Questions on Islamic Dress and Head-dress for Men

(Libas wal ama'im)

By Shaykh Muhammad Hisham Kabbani

[excerpted from the "Encyclopedia of Islamic Doctrine, As-Sunna Foundation of America, 1998]

QUESTION:

ANSWER:

Wearing the jilbab, izar (loin-wrap), thawb (long cloth), `imama (turban),(2) jubba (coat or mantle), sirwal (baggy pants) and so forth is of the Prophet's Sunna of dress and we care not one whit for the secular-minded who reduce this aspect of Islam to an unimportant or unnecessary Sunna. There is no such thing as an unimportant or unnecessary Sunna. May Allah save us from committing such a slur against the Prophet as to make light of the Sunna. We should remember that no Sunna of his is abandoned except an innovation (bid`a) is adopted in exchange; inversely he said:

Whoever gives life to one of my Sunnas which was eliminated after my time will receive the reward of all those who practice it without their reward being diminished...(3)

Whoever gives life to one of my Sunnas, he loves me: and whoever loves me is with me.(4)

The keeper of my Sunna at the time my Community has lapsed into corruption will receive the reward of a martyr.(5)

The Prophet came to the graveyard and said: "Peace be upon you, O abode of a people of believers! We shall certainly join you, if Allah will. How I long to see my brothers!" They said: "O Messenger of Allah, are we not your brothers?" He replied: "You are my Companions! As for my brothers, they are those who have not yet appeared." They said: "How will you recognize those of your Community who had not yet appeared (in your time), O Messenger of Allah?" He replied: "Suppose a man had horses with shiny white marks on their foreheads and legs: would he not recognize them among other horses which are all black?" They said: "Yes, O Messenger of Allah!" He continued: "Verily, they (my brothers) shall be coming with shiny bright foreheads and limbs due to their ablutions, and I shall precede them to my Pond."

Far from us the claim that Religion consists in externals. However, The Prophet, his Companions, the Successors, and the totality of the pious after their time and down to ours over the centuries have all worn the turban, the beard, and the loose-fitting clothes associated with Islam. al-Munawi said: "The turban is a Sunna, especially for prayer and for self-beautification, because of the many narrations concerning it."(6) Only the ignorant can condone abandoning any of these aspects of our Religion under the pretext that they concern externals or customs, or that they belong to "the past"; and only enemies of Islam would oppose those who are faithful to each and every aspect of the Sunna, including the Prophet's manner of dressing, eating, and everyday living. What would they say of the Companion `Abd Allah ibn `Umar, who used to dismount in order to walk on the exact same spot the Prophet had put his steps although such walking was not part of his lawgiving?(7)

They claim: "The wearing a hat or white clothes or izar or jilbab is not an act of worship and therefore is not one of acts of `ibada to get hasanat." Our reply is: You are wrong, it is an act of worship when the intention is to please Allah, and it gets even more reward when it consists in following the Sunna of the Prophet, even if only in the details of his dress. Nawawi said in his commentary on the hadith "Actions are only according to intentions":

Whoever feeds his animal intending thereby obedience to Allah's order, he is rewarded, whereas if by feeding it he intends only to preserve his income, there is no reward: al- Qarafi(8) mentioned it. Excepted from the latter case is the mount of the fighter in the way of Allah if he bridled it for that intention; if it drinks at a time he does not intend to give it drink, he will still obtain reward for it, as mentioned in Bukhari's Sahih.(9) Similarly in interacting with one's wife, closing the door, and extinguishing the lamps before sleep: if one intends by these acts obedience to Allah's order he will be rewarded, and if he intends something else, he will not...

Intention was made a legal category in order to distinguish acts of habit from acts of worship and in order to distinguish the standing of one act of worship from that of another. An illustration of the former distinction is the act of sitting in a mosque: its purpose could be rest according to habit, or it could be worship with the intention of seclusion-and-devotion (i`tikaf). The distinguishing factor here between habit and worship is intention.

If turning out the lights before sleep can carry reward, then what can be said about conforming to the outward model of the Best of Creation? Nawawi's explanation of intention makes it clear that a Muslim's wearing of Sunna attire in prayer and outside prayer is worship, constitutes a great hasana, and carries reward with the intention of obeying Allah and His Prophet and following the example of the Prophet.

The proof that following the Prophet's example in the minutest details of dress is a Sunna is given by the following hadith in Bukhari:

Narrated Ibn `Umar: The Prophet wore a gold ring and then the people followed him and wore gold rings too. Then the Prophet said, "I had this golden ring made for myself. He then threw it away and said, "I shall never put it on." Thereupon the people also threw their rings away.(10)

The Prophet said: "Pray as you see me pray" and there is no proof whatsoever that he ever prayed bare-headed. Rather, as Bukhari showed in the hadith he cited in the chapter entitled "Wearing turbans," the Prophet wore it so continuously that he wiped on top of it during ablution in order not to have to remove it.(11) He wore it in war and in the khutba, and he would receive it as a gift as established by the following three hadiths:

Jabir said: "The Prophet entered Mecca on the Day of victory wearing a black turban and he loosened its two ends between his shoulders."(12)

Ja`far ibn `Amr narrates from his father: "I saw the Prophet on the pulpit wearing a black turban with the extremity loosened between his shoulder-blades."(13)

