Clothing is described by Islam as a means of protection of the body, but also beautification. While Muslims often emphasise that clothing should be a mark of dignity, decorum and modesty - ‘modesty’ can sometimes be confused with austerity. The Qur’an actively encourages Muslims to dress well in public: ‘O children of Adam! Wear your beautiful apparel at every place of worship, and eat and drink, but do not be wasteful, verily, He does not love the wasteful. Say, “who is there to forbid the beauty which God has brought forth for His creatures and the good things from among the means of sustenance”…’ (Qur’an, 7:31-32). Hence, even in the most conservative of societies one can see even women wearing clothing laced with coloured or elaborate linings, or even Calvin Klein branded headscarves!
There is no such thing as ‘Islamic clothes’ – one can see wide regional variations in Muslim culture and perhaps in no greater area than clothing and fashion – Islam simply requires that clothes cover the body, adorning the person in a dignified way. Perhaps the most discussed aspect of clothing pertaining to Muslims is related to women and ‘the veil’. Some very conservative cultures interpret ‘modesty’ to mean that women must cover their faces in public, for others modesty means covering the head and for others still modesty is relative to the culture of the day and simply means not wearing ‘revealing’ clothing.
It is worth noting that the style and form of Arab clothes worn at the advent of Islam were shared by Muslims and non-Muslims of that society and reflected the culture of that time and region as well as the environmental limitations and needs of a desert climate.
-Dilwar Hussain
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