Doshiza
Doshiza
Friday, 4 March 2011
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Muslim Wedding Ceremony
Muslim Wedding Ceremony
Muslim wedding ceremony is celebrated with grandeur. Muslim wedding, known as 'Nikaah' in Urdu, can take place at any convenient time, because there is nothing like muhurat (the auspicious time) for the Muslims. Traditionally, the Muslim wedding is held at either the bride or the groom's home. However, in the present time, due to convenience and the availability of enough space to accommodate the long list of guests, Muslim weddings are organized in banquet halls, auditorium as well as community centers. Wherever the wedding is held, all the rituals of the three phases of wedding are strictly followed by the Muslims.
Muslim wedding is divided into pre-wedding, wedding and post-wedding rituals. Pre-wedding rituals largely involve the exchange of sweets, fruits and visits to the bride and groom's houses. The pre-wedding rituals increase the level of excitement among the families of the bride and groom, who keenly look forward to the wedding day. The wedding is organized in an elegant and charming way, while the culmination of the entire ceremony, known as post wedding rituals, is special in its own terms. If you are keen about knowing more about Muslim wedding, then go through our section, where we have provided detailed information on the rituals of Muslim wedding.
Muslim Pre-Wedding Rituals
Known as 'Nikah' in Urdu, the Muslim marriage is the most important ceremony for the Islam. It is a much awaited occasion, wherein the union of two souls is celebrated in an elegant and charming way. It is not just restricted to a single day. The formal procedures are divided into pre-wedding, wedding and post wedding, each being different from the other.
Muslim Wedding Rituals
Wedding is an important turning point in everyone's life. The ceremonious occasion is organized and celebrated in myriad ways all around the world. Different communities of the society have their own way of organizing the most important occasion. The wedding rituals are broadly divided according to the religions.
Muslim Post-Wedding Rituals
In India, wedding is something that cannot be restricted to a single-day celebration. People in different communities, following different religions, have their own way of honoring the newly wed couple, post marriage. The post-wedding rituals followed by Muslims are divided into four phases, wherein the bride is bid goodbye by her family and is welcomed to her 'new home', by the groom's family.
Muslim wedding ceremony is celebrated with grandeur. Muslim wedding, known as 'Nikaah' in Urdu, can take place at any convenient time, because there is nothing like muhurat (the auspicious time) for the Muslims. Traditionally, the Muslim wedding is held at either the bride or the groom's home. However, in the present time, due to convenience and the availability of enough space to accommodate the long list of guests, Muslim weddings are organized in banquet halls, auditorium as well as community centers. Wherever the wedding is held, all the rituals of the three phases of wedding are strictly followed by the Muslims.
Muslim wedding is divided into pre-wedding, wedding and post-wedding rituals. Pre-wedding rituals largely involve the exchange of sweets, fruits and visits to the bride and groom's houses. The pre-wedding rituals increase the level of excitement among the families of the bride and groom, who keenly look forward to the wedding day. The wedding is organized in an elegant and charming way, while the culmination of the entire ceremony, known as post wedding rituals, is special in its own terms. If you are keen about knowing more about Muslim wedding, then go through our section, where we have provided detailed information on the rituals of Muslim wedding.
Muslim Pre-Wedding Rituals
Known as 'Nikah' in Urdu, the Muslim marriage is the most important ceremony for the Islam. It is a much awaited occasion, wherein the union of two souls is celebrated in an elegant and charming way. It is not just restricted to a single day. The formal procedures are divided into pre-wedding, wedding and post wedding, each being different from the other.
Muslim Wedding Rituals
Wedding is an important turning point in everyone's life. The ceremonious occasion is organized and celebrated in myriad ways all around the world. Different communities of the society have their own way of organizing the most important occasion. The wedding rituals are broadly divided according to the religions.
Muslim Post-Wedding Rituals
In India, wedding is something that cannot be restricted to a single-day celebration. People in different communities, following different religions, have their own way of honoring the newly wed couple, post marriage. The post-wedding rituals followed by Muslims are divided into four phases, wherein the bride is bid goodbye by her family and is welcomed to her 'new home', by the groom's family.
Marriage (Nikah) in Islam
Marriage (Nikah) in Islam
Added Aug 10, 2003
So... marriage....What is it? What does the Qur'an say about it?
The Prophet (s.a.) was once asked, "What is more important than prayer?" He replied, "The spirit of prayer" - the spirit that animates the prayer. He was asked what is more important than fasting - he replied, the spirit of fasting. For each question concerning an Islamic practise the answer was the same - because the spirit brings the action to life and unfolds its potentials. Without this animating spirit, the prayer is only movement, and the fasting only hunger. But when spirit enters, when a pure and concentrated intention enters, the action is transformed - the prayer gains the potential to become a miraj (an elevating spiritual journey), and the one fasting approaches towards the potential to witness laylatul qadr (the night of destiny - a night when blessings from the spiritual world descend to this world).
So what is more important than marriage? It is the spirit of marriage, the intention which underlies it, the treasures which it contains hidden within it but which must be brought out and realized by the married couple themselves.
The qur'an provides the signposts and waymarks for learning about this potential. It says:
"It is He who created you from a single soul, And made its mate of like nature in order that you might dwell with her in love...."(7:189) So the male and female complete each other - together they make a single self and this is how they must strive to make their lives together - as if they are one being, one person, one spirit.
The Qur'an says: "Your wives are a garment for you, and you are a garment for them." (2:187) So a husband and wife complete each other - each one takes on a new aspect of their humanity, a new facet and depth to their personality by entering into marriage and this is symbolized in this verse. Garments also conceal the body and protect the wearer so that a husband and wife are each other's protectors and helpers and each of them safeguards their partner's honor shaping the state of marriage into a haven and a sanctuary where each should feel safe and secure, sheltered in one another's care and guardianship.
The qur'an also says "And of everything we created a pair, that happily you may remember." (Qur'an 51:49) The word for spouse, "zawj", (this is the word that is used in the marriage ceremony, the Nikkah ceremony) - the word zawj literally means one part of a pair - and when the pair come together and act in concert with one another, then concealed potentials within them, potentials that were impossible to realize while they were apart make themselves evident. This is true throughout creation. And human marriage in the Qur'an is considered a reflection of a nature and tendency that exists at all levels of creation. When something is created as one part of a pair it is clearly incomplete without the other - as the Qur'an states, "He himself created the pair, male and female." (Qur'an 53:45)
The term nikkah which is used for marriage is also used figuratively to describe the coming together of various aspects of creation. For example it says, in the Qur'an, that "the rain married the soil" and then it describes how, from this intimate mingling, something new springs forth - that the earth brings forth flowers and herbage, it opens to new creations, new life, new potentials. So the act of marriage, the mingling through nikah, according to Islam, courses through all things, through all of creation. Each pair of the marriage brings something necessary and something unique to the marriage. The pairs are not identical but complimentary to one another and their unique qualities when they are mingled together produce that which neither one alone could produce.
So each individual of the pair undergoes change and transformation when they come together in marriage because marriage is an intimate mingling of the selves, the souls, the personalities and the beings of two individuals.
In human marriage the change takes place at many levels - from a change in lifestyle, to changes in behavior, to changes in the very soul of the person. And there must be that willingness, on the part of both individuals, to allow this unifying transformation to take place. To accept the self the way it is, is to lock oneself into stagnation and narrowness and to remain an individual - not part of an intimately joined pair. It is to limit and lock up the potential, the beauty and strength that is capable of emerging from the intimate unity made possible through marriage.
Since "God created everything in pairs", as it states in the Qur'an, and since He "created the male and the female from a single nature, from a single self", it is God that is the point of reference for the married pair. "He has set up the balance..." of all things, so He is to be looked for to set all things in the right equilibrium. If the two partners of a marriage set themselves in correct relation to God then certainly a perfect balance will be realized within their lives together.
Love is a movement towards unity, towards oneness, and since God is One, "the closer the heart is to Oneness, the stronger the power of love is within it."
Love is a movement towards unity, towards oneness. "God made their hearts familiar" (8:63) through the light of Oneness that yields spiritual love and familiarity in the heart. For love is the shadow of Oneness, familiarity the shadow of love, and balance the shadow of familiarity."
Let this married couple be helpers and protectors of one another, let them be a refuge and a comfort to one another, let them be beautiful garments for one another, and let them together experience the many treasures and beauties of marriage.
Added Aug 10, 2003
So... marriage....What is it? What does the Qur'an say about it?
The Prophet (s.a.) was once asked, "What is more important than prayer?" He replied, "The spirit of prayer" - the spirit that animates the prayer. He was asked what is more important than fasting - he replied, the spirit of fasting. For each question concerning an Islamic practise the answer was the same - because the spirit brings the action to life and unfolds its potentials. Without this animating spirit, the prayer is only movement, and the fasting only hunger. But when spirit enters, when a pure and concentrated intention enters, the action is transformed - the prayer gains the potential to become a miraj (an elevating spiritual journey), and the one fasting approaches towards the potential to witness laylatul qadr (the night of destiny - a night when blessings from the spiritual world descend to this world).
So what is more important than marriage? It is the spirit of marriage, the intention which underlies it, the treasures which it contains hidden within it but which must be brought out and realized by the married couple themselves.
The qur'an provides the signposts and waymarks for learning about this potential. It says:
"It is He who created you from a single soul, And made its mate of like nature in order that you might dwell with her in love...."(7:189) So the male and female complete each other - together they make a single self and this is how they must strive to make their lives together - as if they are one being, one person, one spirit.
The Qur'an says: "Your wives are a garment for you, and you are a garment for them." (2:187) So a husband and wife complete each other - each one takes on a new aspect of their humanity, a new facet and depth to their personality by entering into marriage and this is symbolized in this verse. Garments also conceal the body and protect the wearer so that a husband and wife are each other's protectors and helpers and each of them safeguards their partner's honor shaping the state of marriage into a haven and a sanctuary where each should feel safe and secure, sheltered in one another's care and guardianship.
The qur'an also says "And of everything we created a pair, that happily you may remember." (Qur'an 51:49) The word for spouse, "zawj", (this is the word that is used in the marriage ceremony, the Nikkah ceremony) - the word zawj literally means one part of a pair - and when the pair come together and act in concert with one another, then concealed potentials within them, potentials that were impossible to realize while they were apart make themselves evident. This is true throughout creation. And human marriage in the Qur'an is considered a reflection of a nature and tendency that exists at all levels of creation. When something is created as one part of a pair it is clearly incomplete without the other - as the Qur'an states, "He himself created the pair, male and female." (Qur'an 53:45)
The term nikkah which is used for marriage is also used figuratively to describe the coming together of various aspects of creation. For example it says, in the Qur'an, that "the rain married the soil" and then it describes how, from this intimate mingling, something new springs forth - that the earth brings forth flowers and herbage, it opens to new creations, new life, new potentials. So the act of marriage, the mingling through nikah, according to Islam, courses through all things, through all of creation. Each pair of the marriage brings something necessary and something unique to the marriage. The pairs are not identical but complimentary to one another and their unique qualities when they are mingled together produce that which neither one alone could produce.
So each individual of the pair undergoes change and transformation when they come together in marriage because marriage is an intimate mingling of the selves, the souls, the personalities and the beings of two individuals.
In human marriage the change takes place at many levels - from a change in lifestyle, to changes in behavior, to changes in the very soul of the person. And there must be that willingness, on the part of both individuals, to allow this unifying transformation to take place. To accept the self the way it is, is to lock oneself into stagnation and narrowness and to remain an individual - not part of an intimately joined pair. It is to limit and lock up the potential, the beauty and strength that is capable of emerging from the intimate unity made possible through marriage.
Since "God created everything in pairs", as it states in the Qur'an, and since He "created the male and the female from a single nature, from a single self", it is God that is the point of reference for the married pair. "He has set up the balance..." of all things, so He is to be looked for to set all things in the right equilibrium. If the two partners of a marriage set themselves in correct relation to God then certainly a perfect balance will be realized within their lives together.
Love is a movement towards unity, towards oneness, and since God is One, "the closer the heart is to Oneness, the stronger the power of love is within it."
Love is a movement towards unity, towards oneness. "God made their hearts familiar" (8:63) through the light of Oneness that yields spiritual love and familiarity in the heart. For love is the shadow of Oneness, familiarity the shadow of love, and balance the shadow of familiarity."
Let this married couple be helpers and protectors of one another, let them be a refuge and a comfort to one another, let them be beautiful garments for one another, and let them together experience the many treasures and beauties of marriage.
Drink Up! Some Facts About Coca-Cola
Drink Up! Some Facts About Coca-Cola
contributed by Ayman Abdelgawad, expanded by Wael Abdelgawad
Almost everybody loves cola, right? As I'm writing this we are in the sacred month of Ramadhan, and if your masjid is like most others, that brown bubbly stuff is served right along with Iftar every evening. We keep on drinking it all year long, from cans, bottles and soda fountains by the gallon. But what do we really know about this mysterious sweet liquid, aside from the fact that it tastes good and makes your burp? I'd like to present you with a few very interesting facts about coke which may make you think twice the next time you feel like wetting your palate.
Cola was first invented in the late 1880s by Dr. John Styth Pemberton, a pharmacist, in a three legged brass pot. At first it contained cocaine, which was legal at the time (hence the name "Coca"-Cola.) When cocaine became illegal it was replaced with caffeine, which had a similar effect of stimulating the body and creating an addiction. By 1895 it was consumed in every state and territory in the United States. Today, it can be found in 195 countries, and is consumed more than 773,000,000 times a day around the world (and that's not even counting other brands such as Pepsi, RC Cola, and Shasta).
SOME COCA-COLA FACTS AND USES:
1. Colas contains citric acid and are therefore very corrosive. In many states the highway patrol carries two gallons of Coke in the truck to remove blood from the highway after a car accident.
2. You can put a t-bone steak in a bowl of Coke and it will be gone in two days.
3. To clean a toilet: Pour a can of Coca-Cola into the toilet bowl. Let the "real thing" sit for one hour, then flush clean.
4. The citric acid in Coke removes stains from vitreous china.
5. To remove rust spots from chrome car bumpers: rub the bumper with a crumpled-up piece of Reynolds Wrap aluminum foil dipped in Coca-Cola.
6. To clean corrosion from car battery terminals: Pour a can of Coca-Cola over the terminals to bubble away the corrosion.
7. To loosen a rusted bolt: Applying a cloth soaked in Coca-Cola to the rusted bolt for several minutes.
8. To bake a moist piece of meat: Empty a can of Coca-Cola into the baking pan; wrap the meat in aluminum foil, and bake. Thirty minutes before the meat is finished, remove the foil, allowing the drippings to mix with the Coke for a sumptuous brown gravy.
9. To remove grease from clothes: Empty a can of coke into a load of greasy clothes, add detergent, And run through a regular cycle. The Coca-Cola will help loosen grease stains. It will also clean road haze from your windshield.
10. The active ingredient in Coke is phosphoric acid. It's pH is 2.8. It will dissolve a nail in about 4 days.
11. To carry Coca Cola syrup (the concentrate) the commercial truck must use the Hazardous material place cards reserved for Highly Corrosive materials.
12. The distributors of coke have been using it to clean the engines of their trucks for about 20 years!
So that's what you're putting on your teeth and in your mouth: a substance so acidic and corrosive it can dissolve blood, steaks, china stains, rust, grease and even iron. If that doesn't bother you, then drink up! And make sure you have a good dentist, because you'll need one.
Articles
contributed by Ayman Abdelgawad, expanded by Wael Abdelgawad
Almost everybody loves cola, right? As I'm writing this we are in the sacred month of Ramadhan, and if your masjid is like most others, that brown bubbly stuff is served right along with Iftar every evening. We keep on drinking it all year long, from cans, bottles and soda fountains by the gallon. But what do we really know about this mysterious sweet liquid, aside from the fact that it tastes good and makes your burp? I'd like to present you with a few very interesting facts about coke which may make you think twice the next time you feel like wetting your palate.
Cola was first invented in the late 1880s by Dr. John Styth Pemberton, a pharmacist, in a three legged brass pot. At first it contained cocaine, which was legal at the time (hence the name "Coca"-Cola.) When cocaine became illegal it was replaced with caffeine, which had a similar effect of stimulating the body and creating an addiction. By 1895 it was consumed in every state and territory in the United States. Today, it can be found in 195 countries, and is consumed more than 773,000,000 times a day around the world (and that's not even counting other brands such as Pepsi, RC Cola, and Shasta).
