In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
With pens of longing,
And the ink of love,
We record lines more precious than gold,
In describing the Master of all creation,
Peace and blessings of Allah be upon him.
The Prophetic characteristics (Shama'il).
Chapter: What has been narrated regarding the clothing of the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him.
On the authority of Abu Sa'id al-Khudri, may Allah be pleased with him, who said:
The Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him,
Whenever he acquired a new garment,
He would name it by its name,
Whether it was a turban, a shirt, or a mantle,
Then he would say:
"O Allah, to You be praise, as You have clothed me with it.
I ask You for its good and the good of that for which it was made,
And I seek refuge in You from its evil and the evil of that for which it was made."
In this hadith is a blessed supplication,
Which it is prescribed for a Muslim to recite when Allah, the Almighty, honors him with new clothing,
Whether it is a shirt, a turban, or something similar.
His saying, "The Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, whenever he acquired a new garment,"
Means whenever he wore a new piece of clothing.
"He would name it by its name,"
Meaning the conventional name,
Such as if it were a turban, a shirt, or a mantle.
It is as if he were to say,
"Allah has provided me with this turban,"
"Or has clothed me with this shirt."
And his saying, "Then he would say,"
"O Allah, to You be praise, as You have clothed me with it,"
Meaning it is prescribed for him to supplicate by saying,
"O Allah, to You be praise, as You have clothed me with this turban, or this shirt, or this mantle,"
Naming it by its name,
While being mindful of Allah’s favor upon him through it,
As it covers his nakedness and he adorns himself with it,
Just as the Almighty said:
“O Children of Adam! We have revealed unto you raiment to conceal your shame, and splendid vesture, but the raiment of restraint from evil, that is best. This is of the revelations of Allah, that they may remember.” (7:26)
Many people, when they wear a new garment,
Their minds are diverted from praising Allah,
Toward pride in their own ability to acquire the garment, for instance,
Or their cleverness in selecting it, or the skill of the tailor, or other such notions.
And his saying, "I ask You for its good and the good of that for which it was made,"
Means: I ask You, my Lord, for the good of this garment,
Which is its durability and cleanliness,
And its being worn out of necessity and need.
"And the good of that for which it was made,"
Meaning the necessities for which clothing is made,
Such as protection from heat, cold, and the covering of the nakedness.
And his saying, "And I seek refuge in You from its evil and the evil of that for which it was made,"
Meaning: I seek refuge in You, my Lord, from the evil of this garment,
Such as it being unlawful or impure,
Or that it does not last for a long time.
"And the evil of that for which it was made,"
Meaning that it becomes a cause for sins and evils,
Such as arrogance, vanity, and pride,
Or that the clothing contains forbidden images,
Or that the garment is tight, revealing the shape of the nakedness,
Or that it hangs below the ankles.
On the authority of Anas ibn Malik, may Allah be pleased with him, who said:
The most beloved of garments to the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, to wear was the Hibarah.
In this hadith,
It is stated that the most beloved of garments to the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, was the Hibarah,
Meaning the decorated one; "tahbir" is beautification and adornment.
The Prophet, peace be upon him,
Used to love wearing garments of cotton or linen,
That had some form of adornment,
Such as having, for example, black and white,
Or black and red,
Or that the garments were striped.
Reconciling the hadith of Anas and the hadith of Umm Salamah, may Allah be pleased with them both,
Is that the most beloved garment to the Prophet, peace be upon him, was the shirt,
In terms of its make and type,
While the Hibarah was most beloved to him in terms of its color.
On the authority of 'Awn ibn Abi Juhayfah,
From his father, may Allah be pleased with him, who said:
I saw the Prophet, peace be upon him, wearing a red hullah (two-piece garment),
As if I am looking at the brightness of his shins.
Sufyan said: I think it was a Hibarah.
In this hadith, the noble Companion Abu Juhayfah, may Allah be pleased with him, informs us,
That he saw the Prophet, peace be upon him, wearing a red hullah.
A hullah, as we have previously discussed,
Consists only of two pieces: an izar (lower garment) and a rida' (upper garment).
Sufyan al-Thawri, may Allah have mercy on him, said:
"I think it was a Hibarah,"
Meaning it was striped and decorated.
This is the correct view,
Because the Prophet, peace be upon him, did not wear pure red,
And he forbade that strictly.
And his saying, "As if I am looking at the brightness of his shins,"
"Brightness" refers to the radiance and luster,
And this is a description of his noble body, peace be upon him.
In this is an indication that his izar, peace be upon him,
Reached to the middle of his shins.
On the authority of al-Bara' ibn 'Azib, may Allah be pleased with him, who said:
I have never seen anyone look better in a red hullah
Than the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him;
His hair would reach near his shoulders.
On the authority of Ibn 'Abbas, may Allah be pleased with him, who said:
The Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, said:
"You should wear white clothing,
For your living to wear,
And shroud your dead in it,
For it is among the best of your garments."
On the authority of Samurah ibn Jundub, may Allah be pleased with him, who said:
The Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, said:
"Wear white,
For it is cleaner and better,
And shroud your dead in it."
In these two hadiths,
Is the encouragement of the Prophet, peace be upon him,
And his urging to wear white.
White clothing is better than other colors,
Whether it is pure white or striped.