Abu Sa`id al-Khudri reported that when the Prophet got a new piece of garment, he would mention it, whether a turban or a shirt or a cloak, and then would say: "O Allah, all praise and thanks be to You. You have given me this garment. I seek from You its good and the good that is made of it and I seek Your refuge against its evil and the evil that it is made of."(14)

Nor is the assertion of the author of Fiqh as-Sunna acceptable whereby "There is no evidence whatsoever that it is preferred to cover one's head while praying" in his section entitled "Prayer prerequisites," in light of the evidence we are citing. This author mentions the narration by Ibn `Asakir from Ibn `Abbas that the Prophet would sometimes remove his cap and place it in front of him as a prayer-barrier (sutra), however: neither does he cite the isnad of that narration, nor its grading, nor its exact location in the works of Ibn `Asakir, who is known to include all kinds of narrations. Therefore it does not constitute evidence as it stands.

What is ironic is that Fiqh as-Sunna elsewhere mentions among the "permissible acts in prayer: prostrating upon one's clothing or headdress due to some excuse" based on the report by Ibn `Abbas in Imam Ahmad's Musnad with a sound chain whereby the Prophet prayed in one garment and covered his face with a portion of it to avoid the heat or coldness of the ground. Then Sayyid Sabiq added: "It is disliked if it is done without any genuine reason." One wonders why he did not say the same concerning the weaker evidence he cited to support the indifference of praying without headdress.

Fiqh as-Sunna concludes the short section on praying bareheaded with another error: "According to the Hanafis, one can pray with his head uncovered. In fact they prefer this if it is done out of a sense of humility and awe." To which the translator of Fiqh al-Sunna adds: "May Allah reward Sabiq for explicitly mentioning the position of the Hanafis on this question. I have met many misinformed Muslims who insist on covering their heads in prayer because (they claim) they are following the Hanafi school of thought. (J.Z.)"! May Allah forgive Sayyid Sabiq for his misrepresentation of the Hanafi School, and may Allah reform "J.Z." for perpetuating it. The following is the actual position of the Hanafi school of fiqh (not "thought"!):

According to the Hanafi school [among] the disliked acts (al-makruhat) in prayer are:... i`tijar, which is to tie a scarf around the head and leave the center bare;... [or] praying bareheaded out of laziness. As for praying bareheaded out of humility and submission, it is permitted (ja'iz) and not disliked.(16)

Other "Salafis" show a position in complete conformity with Hanafis and the rest of Ahl al-Sunna on this topic. Here now is a fatwa from a Hanafi/Hanbali perspective, followed by two fatwas from a "Salafi" perspective:

To go about bare-headed without a legal excuse or a legal reason is obviously a disapproved habit. It is... the custom of the transgressors (fussaq). It is legally abominable [makruh]; it is necessary [wajib] to abstain from it. The master of masters, Hazrat Shaykh `Abd al-Qadir Jilani (Allah's mercy be on him) says: "To uncover the head or such parts of the body as are not included in the satr (parts of the body that should be kept covered), though it is the method or habit of orthodox or civilized virtuous men to keep them covered, before people is abominable." (Ghunyat al-talibin 1:14) Allamah Jauzi (Allah's mercy be on him writes: "It is not hidden from a wise man that it is abominable to keep the head bare before the people; an act which is looked down upon and is against gentleness, humanness, etiquette, and gentlemanly decorum." Abdul Rahim Lajpuri, Fatawa Rahimiyya 3:202 #308.

It is permissible for a man to pray bare-headed... but it is desirable (yustahabb) that a worshipper be in the most perfect attire that befits him, of which the headcovering is a part: with a turban (`imama), a turban-cap (qalansuwa), or an under-cap (kimma, taqiyya, `araqiyya) and the like. To uncover the head without a valid excuse is therefore reprehensible (makruh), especially in the obligatory prayer, and especially in congregation.... but it is only reprehensible, and it is still valid, as al-Baghawi and many others said [cf. Nawawi, al-Majmu` 2:51]. For the common people to disallow themselves from praying behind a bareheaded man is therefore incorrect, although the imam is the first of the worshippers in whom the conditions of completion and perfection should be met, and he should be the most scrupulous in adhering closely to the Sunna of the Prophet.
Mashhur ibn Hasan Salman, al-Qawl al-mubin fi akhta' al-musallin (p. 58-60)

Another, even more misguided view is that which takes the fact that covering the head is "merely a Sunna" as an excuse not to do it! What an excellent reply was given by the brother who recently refuted this aberration in one of the electronic forums where it was voiced:

It is true that covering the head is not fard but it is a strong sunna. In a fatwa in [Ibn `Abidin's] Radd al-Mukhtar it has been stated that to leave a sunna belittling it is kufr. One should not belittle a sunna. Allah says "Say (O My Prophet to the believers): If you love Allah, follow me." So, a person who is leaving a sunna just because it is not fard, though he could adhere to it, is not obliging to this aya and hence shows his lack of love for Allah.

May Allah bless us with the right path of the Imams and increase our love for the Prophet.