SOME COCA-COLA FACTS AND USES:
1. Colas contains citric acid and are therefore very corrosive. In many states the highway patrol carries two gallons of Coke in the truck to remove blood from the highway after a car accident.
2. You can put a t-bone steak in a bowl of Coke and it will be gone in two days.
3. To clean a toilet: Pour a can of Coca-Cola into the toilet bowl. Let the "real thing" sit for one hour, then flush clean.
4. The citric acid in Coke removes stains from vitreous china.
5. To remove rust spots from chrome car bumpers: rub the bumper with a crumpled-up piece of Reynolds Wrap aluminum foil dipped in Coca-Cola.
6. To clean corrosion from car battery terminals: Pour a can of Coca-Cola over the terminals to bubble away the corrosion.
7. To loosen a rusted bolt: Applying a cloth soaked in Coca-Cola to the rusted bolt for several minutes.
8. To bake a moist piece of meat: Empty a can of Coca-Cola into the baking pan; wrap the meat in aluminum foil, and bake. Thirty minutes before the meat is finished, remove the foil, allowing the drippings to mix with the Coke for a sumptuous brown gravy.
9. To remove grease from clothes: Empty a can of coke into a load of greasy clothes, add detergent, And run through a regular cycle. The Coca-Cola will help loosen grease stains. It will also clean road haze from your windshield.
10. The active ingredient in Coke is phosphoric acid. It's pH is 2.8. It will dissolve a nail in about 4 days.
11. To carry Coca Cola syrup (the concentrate) the commercial truck must use the Hazardous material place cards reserved for Highly Corrosive materials.
12. The distributors of coke have been using it to clean the engines of their trucks for about 20 years!
So that's what you're putting on your teeth and in your mouth: a substance so acidic and corrosive it can dissolve blood, steaks, china stains, rust, grease and even iron. If that doesn't bother you, then drink up! And make sure you have a good dentist, because you'll need one.
Articles
Yes, but You Have a Better Personality
Yes, but You Have a Better Personality":
or,
How NOT to Answer Your Wife's Five Trickiest Questions
(Editor's note: This article was originally written for a non-Muslim magazine, so a few of the remarks are a bit inconsistent with Islamic culture. But I thought it was funny enough to reprint.)
There are five questions that, for the sake of world peace, wives should really never ask their husbands. They should know better. The sad truth however, is that they DO ask these questions, frequently and with quite an innocent attitude, as if the questions just popped into their heads and do not carry the emotional charge of cluster bombs. So it is extremely important that we husbands should be prepared to answer these questions correctly, so that we do not find ourselves on the wrong ends of blunt instruments.
The five questions are:
"What are you thinking?"
"Do you love me?"
"Do I look fat?"
"Do you think she is prettier than me?"
"What would you do if I died?"
What makes these questions so bad is that every one is guaranteed to explode into a major argument and/or divorce if you, the man, do not answer properly, which is to say dishonestly. For example:
1. "What are you thinking?"
The proper answer to this question, of course is, "I'm sorry if I've been pensive, dear. I was just reflecting on what a warm, wonderful, caring, thoughtful, intelligent, beautiful woman you are and what a lucky guy I am to have met you." Obviously, this statement bears no resemblance whatsoever to what you were really thinking at the time, which was most likely one of five things:
a - Football.
b - Baseball.
c - A fantasy involving Hawaii, a Ferrari and your high school sweetheart.
d - How much weight your wife has gained since you got married.
e - How you would spend the insurance money if your wife died.
The best answer to this stupid question came from Al Bundy, of Married With Children, who was asked it by his wife, Peg:
"If I wanted you to know," Al said, "I'd be talking instead of thinking."
However, you are not advised to use this answer.
The other questions also have only one right answer but many wrong answers:
2. "Do you love me?"
The correct answer to this question is, "Yes." For those guys who feel the need to be more elaborate, you may answer, "Yes, dear."
Wrong answers include:
a - I suppose so.
b - Would it make you feel better if I said yes?
c - That depends on what you mean by "love".
d - Does it matter?
e - Who, me?
3. "Do I look fat?"
The correct male response to this question is to confidently and emphatically state, "No, of course not!" and then quickly leave the room.
Wrong answers include:
a - I wouldn't call you fat, but I wouldn't call you thin either.
b - Compared to what?
c - A little extra weight looks good on you.
d - I've seen fatter.
e - Could you repeat the question? I was thinking about your insurance policy.
4. "Do you think she's prettier than me?"
The "she" in the question could be an ex-girlfriend, a passer-by you were staring at so hard that you almost caused a traffic accident or an actress in a movie you just saw. In any case, the correct response is, "No, you are much prettier."
Wrong answers include:
a - Not prettier, just pretty in a different way.
b - I don't know how one goes about rating such things.
c - Yes, but I bet you have a better personality.
d - Only in the sense that she's younger and thinner.
e - Could you repeat the question? I was thinking about your insurance policy.
5. "What would you do if I died?"
Correct answer: "Dearest love, in the event of your untimely demise, life would cease to have meaning for me and I would perforce hurl myself under the front tires of the first Domino's Pizza truck that came my way." This might be the stupidest question of the lot, as is illustrated by the following stupid joke:
"Dear," said the wife. "What would you do if I died?"
"Why, dear, I would be extremely upset," said the husband. "Why do you ask such a question?"
"Would you remarry?" persevered the wife.
"No, of couse not, dear" said the husband.
"Don't you like being married?" said the wife.
"Of course I do, dear" he said.
"Then why wouldn't you remarry?"
"Alright," said the husband, "I'd remarry."
"You would?" said the wife, looking vaguely hurt.
"Yes" said the husband.
"Would you sleep with her in our bed?" said the wife after a long pause.
"Well yes, I suppose I would." replied the husband.
"I see," said the wife indignantly. "And would you let her wear my old clothes?"
"I suppose, if she wanted to," said the husband.
"Really," said the wife icily. "And would you take down the pictures of me and replace them with pictures of her?"
"Yes. I think that would be the correct thing to do."
"Is that so?" said the wife, leaping to her feet. "And I suppose you'd let her play with my golf clubs, too!"
"Of course not, dear," said the husband. "She's left-handed
or,
How NOT to Answer Your Wife's Five Trickiest Questions
(Editor's note: This article was originally written for a non-Muslim magazine, so a few of the remarks are a bit inconsistent with Islamic culture. But I thought it was funny enough to reprint.)
There are five questions that, for the sake of world peace, wives should really never ask their husbands. They should know better. The sad truth however, is that they DO ask these questions, frequently and with quite an innocent attitude, as if the questions just popped into their heads and do not carry the emotional charge of cluster bombs. So it is extremely important that we husbands should be prepared to answer these questions correctly, so that we do not find ourselves on the wrong ends of blunt instruments.
The five questions are:
"What are you thinking?"
"Do you love me?"
"Do I look fat?"
"Do you think she is prettier than me?"
"What would you do if I died?"
What makes these questions so bad is that every one is guaranteed to explode into a major argument and/or divorce if you, the man, do not answer properly, which is to say dishonestly. For example:
1. "What are you thinking?"
The proper answer to this question, of course is, "I'm sorry if I've been pensive, dear. I was just reflecting on what a warm, wonderful, caring, thoughtful, intelligent, beautiful woman you are and what a lucky guy I am to have met you." Obviously, this statement bears no resemblance whatsoever to what you were really thinking at the time, which was most likely one of five things:
a - Football.
b - Baseball.
c - A fantasy involving Hawaii, a Ferrari and your high school sweetheart.
d - How much weight your wife has gained since you got married.
e - How you would spend the insurance money if your wife died.
The best answer to this stupid question came from Al Bundy, of Married With Children, who was asked it by his wife, Peg:
"If I wanted you to know," Al said, "I'd be talking instead of thinking."
However, you are not advised to use this answer.
The other questions also have only one right answer but many wrong answers:
2. "Do you love me?"
The correct answer to this question is, "Yes." For those guys who feel the need to be more elaborate, you may answer, "Yes, dear."
Wrong answers include:
a - I suppose so.
b - Would it make you feel better if I said yes?
c - That depends on what you mean by "love".
d - Does it matter?
e - Who, me?
3. "Do I look fat?"
The correct male response to this question is to confidently and emphatically state, "No, of course not!" and then quickly leave the room.
Wrong answers include:
a - I wouldn't call you fat, but I wouldn't call you thin either.
b - Compared to what?
c - A little extra weight looks good on you.
d - I've seen fatter.
e - Could you repeat the question? I was thinking about your insurance policy.
4. "Do you think she's prettier than me?"
The "she" in the question could be an ex-girlfriend, a passer-by you were staring at so hard that you almost caused a traffic accident or an actress in a movie you just saw. In any case, the correct response is, "No, you are much prettier."
Wrong answers include:
a - Not prettier, just pretty in a different way.
b - I don't know how one goes about rating such things.
c - Yes, but I bet you have a better personality.
d - Only in the sense that she's younger and thinner.
e - Could you repeat the question? I was thinking about your insurance policy.
5. "What would you do if I died?"
Correct answer: "Dearest love, in the event of your untimely demise, life would cease to have meaning for me and I would perforce hurl myself under the front tires of the first Domino's Pizza truck that came my way." This might be the stupidest question of the lot, as is illustrated by the following stupid joke:
"Dear," said the wife. "What would you do if I died?"
"Why, dear, I would be extremely upset," said the husband. "Why do you ask such a question?"
"Would you remarry?" persevered the wife.
"No, of couse not, dear" said the husband.
"Don't you like being married?" said the wife.
"Of course I do, dear" he said.
"Then why wouldn't you remarry?"
"Alright," said the husband, "I'd remarry."
"You would?" said the wife, looking vaguely hurt.
"Yes" said the husband.
"Would you sleep with her in our bed?" said the wife after a long pause.
"Well yes, I suppose I would." replied the husband.
"I see," said the wife indignantly. "And would you let her wear my old clothes?"
"I suppose, if she wanted to," said the husband.
"Really," said the wife icily. "And would you take down the pictures of me and replace them with pictures of her?"
"Yes. I think that would be the correct thing to do."
"Is that so?" said the wife, leaping to her feet. "And I suppose you'd let her play with my golf clubs, too!"
"Of course not, dear," said the husband. "She's left-handed
Hijab Causes Rickets
Hijab Causes Rickets?
By Jimmy James
In response to a recent article claiming that adherence to Islamic dress in women causes rickets due to lack of sun exposure, I would like to add something. First I would like to mention that the article is incomplete. You're probably thinking, "How so, old chap?" Well it would be my pleasure to enlighten you.
First of all, everyone knows that you only need a few minutes of sun exposure a day. You can even get this at your home when you are in more casual clothes. Think about it, who does not get sunlight in their homes?
Well that was a short first point, wasn't it?
Second of all, I would like to mention that non-adherence to Islamic law can be hazardous to your health, and may cause problems in pregnant women, their children, and/or the elderly. If you walk around not covered properly and conservatively, because of your excess exposure to the sun in combination with the depleting ozone, you are more than likely to develop all kinds of cancers from lymphomas to melanomas. Please notice that not only do these illnesses rhyme, but I also said "more than likely" not "maybe". Yes, that is the truth, skin cancers and their derivatives are quite common and easy to get. Praise Allah and cover up.
Lastly, in relation to this topic, and just to make myself look smart; what about all those other crazy Islamic laws that prevent you from having fun? Well I'll fiddle with a few and see what I get.
Let's start with alcohol: here you can get everything form cirrhosis to hepatomegaly…trust me everything in between is just as bad.
Next is fornication and adultery: sure, sex is fun and all, but even I can't name all the sexually transmitted diseases out there. And what about the resultant accidental pregnancies, and you know the chances of getting pregnant are always high, that's why the world is so overpopulated.
So, that was fun and I give anyone permission to reprint this article to make people look
By Jimmy James
In response to a recent article claiming that adherence to Islamic dress in women causes rickets due to lack of sun exposure, I would like to add something. First I would like to mention that the article is incomplete. You're probably thinking, "How so, old chap?" Well it would be my pleasure to enlighten you.
First of all, everyone knows that you only need a few minutes of sun exposure a day. You can even get this at your home when you are in more casual clothes. Think about it, who does not get sunlight in their homes?
Well that was a short first point, wasn't it?
Second of all, I would like to mention that non-adherence to Islamic law can be hazardous to your health, and may cause problems in pregnant women, their children, and/or the elderly. If you walk around not covered properly and conservatively, because of your excess exposure to the sun in combination with the depleting ozone, you are more than likely to develop all kinds of cancers from lymphomas to melanomas. Please notice that not only do these illnesses rhyme, but I also said "more than likely" not "maybe". Yes, that is the truth, skin cancers and their derivatives are quite common and easy to get. Praise Allah and cover up.
Lastly, in relation to this topic, and just to make myself look smart; what about all those other crazy Islamic laws that prevent you from having fun? Well I'll fiddle with a few and see what I get.
Let's start with alcohol: here you can get everything form cirrhosis to hepatomegaly…trust me everything in between is just as bad.
Next is fornication and adultery: sure, sex is fun and all, but even I can't name all the sexually transmitted diseases out there. And what about the resultant accidental pregnancies, and you know the chances of getting pregnant are always high, that's why the world is so overpopulated.
So, that was fun and I give anyone permission to reprint this article to make people look
Silver Linings for a Muhajjabah
Silver Linings for a Muhajjabah
by Sister Hafidha
Reprinted from Jannah.org
You know the saying, "In every cloud there's a silver lining." In other words, every bad thing contains within it a small blessing of some kind. In this tongue-in-cheek article, sister Hafidha points out some of the silver linings of being a hijab-wearing Muslim woman in the West.
Assalaamu 'alaykoum
I was on my way to the grocery store today when I came to a busy intersection. Many cars were wanting to turn onto the street that I was crossing. I paused to let a car go because I figured "Maybe he/she is in a hurry; I can wait an extra second or two." But then we ended up doing that little hand-wavy dance:
"No, go ahead."
"No, you go ahead."
"No, no, you go ahead!"
You know what I mean.
So finally I went ahead, and as I was stepping out of the crosswalk into the curb, the person in the car leaned out the window. I noticed he was a young middle eastern man with a cellular phone. He said to me (over the traffic noise) "Because you are a Muslim!"
Well, that got me thinking. About the pros and cons - and the silver linings - of being a muhajjibah, and of being recognized as a Muslim. I decided to share some of them with you all.
CON: Sometimes bums assume that I am a religious person, so they try to get me to feel sorry for them so I'll give them money.
SILVER LINING: Extra opportunity for barakaat and da'wah.
CON: Strange men yelling "ALI BABA ALI BABA!" or "GO HOME IRAQI B*******!" as they drive by in their pickups.
SILVER LINING: Barakaat for the trials those fools put me though. *sob* *sob*
CON: It's very hard for me to blend in at some places, like the county fairs; people look at me like I don't belong there, and I feel awkward.
SILVER LINING: I don't dare enter a bar or nightclub.
CON: I can't show off my hair.
SILVER LINING: When it rains, I don't get "the frizzies."
CON: Sometimes I am mistaken for a nun.
SILVER LINING: I get to hear non Muslims refer to me as "sister."
CON: Little kids stare at me rather rudely.
SILVER LINING: I get to startle them by smiling and waving. Then I get to see them smile and wave back, too.
CON: People don't bother to invite me to their parties.
SILVER LINING: I don't have to go to people's parties.
CON: Sometimes Muslims see me and look away like they are sorry they saw me.
SILVER LINING: Once in a while, I'll meet a Muslim who maybe isn't practicing, but is very happy to see me and he will say to me, "It makes my heart feel good to meet a good Muslim." (Not that wearing hijab necessarily makes me such a good Muslim, but it's the thought that counts!)
by Sister Hafidha
Reprinted from Jannah.org
You know the saying, "In every cloud there's a silver lining." In other words, every bad thing contains within it a small blessing of some kind. In this tongue-in-cheek article, sister Hafidha points out some of the silver linings of being a hijab-wearing Muslim woman in the West.
Assalaamu 'alaykoum
I was on my way to the grocery store today when I came to a busy intersection. Many cars were wanting to turn onto the street that I was crossing. I paused to let a car go because I figured "Maybe he/she is in a hurry; I can wait an extra second or two." But then we ended up doing that little hand-wavy dance:
"No, go ahead."
"No, you go ahead."
"No, no, you go ahead!"
You know what I mean.
So finally I went ahead, and as I was stepping out of the crosswalk into the curb, the person in the car leaned out the window. I noticed he was a young middle eastern man with a cellular phone. He said to me (over the traffic noise) "Because you are a Muslim!"