Among the reasons for preferring the white color for clothing,
As he, peace be upon him, said,
"For it is cleaner and better,"
Is that it is distinguished when washed by its pleasantness and purity,
And the appearance of its clarity.
If any dirt is found on it, it appears immediately,
Unlike other garments,
Which may become dirty without the dirt being visible.
This is why he, peace be upon him, chose it,
Over other colors in his supplication,
Where he said:
"O Allah, cleanse me of my sins as a white garment is cleansed of filth."
And his saying, "And shroud your dead in it,"
The Prophet, peace be upon him, encouraged
Shrouding the dead in white,
It is said,
As an expression of optimism that the servant is approaching his Lord,
Having cleansed his body and his garment of filth,
And having become white,
And that he is among those whose faces will be whitened,
And among those whose light will run before them.
The command here is for recommendation.
And his saying, "For it is among the best of your garments,"
Because it generally indicates humility,
And the absence of pride, vanity, and arrogance.
On the authority of 'Aishah, may Allah be pleased with her, who said:
The Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, went out one morning,
Wearing a black hair-cloth mantle.
In this hadith,
It is mentioned that the Prophet, peace be upon him,
Went out one morning,
Meaning early in the morning,
Wearing a black hair-cloth mantle.
A "mirt" is a long, wide garment,
Used as a lower wrap,
Sometimes made of wool,
And sometimes of hair,
As in this hadith,
And the like.
In the narration of Muslim,
"Wearing a patterned mantle,"
Meaning it had images of camel saddles on it.
Al-Nawawi, may Allah have mercy on him, said:
There is no harm in these images,
For what is forbidden is the depiction of animate beings.
In this hadith also,
Is a clarification of the state of the Prophet, peace be upon him,
Regarding his asceticism in this world,
And his turning away from its luxuries and pleasures,
And its extravagant clothing.
On the authority of al-Mughirah ibn Shu'bah, may Allah be pleased with him,
That the Prophet, peace be upon him,
Wore a Roman jubbah (outer garment),
With tight sleeves.
In this hadith,
It is mentioned that the Prophet, peace be upon him,
Wore a Roman jubbah.
The jubbah is a type of clothing,
Worn over the shirt.
"Roman,"
Meaning attributed to the Romans.
It is derived from this that it is permissible to benefit
From the clothing of the disbelievers,
Unless it is confirmed to be impure,
Because he, peace be upon him,
Wore the Roman jubbah,
And did not inquire further.
And his saying, "With tight sleeves,"
The sleeves,
Are the places for inserting the hands in the garment,
And they were tight.
This was during a journey,
In the Battle of Tabuk,
As indicated by some narrations.
Among the benefits of the chapter:
We notice the variety in the clothing of the Prophet, peace be upon him,
For he wore the izar and the rida',
And he wore the mantle,
And he wore the shirt,
And other types of clothing.
This shows that the matter of clothing is broad,
And that the basic principle is permissibility,
As long as there is no evidence indicating its prohibition.
Allah the Almighty said:
“Say: Who hath forbidden the adornment of Allah which He hath brought forth for His bondmen, and the good things of His providing? Say: Such, on the Day of Resurrection, will be only for those who believed during the life of the world. Thus do we detail Our revelations for people who have knowledge.” (7:32)
And the Companions of the Prophet, peace be upon him,
When one of them wore a new garment,
It was said to him:
"May you wear it out, and may Allah the Exalted replace it."
This means: may you continue to enjoy life, health, and well-being in this garment until it wears out.
Then, may Allah the Almighty grant you another in its place.
This includes a supplication for the person,
that they may live a praiseworthy and good life,
because a garment only wears out after a long period of time.
It has been authentically reported that the Prophet, peace be upon him, said:
"Eat, drink, wear, and give charity,
without extravagance or arrogance."
Arrogance (al-mukhayala) is vanity.
The Sunnah has also mentioned certain prohibitions regarding clothing,
among them is isbal (letting the garment hang below the ankles).
This is when a man’s garment hangs below his ankles.
There has come in this regard a prohibition and a severe warning in many hadiths.
For this reason, a group of scholars have counted it among the major sins.
Among these is that the Prophet, peace be upon him, said:
"There are three whom Allah will not speak to on the Day of Resurrection,
nor will He look at them, nor will He purify them,
and for them is a painful punishment:
the one who lets his garment hang below his ankles, the one who reminds others of his favors,
and the one who sells his merchandise by means of false oaths."
The Prophet, peace be upon him, also forbade the wearing of silk,
and the wearing of "garments of fame" (libas al-shuhra),
which is when a person wears clothing that makes him stand out conspicuously among the people of his land.
Furthermore, there is a prohibition against men imitating women.
For he, peace be upon him, said:
"Allah has cursed the men who imitate women."
There is also a prohibition against imitating the disbelievers.
The Prophet, peace be upon him, said:
In conclusion,
Mu'adh Ibn Anas, may Allah be pleased with him, informed us
that the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, said:
"Whoever eats food and then says:
'Praise be to Allah who has fed me this and provided it for me,
without any power or strength on my part,'
his past sins will be forgiven.
And whoever wears a garment and says:
'Praise be to Allah who has clothed me with this,
without any power or strength on my part,'
his past sins will be forgiven."
The hadith has more to follow, if Allah wills.
And Allah knows best.
May Allah send peace and blessings upon our Prophet Muhammad,
and upon all his family and companions.