The Prophet gave many instructions for self-adornment and beautification for prayer and even for mere social interaction, as shown by the following three hadiths cited by Sayyid Sabiq himself:

The Prophet said: "What is the harm if any of you can (afford to) wear two garments for the Friday prayer besides the two garments he wears for his daily work?"(17)

Ibn Abi al-Ahwas said: I came in shabby clothes to see the Prophet and he said: "Do you have money?" I said yes. He said: "From where does your money come?" I said: "Allah has given me camels and sheep and horses and slaves." He said: "Then if Allah gave you money and possessions, he likes for you to show it."(18)

Abu al-Darda' said that the Prophet said: "You are coming to your brethren, therefore mend your mounts and mend your garments until you stand out among the people (due to your excellence) like a mole on the face. Verily, Allah does not like obscene speech nor obscene behavior."(19)

Concerning clothing there are four parts: what is permitted, what is meritorious, what is offensive, and what is forbidden. What is permitted is to wear a single garment which covers ones' `awra or private parts and to throw one end of it over one's shoulder... What is meritorious is to pray in two garments or more. By doing that, one does one's best to cover oneself appropriately. It is related (by Abu Dawud and others) that `Umar said: "If Allah has enriched you then act accordingly. Let a man dress up in his garb. Let him pray in a loinwrap (izar) and mantle (burd), or a loinwrap and shirt (qamis), or in a loinwrap and long sleeves (quba'), or in trousers (sarawil) and a cloak (rida'), or in trousers and a shirt, or in trousers and long sleeves, or in shorts (tubban) and a shirt."(20)...

Ibn Hajar commented the following on the hadith of `Umar:

There is in the hadith (of `Umar in Abu Dawud) a proof for the obligatoriness of praying in more than one garment because doing so with only one garment was due to scarcity of clothes. Also in the hadith is the proof that prayer in two garments is preferable to prayer in a single one. Qadi `Iyad even declared there was no disagreement on the question. However, the expression used by Ibn al- Mundhir might suggest that there was, since when he mentioned that the Imams permitted prayer in a single garment he said: "Some of them said it was desirable to pray in two."(22)

al-Khatib al-Baghdadi narrates in his Tarikh Baghdad that one time Abu Hanifa asked a man who was shabbily dressed to stay behind after the others had left from his circle of study. Then he told him: "Lift up the prayer-rug and take the money that is there and buy yourself some nice clothes." The man told him he was wealthy and had no need of the money. Abu Hanifa said: "Has it not reached you that the Prophet said: Allah likes to see the mark of His benevolence on His servant?"(24)

Bukhari also narrates in the book of Salat that Hasan al- Basri said that in the time of the Prophet, because of scorching heat, "People used to prostrate on their turban-cloth (`imama) and turban-cap (qalansuwa) with their hands in their sleeves," and that Anas Ibn Malik said:

We used to pray with the Prophet and some of us used to place the ends of their clothes at the place of prostration because of scorching heat.

There are esthetic criteria as well, and we have been enjoined to "wear beautiful apparel at every place of prayer." We know from the Prophet's instructions that white, for example, falls under the category of "beautiful" because he termed it "your best clothing."(25) The fact that the Prophet himself often wore white in prayer can be inferred from the saying of `Umar ibn al-Khattab narrated by Malik in the Book of Friday Prayer in his Muwatta':

I love to see the reciter of the Qur'an [i.e. the leader of the Friday prayer] wearing white.

We have cited elsewhere the reports cited by Ibn al-Jawzi and Ibn al-Qayyim about the handsomeness of Hasan al-Basri. Here they are again, and observe in what consisted the handsomeness in question:

A group of women went out on the day of `Eid and went about looking at people. They were asked: "Who is the most handsome person you have seen today?" They replied: "It is a shaykh wearing a black turban." They meant Hasan al-Basri.(27)

Both Nawawi and Ghazali recommended wearing the turban at least on Fridays from the time one goes out to attend Jum`a to the time one comes back home, and more so for the imam himself. We quote their views and those of other scholars below, in the section on the etiquette of wearing the turban.

Furthermore, concerning dress, the Sunna is a safety for prayer and other acts such as social interaction, as it undoubtedly fulfills the demands put on Muslims by shari`a to cover their nakedness and dress modestly, while Western dress often does not, least of all men's trousers, which are in the vast majority of cases cut too tight to meet those demands.

Thus it is mandub or praiseworthy to pray using "three of one's best clothes -- shirt, trousers, and turban or cap" in Hanafi fiqh,(29) "an ankle-length shirt and a turban" in Shafi`i fiqh,(30) and "a shirt, trousers, a turban, and a loinwrap" in Hanbali fiqh as we mentioned already.(31) As for Imam Malik he said: The turban was worn from the beginning of Islam and it did not cease being worn until our time. I did not see anyone among the People of Excellence except they wore the turban, such as Yahya ibn Sa`id, Rabi`a, and Ibn Hurmuz. I would see in Rabi`a's circle more than thirty men wearing turbans and I was one of them, and Rabi`a did not put it down until the Pleiades rose (i.e. until he slept) and he used to say: "I swear that I find it increases intelligence."(32)

The following examples illustrate the importance of Sunna dress in the hadith and the practice of the Salaf.