Well, that got me thinking. About the pros and cons - and the silver linings - of being a muhajjibah, and of being recognized as a Muslim. I decided to share some of them with you all.
CON: Sometimes bums assume that I am a religious person, so they try to get me to feel sorry for them so I'll give them money.
SILVER LINING: Extra opportunity for barakaat and da'wah.
CON: Strange men yelling "ALI BABA ALI BABA!" or "GO HOME IRAQI B*******!" as they drive by in their pickups.
SILVER LINING: Barakaat for the trials those fools put me though. *sob* *sob*
CON: It's very hard for me to blend in at some places, like the county fairs; people look at me like I don't belong there, and I feel awkward.
SILVER LINING: I don't dare enter a bar or nightclub.
CON: I can't show off my hair.
SILVER LINING: When it rains, I don't get "the frizzies."
CON: Sometimes I am mistaken for a nun.
SILVER LINING: I get to hear non Muslims refer to me as "sister."
CON: Little kids stare at me rather rudely.
SILVER LINING: I get to startle them by smiling and waving. Then I get to see them smile and wave back, too.
CON: People don't bother to invite me to their parties.
SILVER LINING: I don't have to go to people's parties.
CON: Sometimes Muslims see me and look away like they are sorry they saw me.
SILVER LINING: Once in a while, I'll meet a Muslim who maybe isn't practicing, but is very happy to see me and he will say to me, "It makes my heart feel good to meet a good Muslim." (Not that wearing hijab necessarily makes me such a good Muslim, but it's the thought that counts!)
Muslims Try to Balance Traditions and Culture on the Path to Marriage
Muslims Try to Balance Traditions and Culture on the Path to Marriage
by Michelle Boorstein, Washington Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, May 27, 2008
As Imam of one of the Washington region's largest mosques, Mohamed Magid counsels married couples, including those with a problem he sees among Muslim Americans: husbands and wives who were virtual strangers before they wedded.
Islamic practice bans unsupervised dating, and in transient 2008 America, traditional Muslims may wind up far from families who once oversaw the connection of two single people. Many African American Muslims are converts and do not have Muslim relatives who can help with the process.
A few years ago, Magid, imam of the All Dulles Area Muslim Society in Sterling, started something new: required premarital counseling for people who marry at the mosque. His wife recently launched a singles program meant to honor modesty and cut to the chase: participants meet in groups to discuss scriptural problems, read stories, and make lists of what they think are the most important characteristics for a Muslim wife or husband in the United States.
Although premarital counseling and singles programs are common for some faith groups, they are new in U.S. mosques, placing Magid and his wife on the vanguard of a drive to update Muslim practices and institutions surrounding marriage. The movement stems from concern among many Muslim American leaders that families are not keeping up with cultural changes, leading people to divorce and marry multiple times, or become alienated either from Islam or from mainstream American life.
Key issues include what Islam says about interfaith marriage, how well Muslims can know each another before they marry, and what the modern version is of a "wali," or guardian, a figure in Islam who is supposed to help women pick the right husbands.
"Generation gaps, cultural differences when people from the United States marry someone from overseas, interfaith marriage -- the issue of marriage is one of the most important in Islam here right now," Magid said. "Anytime there is a program at the mosque about these things, it's completely packed."
A commonly discussed problem is the surplus of single Muslim women. This stems partly from Islamic practice's broader acceptance of men marrying outside the faith than women.
Daisy Khan, a New York activist who counsels couples with her husband, an imam, organized a Valentine's Day event for singles -- 15 men and 63 women attended. Although she used to feel torn about interfaith marriage, she is now concerned that women will either be left unmarried or leave their faith. She tries to connect Muslim couples but also thinks pious Muslim women should be able to marry non-Muslims who also are pious.
"It's my obligation to shift a little, to give a little because it's important for them to stay within the faith," she said. "You have to clear up the mandate of: What is God's mission? I see God's hand in this."
In a Pew Research Center poll of Muslim Americans released last year, 54 percent of women said interfaith marriage is acceptable, compared with 70 percent of men.
Marriage practices are a growing issue among Muslims in part because melding into the mainstream is increasingly their goal, experts said. This is true for many first- and second-generation Muslims and U.S.-born converts. It is a complex balance, however, testing relations between parents and children and within new couples.
Many Muslim dating and marriage traditions exist to promote sexual reserve, particularly among women, but in 2008, separation between potential mates has lost its cultural moorings.
"It creates these experiences of weirdness where you're more comfortable with [non-Muslim] John at work than Mohamed" at the mosque, said Zarinah El Amin-Naeem, 28, an anthropologist.
The Muslim Alliance in North America, a national group made up largely of prominent black Muslims, held its first national conference in the fall and named marriage reform as one of its top priorities. A concern is the rush into marriage, either to have sex or because structures that once screened potential spouses, such as close-knit, large families and cultural isolation, have diminished.
"In Islamic culture there is no dating and no kind of middle ground, so the sense is, if this person is a good person, let's get married. The impulse isn't to prolong a courting relationship. Our advocacy is it needs to be prolonged somewhat," said Ihsan Bagby, co-founder of the Muslim Alliance in North America.
Issues related to marriage play out differently across the Muslim American community. The problem of strangers marrying is more common among African American Muslims than among immigrant families because many are converts and might not have families involved in their faith lives, experts said. Tensions surrounding interfaith marriages are more common among Muslims from South Asia, who tend to be more traditional, than those from Africa or Turkey.
And, of course, many Muslims are secular or are liberal about their faith, perhaps using a Muslim dating Web site such as naseeb.com but not agonizing over premarital sex or seeking a wali. Even for non-observant Muslims, however, "when it comes to the issue of marriage, because Muslim families tend to be so involved, there is more tradition involved than in other aspects of their lives," said Dalia Mogahed, executive director of the Gallup Center for Muslim Studies.
Interfaith marriage is a huge topic with wide cultural ramifications. Because Islamic tradition, not law, holds that a Muslim man can intermarry but not a woman, a substantial gender gap in the dating pool has opened as children and grandchildren of immigrants have grown up.
The Quran says for Muslims to marry "believers," the meaning of which has long been the source of great debate but has been widely interpreted to include Christians and Jews. Although the Quran does not address the gender issue directly, tradition has held that women are more easily subjugated, and therefore a Muslim woman in an interfaith marriage could be forced by a Christian or Jew to live and raise her children outside of Islam, while a Muslim man in an interfaith relationship would be able to control the household's faith.
Abdullahi Ahmed An-Na'im, an Islamic family law expert at Emory University, argues that gender dynamics have changed in a way that makes interfaith marriage more reasonable under Islamic tradition. "In social reality today, men are not dominant in the marriage relationship. The rationale of historic rule is no longer valid," he said. "But people are not willing to accept this. This is a major source of tensions."
Qur'an Shakir, who runs national Muslim dating events and writes a column on Muslim dating, said a lot of people debate the value of a dowry today, even as a symbolic commitment, while others think that the position of wali should be updated to be more like a relationship mentor and less like a guardian, and that men should have walis, too.
"People need to be open to different interpretations of the Quran," she said.
by Michelle Boorstein, Washington Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, May 27, 2008
As Imam of one of the Washington region's largest mosques, Mohamed Magid counsels married couples, including those with a problem he sees among Muslim Americans: husbands and wives who were virtual strangers before they wedded.
Islamic practice bans unsupervised dating, and in transient 2008 America, traditional Muslims may wind up far from families who once oversaw the connection of two single people. Many African American Muslims are converts and do not have Muslim relatives who can help with the process.
A few years ago, Magid, imam of the All Dulles Area Muslim Society in Sterling, started something new: required premarital counseling for people who marry at the mosque. His wife recently launched a singles program meant to honor modesty and cut to the chase: participants meet in groups to discuss scriptural problems, read stories, and make lists of what they think are the most important characteristics for a Muslim wife or husband in the United States.
Although premarital counseling and singles programs are common for some faith groups, they are new in U.S. mosques, placing Magid and his wife on the vanguard of a drive to update Muslim practices and institutions surrounding marriage. The movement stems from concern among many Muslim American leaders that families are not keeping up with cultural changes, leading people to divorce and marry multiple times, or become alienated either from Islam or from mainstream American life.
Key issues include what Islam says about interfaith marriage, how well Muslims can know each another before they marry, and what the modern version is of a "wali," or guardian, a figure in Islam who is supposed to help women pick the right husbands.
"Generation gaps, cultural differences when people from the United States marry someone from overseas, interfaith marriage -- the issue of marriage is one of the most important in Islam here right now," Magid said. "Anytime there is a program at the mosque about these things, it's completely packed."
A commonly discussed problem is the surplus of single Muslim women. This stems partly from Islamic practice's broader acceptance of men marrying outside the faith than women.
Daisy Khan, a New York activist who counsels couples with her husband, an imam, organized a Valentine's Day event for singles -- 15 men and 63 women attended. Although she used to feel torn about interfaith marriage, she is now concerned that women will either be left unmarried or leave their faith. She tries to connect Muslim couples but also thinks pious Muslim women should be able to marry non-Muslims who also are pious.
"It's my obligation to shift a little, to give a little because it's important for them to stay within the faith," she said. "You have to clear up the mandate of: What is God's mission? I see God's hand in this."
In a Pew Research Center poll of Muslim Americans released last year, 54 percent of women said interfaith marriage is acceptable, compared with 70 percent of men.
Marriage practices are a growing issue among Muslims in part because melding into the mainstream is increasingly their goal, experts said. This is true for many first- and second-generation Muslims and U.S.-born converts. It is a complex balance, however, testing relations between parents and children and within new couples.
Many Muslim dating and marriage traditions exist to promote sexual reserve, particularly among women, but in 2008, separation between potential mates has lost its cultural moorings.
"It creates these experiences of weirdness where you're more comfortable with [non-Muslim] John at work than Mohamed" at the mosque, said Zarinah El Amin-Naeem, 28, an anthropologist.
The Muslim Alliance in North America, a national group made up largely of prominent black Muslims, held its first national conference in the fall and named marriage reform as one of its top priorities. A concern is the rush into marriage, either to have sex or because structures that once screened potential spouses, such as close-knit, large families and cultural isolation, have diminished.
"In Islamic culture there is no dating and no kind of middle ground, so the sense is, if this person is a good person, let's get married. The impulse isn't to prolong a courting relationship. Our advocacy is it needs to be prolonged somewhat," said Ihsan Bagby, co-founder of the Muslim Alliance in North America.
Issues related to marriage play out differently across the Muslim American community. The problem of strangers marrying is more common among African American Muslims than among immigrant families because many are converts and might not have families involved in their faith lives, experts said. Tensions surrounding interfaith marriages are more common among Muslims from South Asia, who tend to be more traditional, than those from Africa or Turkey.
And, of course, many Muslims are secular or are liberal about their faith, perhaps using a Muslim dating Web site such as naseeb.com but not agonizing over premarital sex or seeking a wali. Even for non-observant Muslims, however, "when it comes to the issue of marriage, because Muslim families tend to be so involved, there is more tradition involved than in other aspects of their lives," said Dalia Mogahed, executive director of the Gallup Center for Muslim Studies.
Interfaith marriage is a huge topic with wide cultural ramifications. Because Islamic tradition, not law, holds that a Muslim man can intermarry but not a woman, a substantial gender gap in the dating pool has opened as children and grandchildren of immigrants have grown up.
The Quran says for Muslims to marry "believers," the meaning of which has long been the source of great debate but has been widely interpreted to include Christians and Jews. Although the Quran does not address the gender issue directly, tradition has held that women are more easily subjugated, and therefore a Muslim woman in an interfaith marriage could be forced by a Christian or Jew to live and raise her children outside of Islam, while a Muslim man in an interfaith relationship would be able to control the household's faith.
Abdullahi Ahmed An-Na'im, an Islamic family law expert at Emory University, argues that gender dynamics have changed in a way that makes interfaith marriage more reasonable under Islamic tradition. "In social reality today, men are not dominant in the marriage relationship. The rationale of historic rule is no longer valid," he said. "But people are not willing to accept this. This is a major source of tensions."
Qur'an Shakir, who runs national Muslim dating events and writes a column on Muslim dating, said a lot of people debate the value of a dowry today, even as a symbolic commitment, while others think that the position of wali should be updated to be more like a relationship mentor and less like a guardian, and that men should have walis, too.
"People need to be open to different interpretations of the Quran," she said.
Putting Their Faith in Islam
Putting Their Faith in Islam
Around 30,000 women in Switzerland have converted to Islam, according to a recent report by an organisation for women.
By Jean-Michel Berthoud; Reprinted from Swissinfo, December 2004
In an interview with swissinfo, Monica Nur Sammour-Wüst, one of those to have made the switch, speaks about her beliefs and her life as a Muslim in Switzerland.
Although raised as a Protestant, 35-year-old Nur Sammour-Wüst feels she has always been a Muslim.
She converted to Islam over a decade ago and looks back to an event in Sunday school as a harbinger of the change that was to come.
“The teacher told us that God sees and hears everything, but that he sent his son Jesus as an intermediary to the world,” she recalls.
“I went home and told my mother that if God sees and hears everything, I don’t need a mediator.”
“Now, as a Muslim, if I pray for help, I pray directly,” says Nur Sammour-Wüst. “Direct communication with God is a basic tenet of Islam.”
Fear of death
In 1991, at the age of 22, she met and married her first husband, a Lebanese.
“During that time I was always asking myself questions, especially about death. I didn’t find the answers I sought in Christianity – there, death is a taboo subject.”
Her husband, on the other hand, who had lived through war, did not understand the Western fear of death – although, like her, he was only 22.
“For him, everything was clear, because in Islam death is clearly defined.”
“I started to learn more about Islam, and at one point suddenly I knew. I already believed in God, in the prophets, in the angels, in predestination, in resurrection. I was already Muslim, I just had never realised it. In 1992 I officially converted.”
After her first husband died in a car accident, Nur Sammour-Wüst remarried – again to a Lebanese. But after six years they divorced.
Muslim family
Now a single mother, she is raising her son and two daughters as Muslims.
“I am responsible for them – also religiously – until they are 18 years old,” she says. “At home we live and practise Islam, and the children accept it. I think it’s normal for them.”
And should one of her children no longer want anything to do with Islam?
“My most fervent wish to God is that this does not happen. It would be awful for me, because to me Islam is a way of life. It is not like a shirt that you simply change.”
Still, she feels religion and belief cannot be forced on anyone. “If, in the worst case, a child no longer wants anything to do with Islam, then upon reaching adulthood he or she must take responsibility for that decision.”
No exception
A common preconception is that Muslim women sit at home and are not allowed to go out in public. Nur Sammour-Wüst, who leads an active life, denies she is an exception because she is Swiss.
“In the time of the prophet Mohammed, 1,400 years ago, women were politically and intellectually active. The notion of house-bound women tied to the stove is patriarchal, not religious.”
According to Nur Sammour-Wüst, Muslim women in Switzerland often complain that they face more problems than their Swiss counterparts who have converted to Islam.
She puts much of this down to a failure to learn the language.
“They absolutely have to learn German,” she says. “The Prophet Mohammed also said that when you live somewhere, learn the language that the people speak so you can communicate.”
“In my view, if Muslim women live in Switzerland, they should be able to speak the language. If they learn German, constructive discussions can take place.”
Around 30,000 women in Switzerland have converted to Islam, according to a recent report by an organisation for women.
By Jean-Michel Berthoud; Reprinted from Swissinfo, December 2004
In an interview with swissinfo, Monica Nur Sammour-Wüst, one of those to have made the switch, speaks about her beliefs and her life as a Muslim in Switzerland.
Although raised as a Protestant, 35-year-old Nur Sammour-Wüst feels she has always been a Muslim.
She converted to Islam over a decade ago and looks back to an event in Sunday school as a harbinger of the change that was to come.
“The teacher told us that God sees and hears everything, but that he sent his son Jesus as an intermediary to the world,” she recalls.
“I went home and told my mother that if God sees and hears everything, I don’t need a mediator.”
“Now, as a Muslim, if I pray for help, I pray directly,” says Nur Sammour-Wüst. “Direct communication with God is a basic tenet of Islam.”
Fear of death
In 1991, at the age of 22, she met and married her first husband, a Lebanese.
“During that time I was always asking myself questions, especially about death. I didn’t find the answers I sought in Christianity – there, death is a taboo subject.”
Her husband, on the other hand, who had lived through war, did not understand the Western fear of death – although, like her, he was only 22.
“For him, everything was clear, because in Islam death is clearly defined.”
