MODE OF DRESSING IN ISLAM BEING A LECTURE DELIVERED BY MRS MUTIAT OLASUMBO HASSAN AT THE COMPANION USRAH IKORODU ON 26 TH JUMA-ADAL AWWAL 1431 A.H / 9 TH OF MAY 2010.

Preamble: For the purpose of this lecture I will like to define Islam as the religion of those who have resolve to be bound by the dictates of Allah through His message the Holy Quran as well as the teachings of Prophet Muhammed (S.A.W) His messenger. The under mentioned verses of the Holy Quran are instructive in this regards: * Q 3 v 18 “ There is no god but He: That is the witness of Allah His Angels, and those endued with His knowledge, standing firm on justice There is no god but He, the exalted in power the wise “ * Q 47 v 19 “ Know, therefore, that There is no god but Allah, and ask forgiveness for your fault and for men and women who believe: For Allah knows who ye move about and how ye dwell in your homes “ * Q 33 v 36 “it is not fitting for a believer, man or woman when a matter has been decided by Allah and His messenger, to have any option about their decision if any disobey Allah and His messenger, he is indeed on a clearly wrong path “ * Q 33 v 21 “Ye have indeed in the messenger of Allah an excellent example. For him who hopes in Allah and the final day, and who remember Allah much”

DRESSING – FROM TIME IMMEMORIAL All modern societies notwithstanding the region, social class or cultural background use one form of cloth or the other to cover their body. From time past and up till now various types of materials have been used for clothing. They include but not limited to leather, furs, weaved and woven materials, exotic and synthetic fabrics. Scientific and historical research confirmed that human beings have been wearing cloth from time immemorial.

FUNCTIONS OF CLOTHES Clothing performs key social and cultural functions. For instance certain manner of dressing reflects:  Modesty  Religion  Gender  Social Status  Taste or style  Climatic condition  Occasional – sports wear, space suit etc  Uniforms – Armed personnel, Doctors

DRESSING IN ISLAM Islam did not prescribe any style of dressing because dressing differs according to season and region. The essence of the above statement is that no matter what colour or fashion the dress is, the key issue is that the private part must be covered. The cloth must not be short or tight. For the men the private part is from the navel to the knee whereas for women every part of her body is considered private except the face and the hands.

PURPOSE OF DRESSING What is the purpose of dressing? The Holy Quran stated: * Q7 v 26 “ O you children of Adam! We have bestowed raiment upon you to cover your shame as well as to be an adornment to you, but the raiment of righteousness – that is the best. Such are among the signs of Allah, that they may receive admonition “ *Q7 v 27 “ O you children of Adam! Let not Satan seduce you, in the same manner as He got your parent out of the Garden, stripping them of their raiment, to expose their shame: For he and his tribe see you from a position where ye cannot see them: we made the satan friends (only) to those without faith. * Q7 v 31 “ O children of Adam! Wear your beautiful apparel at every time and places of prayers: eat and drink: but waste not by excess. For Allah loveth not the wasters “

Also the following 3 Prophetic traditions are instructive: i. The Prophet insisted that people come to general gatherings, such as the Friday and the Id prayers, nicely dressed and well-groomed. He said, “If you can afford it, it is befitting that you wear garments other than your working cloths to Friday prayer” ii. A man came to Prophet (pbuh) wearing cheap-looking garments. “Do you have property ?” the Prophet (pbuh) asked him. “Yes,” the man replied. “What kind of property?” asked the Prophet (pbuh). “Allah has given me from all kinds of property,” he said. The Prophet (pbuh) then said to him, “Since Allah has given you property, let Him see the effects of His favor and bounty upon you.” iii. Mua’adh bin Anas reported; Messenger of Allah said “Whoever gives up wearing elegant and expensive garments out of humbleness, when he can do so, Allah will call him on the Day of Resurrection and before all the creations, he will give him the choice to wear whichever garment of Iman he would like to wear” [Al-Tirmidhi – Hasan]

From the above quranic and hadith quotations it is clear that function of dressing in the muslim communities are among others the following : 1. Covering of nudity 2. Protection from hazard of weather 3. Wearing of the best apparel to worship Allah at all time. 4. To beautify oneself 5. To be humble in your dress sense even if you are rich I must also add that Islam requires you to appear clean in your dressing. At the early time of Islam, Allah the Almighty told the prophet in Quran Chapter 74 verse 4 “ And purify your garments “ It is also reported that the Prophet said “Clean yourself, for Islam is cleanliness and that cleanliness invites towards faith, and faith leads one who has it to paradise” The prophet emphasizes on keeping the body, clothing, houses, and even street clean always.

INFLUENCE OF CULTURE ON DRESSING Style of clothes, caps, turbans, Hijabs head gear that a Muslim wears most times is a function of his or her cultural background or affiliation with particular Muslim ideological group.

ACCEPTABLE DRESSES FOR MEN /WOMEN * For men – Any cloth that covers, protect and beautify is acceptable. The use of silk is however prohibited and clothes are not allowed to sweep the ground. For Women – It must cover all her body, protect, and must be free, must have an outer covering know as the Hijab and this must be worn at all occasions except one is within the presence of her mahram alone (Husband, Children, Sisters etc) above all it must be clean. N.B. See pictorial illustrations of acceptable mode of dressing.