1. The Prophet said on the authority of Ibn `Umar: "Whoso resembles a people in appearance, he is one of them."(33)

   The hadith is understood in both ways: one who looks like the non-Muslims is part of them, and one who looks like the Muslims is part of them. Hasan al-Basri said: "If you are of a coarse character, then acquire gentleness (tahallam); and if you are not learned, then learn (ta`allam); and a person seldom imitates a certain group without becoming one of them."(34)

2. Abu Dawud, Tirmidhi, and Bayhaqi in Shu`ab al-iman narrate from Rukana's son that Rukana ibn `Ubayd al-Qurashi said: I heard the Prophet say: "The difference between us and the idolators is the turbans (al-`ama'im) on top of the turban-caps (al-qalanis)." This hadith does not meet the criteria of authenticity. As Tirmidhi said: "Its chain of transmission is not established," and this is due to the fact that three of the six narrators in it are unknown. Yet the reason both he and Abu Dawud retained it in their compilations can be learned from what is known of Abu Dawud's method: Whenever he did not find better than a weak narration to place in a chapter-heading which he considered important, he nevertheless preferred to cite it rather than allowing its content to be lost to Islam. The appropriateness of his choice in this hadith, despite its known weakness, is confirmed by the fact that Tirmidhi also retained it. Why did they consider it important? Because despite the defects in its chain of transmission, its content is true and worthy of recollection. al-Tabrizi included it in his Mishkat al-masabih for the same reason.

   The hadith of Rukana elucidates the hadith mentioned before it and is confirmed by the following narrations.

3. Ibn Hibban in his Sahih and Ahmad on the authority of Abu `Uthman: `Umar's letter reached us as we were in Azerbaijan saying: "O `Utba ibn Farqad, stay away from effeminacy and the clothing of idolaters (mushrikin)." Ahmad relates it as "non-Arabs" (`ajam).

   Note that shaving the beard is considered effeminacy and is forbidden (haram) in all Four Schools in Islam.

   Ibn Hibban's version of `Umar's saying is mentioned by Ibn Taymiyya who interprets it as an explicit prohibition for Muslims in non-Muslim countries against wearing unislamic clothing:

   This is a prohibition on the part of `Umar directed at Muslims against all that belongs to the manner of dress of non-Muslims (mushrikun).(35)

4. The historian and hadith master al-Turtushi relates in his book Siraj al-muluk that `Abd al-Rahman ibn Ghanam said: "When `Umar ibn al-Khattab made peace with the Christians of Syria... we took upon ourselves an oath that... [among other conditions] we shall not attempt to imitate the Muslims in their dress, whether with the qalansuwa, the `imama, the sandals, or parting the hair."(36)

5. Imam Nawawi in his Fatawa was asked: "Is there harm for one's religion and his salat if he dresses other than in the fashion of Muslims?" He answered: "It is forbidden to resemble the believers in appearance, whether in clothing or otherwise, because of the sound and well-known hadiths concerning this; and wearing such clothing makes one's prayer incomplete tanqusu bihi al-salat."

   Imaam Nawawi said in his Fatawa when asked about dressing in the style of the
   kuffar (unbelievers):
   
   "yuha anit-tashabbahi bil-kuffar fi libaas wa ghayr, liahaadeethil-saheehatil-mash`huurah fi dhalik tanqusu bihi salatu"-  " it is prohibitted to resemble the Kuffaar in dress or other than it because of the famous Sahih Hadiths and it lessens his salat"
   
   Imam Malik said:
   
   The turban was worn from the beginning of Islam and it did not cease being worn until our time. I did not see anyone among the People of Excellence except they wore the turban, such as Yahya ibn Sa`id, Rabi`a, and Ibn Hurmuz. I would see in Rabi`a's circle more than thirty men wearing turbans and I was one of them, and Rabi`a did not put it down until the Pleiades rose (i.e. until he slept) and he used to say: "I swear that I find it increases intelligence." (36.1) 

6. It is established that turbans increase good character from the following hadith narrated on the authority of Ibn `Abbas:

   The Prophet said: i`tammu tazdadu hilman -- "Wear the turban and increase your good character" (hilm = also "intelligence, patience").(37)

   al-Hakim said The chain of transmission of this narration is sound. al-Haytami in Majma` al-zawa'id said that Tabarani's and al-Bazzar's chain contained `Ubayd Allah ibn Abi Humayd whose narrations are not retained, but that the remainder of the narrators were trustworthy.(38) Ibn al-Jawzi questioned its authenticity(39) and al-Dhahabi did not confirm al-Hakim, yet Suyuti did and rejected the claim that the narration was forged by citing no less than five other chains to support it to which Ibn `Iraq added a sixth.(40) Yet another chain adds: "And turbans are the crowns of Arabs."(41)

7. It is further established from countless narrations that the turban is the garb of angels and that the angels wore it at the battles of Badr, Hunayn, and Uhud:

   Concerning the verse: "Your Lord will help you with five thousand angels bearing marks (musawwimin)" (3:125), Ibn `Abbas said: "It is said that musawwimin means bearing marks or wearing turbans (muta`ammimin)." This is also reported by Makhul as quoted by Ibn Kathir in his Commentary on the verse.

   Ibn Kathir in his Tafsir relates from Ibn Abi Hatim that `Ali said: "The mark of angels on the day of Badr was white wool, and their mark was also on the forehead of their horses."

   Ibn `Asakir in his Tahdhib (6:232) and Suyuti in al- Haba'ik fi akhbar al-mala'ik relate on the authority of `A'isha that the Prophet said: "Most of the angels I have seen were wearing turbans."