“I started to learn more about Islam, and at one point suddenly I knew. I already believed in God, in the prophets, in the angels, in predestination, in resurrection. I was already Muslim, I just had never realised it. In 1992 I officially converted.”
After her first husband died in a car accident, Nur Sammour-Wüst remarried – again to a Lebanese. But after six years they divorced.
Muslim family
Now a single mother, she is raising her son and two daughters as Muslims.
“I am responsible for them – also religiously – until they are 18 years old,” she says. “At home we live and practise Islam, and the children accept it. I think it’s normal for them.”
And should one of her children no longer want anything to do with Islam?
“My most fervent wish to God is that this does not happen. It would be awful for me, because to me Islam is a way of life. It is not like a shirt that you simply change.”
Still, she feels religion and belief cannot be forced on anyone. “If, in the worst case, a child no longer wants anything to do with Islam, then upon reaching adulthood he or she must take responsibility for that decision.”
No exception
A common preconception is that Muslim women sit at home and are not allowed to go out in public. Nur Sammour-Wüst, who leads an active life, denies she is an exception because she is Swiss.
“In the time of the prophet Mohammed, 1,400 years ago, women were politically and intellectually active. The notion of house-bound women tied to the stove is patriarchal, not religious.”
According to Nur Sammour-Wüst, Muslim women in Switzerland often complain that they face more problems than their Swiss counterparts who have converted to Islam.
She puts much of this down to a failure to learn the language.
“They absolutely have to learn German,” she says. “The Prophet Mohammed also said that when you live somewhere, learn the language that the people speak so you can communicate.”
“In my view, if Muslim women live in Switzerland, they should be able to speak the language. If they learn German, constructive discussions can take place.”
Islamic Marriage Contract Upheld
Islamic Marriage Contract Upheld
Pact found to meet 'neutral principles of law'
By Jim Edwards
Source: New Jersey Law Journal
July 1st, 2002
Abed Awad represented Houida Saadeh in the New Jersey case.
image: Carmen Natale
In New Jersey's first substantive decision on Islamic Law, a Passaic County judge ruled last Monday that a religious, dowry-style contract signed by two Muslims at their marriage is enforceable upon their divorce.
Superior Court Judge John Selser enforced the "mahr" (MAH-her) that H. Saadeh and her husband Zuhair Odatalla signed on their wedding day, finding that aspects of the religious code were acceptable under "neutral principles of law." Odatalla v. Odatalla, FM-000366-01.
The agreement called for an "Islamic Law Dower" of one golden pound coin and $10,000 in U.S. dollars "postponed." In Islamic Law, the postponed portion of a mahr is usually payable after a set time period, the death of the husband or divorce.
Selser noted that in addition to the mahr notation on the Islamic marriage license, the negotiations between the two families before its signing had been videotaped as part of the ceremony, and two witnesses signed the agreement.
Such a detailed record allowed Selser to conclude, "All of the essential elements of a contract are present. . . . the Mahr Agreement in the case at bar is nothing more and nothing less than a simple contract between two consenting adults."
The ruling, which took Selser two and a half months to write, also indulges in a fair amount of dicta about New Jersey's changing demographics. Selser wrote that "the challenge faced by our courts today is in keeping abreast of the evolution of our community from a mostly homogenous group of religiously and ethnically similar members, to today's diverse community. The United States has experienced a significant immigration of diverse people from Japan, China, Korea, the Middle East, South America; who are Catholics, Jews, Muslims, Bhuddists to name a few. Can our constitutional principles keep abreast of these changes in the fabric of our community?"
Clifton solo practitioner Abed Awad, who represented the plaintiff wife, hails the ruling as a breakthrough. "It essentially sets the stage for Islamic mahr agreements to be considered valid contractual obligations which are enforceable. And this particular ruling is the most consistent with Islamic Law."
In other jurisdictions, courts have treated mahr agreements to a mixed reaction. New York and Florida have recognized them, but California has struck them down as against public policy.
The husband's lawyer, Thomas Raimondi of Afflitto, Raimondi & Afflitto in Wayne, had argued that enforcing the mahr would violate the First Amendment's prohibition against establishment of religion by the state.
Selser's decision "is of no consequence for New Jersey's divorce laws," he says. "Since the judge took the mahr agreement and treated it as a contract rather than a religious custom, the issue of church and state has been removed from the issue."
Raimondi and his client have not decided whether to appeal.
Legally significant or not, the decision will have some interesting consequences for New Jersey Muslims, Muslim lawyers say.
Awad notes that the ruling gives Islamic clerics court-ordered clout. "I think it will be welcomed in the Muslim community, mainly by women from our community, as they have been accustomed to seeking the intervention of the religious cleric, or the imam in the mosque, who may well order the husband to pay the mahr agreement. But his obligation to pay is an ethical and moral obligation, with no enforcement mechanism.
"So many poor women can't go and ask for [their mahr]. I have one case where a husband would not give her a divorce unless she gave it up. It's just not fair," Awad says.
Adds Sohail Mohammed, another Clifton solo practitioner, "It's going to go a long way in the community, especially for the imams. They needed some sort of assurance or guidance . . . [it] basically forecloses any dispute or challenge later on. So from the beginning it's going provide teeth for the imam. . . . What argument will [errant husbands] have to say, 'we didn't think this was the law or public policy?' That argument is shot now."
Awad notes that Selser ruled on the mahr separately from the equitable distribution of the couple's assets and debts. "The most significant aspect of this decision is that unlike New York or Florida and other jurisdictions that incorrectly construed the mahr agreement as a prenup, Judge Selser's interpretation of the mahr agreement is the most consistent with Islamic law," he says.
Selser's ruling actually makes no statement on whether a mahr is a prenuptial agreement, leaving that question to be raised in future cases.
"It's simply avoiding the issue that it's going to have to address in the future. It's going to lead the court right back to the same situation, which is to enforce it as a prenup. I think the court took the easy route," says Hamdi Rifai of Rifai & Associates in Newark. Wives "shouldn't be entitled to some sort of additional amount as some sort of side-agreement. If at all, it should function like a prenup.
"I personally disagree with the opinion because oftentimes these are not negotiated agreements," Rifai adds.
Pact found to meet 'neutral principles of law'
By Jim Edwards
Source: New Jersey Law Journal
July 1st, 2002
Abed Awad represented Houida Saadeh in the New Jersey case.
image: Carmen Natale
In New Jersey's first substantive decision on Islamic Law, a Passaic County judge ruled last Monday that a religious, dowry-style contract signed by two Muslims at their marriage is enforceable upon their divorce.
Superior Court Judge John Selser enforced the "mahr" (MAH-her) that H. Saadeh and her husband Zuhair Odatalla signed on their wedding day, finding that aspects of the religious code were acceptable under "neutral principles of law." Odatalla v. Odatalla, FM-000366-01.
The agreement called for an "Islamic Law Dower" of one golden pound coin and $10,000 in U.S. dollars "postponed." In Islamic Law, the postponed portion of a mahr is usually payable after a set time period, the death of the husband or divorce.
Selser noted that in addition to the mahr notation on the Islamic marriage license, the negotiations between the two families before its signing had been videotaped as part of the ceremony, and two witnesses signed the agreement.
Such a detailed record allowed Selser to conclude, "All of the essential elements of a contract are present. . . . the Mahr Agreement in the case at bar is nothing more and nothing less than a simple contract between two consenting adults."
The ruling, which took Selser two and a half months to write, also indulges in a fair amount of dicta about New Jersey's changing demographics. Selser wrote that "the challenge faced by our courts today is in keeping abreast of the evolution of our community from a mostly homogenous group of religiously and ethnically similar members, to today's diverse community. The United States has experienced a significant immigration of diverse people from Japan, China, Korea, the Middle East, South America; who are Catholics, Jews, Muslims, Bhuddists to name a few. Can our constitutional principles keep abreast of these changes in the fabric of our community?"
Clifton solo practitioner Abed Awad, who represented the plaintiff wife, hails the ruling as a breakthrough. "It essentially sets the stage for Islamic mahr agreements to be considered valid contractual obligations which are enforceable. And this particular ruling is the most consistent with Islamic Law."
In other jurisdictions, courts have treated mahr agreements to a mixed reaction. New York and Florida have recognized them, but California has struck them down as against public policy.
The husband's lawyer, Thomas Raimondi of Afflitto, Raimondi & Afflitto in Wayne, had argued that enforcing the mahr would violate the First Amendment's prohibition against establishment of religion by the state.
Selser's decision "is of no consequence for New Jersey's divorce laws," he says. "Since the judge took the mahr agreement and treated it as a contract rather than a religious custom, the issue of church and state has been removed from the issue."
Raimondi and his client have not decided whether to appeal.
Legally significant or not, the decision will have some interesting consequences for New Jersey Muslims, Muslim lawyers say.
Awad notes that the ruling gives Islamic clerics court-ordered clout. "I think it will be welcomed in the Muslim community, mainly by women from our community, as they have been accustomed to seeking the intervention of the religious cleric, or the imam in the mosque, who may well order the husband to pay the mahr agreement. But his obligation to pay is an ethical and moral obligation, with no enforcement mechanism.
"So many poor women can't go and ask for [their mahr]. I have one case where a husband would not give her a divorce unless she gave it up. It's just not fair," Awad says.
Adds Sohail Mohammed, another Clifton solo practitioner, "It's going to go a long way in the community, especially for the imams. They needed some sort of assurance or guidance . . . [it] basically forecloses any dispute or challenge later on. So from the beginning it's going provide teeth for the imam. . . . What argument will [errant husbands] have to say, 'we didn't think this was the law or public policy?' That argument is shot now."
Awad notes that Selser ruled on the mahr separately from the equitable distribution of the couple's assets and debts. "The most significant aspect of this decision is that unlike New York or Florida and other jurisdictions that incorrectly construed the mahr agreement as a prenup, Judge Selser's interpretation of the mahr agreement is the most consistent with Islamic law," he says.
Selser's ruling actually makes no statement on whether a mahr is a prenuptial agreement, leaving that question to be raised in future cases.
"It's simply avoiding the issue that it's going to have to address in the future. It's going to lead the court right back to the same situation, which is to enforce it as a prenup. I think the court took the easy route," says Hamdi Rifai of Rifai & Associates in Newark. Wives "shouldn't be entitled to some sort of additional amount as some sort of side-agreement. If at all, it should function like a prenup.
"I personally disagree with the opinion because oftentimes these are not negotiated agreements," Rifai adds.
Tuesday, 1 March 2011
The Sunnah Clothes, Imaamah (turban), Kufi (cap), Izar (loincloth) and Thawb or
The Sunnah Clothes, Imaamah (turban), Kufi (cap), Izar (loincloth) and Thawb or Qamis (long shirt) in Light of the Quran and Hadith and in the Opinions of the Great Scholars
By Uthman
Reprinted from Ibn Farooq's Islam Page
Introduction
Bismillah Ar Rahman Ar Raheem; was Salatu was Salaam Alaa RasulAllah; Amma ba'd:
Quote of the Month:
"Doing a little of the sunnah is better than striving hard in bid'ah (innovation)."
From Ibn Mas`ood (Radhiallaahu Ánhu)
Assalaam Alaikum Wa Ramatullahi Wa Barakatuhu.
We glorify Allah and ask blessing on and salute on His noble Prophet, his companions and those follow him in upholding the cause of the right religion. It is great Mercy of Allah (s.w.t.) that He has showered with most valuable treasure in this earth, that is Islam, a true guidance.
Contents:
Following the Sunnah in the Light of Quran
The Sticking to the Sunnah from Sahih Hadith
The Imaamah (turban) in Islam
The Kufi (cap) in Islam
The Izar (loincloth) in Islam
The Thawb (long shirt or Qamis) In Islam
Praying Bareheaded (without a turban or kufi)
Statements of the 'Ulamaa' on wearing the clothes of the unbelievers
In the Light of the Quran....
(This tafseer is Agreed upon by Ibn Kathir, Al-Qurtabi and At-Tabari)
The Holy Quran, Sura #3;Ayah #31
"Say (O Muhammad SAW to mankind): 'If you (really) love Allâh then follow me (i.e. accept Islâmic Monotheism, follow the Qur'ân and the Sunnah), Allâh will love you and forgive you of your sins. And Allâh is Oft Forgiving, Most Merciful.'"
The Holy Quran, Sura #33;Ayah #21
"Indeed in the Messenger of Allâh (Muhammad SAW) you have a good example to follow for him who hopes in (the Meeting with) Allâh and the Last Day and remembers Allâh much."
The Holy Quran, Sura #42;Ayah #52
"And thus We have sent to you (O Muhammad SAW) Ruhan (an Inspiration, and a Mercy) of Our Command. You knew not what is the Book, nor what is Faith? But We have made it (this Qur'ân) a light wherewith We guide whosoever of Our slaves We will. And verily, you (O Muhammad SAW) are indeed guiding (mankind) to the Straight Path (i.e. Allâh's religion of Islâmic Monotheism)."
The Holy Quran, Sura #59;Ayah #7
"And whatever the Prophet gives you, ACCEPT IT, and whatever he forbids you, ABSTAIN (from it)"
In the Light of the Sahih Hadith
Sahih Al-Bukhari, Volume 9, Book 92, Hadith # 401
Narrated Ibn `Umar (Radhiallaahu Án): Rasulullah (Sallallaahu Álayhi Wasallam) 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.Note: Look at how strict the Sahaba (Radhiallaahu Án) were in following the Sunnah of Rasulullah (SAW); whatever he did, they followed him.
Abu Dawud and Imaam Ahmad Bin Hanbal
On the authority of Ibn `Umar(Radhiallaahu Án)who said that Rasulullah(Sallallaahu Álayhi Wasallam)said "Whoso resembles a people in appearance, he is one of them."(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." )
Tirmidhi (hasan), Book of knowledge; al-Baghawi, Sharh al-sunnah 1:233.
Rasulullah (Sallallaahu Álayhi Wasallam) said "Whoever gives life to one of my Sunnahs which was eliminated after my time will receive the reward of all those who practice it without their reward being diminished"
Tirmidhi (hasan gharib), Book of knowledge.
Rasulullah (Sallallaahu Álayhi Wasallam) Said "Whoever gives life to one of my Sunnahs, he loves me: and whoever loves me is with me."
Al-Mundhiri, al-Targhib 1:87; Al-Hakim
Rasulullah(Sallallaahu Álayhi Wasallam Said "The keeper of my Sunnah at the time my Community has lapsed into corruption will receive the reward of a martyr."
Al-Bayhaqi, al-Sunan al-kubra 5:245; Ibn al-Athir, Usd al-ghaba 3:341; Dhahabi narrates that Abdullah Ibn `Umar (Radhiallaahu Án), used to dismount in order to walk on the exact same spot the Rasulullah (Sallallaahu Álayhi Wasallam) had put his steps. Note: This is how strict the Sahaba (Radhiallaahu Ánhuma) were in following the Sunnah of Rasulullah (SAW)! And they understood the deen better than us.
The Imaama (Turban) in the Light of Quran, Hadith and Opinions of Great Scholars
Sahih Al-Bukhari Volume #1 pg#536
Ibn Abbas (Radhiallaahu Án) reports that Rasulullah (Sallallaahu Álayhi Wasallam) addresses the Shaba while wearing a black turban.
Sahih Al-Bukhari Volume #1, Book 4, Hadith # 204
Narrated Ja'far bin 'Amr: My father said, "I saw the Prophet (Sallallaahu Álayhi Wasallam) passing wet hands over his turban and Khuffs (leather socks)."
Sahih Al- Muslim Book 2, Hadith # 0535
Narrated Bilal ibn Rabah: Rasulullah (Sallallaahu Álayhi Wasallam) wiped over the socks (khufs) and turban (Imaamah). In the hadith transmitted by Isa ibn Yunus the words are: 'Bilal narrated it to me.
Sahih Al- Muslim Book 7, Hadith # 3146
Narrated Jabir ibn Abdullah: Rasulullah (Sallallaahu Álayhi Wasallam) entered Mecca. Qutaybah stated that he entered Mecca in the Year of Victory, wearing a black turban, but not wearing the Ihram. (also reported by Tirmidhi vol.1 pg 304 and Ibn majah pg205)
Sahih Al- Muslim Book 7, Hadith # 3148
Narrated Amr ibn Hurayth (Radhiallaahu Án) Rasulullah (Sallallaahu Álayhi Wasallam) addressed the people (on the day of the Victory of Mecca) with a black turban on his head.
