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The Prophet (saas)'s manner of dress

4840 2008/02/05 2024/11/08
his companions have handed down a great many details about the prophet (saas)'s manner of dress. in addition to these, the prophet (saas)'s advice to the believers about how they should dress reveal the importance he attached to this subject. for example, one hadith reports him as saying:

"no one who has even an atom's-weight of pride in his heart will enter paradise." a man asked him, "what if he likes his clothes and shoes to look good?" (meaning, is this counted as pride?) the prophet (saas) said: "allah is beautiful and loves beauty. pride means denying the truth and looking down on other people."94

he regarded dressing well and looking good as a demonstration of the blessings of allah:

"allah loves to see the result of his blessing on his creatures."95

jundub ibn makith (r.a.) said:

"whenever a delegation came to meet the messenger of allah, he would wear his best clothes and order his leading companions to do likewise. i saw the prophet (saas) on the day that the delegation of kindah came to meet him; he was wearing a yemeni garment, and abu bakr and 'umar were dressed similarly."96

another hadith relates:

"eat what you like, and wear what you like provided that it is free from two things : extravagance and vainglory."97

the prophet (saas) would immediately warn any of his companions who were unkempt or failed to care for their appearance. one story on the subject is from 'ata 'ibn yassar (ra):

"the messenger of allah was in the mosque, when a man with unkempt hair and an untidy beard came in. the prophet (saas) pointed to him, as if indicating to him that he should tidy up his hair and beard. the man went and did so, then returned. the prophet (saas) said, 'is this not better than that any one of you should come with unkempt hair?'"98

according to the hadith narrated by one of the companions of the prophet (saas), the prophet (saas) told his companions, when they were travelling to meet some brothers in faith:

"you are going to visit your brothers, so repair your saddles and make sure that you are dressed well, so that you will stand out among people like an adornment, for allah does not love ugliness."99

some of the information that was conveyed through the inner circle of the prophet (saas) about his clothing are below:

umar (ra) relates:

"i saw the messenger of allah (saas) ask for a new garment. he put it on, and when it reached his knees he said, 'praise be to allah, who has given me clothes with which to cover myself and make myself look beautiful in this life.'"100

umm salama (ra) reports that:

"the holy prophet (saas) liked kurta (long shirt) most."101

qurrah bin ilyaas (ra) describes:

"i came with a group from the tribe of muzeenah to pay allegiance to rasulullah (saas). the button loop of rasulullah (saas) was open."102

al-bara' ibn 'azib (ra) states:

"i have never seen someone with long hair and red clothing more handsome than rasullullah (saas). his hair reached his shoulders."103

another report comes from fazl ibn abbas (ra):

"the holy prophet (saas) said: 'adopt white clothes; it is the best attire.'"104

aisha (ra) reported that:

"allah's apostle (saas) went out one morning wearing a cloak made of (camel's or sheep's) black hair with patterns of camel saddles upon it."105

 

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