In Ibn Abi Shayba's Musannaf, Ibn Jarir al-tabari's Tafsir, Ibn al-Mundhir, Ibn Abi Hatim, and Ibn Mardawayh on the authority of `Abd Allah ibn al-Zubayr: The latter was wearing a yellow turban on the day of Badr, so the angels descended wearing yellow turbans. Abu Nu`aym says the same in reference to Jibril in his book Fada'il al-sahaba, on the authority of `Urwa. Ibn Kathir mentions that Ibn al- Zubayr was wearing i`tijar, i.e. a single covering from head to foot.

In Abu Nu`aym and Ibn `Asakir on the authority of `Abbad ibn `Abd Allah ibn al-Zubayr: on the day of Badr al- Zubayr was wearing a yellow turban among the people, so the Prophet, Peace be upon him, said: "The angels have descended wearing the same mark as Abu `Abd Allah," and the Prophet himself came wearing a yellow turban.

`Abd al-Razzaq in his Musannaf and Tabari in his Tafsir mention on the authority of `Urwa and Ibn al-Zubayr: "The day of Badr the angels came down on piebald horses, wearing yellow turbans."

In Ibn Ishaq's Sira and in Tabarani, on the authority of Ibn `Abbas: "The mark of the angels on the day of Badr was white turbans whose ends were hanging in their backs, and on the day of Hunayn, red turbans." Ibn Kathir mentions it.

In Tabari's commentary entitled Jami` al-bayan `an ta'wil ay al-qur'an, a Companion from those who fought at Badr and Uhud named Abu Usayd (Malik ibn Rabi`a al-Sa`idi) said to his grandson Zubayr ibn Mundhir: "If I had my eyesight and if you came with me to Uhud, I would tell you about the mountain-pass out of which came the angels, wearing yellow turbans which they had thrown back between their shoulders." Suyuti also mentions it with a slightly different wording. Abu Usayd was the last of the Companions of Badr to die (in 60 H).

Malik said: Jibril was seen in the image of (the Companion) Dihya (ibn Khalifa) al-Kalbi, and he was wearing a turban with its extremity hanging between his shoulder-blades.(42)

We conclude this section with the translation of Shaykh al- Islam Imam Kawthari's fatwa on headcoverings and footgear for men in Salat from his invaluable Maqalat.

IMAM KAWTHARI'S (d. 1371/1951) FATWA: ON BARING THE HEAD IN SALAT(43)

*[The Khawarij are those from among the tribes of Banu Hanifa, Banu Tamim, and Wa'il in the Najd area of Eastern Arabia who committed baghi (rebellion) against the Caliph and opposed the larger group of Muslims. They declared him and Mu`awiya disbelievers and declared licit their blood and property as well as the blood and property of those with them. They made the land of the former a land of war and declared their own land an abode of faith. They only accepted from the Prophet's Sunna what agreed with their own doctrine and deduced evidence for their doctrine from what was not perspicuous in the Qur'an. They used to transfer the Qur'anic verses meant to refer to unbelievers and make them refer to the believers as predicted by the Prophet.(44) Ibn `Abbas debated them until four thousand returned to the truth. They were the first to separate from the Congregation of Muslims. The Prophet referred to them as "The dogs of the people in Hell"(45) and he ordered to fight and kill them by saying: "They will pass through Islam like an arrow passes through its quarry. Wherever you meet them, kill them!"(46) Imam Ibn `Abidin (d. 1252/1836) said:

The name of Khawarij is applied to those who part ways with Muslims and declare them disbelievers, as took place in our time with the followers of Ibn `Abd al-Wahhab who came out of Najd and attacked the Two Noble Sanctuaries (Mecca and Madina). They (Wahhabis) claimed to follow the Hanbali school, but their belief was such that, in their view, they alone are Muslims and everyone else is a mushrik (polytheist). Under this guise, they said that killing Ahl al-Sunna and their scholars was permissible, until Allah the Exalted destroyed them in the year 1233/1818 at the hands of the Muslim army.(47)]

As for the prayer of one who doffs his headcover without excuse:

* it is valid provided it meets the conditions and pillars of prayer, however:

* it contravenes the Sunna transmitted from the Prophet and the practice transmitted from Muslims to Muslims in all their lands through the centuries;

* it resembles that of the People of the Book, for they pray, as everyone can see, bareheaded;

it constitutes a rejection of the order to Muslims to "Wear your beautiful apparel at every time and place of prayer" (7: 31). Bayhaqi cited in his Sunan al-kubra the hadith of Anas ibn `Iyad from Musa ibn `Uqba from Nafi` from `Abd Allah [ibn `Umar], and Nafi` said he did not consider other than that it came from the Prophet himself:

Whenever one of you prays let him wear two pieces of clothing, for verily Allah is the worthiest of those for whom one adorns oneself. If one does not have two pieces of clothing, let him wear the izar (loin-wrap) whenever he prays. Let none of you dress in the manner of Jews.(48)

Ibn `Umar saw me pray in a single garment and he said: "Did I not give you clothes?" I said yes. He continued: "And if I sent you on an errand would you go out like this?"I said no. He said: "Then Allah is worthier of your self-adornment."