Sanan Abu Dawood Book 1, Hadith # 0147
Narrated Anas ibn Malik: I saw Rasulullah (Sallallaahu Álayhi Wasallam) perform ablution. He had a Qutri turban. He inserted his hand beneath the turban and wiped over the forelock, and did not untie the turban.
Sanan Abu Dawood Book 32, Hadith # 4027
Narrated Sa'd: I saw a man riding on a white mule and he had a black turban of silk and wool (not pure silk). He said: The Rasulullah (Sallallaahu Álayhi Wasallam) put it (the turban) on me. This is the version of Uthman, and there is the word akhbara in his tradition.
Sanan Abu Dawood Book 32, Hadith # 4068
Narrated AbdurRahman ibn Awf: Rasulullah (Sallallaahu Álayhi Wasallam) put a turban on me and let the ends hang in front of him and behind me.
Tirmidhi from the book Shamaa'il Tirmidhi pg #108 Hadith # 109
Amr bin Hurayth (Radhiallaahu Án) relates that Rasulullah (Sallallaahu Álayhi Wasallam) gave the khutbah and he was wearing a black turban on his head.
Abu Dawood and Tirmidhi
Roknah (Radhiallaahu Án) reports that Rasulullah (Sallallaahu Álayhi Wasallam) said "The distinction between us and the polytheists is the turbans over our caps. Note : Also quoted by Al-Tabrizi in his Mishkat Al-Masabih and this clears up the false notion that this was just the way of the Arabs and not a particular practice of Rasulullah (SAW). This shows us that we should wear caps under our Imaamas to differentiate from the sikhs and other Kuffar who wear turbans but without caps under them.
Tabrani, Haakim and Nahabi have mentioned this to be SAHIH Hadith
Ataa bin Rabaah (Radhiallaahu Án) that Rasulullah (Sallallaahu Álayhi Wasallam) tied a white turban (Imaama) on the head or AbdulRahman ibn Auf (Radhiallaahu Án).
MISHKAT page #377 and also reported by Baihaqi in Shuabul Imaan.
Ubadah (Radhiallaahu Án) reports that Rasulullah (Sallallaahu Álayhi Wasallam) "Make a practice of tying Turbans since it is a hallmark of the angels." Note: Here Rasulullah(SAW) is even advising others to wear the Imaama.
Tabrani
Musa Ashari (Radhiallaahu Án) narrates that Jibraeel would come to Rasulullah (Sallallaahu Álayhi Wasallam) wearing a turban.
Haakim cited in the book Mustadrak Haakim vol34 pg#540
Aisha (Radhiallaahu Ánha) reports a on the occasion of the battle of the trench a man came to Rasulullah (Sallallaahu Álayhi Wasallam) wearing a Turban and when she asked Rasulullah (Sallallaahu Álayhi Wasallam) about this man he informed her this was Jibraeel.
(Haakim has declared this hadith to be SAHIH)
At-Tabrani and Haakim reports this to be reliable Hassan
(Also quoted 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). Also in the book Turban Thowb and kufi by Maulana FazlurRahman on pg#24)
Ibn Abbas (Radhiallaahu Án) reports that Rasulullah(SAW) said "Adopt the Turban as it will increase your Hilm ( good character, intelligence, patience)."
The Opinons of Great Scholars on the Turban
Al-Munawi said in the commentary on Tirmidhi's al-Shama'il.
"The turban is a Sunnah, especially for prayer and for self beautification, because of the many narration's concerning it."
Shaikh-ul-hadith Zakarriya Khandalwi (Rahimahullah)
"The tying of the Turban is a "Sunnate Mustamirrah" (Prepetually adhered to the practice of Rasulullah (Sallallaahu Álayhi Wasallam) and Rasulullah (Sallallaahu Álayhi Wasallam) has enjoined the tying of the turban upon us. It has been reported in the hadith that Rasulullah (Sallallaahu Álayhi Wasallam) said "Tie the turban. it will increase you in forbearance."
Shaikh Muhammad Ibn Jameel Zino (Imam Muhammad Ibn Saud Islamic University) in his book Al-Shamail Al-Muhammadiyyah on page #106)
Headwear are symbols of nations and many Muslims imitate the unbelievers by wearing their head wear. In fact, covering their heads with a Turban, or even a scarf, is better for them and further from resembling the unbelievers.
Maulana Fazlul Karim
(This is from his commentary of Mishkat vol#1 pg#630)
"The holy Prophet (Sallallaahu Álayhi Wasallam) used to wear a Turban and he said that the angels also wear it in the heavens and the turban protects the head and adorns the face."
Murtada al-Zabidi (Rahimahullah)
(In his commentary on Ghazali's Ihya' `ulum al-din entitled Ithaf al-sadat al-muttaqin 3:253.)
"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 Sunnah consists in winding the turban on the head or on top of a qalansuwa (kufi). 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."
The Practice of the Pious Scholars
Ibn Hajar Al-Asqalani (Rahimahullah) mentioned in FathulBaari pg #491 and 493
That Imaam Bukhari and Imaam Muslim both wore Turbans.
Note: that they were not arabs but took this practice as the sunnah of Rasulullah (Sallallaahu Álayhi Wasallam) .
Ibn Al-Jawzi and Ibn Al-Qayyim
(In Rawdat al-muhibbin p. 225.)
"Hasan al-Basri (Rahimahullah) wore a Black Turban"
Imaam Nawawi (Rahimahullah)
( quoted from the biographical notice for Imaam Nawawi in the Reliance of the Traveller.)
"Imaam Nawawi all his life possessed only a thawb (long shirt) and a turban"
The Izar (lungi or waist cloth) in the Light of Quran, Hadith and Opinions of Great Scholars
Sahih Al-Bukhari Volume 7, Book 72, Number 678:
Narrated Abu Huraira (Radhiallaahu Ánhu): Rasulullah (Sallallaahu Álayhi Wasallam) said, "The part of an Izar which hangs below the ankles is in the Fire."
Sahih Al-Bukhari Volume 7, Book 72, Number 681:
Narrated 'Abdullah bin 'Umar (Radhiallaahu Ánhu): Rasulullah (Sallallaahu Álayhi Wasallam) said, "While a man was dragging his Izar (lower cloth) on the ground (behind him), suddenly Allah made him sink into the earth and he will go on sinking into it till the Day of Resurrection."
Sahih Muslim
Abdullah Ibn Umar (Radhiallaahu Ánhu) said "I passed by the Rasulullah (Sallallaahu Álayhi Wasallam) while my lower garment was hanging down, so he (Sallallaahu Álayhi Wasallam) said ' Abdullah, raise your garment.' I raised it, and he told me to raise it further, and I did so. As I was still trying to find the best manner, someone from the people asked where it should reach, and he (Sallallaahu Álayhi Wasallam) replied ' Halfway down the shins.' "This hear clears up the feeble excuse of people saying that they hang their pants and clothes down but not out of pride, here this is Ibn Umar (Radhiallaahu Ánhu) a famous and great sahabi, surely he has more ikhlas than us but still Rasulullah(saw) told him to raise it. And Rasulullah(saw) has shown us that our lower garment should reach the middle of the shin.
Tirmidhi
(from the book Shamaa'il Tirmidhi pg #115 Hadith #114)
Salamah bin Akwa (Radhiallaahu Ánhu) says "Uthman (Radhiallaahu Ánhu) wore his lungi (Izar) till the middle of his shin and said 'This is how Rasulullah (Sallallaahu Álayhi Wasallam) wore his Lungi"(We should note on how the Sahaba were strict in following the dress code of Rasulullah(SAW)! And they did not have pride but still stuck to the Sunnah of Rasulullah (SAW)!
Tirmidhi
(from the book Shamaa'il Tirmidhi pg #115 Hadith #114)
Hudhayfah bin Yamaan (Radhiallaahu Ánhu) reports that "Rasulullah (Sallallaahu Álayhi Wasallam) caught the shin of my leg and said"this is where the lungi should reach and if not then a little further down but if not then it has no right on the ankle."(meaning that it should be above the ankle!)
Abu Dawood and Ibn Majah reported this hadith to be fully authentic.
Abu Sa'id Al-Khudri (Radhiallaahu Ánhu) reprted that he heard Rasulullah (Sallallaahu Álayhi Wasallam) say "The way for a believer to wear the lower garnent is to have it halfway down his shins, and he is not guilty of sin if it comes halfway between that and the ankles, but whatever comes lower than that is in hell (and he repeated this three times). On the day of resurrescton, Allah (swt) will not look at him who trails his lower garment conceitdly."(here we should see the Rasulullah (SAW) has shown us the way for a believer to wear the lower garnent is to have it halfway down his shins and then Rasulullah(saw) aloud it to be from the middle of the shin half way to the ankle but what excuse do we have to drag our pants past our ankles?)
Sahih from Imaam Ahmed Bin Hanbal
The Prophet (Sallallaahu Álayhi Wasallam) saw a man with a long waist-shirt (Izar) and ordered him to have his izaar halfway up his shins; the man gave the excuse that he had a defect in his ankles, so the Prophet (Sallallaahu Álayhi Wasallam) said, "All of Allaah's creation is handsome." (sahih-Ahmad and again this shows the clothing can not go under the ankle even if it is not out of pride!)
The Opinons of Great Scholars on the Izar
Ibn Hajar (RA)
(Expresses his veiw in the book Fath-al-Bari)
In which he sates that it is not permissible for a garment to extend below the ankles. He says: "Al-Qadhi Ayadh quoting the consensus of the Muslim ummah, states that this prohibition is limited to men only."
Shaikh Muhammad Naasir ad-Deen al-Albaani
On the subject of people hanging their clothes past the ankle with the excuses like it is not out of pride.....the Prophet (SAW)saw a man with a long waist-shirt and ordered him to have his izaar halfway up his shins; the man gave the excuse that he had a defect in his ankles, so the Prophet (SAW) said, "All of Allaah's creation is handsome." (Sahih Imaam Ahmad and others. This phrase is actually of Qur'anic origin from Sura Sajdah #32 ayah #7)
Ibn Qayyim(RA)
states that Rasulullah (Sallallaahu Álayhi Wasallam) bought and wore the Izar.
Shaikh-ul-hadith Zakarriya Khandalwi(RA)
(says in the commentary of Shamaa'l Tirmidhi pg #116 )
It is Harram to cover the ankles when wearing a lungi (lower garment) or pants etc..The Ullima say that only those persons are exempt who have a medical condition.
Shaikh Muhammad Ibn Jameel Zino
(Imam Muhammad Ibn Saud Islamic University in his book Al-Shamail Al-Muhammadiyyah on page #106)
"It is forbidden (to wear tight pants), because it reveals the persons private parts; and it is a way of imitating the unbelievers."
The Thowb (Long Shirt or Gown) in the Light of Quran, Hadith and Opinions of Great Scholars
Tirmidhi, Abu Dawood
(and in Mishkat Vol #1 pg# 643)
UmmeSalamah (Radhiallaahu Ánha) reports that the dress most liked by Rasulullah(SAW) was the long gown (thowb). (Tirmadhi has related this to be Hasan with a reliable and authentic chain of narraters)
Sahih Al-Bukhari
(Can be found in the book Mishkat vol #1 pg #630)
Anas (Radhiallaahu Ánhu) reports that the dress most pleasing to Rasulullah (Sallallaahu Álayhi Wasallam) for use was a green-coloured Thowb.
Tirmidhi
(In the book Shamaa'il Tirmidhi Pg #61)
Asmaa bint Yaseed (Radhiallaahu Ánhu) says "The sleeve of the Rasulullah(SAW)'s Thowb reached to the wrist."
AbuDawud Book 28, Number 3869:
Narrated Abdullah ibn Abbas (Radhiallaahu Ánhu): The Prophet (Sallallaahu Álayhi Wasallam) said: Wear your white garments, for they are among your best garments, and shroud your dead in them. Among the best types of collyrium you use is antimony (ithmid): it clears the vision and makes the hair sprout.(Abu Dawud, Imaam Ahmad and other have transmitted this hadith to be sahih with a authrntic and reliable chain of narraters.)
Sahih Al-Bukhari Volume 7, Book 72, Hadith # 717:
Narrated Abu Dharr (Radhiallaahu Ánhu): I came to the Prophet (Sallallaahu Álayhi Wasallam) while he was wearing white clothes.
The Kufi (cap) in the Light of Quran, Hadith and Opinions of Great Scholars
Tabrani And Imaam Suyuti
Ibn Umar (Radhiallaahu Ánhu) narrates that Rasulullah (Sallallaahu Álayhi Wasallam) used to wear a white cap (kufi).Tabrani has reported this hadith to be Hasan (reliable) and Suyuti has classified this hadith as highly authentic(Sahih) in the book Sirajul Muneer vol #4 pg#112)
Sahih Al-Bukhari Volume 2 pg #863
It is mentioned that Anas Bin Malik (Radhiallaahu Ánhu) used to wear a kufie (cap).
Tirmidhi
Roknah (Radhiallaahu Ánhu) reports that Rasulullah (Sallallaahu Álayhi Wasallam) said "The distinction between us and the poluthesists is the turbans over our caps."
Sanun Abu Dawood Book 3, Hadith # 0948:
Narrated Umm Qays bint Mihsan: Hilal ibn Yasaf said: I came to ar-Raqqah (a place in Syria). One of my companions said to me: Do you want to see any of the Companions of the Prophet (Sallallaahu Álayhi Wasallam)? I said: A good opportunity. So we went to Wabisah. I said to my friend: Let us first see his mode of living. He had a cap (kufi).
Bazlul Majhood vol#6 pg#52
Abu Shaikh reports from Ibn Abbas (Radhiallaahu Ánhu) that Rasulullah (Sallallaahu Álayhi Wasallam) had three caps in his possesion.
The Opinons of Great Scholars on the Kufi
Fatwaa Thunaaiyya Vol #4 pg #291
"Rasulullah (Sallallaahu Álayhi Wasallam) always used to keep his head covered during salah."
Fatwaa Thunaaiyya Vol #1 pg #523
"to intentionally remove the headgear (kufi or Imaama) and performing Salah bare-headed is contrary to the sunnah."
Maulana Fazlul Karim
(This is from his commentry of Mishkatvol#1 pg # 630 )
"There are a few hadith about the use of the cap (kufi) by Rasulullah (Sallallaahu Álayhi Wasallam). It should be generally round and even on top."
Statements of 'Ulamaa' on Praying Bareheaded (Without a Turban or Kufi)
Shaikh `Abd al-Qadir Jilani (Allah's mercy be on him)
(From Ghunyat al-talibin 1:14)
"It is the method or habit of orthodox or civilized virtuous men to keep the head covered."
Hanafi Fiqh
(Quoted by Al-Shurunbali in Muhammad Abul Quasem p #91)
It is mustahab or praiseworthy to pray using "three of one's best clothes, a Thawb, Silwar (Sunnah pants), and turban or kufi"
Shafi`i Fiqh
(Quoted by Al-Misri in Reliance of the Traveller p # 122)
"It is mustahab to pray using an ankle-length Thawb and a turban"
Hanbali Fiqh
(Quoted By Ibn Qudama, al-Mughni (1994 ed.) 1:404-405)
"It is mustahab to pray using a Thawb, Silwar (Sunnah pants) or a Izar (loincloth) and a turban"
Malik Fiqh
(Quoted by Ibn Abi Zayd, al-Jami` fi al-sunan (1982 ed.) p. 228)
Imaam 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."
Allamah Jauzi (Allah's mercy be on him)
(From Fatawa Rahimiyya 3:202 #308.)
"To keep the head bare before the people is an act which is looked down upon and is against gentleness, humanness, etiquette, and gentlemanly decorum."
According to the Hanafi school of juristiction
(Al-Jazayri, al-Fiqh `ala al-madhahib al-arba`a, Kitab al- Salat p. 280-28)
[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)
Shaikh Albani
(Fromn Al-Qawl Al-mubin fi akhta' Al-musallin by Mashhur Hussain on page # 58 of the 2nd edition)
"Praying bareheaded is makruh (disliked)."
Shaikh Albani
(Al-Din al-khalis (3:214) and al-Ajwiba al-nafi`a `an al-masa'il al-waqi`a (p. 110)
"All acknowledge that it is desirable for the Muslim to enter prayer in the most perfect Islamic appearance, due to the hadith: "Allah is worthier of your self-adornment" [hasan]. And it is not part of excellent attire in the custom of the Salaf to habitually bare one's head, and walk in that guise on the road and when entering places of worship. Rather, it is a foreign custom which infiltrated many Islamic countries at the time the disbelievers invaded them and brought their habits with them. The Muslims began to imitate them in this, and they lost thereby their Islamic personality as well as through other similar acts... Nor is it established that the Prophet ever prayed bareheaded and without a turban other than in the state of ihram, although there were plenty of occasions to report it if he did. Therefore, whoever claims that he did, let him produce the proof, for truth is more deserving to be followed."