HIJAB Allah direct that believing women should draw an outer veil over their inner cloth and keep their beauty away from all other men except from some category of male that are very close to them in relations. “ And tell the believing women to lower their gaze (from looking at forbidden things), and protect their private parts (from illegal sexual acts) and not to show off their adornment except only that which is apparent(like eyes for necessity to see the way, or outer palms of hands or one eye or dress like veil, gloves, head covers, apron etc) and to draw their veils all over Juyubihinna (i.e their bodies, faces, necks and bosoms) and not to reveal their adornment except to their husbands, or their sons, or their brother’s sons or their sister’s son or their (Muslim) women (i.e. their sisters in Islam) or the (female) slaves whom their right hands posses, or old male servants who lack vigour, or small children who have no sense of feminine sex. And let them not stamp their feet so as to reveal what they hide of their adornment. And all of you beg Allah to forgive you all, O believers, that you may be successful”. Q 24 v 31

The issue of Hijab like dressing is also affected by culture or interpretation of Quranic position. The Hijab of the Gulf States, which includes Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Quwait is wearing of a beautiful Inner dress and putting a black bigger outer dress on it with a niqab. Whereas in other countries what is available is any kind of loose dress covered with an outer cloth known as Hijab with the face uncovered. Examples of such are found in Nigeria, Sudan, Malaysia, Egypt and others. At this point, I will like to showcase different kind of mahjubah from different nationalities.

7 CONDITIONS FOR WOMEN’S DRESS IN ISLAM Hijab is a word that indicates not just the headscarf but clothing in its entirety which meets the following conditions: 1. Clothing must cover the entire body, only the hands and face may remain visible (According to some Fiqh Schools) 2. The materials must not be so thin that one can see through it 3. The clothing must hang loose so that the shape / form of the body is not apparent 4. The female clothing must not resemble man’s clothing 5. The design of clothing must not resemble the clothing of the non believing women 6. The design must not consist of bold designs which attract attention 7. Clothing should not be worn for the sole purpose of gaining reputation or increasing one’s status in society.

The reason for this strictness is so that the woman is protected from the lustful gaze of men. She should not attract attention to herself in anyway. It is permissible for a man to catch the eye of a woman; however it is haram (unlawful) for a man to look twice as this encourages lustful thoughts. Islam protects the woman. It is for this reason that Allah gave these laws. In today’s society womankind is being exploited, female sexuality is being openly used in advertising, mainly to attract the desires of men and therefore sell the product. Is the woman really free in today’s society? The answer is obviously no, the constant bombardment by the media as to how the ideal woman should look and dress testifies to this. Islam liberated woman over 1400 years ago. Is it better to dress according to man or Allah?

COMPLIMENTS OF DRESSING For Men - Cap - Turban - Perfume - Wristwatches / Silver Ring / Shoes / Socks / belt For Women - Jewelries / Wristwatches / Gold, Silver or diamond - Shoes, Bags & Belts - Henna – popularly known as Lalee - Khajal (Eyebrow)

SOME HADITH ON THE USE OF PERFUME FOR MEN * An hadith narrated by Aishah (says: “I use to perfume Allah’s messenger (pbuh) with the best scent available till I saw the shine of scent on his head and beard. * Yet in another hadith narrated by Aishah says: “ During the last pilgrimage of the Prophet, I perfumed Allah’s messenger with my own hands, both on his assuming Ihram and on finishing it. * Also in another hadith narrated by Anas – He says the Prophet never used to refuse a gift of scent.

THE FORBIDDEN ASPECT OF DRESSING For Men - Wearing dresses that touches the floor - Wearing female dresses - Using of Gold necklaces and handchain - Wearing cloth that stand above the knee For Women - Wearing male dress - Using perfume with large odour outside the home - Adding of artificial hair of any kind to head or eye lashes - Trimming or eyebrow using of too loud make-up without niqab - Extravaganza in dressing and pride

At this point let me add that no husband has the right to discourage or refuse his wife the use of Hijab and no parent has the right to stop their children from using Hijab. As a matter of fact each head of family must insist and encourage its usage. Also see Q 66 v 6 With this I should conclude that Allah has given us guidance through the Quran and Sunnah, he also given us the logic and common sense to apply these in our everyday life. However, Allah is not unreasonable and understands the mankind’s weakness and to this I will refer you to the hadith in Sahih Al-Bukhari. Narrated (Abu-Huraira) The prophet said “Religion (Islam) is very easy and whoever overburdens himself in his religion will not be able to continue in that way. So you should not be extremists, but try to be near perfection and receive the good tidings that you will be rewarded; and gain strength by offering the prayers in the mornings, afternoons and during the last hour of the night. “1:38-O.B.

CHALLENGES OF USING HIJAB IN OUR CONTEMPORARY SOCIETY 1. Domineering role of western ideas, fashion and culture 2.Family and peers influence 3. Absence of deep understanding of purpose of Islamic injunction 4. Lack of confidence in Islamic values 5. Spouse discouragement 6. The belief that dressing Islamically will prevent one from being trendy 7. Pregnancy (due to excessive heat) 8. House lacking in essential facilities (Toilets, Kitchen & other conveniences are shared with other families) 9. Weak faith

RECOMMENDATIONS 1. Readiness to be committed to follow the injunctions of Allah. “Enter into Islam wholeheartedly And follow not the footsteps of Satan, for he is to you an avowed enemy” Q 2 v To be in constant companion of committed Muslims. Quran 18 : Husband to encourage their wife and vice versa Quran 66 : 6 4. Parents to keep on the discussion with their children and not to loose the battle to their children peers. In conclusion, Dressing Islamically is one aspect of our lives which like every other aspect of Islam need to be observed. I pray that Allah strengthen us and make us an effective and practical Muslim.