Bayhaqi also cited the hadith of Yusuf ibn Ya`qub al-Qadi from Sulayman ibn Harb from Hammad ibn Zayd from Ayyub from Nafi`:

`Umar entered upon me one day as I was praying in a single garment and he said: "Don't you have two garments in your possession?" I said yes. He said: "In your opinion, if I sent you to one of the people of Madina on an errand, would you go in a single garment?" I said no. He said: "Then is Allah worthier of our self-beautification or people?"

THE ETIQUETTE OF WEARING THE TURBAN (ADAB AL-`IMAMA) ACCORDING TO THE SCHOLARS

Haythami says in Majma` al-Zawa'id: "Ibn Majah narrates some of it; al-Bazzar narrates it (all), and its sub-narrators are trustworthy (thiqat)."

Tirmidhi narrates that `Abd Allah Ibn `Umar said:

"When the Prophet tied his turban, he would let its extremity hang between his shoulder-blades."(49)

And Ibn `Umar used to let the extremity of his turban hang between his shoulder-blades.

`Ubayd Allah, `Umar's grandson and the narrator from Nafi`, adds:

And I saw al-Qasim (Abu Bakr's grandson) and Salim (`Umar's son) do the same.

Munawi explains Nafi`'s and `Ubayd Allah's statements thus:

It means that this is a strong Sunna (sunna mu'akkada) which must be kept and the abandonment of which is unacceptable to the pious (sulaha').(50)

Mubarkafuri in his supercommentary on Ibn al-`Arabi's commentary on Tirmidhi said:

This hadith indicates the preferability of letting loose the turban's end between the shoulder-blades, and it appears to be fair (hasan).(51)

Qari in Jam` al-Wasa'il quotes Mayrak as saying:

It has been firmly established from the Siras with authentic narrations that the Prophet used to let the extremity of his turban hang loose between his shoulders at times, and at times did not.(52)

Mubarkafuri cites al-San`ani as saying in Subul al-salam:

The etiquette of the turban is that one shortens the free extremity of the turban lest it reaches an indecent length... and lets it down between the shoulder-blades, but it is permissible to leave it tucked in.(53)

He also cites Nawawi as saying in Sharh al-madhhab:

To let down the extremity of the turban exceedingly, as with a robe, is forbidden if done out of conceit and disliked if done for any other reason... and it is permissible to wear the turban with or without letting down its extremity; it is not disliked to wear it without doing so, and it is utterly wrong to forbid one from wearing it without doing so.(54)

Although the Prophet feared that letting it down could lead to conceit, yet he did not order to leave it, but to keep it and keep one's ego in check.(55)

Qari and Munawi also quote Ibn al-Qayyim as relating that his sheikh Ibn Taymiyya had told him a beautiful thing, namely, that when the Prophet saw that his Lord put His hand between his shoulders, he honored that place with the extremity of the turban. This is a reference to the hadith in Tirmidhi already quoted whereby the Prophet said: "My Lord came to me in the best image and asked over what did the angels of the higher heaven vie, and I said I did not know, so He put His hand between my shoulders, and I felt its coolness in my innermost, and the knowledge of all things came to me."

Concerning the meaning of Tirmidhi's hadith of Rukana already mentioned whereby the Prophet said: "The difference between us and the idolators is the turbans on top of the turban-caps," al-Qari quotes Ibn al-Jawzi as saying that in the opinion of some scholars, the Sunna is to wear both qalansuwa (turban-cap) and `imama (turban), and that to wear the qalansuwa alone is the fashion of non- Muslims. al-Munawi asserts that the Sunna is attained by wearing the `imama either on the head or on top of the qalansuwa, and that wearing the latter alone, even if permissible, does not fulfill the Sunna.(56)

The hadith master and lexicographer Murtada al-Zabidi -- the compiler of al-Tajrid al-sarih and Taj al-`arus -- said in his exhaustive commentary on Ghazali's Ihya' `ulum al-din entitled Ithaf al-sadat al-muttaqin: The turban is desired (mustahabb) on Fridays for both the imam and the congregation, and Nawawi said that it is desired for the imam to beautify his appearance (i.e. more than everyone else), wear the turban, and wear a rida' (= jubba, a loose outer garment or robe). The application of the Sunna consists in winding the turban on the head or on top of a qalansuwa. It is preferable to wear it large, but it is necessary to define its length and width by what fits the wearer's custom according to his time and place. To add to this is disliked by the Law.(57)

Suyuti was asked what the length of the Prophet's turban was and what he wore underneath it. He answered in the "Chapter on clothing" of his Hawi li al-fatawa:

Al-Barizi mentions in Tawthiq `ura al-iman [Qari in al- Mirqat also mentions that Rawyani and Ibn `Asakir relate it on the authority of Ibn `Abbas] that the Prophet, Peace be upon him, used to wear the qalansuwa [cap] under the `imama [turban], and he used to wear the qalansuwa without the `imama, and he used to wear the `imama without the qalansuwa, and he used to wear the qalansuwa with handles [in metal] during war. Very often he used to wear a harqaniyya or black turban on his journeys and to wear it with i`tijar [completely covered from head to foot with a single cloth], and in i`tijar one wears something underneath the turban. It is probable that it was not the turban but a `isaba [tied headcloth, as opposed to the kufiyya, which is worn loose] on his head and forehead. He had a turban which, when he tied it on, was referred to as al-sahab [the clouds] with which he dressed `Ali ibn Abi Talib, and when `Ali came out the Prophet would say: "`Ali has come to you among the clouds," meaning that he was wearing the turban which he gave him. This is what Barizi mentions. al-Qazzaz says that the qalansuwa is a ghisha'un mubattan [lined covering] one uses to conceal the head, and Bayhaqi [also Tabarani and Qari] related from Ibn `Umar that the Prophet, Peace be upon him, used to wear a white qalansuwa. All that has been said indicates that what the Prophet and the Companions used to wear under the `imama was the qalansuwa.