Wearing the Clothes of the Unbelievers
Umar Ibn Khattab (Radhiallaahu Ánhu)
(Quotes by Ibn Hibban in his Sahih and Imaam Ahmad Bin Hanbal)
Abu `Uthman (Radhiallaahu Án) said "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)."
Ibn Taymiyya (Allah's mercy be on him)
(Quoted from Ibn Taymiyya's Iqtida' as-sirat al-mustaqim (1907 ed.) p #60)
In tafseer of this hadith "Abu `Uthman (Radhiallaahu Án) said "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).(Ibn Hibban in his Sahih and Imaam Ahmad Bin Hanbal)" Ibn Taymiyya interpreted 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).
Shaikh Muhammad Ibn Jameel Zino
(Imam Muhammad Ibn Saud Islamic University) in his book Al-Shamail Al-Muhammadiyyah on page #105
"It is not permissible for a Muslim to wear the garments of the unbelievers, or to adorn himself with their uniforms, as a result of the Prophet (SAW) saying: 'Whosoever imitates a people becomes one of them." (Abu Dawud)
Shaikh Muhammad Ibn Jameel Zino
(Imam Muhammad Ibn Saud Islamic University in his book Al-Shamail Al-Muhammadiyyah on page #106)
"It is forbidden (to wear tight pants), because it reveals the persons private parts; and it is a way of imitating the unbelievers."
Note from the Author:
My respected brothers, after reading all these Hadith and with the explanations from Authentic ullima we should understand that wearing the Turban, Tawob and kufi was not just the way of the Arabs but the Sunnah of Rasulullah (Sallallaahu Álayhi Wasallam) as Rasulullah (Sallallaahu Álayhi Wasallam)said: Roknah (Radhiallaahu Ánhu) reports that Rasulullah (Sallallaahu Álayhi Wasallam) said, "The distinction between us and the polythesists is the turbans over our caps." (Imaam Tirmidhi). And in so many Hadith Rasulullah (SAW) ordered us to go against the ways of Kuffar and do opposite to them As Rasulullah (SAW) said, "Whoever imitaes a people becomes one of them." (Sahih Abu Dawud). So if we chose the ethics, moral values life style and dress code of the kuffar then this hadith will pertain to us.
"Abu Musa Ash'ari (Radhiallaahu Ánhu) relates that Rasulullah (SAW) said "A person will be considered to be of those people whom he loves." (Sahih Bukhari and Sahih Muslim). We should consider who it is that we love. And if we truly love Rasulullah (SAW) then we should follow his Sunnah in our morals, dealing, manners, dress code, eating, sleeping and everything else in our twenty four hour life. Not to say that we have to ride camels because cars were not invented in the time of Rasulullah (SAW) but in the things that we can we should try to emulate the sunnah way of life as much as we can. May Allah (SWT) guide us and give us the true love for Allah (SWT) and his Prophet (SAW) and raise us on the day of Judgment with the company of Rasulullah (SAW) and the Sahaba, as Rasulullah (SAW) said in the Hadith narrated by Anas (Radhiallaahu Ánhu) (it is a longer Hadith and this is just a part of it), that Rasulullah (SAW) said, "(on the day of Judgment) You will be with those you love." (Sahih Bukhari and Sahih Muslim."
And Allah knows best.
By Uthman
Reprinted from Ibn Farooq's Islam Page
Introduction
Bismillah Ar Rahman Ar Raheem; was Salatu was Salaam Alaa RasulAllah; Amma ba'd:
Quote of the Month:
"Doing a little of the sunnah is better than striving hard in bid'ah (innovation)."
From Ibn Mas`ood (Radhiallaahu Ánhu)
Assalaam Alaikum Wa Ramatullahi Wa Barakatuhu.
We glorify Allah and ask blessing on and salute on His noble Prophet, his companions and those follow him in upholding the cause of the right religion. It is great Mercy of Allah (s.w.t.) that He has showered with most valuable treasure in this earth, that is Islam, a true guidance.
Contents:
Following the Sunnah in the Light of Quran
The Sticking to the Sunnah from Sahih Hadith
The Imaamah (turban) in Islam
The Kufi (cap) in Islam
The Izar (loincloth) in Islam
The Thawb (long shirt or Qamis) In Islam
Praying Bareheaded (without a turban or kufi)
Statements of the 'Ulamaa' on wearing the clothes of the unbelievers
In the Light of the Quran....
(This tafseer is Agreed upon by Ibn Kathir, Al-Qurtabi and At-Tabari)
The Holy Quran, Sura #3;Ayah #31
"Say (O Muhammad SAW to mankind): 'If you (really) love Allâh then follow me (i.e. accept Islâmic Monotheism, follow the Qur'ân and the Sunnah), Allâh will love you and forgive you of your sins. And Allâh is Oft Forgiving, Most Merciful.'"
The Holy Quran, Sura #33;Ayah #21
"Indeed in the Messenger of Allâh (Muhammad SAW) you have a good example to follow for him who hopes in (the Meeting with) Allâh and the Last Day and remembers Allâh much."
The Holy Quran, Sura #42;Ayah #52
"And thus We have sent to you (O Muhammad SAW) Ruhan (an Inspiration, and a Mercy) of Our Command. You knew not what is the Book, nor what is Faith? But We have made it (this Qur'ân) a light wherewith We guide whosoever of Our slaves We will. And verily, you (O Muhammad SAW) are indeed guiding (mankind) to the Straight Path (i.e. Allâh's religion of Islâmic Monotheism)."
The Holy Quran, Sura #59;Ayah #7
"And whatever the Prophet gives you, ACCEPT IT, and whatever he forbids you, ABSTAIN (from it)"
In the Light of the Sahih Hadith
Sahih Al-Bukhari, Volume 9, Book 92, Hadith # 401
Narrated Ibn `Umar (Radhiallaahu Án): Rasulullah (Sallallaahu Álayhi Wasallam) 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.Note: Look at how strict the Sahaba (Radhiallaahu Án) were in following the Sunnah of Rasulullah (SAW); whatever he did, they followed him.
Abu Dawud and Imaam Ahmad Bin Hanbal
On the authority of Ibn `Umar(Radhiallaahu Án)who said that Rasulullah(Sallallaahu Álayhi Wasallam)said "Whoso resembles a people in appearance, he is one of them."(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." )
Tirmidhi (hasan), Book of knowledge; al-Baghawi, Sharh al-sunnah 1:233.
Rasulullah (Sallallaahu Álayhi Wasallam) said "Whoever gives life to one of my Sunnahs which was eliminated after my time will receive the reward of all those who practice it without their reward being diminished"
Tirmidhi (hasan gharib), Book of knowledge.
Rasulullah (Sallallaahu Álayhi Wasallam) Said "Whoever gives life to one of my Sunnahs, he loves me: and whoever loves me is with me."
Al-Mundhiri, al-Targhib 1:87; Al-Hakim
Rasulullah(Sallallaahu Álayhi Wasallam Said "The keeper of my Sunnah at the time my Community has lapsed into corruption will receive the reward of a martyr."
Al-Bayhaqi, al-Sunan al-kubra 5:245; Ibn al-Athir, Usd al-ghaba 3:341; Dhahabi narrates that Abdullah Ibn `Umar (Radhiallaahu Án), used to dismount in order to walk on the exact same spot the Rasulullah (Sallallaahu Álayhi Wasallam) had put his steps. Note: This is how strict the Sahaba (Radhiallaahu Ánhuma) were in following the Sunnah of Rasulullah (SAW)! And they understood the deen better than us.
The Imaama (Turban) in the Light of Quran, Hadith and Opinions of Great Scholars
Sahih Al-Bukhari Volume #1 pg#536
Ibn Abbas (Radhiallaahu Án) reports that Rasulullah (Sallallaahu Álayhi Wasallam) addresses the Shaba while wearing a black turban.
Sahih Al-Bukhari Volume #1, Book 4, Hadith # 204
Narrated Ja'far bin 'Amr: My father said, "I saw the Prophet (Sallallaahu Álayhi Wasallam) passing wet hands over his turban and Khuffs (leather socks)."
Sahih Al- Muslim Book 2, Hadith # 0535
Narrated Bilal ibn Rabah: Rasulullah (Sallallaahu Álayhi Wasallam) wiped over the socks (khufs) and turban (Imaamah). In the hadith transmitted by Isa ibn Yunus the words are: 'Bilal narrated it to me.
Sahih Al- Muslim Book 7, Hadith # 3146
Narrated Jabir ibn Abdullah: Rasulullah (Sallallaahu Álayhi Wasallam) entered Mecca. Qutaybah stated that he entered Mecca in the Year of Victory, wearing a black turban, but not wearing the Ihram. (also reported by Tirmidhi vol.1 pg 304 and Ibn majah pg205)
Sahih Al- Muslim Book 7, Hadith # 3148
Narrated Amr ibn Hurayth (Radhiallaahu Án) Rasulullah (Sallallaahu Álayhi Wasallam) addressed the people (on the day of the Victory of Mecca) with a black turban on his head.
Sanan Abu Dawood Book 1, Hadith # 0147
Narrated Anas ibn Malik: I saw Rasulullah (Sallallaahu Álayhi Wasallam) perform ablution. He had a Qutri turban. He inserted his hand beneath the turban and wiped over the forelock, and did not untie the turban.
Sanan Abu Dawood Book 32, Hadith # 4027
Narrated Sa'd: I saw a man riding on a white mule and he had a black turban of silk and wool (not pure silk). He said: The Rasulullah (Sallallaahu Álayhi Wasallam) put it (the turban) on me. This is the version of Uthman, and there is the word akhbara in his tradition.
Sanan Abu Dawood Book 32, Hadith # 4068
Narrated AbdurRahman ibn Awf: Rasulullah (Sallallaahu Álayhi Wasallam) put a turban on me and let the ends hang in front of him and behind me.
Tirmidhi from the book Shamaa'il Tirmidhi pg #108 Hadith # 109
Amr bin Hurayth (Radhiallaahu Án) relates that Rasulullah (Sallallaahu Álayhi Wasallam) gave the khutbah and he was wearing a black turban on his head.
Abu Dawood and Tirmidhi
Roknah (Radhiallaahu Án) reports that Rasulullah (Sallallaahu Álayhi Wasallam) said "The distinction between us and the polytheists is the turbans over our caps. Note : Also quoted by Al-Tabrizi in his Mishkat Al-Masabih and this clears up the false notion that this was just the way of the Arabs and not a particular practice of Rasulullah (SAW). This shows us that we should wear caps under our Imaamas to differentiate from the sikhs and other Kuffar who wear turbans but without caps under them.
Tabrani, Haakim and Nahabi have mentioned this to be SAHIH Hadith
Ataa bin Rabaah (Radhiallaahu Án) that Rasulullah (Sallallaahu Álayhi Wasallam) tied a white turban (Imaama) on the head or AbdulRahman ibn Auf (Radhiallaahu Án).
MISHKAT page #377 and also reported by Baihaqi in Shuabul Imaan.
Ubadah (Radhiallaahu Án) reports that Rasulullah (Sallallaahu Álayhi Wasallam) "Make a practice of tying Turbans since it is a hallmark of the angels." Note: Here Rasulullah(SAW) is even advising others to wear the Imaama.
Tabrani
Musa Ashari (Radhiallaahu Án) narrates that Jibraeel would come to Rasulullah (Sallallaahu Álayhi Wasallam) wearing a turban.
Haakim cited in the book Mustadrak Haakim vol34 pg#540
Aisha (Radhiallaahu Ánha) reports a on the occasion of the battle of the trench a man came to Rasulullah (Sallallaahu Álayhi Wasallam) wearing a Turban and when she asked Rasulullah (Sallallaahu Álayhi Wasallam) about this man he informed her this was Jibraeel.
(Haakim has declared this hadith to be SAHIH)
At-Tabrani and Haakim reports this to be reliable Hassan
(Also quoted 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). Also in the book Turban Thowb and kufi by Maulana FazlurRahman on pg#24)
Ibn Abbas (Radhiallaahu Án) reports that Rasulullah(SAW) said "Adopt the Turban as it will increase your Hilm ( good character, intelligence, patience)."
The Opinons of Great Scholars on the Turban
Al-Munawi said in the commentary on Tirmidhi's al-Shama'il.
"The turban is a Sunnah, especially for prayer and for self beautification, because of the many narration's concerning it."
Shaikh-ul-hadith Zakarriya Khandalwi (Rahimahullah)
"The tying of the Turban is a "Sunnate Mustamirrah" (Prepetually adhered to the practice of Rasulullah (Sallallaahu Álayhi Wasallam) and Rasulullah (Sallallaahu Álayhi Wasallam) has enjoined the tying of the turban upon us. It has been reported in the hadith that Rasulullah (Sallallaahu Álayhi Wasallam) said "Tie the turban. it will increase you in forbearance."
Shaikh Muhammad Ibn Jameel Zino (Imam Muhammad Ibn Saud Islamic University) in his book Al-Shamail Al-Muhammadiyyah on page #106)
Headwear are symbols of nations and many Muslims imitate the unbelievers by wearing their head wear. In fact, covering their heads with a Turban, or even a scarf, is better for them and further from resembling the unbelievers.
Maulana Fazlul Karim
(This is from his commentary of Mishkat vol#1 pg#630)
"The holy Prophet (Sallallaahu Álayhi Wasallam) used to wear a Turban and he said that the angels also wear it in the heavens and the turban protects the head and adorns the face."
Murtada al-Zabidi (Rahimahullah)
(In his commentary on Ghazali's Ihya' `ulum al-din entitled Ithaf al-sadat al-muttaqin 3:253.)
"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 Sunnah consists in winding the turban on the head or on top of a qalansuwa (kufi). 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."
The Practice of the Pious Scholars
Ibn Hajar Al-Asqalani (Rahimahullah) mentioned in FathulBaari pg #491 and 493
That Imaam Bukhari and Imaam Muslim both wore Turbans.
Note: that they were not arabs but took this practice as the sunnah of Rasulullah (Sallallaahu Álayhi Wasallam) .
Ibn Al-Jawzi and Ibn Al-Qayyim
(In Rawdat al-muhibbin p. 225.)
"Hasan al-Basri (Rahimahullah) wore a Black Turban"
Imaam Nawawi (Rahimahullah)
( quoted from the biographical notice for Imaam Nawawi in the Reliance of the Traveller.)
"Imaam Nawawi all his life possessed only a thawb (long shirt) and a turban"
The Izar (lungi or waist cloth) in the Light of Quran, Hadith and Opinions of Great Scholars
Sahih Al-Bukhari Volume 7, Book 72, Number 678:
Narrated Abu Huraira (Radhiallaahu Ánhu): Rasulullah (Sallallaahu Álayhi Wasallam) said, "The part of an Izar which hangs below the ankles is in the Fire."
Sahih Al-Bukhari Volume 7, Book 72, Number 681:
Narrated 'Abdullah bin 'Umar (Radhiallaahu Ánhu): Rasulullah (Sallallaahu Álayhi Wasallam) said, "While a man was dragging his Izar (lower cloth) on the ground (behind him), suddenly Allah made him sink into the earth and he will go on sinking into it till the Day of Resurrection."
Sahih Muslim
Abdullah Ibn Umar (Radhiallaahu Ánhu) said "I passed by the Rasulullah (Sallallaahu Álayhi Wasallam) while my lower garment was hanging down, so he (Sallallaahu Álayhi Wasallam) said ' Abdullah, raise your garment.' I raised it, and he told me to raise it further, and I did so. As I was still trying to find the best manner, someone from the people asked where it should reach, and he (Sallallaahu Álayhi Wasallam) replied ' Halfway down the shins.' "This hear clears up the feeble excuse of people saying that they hang their pants and clothes down but not out of pride, here this is Ibn Umar (Radhiallaahu Ánhu) a famous and great sahabi, surely he has more ikhlas than us but still Rasulullah(saw) told him to raise it. And Rasulullah(saw) has shown us that our lower garment should reach the middle of the shin.
