The Muslim Woman's Dress: According To The Qur'an and Sunnah
The Muslim Woman's Dress: According To The Qur'an and Sunnah
The Muslim Woman's Dress: According To The Qur'an and Sunnah
According to
the Quran and Sunnah
Compiled by
Dr. Jamal A. Badawi
Compiled by
Dr. Jamal A. Badawi
1 3 8 9 A H. ( 1 9 6 9 ) .
O th e r so u rce s checked in clu d e " t a f s ir " of th e Q u r'a n in c lu d in g th o se by Ib n -K a th ir.
Y u su f A ll. a nd Sayyid Q utb; a u th o ritie s n Fiqh in c lu d in g S ayyid S a b iq 's F iq h -u s s u n n a h and Y u s u f A l-Q a ra d a w i's A l- H a la l W a lh a ra m F il-ls /a m . a nd a re fe re n ce on
H a dith from M is h k a t- u l-M a s o b e e h .
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TABLE OF C O N TE N TS
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L o o s e n e s s .......................................................................................
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T h ic k n e s s .......................................................................................
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O verall A p p e a ra n c e .....................................................................
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IN T R O D U C T IO N
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R E Q U IR E M E N T S IN DR ESS
Say to the believing men that they should low er th e ir gaze and
guard th e ir modesty: that w ill make for greater p u rity for them:
And A lla h is w e ll acquainted w ith all th a t they do.
And say to the believing w om en that they should low er th e ir
gaze and and guard th e ir modesty; th a t they should not display
th e ir beauty and orn a m e n ts except w h a t (m ust ordinarily)
appear thereof; th a t th e y should d ra w th e ir veils over their
bosoms and not display th e ir beauty except to th e ir husbands,
th e ir fathers, th e ir husbands' fathers, th e ir sons, th e ir
husbands' sons,their brothers or th e ir b rothers' sons, or th e ir
sisters' sons, or th e ir w om en, or the slaves w hom th e ir rig h t
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^ *
1JSee S ayy'd Sabrq's F iq h u s -S u n n a h . D a r-u l-K ita b -il-'A ra b i. B e iru t. Lebanon, 1969.
vol 1. p 1 27.
,3A i-T a b a ra n i and S a h ih M u s lim See a l-A lb a n i. o p c it , p 56
, :A t a n o th e r occasion w h e n th e Prophet {pbuh} sa w a bride in a th in d re ss he said, "s h e
is not a w o m a n w h o believes in S u ra t-u n -N o o r w h o w e a rs th is. ' S u ra t-u n Noor is the
S u ra h w h e re th e m ain re q u ire m e n ts of the M u s lim w o m a n s dress are o u tlin e d . S till
o n a n o th e r occasion som e w o m e n fro m th e trib e of Bam T am eem cam e to visit
'A ish a h m th in clo th e s. Upon seeing them , th e P rophet (pbuh) said. " I f you are
believers, then these are not believers' clothing ' See Yusuf A l Q aradawi. op cit. p. 160
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"B edizen not yourselves w ith the bedizenm ent of the Tim e of
Ignorance. . . " 15
A d d itio n a l R e q u ire m e n ts '6
In addition to the above four m ain and clearly spelled out
requirem ents, the re are other re q u ire m ents w hose specific
applications m ay vary w ith tim e and location. These include:
1. The dress should not be sim ila r to w h a t is know n as a male
costum e. Ibn A bbas narrated that "T h e Prophet (pbuh) cursed the
men w h o act like w o m e n and the w o m e n w h o act like m e n ."17
2. It should not be s im ila r to w h a t is kn o w n as the costum e of
unbelievers. This requ ire m e n t is derived from the general ru le of
S hari'a h th a t M u s lim s should have th e ir d is tin c t personality and
sh o u ld d iffe re n tia te th e ir p ra c tic e s an d a ppearan ce fro m
u nbe lie ve rs.18
3. It should not be a dress of fame, pride and va n ity Such fame
m ay be sought by w e a rin g an excessively fancy dress as a status
symbol or an excessively ragged dress to gain o th e rs' a d m iration of
one s selflessness. Both m otives are im proper by Islam ic standards.
The Prophet (pbuh) says:
"W h o e ve r w ears a dress of fame in th is w orld, A lla h w ill clothe
him w ith a dress of h u m ilia tio n in the day of resurrection, then
set it a fir e ." 19
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R E Q U IR E M E N T S OF M U S L IM M E N S C LO T H IN G
It should be noted th a t th e basic requirem ents of the M u slim
w om an s dress apply as w e ll to the M u s lim m an's clothing w ith the
differe n ce being m a in ly in degree. This can best be understood by
looking in to w h a t Islam d e fin e s as 'a w ra h w h ic h refers to the part of
the body that should be covered at all tim es unless there is an
expressed exception The covering of 'a w ra h is also a condition for
the va lid ity of prayers for both men and w om en.
It has been agreed am ong ju ris ts on the basis of the Q ur'a n and
S unnah th a t " a w r a h for the w om an is defined as the w h o le body
except for the face and hands For th e man. the 'a w ra h is defined as
the area betw een th e navel and the knees.20
W ith in the d e fin itio n of 'a w ra h for m en and w om en, a ll the four
basic re q u ire m e n ts discussed in this paper are essentially the same
1. M an should fu lly cover his 'a w ra h .
2. M e n 's clothes should be loose enough so as not to describe
w h a t he is covering (his 'a w ra h ).
3
They sould be thick enough so as not to describe the color of the
skm or the parts required to be covered
4
They should not be designed in a w ay to a ttract attention. The
basic rule of m odesty and avoiding "s h o w o ff" applies to all believers
m en and w om en.
The three other additional requirem ent discussed under the
M u slim w o m a n 's code of dress apply to m en's clothes as w ell:
1. They should not be s im ila r to w h a t is know s as the fem ale
dress.
2. They should not be s im ila r to w h a t could be identified as the
dress of unbelievers.
3. They should not be clothes of fame, pride, and vanity.
In addition to the above lim ita tio n s on the M u slim m an's clothes,
men are not a llo w e d to w e a r silk and gold. This does not apply to
wom en.
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C O N C L U S IO N
There are surely m any oth e r issues p e rta in ing to the subjects that
are not covered in th is paper. Its main focus is on the docum ented
in ju n c tio n s of A lla h (subhanahu w at'a la) as derived from His w ord
(the Q u r'a n) and as explained by the chosen M essenger. M uham m ad
(peace be upon him). These in ju n ctio n s are to be com plied w ith by all
M u slim m en and w om en; and in case of transgression, they w ill be
held accountable in the hereafter. T ruly husbands, fathers, and
m others do have an obligation to rem ind, exhort and help each other
achieve the pleasure of A lla h and to avoid His w ra th . In the final
analysis, how ever, it is not coercion or force w h ic h is likely to bring
about obedience to A lla h . It is but. the love of A llah, the acceptance of
His guidance as th e suprem e Truth even if c o n trary to one's personal
opinions, th a t w ill bring about the change.
MAJOR REFERENCES
Al-Q ur'an, Translation of m eanings by A Yusuf A ll and M .M . Pickthall.
A l-H ad ith , as cited.
A l-A lb a n i.
M uham m ad N. H i j a b u l M a r ' a t - i l - M
3rd P rinting, A I-M a k ta b -u l-ls la m i.
1389 A H. (1969).
u s lim a h
Al-Qaradawi, Yusuf. A l - H a
Cairo. 1396 A H. (1976).
M aktabat W ahbah,
W assunah,
la l W a /h a r a m F il- ls la m .
Beirut,
F H - K ita b
Lebanon,
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