As for the length of the noble `imama, it was not established in a hadith. Bayhaqi related in Shu`ab al-iman from Abu `Abd al-Salam that the latter said: "I asked Ibn `Umar, how did the Prophet wear the `imama?" He replied: "He used to wind the `imama around his head and tuck it in the back and let its tail dangle between his shoulder- blades." This indicates that it was several arms in length, evidently around ten arm-lengths or a little bit more.(58)

Ibn al-Qayyim and al-Qari (in Jam` al-Wasa'il) say that wearing a very large turban exposes the head to hardship, that a small one protects neither from heat nor from the cold, and that the size of the Prophet's turban was between the two. Finally, the latter quotes the author of al-Madkhal as saying: "You must put on the sarwal while sitting and the turban while standing." And Allah knows best.

References

(2) Not to be confused with the `araqiyya or "perspiration-cap," the small white cap nowadays called taqiyya and meant to be worn under the qalansuwa and `imama, not instead of them.

(3) Tirmidhi (hasan), Book of knowledge; al-Baghawi, Sharh al-sunna 1:233.

(4) Tirmidhi (hasan gharib), Book of knowledge.

(5) al-Mundhiri, al-Targhib 1:87; al-Hakim

(6) al-Munawi, Commentary on Tirmidhi's al-Shama'il.

(7) Bayhaqi, al-Sunan al-kubra 5:245; Ibn al-Athir, Usd al-ghaba 3:341; Dhahabi, Siyar a`lam al-nubala' 3:213; al-Qal`aji, Mawsu`at fiqh ibn `Umar p. 52.

(8) Ahmad ibn Idris al-Sanhaji al-Qarafi (626/1228-684/1285), an exact contemporary of Nawawi and like him an Ash`ari jurist and hadith scholar.

(9) Bukhari, Book of Jihad #45.

(10) English translation of Bukhari, Volume 9, Book 92, Number 401.

(11) Bukhari, Book of Ablution, hadith of Ja`far ibn `Amr's father.

(12) Muslim and Abu Dawud. The first part is also in Tirmidhi (hasan), Ibn Majah, and Nasa'i.

Qari said in Jam` al-wasa'il fi sharh al-shama'il: Some of the ulama have concluded from this hadith that it is permissible to wear black, although the Prophet said: "Your best garments are the white ones." Jazari said, "Black indicates the religion which does not change, like black does not change, as opposed to other colors." However, when al-Rashid asked Imam al-Awza`i about wearing black he said: "It is disliked [this is Ghazali's opinion also], because the bride does not rejoice in it, the pilgrim does not wear it for talbiya, and the dead are not buried in it." Nawawi said: "The hadith shows that it is permitted in the khutba, although white is better." End of al-Qari's comments.

(13) Muslim, Tirmidhi, Abu Dawud, Nasa'i, and Ibn Majah.

(14) Abu Dawud and Tirmidhi: Allahumma, laka al-hamd, anta kasawtanih, as'aluka khayrahu wa khayra ma suni`a lahu, wa a`udhu bika min sharrihi wa sharri ma ma suni`a lah.

(15) However, Albani was quoted in al-Qawl al-mubin fi akhta' al-musallin by Mashhur Hussain to say: "Praying bareheaded is makruh (disliked)." (page 58 of the 2nd edition, 1993).

(16) al-Jazayri, al-Fiqh `ala al-madhahib al-arba`a, Kitab al- Salat p. 280-281n.

(17) Abu Dawud with a sound chain (Book of Friday Prayer) and Malik in the Muwatta', Book of the call to prayer. Malik also narrates that Abu Hurayra was asked whether a man may pray in one garment and he said "Yes, I pray in one garment while my clothes are on the clothes-rack."

(18) Narrated with a sound chain by Abu Dawud in the Book of Garments and al-Nasa'i in the Book of Ornaments. Ahmad narrates something similar in his Musnad.

(19) Narrated with a sound chain by Abu Dawud in the Book of Garments and Ahmad in his Musnad.

(20) Bukhari, Book of prayer (cf. English version vol. 1, Bk. 8, #361): Narrated Abu Hurayra: A man stood up and asked the Prophet about praying in a single garment. The Prophet said, "Has everyone of you two garments?" A man put a similar question to `Umar whereupon he replied: "When Allah makes you wealthier then you should act wealthier. Let a man gather up his clothes about himself. One can pray in a loinwrap and mantle, or a loinwrap and shirt, or in a loinwrap and long sleeves, or in trousers and a cloak, or in trousers and a shirt, or in trousers and long sleeves, or in legless breeches and long sleeves, or in shorts and a shirt." The narrator added: "And I think he said: "Or in shorts and a cloak."

(21) Ibn Qudama, al-Mughni (1994 ed.) 1:404-405.