Tirmidhi
(from the book Shamaa'il Tirmidhi pg #115 Hadith #114)
Salamah bin Akwa (Radhiallaahu Ánhu) says "Uthman (Radhiallaahu Ánhu) wore his lungi (Izar) till the middle of his shin and said 'This is how Rasulullah (Sallallaahu Álayhi Wasallam) wore his Lungi"(We should note on how the Sahaba were strict in following the dress code of Rasulullah(SAW)! And they did not have pride but still stuck to the Sunnah of Rasulullah (SAW)!
Tirmidhi
(from the book Shamaa'il Tirmidhi pg #115 Hadith #114)
Hudhayfah bin Yamaan (Radhiallaahu Ánhu) reports that "Rasulullah (Sallallaahu Álayhi Wasallam) caught the shin of my leg and said"this is where the lungi should reach and if not then a little further down but if not then it has no right on the ankle."(meaning that it should be above the ankle!)
Abu Dawood and Ibn Majah reported this hadith to be fully authentic.
Abu Sa'id Al-Khudri (Radhiallaahu Ánhu) reprted that he heard Rasulullah (Sallallaahu Álayhi Wasallam) say "The way for a believer to wear the lower garnent is to have it halfway down his shins, and he is not guilty of sin if it comes halfway between that and the ankles, but whatever comes lower than that is in hell (and he repeated this three times). On the day of resurrescton, Allah (swt) will not look at him who trails his lower garment conceitdly."(here we should see the Rasulullah (SAW) has shown us the way for a believer to wear the lower garnent is to have it halfway down his shins and then Rasulullah(saw) aloud it to be from the middle of the shin half way to the ankle but what excuse do we have to drag our pants past our ankles?)
Sahih from Imaam Ahmed Bin Hanbal
The Prophet (Sallallaahu Álayhi Wasallam) saw a man with a long waist-shirt (Izar) and ordered him to have his izaar halfway up his shins; the man gave the excuse that he had a defect in his ankles, so the Prophet (Sallallaahu Álayhi Wasallam) said, "All of Allaah's creation is handsome." (sahih-Ahmad and again this shows the clothing can not go under the ankle even if it is not out of pride!)
The Opinons of Great Scholars on the Izar
Ibn Hajar (RA)
(Expresses his veiw in the book Fath-al-Bari)
In which he sates that it is not permissible for a garment to extend below the ankles. He says: "Al-Qadhi Ayadh quoting the consensus of the Muslim ummah, states that this prohibition is limited to men only."
Shaikh Muhammad Naasir ad-Deen al-Albaani
On the subject of people hanging their clothes past the ankle with the excuses like it is not out of pride.....the Prophet (SAW)saw a man with a long waist-shirt and ordered him to have his izaar halfway up his shins; the man gave the excuse that he had a defect in his ankles, so the Prophet (SAW) said, "All of Allaah's creation is handsome." (Sahih Imaam Ahmad and others. This phrase is actually of Qur'anic origin from Sura Sajdah #32 ayah #7)
Ibn Qayyim(RA)
states that Rasulullah (Sallallaahu Álayhi Wasallam) bought and wore the Izar.
Shaikh-ul-hadith Zakarriya Khandalwi(RA)
(says in the commentary of Shamaa'l Tirmidhi pg #116 )
It is Harram to cover the ankles when wearing a lungi (lower garment) or pants etc..The Ullima say that only those persons are exempt who have a medical condition.
Shaikh Muhammad Ibn Jameel Zino
(Imam Muhammad Ibn Saud Islamic University in his book Al-Shamail Al-Muhammadiyyah on page #106)
"It is forbidden (to wear tight pants), because it reveals the persons private parts; and it is a way of imitating the unbelievers."
The Thowb (Long Shirt or Gown) in the Light of Quran, Hadith and Opinions of Great Scholars
Tirmidhi, Abu Dawood
(and in Mishkat Vol #1 pg# 643)
UmmeSalamah (Radhiallaahu Ánha) reports that the dress most liked by Rasulullah(SAW) was the long gown (thowb). (Tirmadhi has related this to be Hasan with a reliable and authentic chain of narraters)
Sahih Al-Bukhari
(Can be found in the book Mishkat vol #1 pg #630)
Anas (Radhiallaahu Ánhu) reports that the dress most pleasing to Rasulullah (Sallallaahu Álayhi Wasallam) for use was a green-coloured Thowb.
Tirmidhi
(In the book Shamaa'il Tirmidhi Pg #61)
Asmaa bint Yaseed (Radhiallaahu Ánhu) says "The sleeve of the Rasulullah(SAW)'s Thowb reached to the wrist."
AbuDawud Book 28, Number 3869:
Narrated Abdullah ibn Abbas (Radhiallaahu Ánhu): The Prophet (Sallallaahu Álayhi Wasallam) said: Wear your white garments, for they are among your best garments, and shroud your dead in them. Among the best types of collyrium you use is antimony (ithmid): it clears the vision and makes the hair sprout.(Abu Dawud, Imaam Ahmad and other have transmitted this hadith to be sahih with a authrntic and reliable chain of narraters.)
Sahih Al-Bukhari Volume 7, Book 72, Hadith # 717:
Narrated Abu Dharr (Radhiallaahu Ánhu): I came to the Prophet (Sallallaahu Álayhi Wasallam) while he was wearing white clothes.
The Kufi (cap) in the Light of Quran, Hadith and Opinions of Great Scholars
Tabrani And Imaam Suyuti
Ibn Umar (Radhiallaahu Ánhu) narrates that Rasulullah (Sallallaahu Álayhi Wasallam) used to wear a white cap (kufi).Tabrani has reported this hadith to be Hasan (reliable) and Suyuti has classified this hadith as highly authentic(Sahih) in the book Sirajul Muneer vol #4 pg#112)
Sahih Al-Bukhari Volume 2 pg #863
It is mentioned that Anas Bin Malik (Radhiallaahu Ánhu) used to wear a kufie (cap).
Tirmidhi
Roknah (Radhiallaahu Ánhu) reports that Rasulullah (Sallallaahu Álayhi Wasallam) said "The distinction between us and the poluthesists is the turbans over our caps."
Sanun Abu Dawood Book 3, Hadith # 0948:
Narrated Umm Qays bint Mihsan: Hilal ibn Yasaf said: I came to ar-Raqqah (a place in Syria). One of my companions said to me: Do you want to see any of the Companions of the Prophet (Sallallaahu Álayhi Wasallam)? I said: A good opportunity. So we went to Wabisah. I said to my friend: Let us first see his mode of living. He had a cap (kufi).
Bazlul Majhood vol#6 pg#52
Abu Shaikh reports from Ibn Abbas (Radhiallaahu Ánhu) that Rasulullah (Sallallaahu Álayhi Wasallam) had three caps in his possesion.
The Opinons of Great Scholars on the Kufi
Fatwaa Thunaaiyya Vol #4 pg #291
"Rasulullah (Sallallaahu Álayhi Wasallam) always used to keep his head covered during salah."
Fatwaa Thunaaiyya Vol #1 pg #523
"to intentionally remove the headgear (kufi or Imaama) and performing Salah bare-headed is contrary to the sunnah."
Maulana Fazlul Karim
(This is from his commentry of Mishkatvol#1 pg # 630 )
"There are a few hadith about the use of the cap (kufi) by Rasulullah (Sallallaahu Álayhi Wasallam). It should be generally round and even on top."
Statements of 'Ulamaa' on Praying Bareheaded (Without a Turban or Kufi)
Shaikh `Abd al-Qadir Jilani (Allah's mercy be on him)
(From Ghunyat al-talibin 1:14)
"It is the method or habit of orthodox or civilized virtuous men to keep the head covered."
Hanafi Fiqh
(Quoted by Al-Shurunbali in Muhammad Abul Quasem p #91)
It is mustahab or praiseworthy to pray using "three of one's best clothes, a Thawb, Silwar (Sunnah pants), and turban or kufi"
Shafi`i Fiqh
(Quoted by Al-Misri in Reliance of the Traveller p # 122)
"It is mustahab to pray using an ankle-length Thawb and a turban"
Hanbali Fiqh
(Quoted By Ibn Qudama, al-Mughni (1994 ed.) 1:404-405)
"It is mustahab to pray using a Thawb, Silwar (Sunnah pants) or a Izar (loincloth) and a turban"
Malik Fiqh
(Quoted by Ibn Abi Zayd, al-Jami` fi al-sunan (1982 ed.) p. 228)
Imaam 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."
Allamah Jauzi (Allah's mercy be on him)
(From Fatawa Rahimiyya 3:202 #308.)
"To keep the head bare before the people is an act which is looked down upon and is against gentleness, humanness, etiquette, and gentlemanly decorum."
According to the Hanafi school of juristiction
(Al-Jazayri, al-Fiqh `ala al-madhahib al-arba`a, Kitab al- Salat p. 280-28)
[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)
Shaikh Albani
(Fromn Al-Qawl Al-mubin fi akhta' Al-musallin by Mashhur Hussain on page # 58 of the 2nd edition)
"Praying bareheaded is makruh (disliked)."
Shaikh Albani
(Al-Din al-khalis (3:214) and al-Ajwiba al-nafi`a `an al-masa'il al-waqi`a (p. 110)
"All acknowledge that it is desirable for the Muslim to enter prayer in the most perfect Islamic appearance, due to the hadith: "Allah is worthier of your self-adornment" [hasan]. And it is not part of excellent attire in the custom of the Salaf to habitually bare one's head, and walk in that guise on the road and when entering places of worship. Rather, it is a foreign custom which infiltrated many Islamic countries at the time the disbelievers invaded them and brought their habits with them. The Muslims began to imitate them in this, and they lost thereby their Islamic personality as well as through other similar acts... Nor is it established that the Prophet ever prayed bareheaded and without a turban other than in the state of ihram, although there were plenty of occasions to report it if he did. Therefore, whoever claims that he did, let him produce the proof, for truth is more deserving to be followed."
Wearing the Clothes of the Unbelievers
Umar Ibn Khattab (Radhiallaahu Ánhu)
(Quotes by Ibn Hibban in his Sahih and Imaam Ahmad Bin Hanbal)
Abu `Uthman (Radhiallaahu Án) said "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)."
Ibn Taymiyya (Allah's mercy be on him)
(Quoted from Ibn Taymiyya's Iqtida' as-sirat al-mustaqim (1907 ed.) p #60)
In tafseer of this hadith "Abu `Uthman (Radhiallaahu Án) said "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).(Ibn Hibban in his Sahih and Imaam Ahmad Bin Hanbal)" Ibn Taymiyya interpreted 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).
Shaikh Muhammad Ibn Jameel Zino
(Imam Muhammad Ibn Saud Islamic University) in his book Al-Shamail Al-Muhammadiyyah on page #105
"It is not permissible for a Muslim to wear the garments of the unbelievers, or to adorn himself with their uniforms, as a result of the Prophet (SAW) saying: 'Whosoever imitates a people becomes one of them." (Abu Dawud)
Shaikh Muhammad Ibn Jameel Zino
(Imam Muhammad Ibn Saud Islamic University in his book Al-Shamail Al-Muhammadiyyah on page #106)
"It is forbidden (to wear tight pants), because it reveals the persons private parts; and it is a way of imitating the unbelievers."
Note from the Author:
My respected brothers, after reading all these Hadith and with the explanations from Authentic ullima we should understand that wearing the Turban, Tawob and kufi was not just the way of the Arabs but the Sunnah of Rasulullah (Sallallaahu Álayhi Wasallam) as Rasulullah (Sallallaahu Álayhi Wasallam)said: Roknah (Radhiallaahu Ánhu) reports that Rasulullah (Sallallaahu Álayhi Wasallam) said, "The distinction between us and the polythesists is the turbans over our caps." (Imaam Tirmidhi). And in so many Hadith Rasulullah (SAW) ordered us to go against the ways of Kuffar and do opposite to them As Rasulullah (SAW) said, "Whoever imitaes a people becomes one of them." (Sahih Abu Dawud). So if we chose the ethics, moral values life style and dress code of the kuffar then this hadith will pertain to us.
"Abu Musa Ash'ari (Radhiallaahu Ánhu) relates that Rasulullah (SAW) said "A person will be considered to be of those people whom he loves." (Sahih Bukhari and Sahih Muslim). We should consider who it is that we love. And if we truly love Rasulullah (SAW) then we should follow his Sunnah in our morals, dealing, manners, dress code, eating, sleeping and everything else in our twenty four hour life. Not to say that we have to ride camels because cars were not invented in the time of Rasulullah (SAW) but in the things that we can we should try to emulate the sunnah way of life as much as we can. May Allah (SWT) guide us and give us the true love for Allah (SWT) and his Prophet (SAW) and raise us on the day of Judgment with the company of Rasulullah (SAW) and the Sahaba, as Rasulullah (SAW) said in the Hadith narrated by Anas (Radhiallaahu Ánhu) (it is a longer Hadith and this is just a part of it), that Rasulullah (SAW) said, "(on the day of Judgment) You will be with those you love." (Sahih Bukhari and Sahih Muslim."
And Allah knows best.
Common Mistakes Made in the Way Men Dress In and Outside Prayer
Common Mistakes Made in the Way Men Dress In and Outside Prayer
Notes prepared from a book by Shaikh Mashoor Hasan Salmaan
Compiled by: Abu Muntasir
1. Praying in tight clothes so that they press over the private parts ('awrah)
Praying in tight fitting clothes is deemed Makrooh according to the Sharee'ah. It also harms the body and hence it is not good from the point of view of health as well. Perhaps the one praying in such clothes actually leaves parts of his prayer out.
It is known that many people who dress in such a way do not attain their prayer at all while others attain only a little, like the prayer of a hypocrite.
Those who pray, many amongst them nowadays dress in clothes that drape around one or both of their private parts (their thighs)
Ibn Hajr says, that a group of the Hanafee scholars considered such practice as makrooh. [See Fathul-Baari 1/476]
If this is the case for normal trousers then what the case when they are very tight?
'Allaamah al-Albaanee explained that trousers have two problems:
a) This is a dress that resembles the disbelievers. Muslims used to dress in wide bottoms (saaraweel) which were loose fitting and baggy like some still do so in Syria and Lebanon. The Muslims adopted this practice of wearing trousers/pants when they were colonised. When the colonisers departed, they left behind this evil influence and changed the Muslims due to the latter's ignorance.
b) This type of dress constricts and presses upon the 'awrah. The 'awrah of a man is from his knee up to his navel. The worshipper should be as far away as he can from disobedience of Allah during his prayer. He is prostrating (in obedience and submission) to Him. How can he be praying and standing before His Lord, when his buttocks are shown up and what is between is visibly magnified?
It is surprising to find many young Muslims taking exception to ladies wearing tight clothes since they cling to their bodies, yet these young men are forgetting about themselves. There is no difference between a lady wearing tight clothes which press against her body and a man wearing trousers which also cling to his body. The buttock of both a man and a woman is part of the 'awrah and both of them are the same. So it is compulsory for the youth to be warned about this predicament about which they are blind, except for he whom Allah has guided, who are few. [Taken from one his tapes]
The Messenger (sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam) forbade a man from praying in his trousers (saaraweel) unless he had a wrapper (rida) on him. [Abu Dawud, al-Haakim and the hadeeth is Hasan]
For more details please consult the following:
"Saheeh-ul-Jaami'-us-Sagheer" of 'Allaamah al-Albaanee "Sharh ma'aani-ul-aathaar" of Imaam at-Tahaawee Shaikh Hamood at-Tuwayjiree's discussion about it in his book which talks about how resemblance of the mushrikoon has befallen upon many in "Al- Iidaah wa-tibyaan.."
As long as the trousers are wide and not tight the prayer is valid, but it is better to have a shirt or a top on that covers between the navel and the knee, or lower still unto the middle of his shins or down to just above his ankles, because that is the complete covering.
'Allaamah Ibn Baz has a fatwah where he says that it is permissible to pray in trousers so long as the 'awrah is not pressed against due to its expansiveness and his backside is not shamelessly visible. If his backside becomes visible then the prayer is invalidated and if only the clothes press against his 'awrah then it is makrooh.
