Your clothing in front of women has specific conditions, and your clothing in front of men has specific conditions.
Beauty lies in your observance of these conditions. If you wear clothing that outlines your body in front of men, this is contrary to the pure Shari'ah.
And if you expose yourself in front of women, as many do at weddings, this is contrary to the pure Shari'ah.
So, how do you view your clothing in front of men and in front of women? We will continue in a future meeting, if Allah wills. And praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds.
The story of our mother Eve.