(22) Ibn Hajar, Fath al-Bari (1989 ed.) 1:627.

(23) Narrated by Haytami his al-Khayrat al-hisan p. 56.

(24) al-Khatib, Tarikh Baghdad 13:263.

(25) Tirmidhi (hasan sahih), Book of Jana'iz; Nasa'i, Book of ornaments; Abu Dawud, Tibb and Libas; Ibn Majah, Libas and Jana'iz; Musnad Ahmad; and Tabarani 12:65.

(26) See the references provided by Nuh Keller in his biographical notice for Nawawi in the Reliance of the Traveller.

(27) Ibn al-Qayyim, Rawdat al-muhibbin p. 225.

(28) Ibn al-Jawzi, Sifat al-safwa 2(4):10 (#570).

(29) al-Shurunbali in Muhammad Abul Quasem, Salvation of the Soul and Islamic Devotions (London: Kegan Paul) p. 91.

(30) al-Misri in Reliance of the Traveller p. 122.

(31) Ibn Qudama, al-Mughni (1994 ed.) 1:404-405.

(32) Ibn Abi Zayd, al-Jami` fi al-sunan (1982 ed.) p. 228.

(33) Narrated by Abu Dawud (Libas) and Ahmad (2:50, 2:92) with a chain which has some weakness according to Sakhawi in al- Maqasid al-hasana, however he states that its authenticity is verified by other narrations. Also narrated by Ibn Abi Shayba in his Musannaf (5:313), Ibn Hajar in Fath al-Bari 10:274 [Dar al-Fikr ed.], and Ibn Kathir in his Tafsir (8:53). `Iraqi said its chain is sound (sahih). al-Bazzar also relates it through Hudhayfa and Abu Hurayra, Abu Nu`aym through Anas, and al-Quda`i relates it through Tawus, a chain which Ibn Hibban declared sahih. Ibn Taymiyya in his Iqtida' al-siratal- mustaqim (p. 82) calls Abu Dawud's and Ahmad's chain "a good chain."

(34) al-Najm al-Razi relates it from al-`Askari on the authority of Humayd al-Tawil. al-`Ajluni mentions it in Kashf al-khafa (#2436).

(35) Ibn Taymiyya, Iqtida' as-sirat al-mustaqim (1907 ed.) p. 60. This particular passage, for some reason, was left out of the English translation of the Iqtida' entitled Ibn Taymiyya's Struggle Against Popular Religion (1976).

(36) al-Turtushi, Siraj al-muluk p. 282.

(36.1) (added after publication) Narrated by Ibn Abi Zayd in al-Jami` fi al-sunan (1982 ed.) p. 228.

(37) Narrated in Tabarani's al-Mu`jam al-kabir (1:162), Bazzar's Zawa'id, al-Hakim's Mustadrak (4:193), al-Khatib al- Baghdadi's Tarikh Baghdad (11:394), and Ibn `Asakir's Tahdhib tarikh dimashq al-kabir (5:178).

(38) Haythami, Majma` al-zawa'id 5:119.

(39) Ibn al-Jawzi, al-Mawdu`at 3:45.

(40) Suyuti, al-La'ali' al-masnu`a fi al-al-Ahadith al-mawdu`a 2:139; Ibn `Iraq, Tanzih al-shari`a min al-ahadith al-mawdu`a 2:271.

(41) See Ibn `Adi's al-Kamil fi du`afa' al-rijal 6:2082 and Kanz al-`ummal #41135-6.

(42) Ibn Abi Zayd, al-Jami` fi al-sunan (1982 ed.) p. 229.

(43) al-Kawthari, Maqalat (Riyad: Dar al-ahnaf, 1414/1993) p. 201-218.

(44) Bukhari, English ed. 9:50.

(45) Sound (sahih) hadith related through various chains by Ibn Majah, Muqaddima 12, and Ahmad 4:355, 382, 5:250, 253, 256, 269.

(46) Bukhari and Muslim have more than one form of this hadith.

(47) Imam Muhammad Ibn `Abidin, Hashiyat radd al-muhtar `ala al-durr al-mukhtar, 3:309 "Bab al-Bughat" [Chapter on Rebels].

(48) Bayhaqi, Sunan al-kubra 2:236.

(49) Tirmidhi (hasan gharib). Mubarkafuri said: "It appears to be fair (hasan)."

(50) al-Munawi, Commentary on the Chapter entitled "Concerning the Prophet's Turban" in Tirmidhi's Book al-Shama'il.

(51) al-Mubarkafuri, Tuhfat al-ahwadhi, chapter on the turban.

(52) al-Qari, Jam` al-Wasa'il, chapter on the turban.

(53) al-Mubarkafuri, Tuhfat al-ahwadhi, chapter on the turban.

(54) al-Mubarkafuri, Tuhfat al-ahwadhi, chapter on the turban.

(55) al-Munawi, Commentary on Tirmidhi's al-Shama'il.

(56) al-Qari and al-Munawi, commentaries on the chapter on the Prophet's turban in Tirmidhi's al-Shama'il.

(57) al-Zabidi, Ithaf al-sadat al-muttaqin 3:253.

(58) Suyuti, al-Hawi li al-fatawi (Beirut: Dar al-kutub al- `ilmiyya, 1395/1975) p. 72-73.

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