The Reformation Of The Heart: The Sunnah Attire - Equally Important for both Muslim; Men and Women

I have lately been a victim to the typical hum drum and chanting of slogans by the Muslim men harping about proper pardah, hijab or attire for the Muslim women. And although I had no disagreement with what they said or stated, albeit I still have yet to do much in order to fall into the category of the proper attire for Muslim women as such. What perturbed me the most is that somehow they don't feel the same need to go around preaching to other Muslim brothers regarding what the proper attire is, for Muslim men.

In fact what I found even more disturbing was that I myself did not know exactly what was required of them, other than wearing a head covering and sporting a beard. This realization hit me hard, a Muslim woman must know the proper Sunnah attire for both men and women alike as the Muslim Ummah is raised in her lap.

I went around searching for all the possible details and images I could find, though unfortunately I did not come across to much in this connection. But I felt it imperative to collect what all I did come across and compile it in my blog for my own growth and knowledge, along with attempting to help others like myself acquiring the same. So here goes:

Praise be to Allaah. There follows a summary of the rulings on dress for men. We ask Allaah to make it sufficient and beneficial.

1. The basic principle concerning everything that is worn is that it is halaal and permissible, except for that concerning which there is a text to state that it is haraam, such as silk for males, because the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “These two [gold and silk] are forbidden for the males of my ummah and permissible for the females.” Narrated by Ibn Maajah, 3640; classed as saheeh by al-Albaani in Saheeh Ibn Maajah. Similarly it is not permissible to wear the skin of a dead animal (one that has died of natural causes) unless it has been tanned. With regard to wearing clothes made of wool, goat hair and camel hair, these are pure and permissible. For more information on the use of the skin of dead animals after tanning, please see question no. 1695 and 9022.

2. It is not permissible to wear thin or see-through clothing that does not conceal the ‘awrah.

3. It is haraam to imitate the mushrikeen and kuffaar in their manner of dress, so it is not permissible to wear clothing that is unique to the kuffaar.

It was narrated that ‘Abd-Allaah ibn ‘Amr ibn al-‘Aas said: The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) saw ‘Ali wearing two garments dyed with safflower and said: “These are garments of the kuffaar; do not wear them.” Narrated by Muslim, 2077.

4. It is haraam for women to imitate men and men to imitate women in the way they dress, because the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) cursed the men who imitate women and the women who imitate men.” Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 5546.

5. It is Sunnah for a Muslim to start with the right when dressing, and to say, Bismillaah (In the name of Allaah), and to start with the left when taking clothes off.

It was narrated that Abu Hurayrah said: The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “When you get dressed and when you do wudoo’, start on the right.” Narrated by Abu Dawood, 4141; classed as saheeh by al-Albaani in Saheeh al-Jaami’, 787.

6. It is Sunnah for the one who is putting on a new garment to thank Allaah and make du’aa’.

It was narrated that Abu Sa’eed said: When the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) put on a new garment, he would call it by its name, whether it was a turban, a shirt or a cloak, then he would say: “Allaahumma laka al-hamd anta kasawtanihi as’aluka khayrahu wa khayri ma suni’a lah wa a’oodhu bika min sharrihi wa sharri ma suni’a lah (O Allaah, to You be all praise. You have clothed me with it. I ask You for the good of it and the good for which it was made, and I seek refuge with You from the evil of it and the evil for which it was made).” Narrated by al-Tirmidhi, 1767; Abu Dawood, 4020; classed as saheeh by al-Albaani in Saheeh al-Jaami’, 4664.

7. It is Sunnah to pay attention to keeping one's clothes clean, without feeling arrogant or exaggerating about that.

It was narrated from ‘Abd-Allaah ibn Mas’ood that the Prophet (peace

and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “No one will enter Paradise in whose heart is a mustard-seed of arrogance.” A man said: “What if a man likes his clothes to look nice and his shoes to look nice?” He said: “Allaah is Beautiful and loves beauty; arrogance means rejecting the truth and looking down on people.” Narrated by Muslim, 91.

8. It is mustahabb to wear white clothes

It was narrated that Ibn ‘Abbaas said: The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Wear white clothes, for they are the best of your clothes, and shroud your dead in them.” Narrated by al-Tirmidhi, 994, hasan saheeh. This is what the scholars regarded as mustahabb. Also narrated by Abu Dawood, 4061; Ibn Maajah, 1472.

9. It is haraam for the Muslim man to let any garment he wears hang down beneath his ankles (an action known as isbaal); the limit for any garment is the ankles.

It was narrated from Abu Hurayrah (may Allaah be pleased with him) that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said; “Whatever of the lower garment is beneath the ankles is in the Fire.”

Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 5450.

It was narrated from Abu Dharr that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “There are three to whom Allaah will not speak on the Day of Resurrection and will not look at them or praise them, and theirs will be a painful torment.” The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) repeated it three times. Abu Dharr said: “May they be doomed and lost; who are they, O Messenger of Allaah?” He said: “The one who lets his garment hang beneath his ankles, the one who reminds others of favours he has done, and the one who sells his product by means of false oaths.”

Narrated by Muslim, 106.

10. It is haraam to wear garments of fame and vanity, which means a garment that stands out from others so that people will look at the wearer and he will become known for it.

It was narrated that Ibn ‘Umar said: The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Whoever wears a garment of fame and vanity, Allaah will dress him in a garment like it on the Day of Resurrection.”

According to another version, “…then set it ablaze.” And according to a third version, “will dress him in a garment of humiliation.” Narrated by Abu Dawood, 4029; Ibn Maajah, 3606 and 3607; classed as hasan by Shaykh al-Albaani in Saheeh al-Targheeb, 2089.

The brother may also refer to the section on Dress in this website, where there is more information.

And Allaah knows best.
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It is not uncommon for non-Muslims and even many Muslims to associate the Islamic commandments on Hijab with females, even though Islam has ordained Hijab for both men and women. In fact, many of us would be surprised to note that Allah[God] Almighty states in the Holy Qur'an:

"Tell the believing men to cast down their looks and guard their private parts; that is purer for them; surely Allah is Aware of what they do. And tell the believing women that they cast down their looks and guard their private parts and do not display their ornaments except what appears thereof...."
^{(translation of 24:30-31)}

Indeed, before addressing women and telling them to conceal their bodies, Allah first addresses the believing men and tells them to lower their gaze!

The moment a man looks at a woman and if any brazen or unashamed thought comes to his mind, he should lower his gaze.

When discussing the issue of Hijab for men, it is essential to keep in mind the Golden Rule: do unto others as you would have them do unto you. A man once came to the Prophet Mohammed -peace be upon him- and told him he wished to commit fornication. As some of the companions of the prophet got up to strike him, he -peace be upon him- restrained them and then said to the man, "My son, how would you feel if someone wished to do the same thing with your mother or sister or wife or daughter?" The man replied that naturally he would want to kill the person. The Prophet -peace be upon him- then said, "If you do not wish for someone to do such an act with your mother or sister or wife or daughter, then why entertain such a thought about someone else's mother or sister or wife or daughter?!"

In the context of dressing code, The conditions of a man's Hijab differs from a woman's due to the biological, physiological and physical differences between the genders. Islam dictates that a Muslim man's basic Hijab is the covering of his body from belly-button to below the knee. Though this sounds like a rather sparse and loose definition of modesty, there are pertinent reasons as to this ruling. Men are required to work in Islam, unlike women, who are given the choice to earn their own income or not. Men are required to support their families financially regardless of their level of education or background.

With this ruling, it is inevitable that most of those who find employment as construction workers, farmers... would be men. In some cases, these workers spend most of their time under the hot sun or in extremely dry weather. This provision, the covering of the abdomen to the knee, is the basic requirement that they should observe – this serves as Hijab between themselves.

Ideally women should not be exposed to harsh terrains in search of employment. Should they be in the presence of the opposite gender while working outdoors, Muslim men should remember to observe the basic Hijab requirement in front of marriageable women, and preferably to cover up more.

However, in a social setting or if both men and women work indoors, the definition of Hijab for men becomes wider to endorse and fortify the concept of modesty. Just like women, men should wear loose, long and non-transparent clothing so as not to attract attention from the opposite gender to their physical appearance. Men are not required to cover their hair, but many Muslim men do, with turbans or keffiyahs.

Popular attire worn by Muslim men around the world include thobes or dishdashs; these are long shirts that sometimes reach down to the ankles. Bishts or abayas are robe-like apparel that cover the whole body. Sirwal or sokoto are baggy trousers usually worn under a thobe.

These are apparel that are influenced by culture and are not ordained by Islam.

The religion itself allows both Muslim men and women to wear clothes of their choice provided they comply with the tenets of modesty.

Complete ‘hijaab’ also includes the moral conduct, behaviour, attitude and intention of the individual. A person only fulfilling the criteria of ‘hijaab’ of the clothes is observing ‘hijaab’ in a limited sense. ‘Hijaab’ of the clothes should be accompanied by ‘hijaab’ of the eyes, ‘hijaab’ of the heart, ‘hijaab’ of thought and ‘hijaab’ of intention. It also includes the way a person walks, the way a person talks, the way he behaves, etc.