Understanding The Prophet's Life
From Issue: 1027 [Read full issue]
Choice of Garb
"Eat what you wish and wear what you wish, as long as you avoid two things: extravagance and arrogance." (Al-Bukhari)
I read something from an Indian scholar in which he mentioned as a hadith from al-Bayhaqi, "You must wear turbans. They are the mark of the angels. Let them hang down behind your backs." I have read a number of hadiths about the excellence of turbans, related by at-Tirmidhi and Abu Dawud. They are all without merit: as Shaykh Muhammad Hamid al-Faqi says, "There is no sound hadith about the excellence of the turban." Turbans are Arab dress and not a mark of Islam. It is the same with the headbands of the kufiyya. The fact is that a hot environment necessitates covering the head and neck, and white, loose garments are recommended in it. In cold climates, the quest for warmth leads to more constricting garments and choosing dark colours.
We can see extravagance and arrogance behind many Arab and Western customs. People of good character and gravity rise above this excess in choice of garb, and so a person's worth is not based on the value of his clothes. Does Islam have one specific type of dress? No. Some young men imagine that the jilbab is the garment of Islam and that the suit is the garment of the unbelievers. This is an error. If we want to preserve "our identity", that is achieved by complete certainty, honourable behaviour, extensive knowledge and pleasant character.
Compiled From:
"The Sunna of the Prophet" - Muhammad al-Ghazali