2. Praying in thin and transparent clothing
Just like it is makrooh to pray in tight fitting clothes which cling to the 'awrah and show them up, it is not permissible to pray in thin clothes which is transparent enough to make the (actual) body visible. [Fataawaa Rasheed Ridaa 5/2056]
Praying in sleeping suit or pyjamas:
Abu Hurairah (radhiAllaahu 'anhu) reports that a man stood up to the Prophet (sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam) and asked him about praying in a single garment. So he (sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam) said, "Unless you find two garments." Then he asked 'Umar (radhiAllaahu 'anhu) who said, "When Allah is generous, be generous yourselves. A man prayed in a lower garment (izaar) and an upper garment (ridaa), a waist wrapper (izaar) and a shirt (qamees), in a lower wrap (izaar) and an outer garment with full length sleeves (qaba`), in trousers (saraaweel) and an upper wrap (ridaa), in trousers and a shirt (qamees), in trousers and upper garment (qaba`), in tubbaan and qaba`, and in tubbaan and qamees. [Bukhaaree, Maalik in al-Muatta, Muslim, Abu Dawud, Nan-Nisai, Ibn Maajah, al-Humaidee, Ahmad in al-Musnad, at-Tayaalisee, at-Tahaawee, al-Baghawee, Abu Nu'aim, al- Khateeb]
'Abdullaah ibn 'Umar (radhiAllaahu 'anhu) saw Naafi' praying by himself in a single garment (thawb). So he said to him, "Can you not wear two garments?" He said, "Of course". He said, "Do you go out to the market in a single garment?" He said, "No". He said, "Allah has more right that He is dressed up for!" [at-Tahaawee in "Sharh ma'anee-ul-aathaar", "Tafseer-ul-qurtubee" and "al-mughnee"]
Such is the case for one who prays in his night garments. He would feel shy to go to market in it on account of its thinness and transparency.
Ibn 'Abdul-Barr said in "at-tamheed" : "The people of knowledge love for one to be enveloped in his garments; that he beautifies himself for his prayer as much as he is able with regards to his clothes, applies perfume and cleanses his teeth (miswaak)."
On the topic of conditions for the correctness of the prayer, the jurists (fuqahaa) talk about the condition of covering the 'awrah: They make the condition for the covering to be thick and say it is not permissible to make it fine so that the skin tone is visible. ["al-majmoo'", "al- mughnee", etc]
This is a requirement whether for a man or a woman, whether praying alone or in congregation. So whoever's clothes reveal his 'awrah in spite of his ability to keep it covered, then his prayer is invalidated.
"Yaa banee aadama khudhoo zeenatakum 'inda kulli masjidin..."
"O Children of Adam! Take your adornment (by wearing your clean clothes),
while praying..."
[Sooratul-A'raf Aayah 31]
According to "Ad-deenul-khaalis" 2/101 and "at-Tamheed" 6/379 the aim of zeenah (adornment) is the thawb and the command means to conceal the 'awrah for every prayer.
Praying in light tunic:
Some people pray in garments that only lightly cover their bodies and its transparency allows one to see the person's skin colour, while not wearing anything underneath. (It is not enough to wear shorts or trunks underneath unless it covers the extent between the belly-button and the knee.) The statement of Umar previously shows usage of more than one garment to screen oneself and how one garment is added to another. The evidence shows that it is compulsory (waajib) to be properly covered and praying in only one garment is allowed only because of the person's straightened circumstances (poverty). The prayer of someone in two garments is better than doing so in one. This has been clearly elaaborated by Qaadhi 'Iyaadh who has dispelled the differences regarding this maatter. [See Fathul-Baari, al-majmoo' 1/476 and Nayl-ul-awtaar 2/78, 84]
Imaam Shaafi'ee said if a person prays in his shirt and it reveals him, then his prayer is invalidated. [See al-Umm 1/78]
Even worse for ladies:
The lady doing that is in a more terrible situation than the man. And if she prays in a loose outer garment with sleeves and slit in front then it is better for her to wear her jilbaab on top. She must make sure she does not pray wearing delicate material such as nylon or shifon.
Consider the hadeeth where we are told how in the last part of the nation of Muhammad (sallallaahu 'alaihi wa salam) there will be ladies who are "dressed yet they are naked."
Ibn 'Abdul-Barr says such women will dress in light material which will cover them yet not screen them, so they will be dressed in name but naked in reality. ["Tanweer-ul-hawaalik" 3/103]
A report from Hisham ibn 'Urwah shows once Mundhir ibn Zubair sent a beautiful garment from Kohistan to Asma bint Abi bakr who having felt the material and disapprovingly asked for it to be sent back to the sender. When asked as to why since it did not show the body, she replied it was transparent. [Ibn Sa'd in "at-tabaqaat-ul-kubra" 8/184 : saheeh]
As-Safaareenee said it is forbidden to wear clothing that is light and fine so that the 'awrah is not covered whether for a male or a female. This is a matter of the Sharee'ah without any difference. ["ad-deen-ul-khaalis" 6/180]
Ash-Shawkaanee said in "Nayl-ul-awtaar" 2/115 that it is compulsory (waajib) for a lady to cover her body with a garment which is not transparent. This is a condition for covering the 'awrah.
3. Praying in long and overflowing lower garment (practising isbaal or being a musbil)
Abu Hurairah (radhiAllaahu 'anhu) said: "While a man was praying with his lower garment hanging down the Messenger (sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam) said to him, "Go and do wudhu." So he went, performed ablution and came back. He (sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam) said, "Go and do wudhu." So a man said to him, "O Messenger of Allaah! Why do you ask him to do wudhu?" So he remained silent about him. Then he said, "He was praying while his lower garment was hanging down (i.e., he was a musbil)." [Abu Dawud, Musnad Ahmad, An-Nisai in Sunan al-Kubra, an-Nawawi]
'Abdullaah ibn 'Umar (radhiAllaahu 'anhumaa) reported that the Messenger of Allaah (sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam) said, "Allaah does not look at the prayer of a person who lets his lower garment flow out of pride" [Ibn Khuzaimah]
Ibn Mas'ood (radhiAllaahu 'anhu) said he heard the Messenger of Allaah (sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam) say, "Whoever lets his lower garment hang down (over or below the ankles) from vanity then there is neither ease from Allaah nor anything blessed." [Abu Dawud and in 'Allaamah Albaani's Saheeh Jaami'-us-Sagheer]
This means there is no forgiveness for him or honour for him with Allaah. He does not preserve himself from the evils of his actions. It is also said that this means he does not (really) believe with regards to what Allaah has made permissible and forbidden. Also, some say it means he has freed himself from Allaah and become separated from His Deen. For further details and discussion on the understanding presented, please consult "Faidh-ul-Qadeer" and "Al-Majmu'".
The Shafi's and Hanbalis reckon the tradition is a proof that it is forbidden to let the lower garment drop below (the top of the ankles) in prayer when done out of pride, and according to the Shafi's it is objectionable when no vanity is intended. [See "Al-Majjmu'" and "Nail-ul-Awtaar"]
For a detailed discussion on this please consult "Majmoo' al-Fataawa" of Ibn Taimiyyah, "Fathul-Baari", and "'Awn-al-Ma'bood" where you will find the explanation that it is indeed forbidden to practice isbaal whether with pride or without it.
Shaikh Ahmed Shaakir pursued this matter in his verification of authenticity of prophetic reports (hadeeths) in Ibn Hazm's "al-Muhalla" and showed how the author had left out the first hadeeth which is a strong proof that the prayer of a musbil is invalid.
Ibn al-Qayyim elaborated about the first hadeeth and said letting the lower garment flow is sinful. The man was ordered to perform ablution and pray because ablution puts out the heat of sinfulness.
At-Teebi explained the man was asked to do ablution although he was clean so that he would consider the reason why he was ordered so. Allaah blessed the request of the Prophet in that such outward cleanliness will cleanse the stain of arrogance inside, because exterior cleanliness affects the inward cleanliness.
Ibn Taimiyyah in his "Majmoo' al-Fataawa" emphasised that it is the same whether one practices isbaal of his trousers, or lower wrap or shirt (qamees). It is obligatory for every Muslim to leave isbaal and fear Allaah about it.
'Allaamah Ibn Baz's discussion on isbaal
'Allaamah Ibn Baz was asked whether it is correct to pray behind an innovator (mubtadi') and one who is a musbil and he said:
"The prayer is correct behind the innovator and the one who is a musbil and (one who has some) other sin according to what is more right from what the scholars say, as long as it is not a bid'ah of disbelief (kufr) for the person. If it is a bidah of disbelief like that of a Jahmee and similar to that, which takes a person outside the fold of Islaam, then it is not correct to pray behind such people. However, it is obligatory for those responsible (amongst the people) that they choose the imaam to be of a pleasing character and safe from bid'ah and immorality. (This is) because being an imaam is a great (and important) trust (amaanah). He stands as an example to the Muslims by it. Thus it is not permissible to render its custodianship to the people of innovation and immorality when others are able to be appointed."
Isbaal is totally sinful which is necessary (waajib) to avoid and warn against it because of the statement, "Whatever hangs below both ankles from the lower garment (izaar) is in the Fire." [Bukhaari, An-Nisai]
Whatever is like the izaar also comes under the same judgement, like the shirt (qamees), trousers, cloak (woollen - basht) and similar to that. It is authentic from the Messenger of Allaah (sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam) that he said, "Allaah will not speak to three (types of people), nor will He look at them on the Day of Judgement, nor will He purify them, and they will have a painful punishment: the person who is a musbil with regard to his garment, ... ..." Muslim brings this in his Saheeh.
When the person does so with izaar or something similar due to pride and arrogance then that makes him even more strong in sinning and draws him nearer to the punishment, since the Prophet (sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam) said, "Whoever lets his garment flow (upon and beneath the ankles) due to vanity Allaah will not look at him on the Day of Judgement."
It is compulsory for every Muslim to be on guard against what Allaah has forbidden for him with regards to isbaal and other sins.
[Mujallat-ud-Da'wah No. 913]
4. Rolling up the garment in prayer
One of the mistakes of some of those who pray is that they tuck up their garments before starting their prayer.
It is reported from Ibn 'Abbaas (radhiAllaahu 'anhumaa) that the Messenger of Allaah (sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam) said, "I have been ordered to prostrate upon seven (bones) and that I neither tuck up the hair nor the garment (thawb)." [Muslim, An-Nisai, Ibn Khuzaimah]
Ibn Khuzaimah interpreted this narration with a chapter heading "Prevention from tucking up the garments in prayer".
An-Nawawi said the scholars are in agreement that it is not permissible to pray while his garment is rolled up or his sleeve or anything similar. [Sharh Saheeh Muslim]
Imaam Maalik said that if his clothes are already like that since he was doing a job and he rolled it up for that work and he started his prayer as he is, then there is no harm that he prays in that condition.
However, if he only does that to tuck up his hair or garment then there is no good in it. [Al-Mudawwanat-ul-Kubra]
An-Nawawi continued to say that the prohibition of hemming the garment is that of strong dislike. If he prays like that then he does evil although his prayer is correct. This is supported by At-Tabari where he speaks of a consensus by the scholars and Ibn-ul-Mundhir who takes recourse to Hasan Al-Basri.
5. Praying without covering the head
It is permissible to pray in bare head for a man. The head is 'awrah for a woman. However, it is recommended (mustahab) that he is completely dressed for prayer. This includes covering the head with a cap, or turban or something similar from what is customary from his clothes.
Uncovering the head without excuse is detested (makrooh) specially in the compulsory prayers and even more specially in congregation.
'Allaamah Albaani said: "As for what I see, it is makrooh to pray with the head bare and this is indisputable. It is recommended for Muslims to enter the prayer in full Islamic manner of dressing because of the hadeeth, "Allaah has more right that you beautify for Him." [At-Tahawi, At-tabraani, Al-Baihaqi. See Silsiltus-Saheehah]
"This is not from the good manners from the customs of the Salaf to have the head uncovered and walk like that on the road, and enter places of worship like that, but it is from the ways of the foreigner which has infiltrated the Islamic lands when the disbelievers set foot in it, and imported their corrupt custom and the Muslims imitated them in it. So repel it and its likes... ... This is an extraordinary accident and it is not appropriate that it should warrant contradicting the prior Islamic culture, and be taken as an excuse for permission to pray without head-covering."
Then 'Allaamah Albaani goes on to explain the mistake of some brothers in Egypt who brought the proof of the permissibility to pray without covering the head by analogising with how the head is uncovered for someone in ihraam during the pilgrimage. This is wrong since not covering the head during the pilgrimage is from the law (Sharee'ah) of Allaah. If their analogy was right them they should make it compulsory to pray without any head covering at all since it is obligatory to do so during the pilgrimage! [Tamaam-ul-Minnah fee ta'leeq 'alaa fiqh-us- Sunnah by 'Allaamah Albaani]
It is not established at all that the Messenger (sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam) ever prayed outside the pilgrimage with bare head, without a turban/cap. Whoever thinks he did so then he should bring the proof. If he (sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam) had done so, it would have been recorded.
Let it be known that it is just makrooh for a man to pray with bare head. [Al-Majmoo' - Al-Baghawi etc.]
PS: The narration attributed to Ibn 'Abbaas that the Prophet (sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam) would sometimes remove his cap and place it as a sutrah in front of him is weak (da'eef). Even if it was authentic then it does not prove praying in bare head since it is compulsory and more important to take a sutrah and it is more evident that he did that to make up for lack of any suitable sutrah.
6. Praying in clothes which has pictures on it
A'isha (radhiAllaahu 'anha) said that (once) the Messenger of Allaah (sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam) prayed in a woollen garment which had markings on it. When he finished his prayer he said, "Go to Abu Jahm ibn Hudhaifah with this garment and bring me an inbijaaniyyah, because this has distracted me too much in my prayer." [Bukhaari, Muslim, Nisai, Ibn Maajah, Muatta of Maalik]
The inbijaaniyyah that the Messenger of Allaah (sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam) desired is a thick garment which has no markings or pattern on it unlike the khameesah (woollen garment which he was wearing at the time) which he rejected and it had such markings. And patterns are more preferable than pictures.
At-Teebi said while commenting on the above narration that pictures and similar things which can be seen affects the pure hearts and clean souls. [See "'Umdatul-Qaari" and "Fathul-Baari"]
Anas (radhiAllaahu 'anhu) said that (once) A'isha (radhiAllaahu 'anha) had a curtain which she used to screen a side of her house. The Prophet (sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam) said to her, "Remove it from me, because its pictures keep on turning my attention away from my prayer." [Bukhaari]
The above narration presents a difficulty when viewed against the other hadeeth also from A'isha (radhiAllaahu 'anha) which says that the Messenger of Allaah (sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam) would not enter the house which had a screen/curtain with pictures on it. [Muslim] This is resolved by knowing that this narration is talking about pictures of living creatures on the material while the first narration is not about such.
The above hadeeth of Anas (radhiAllaahu 'anhu) is evidence that it is makrooh to pray in a garment which has pictures on it.
From the above evidences al-Qatalaani said in "Irshaad-ul-Saari" if the picture distracts a person praying in front of it then it is more so when he is clothed in such garments. Al-'Aini in "'Umdat-ul-Qaari" noted about the chapter in Bukhaari "Dislike of praying where there is a picture" that this means this chapter (by Bukhaari) explains that it is makrooh to pray in the house which has a garments with pictures on it. Thus if it is makrooh to do so in such case then it is worse when dressed in such material.
The jamhoor hold the position that it is makrooh.
Their evidence is the narration from A'isha (radhiAllaahu 'anha) who said: "I had a garment with pictures on it which I had spread out and the Messenger of Allaah (sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam) was praying towards it. So he said, "Take it away from me." So I (cut it into pieces and) made (some) screens (out of it). [Muslim, Nisai]
After mentioning this hadeeth an-Nawawi said, "As for the garment which has a picture or a cross or whatever draws the attention away, then praying in it or towards it or on it is makrooh due to the hadeeth."
7. Praying in saffron dyed clothes ( Saffron colour is red or bright orange-red)
'Abdullaah ibn 'Umar (radhiAllaahu 'anhumaa) said that the Messenger of Allaah (sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam) saw him dressed with two saffron coloured garments. So he said, "This is the dress of the disbelievers, so do not clothe yourself with it." [Muslim, Musnad Ahmad]
In one narration he (sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam) said to him, "Did your mother order you to wear it?" I said, "Shall I wash them both?" He said, "Rather burn them both!"
Yet another narration says, "So I did that."
In another narration it says how he was seen by the Prophet (sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam) in a garment stained with saffron dye so he was told, "What is this garment that is upon you?!" So he understood by that its dislike and went home and found them heating up the stove to cook meat and threw the garment into it. Then he went to the Prophet (sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam) the next day and he said, "What have you done with your garment?" So when he had told him, he said, "Why didn't you clothe some of your family with it? There is no harm in the ladies using it." [Musnad Ahmad, Abu Dawud, Ibn Maajah]
It is reported from Anas (radhiAllaahu 'anhu) that the Prophet (sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam) forbade the man from wearing saffron (clothes). [Bukhaari]
'Ali (radhiAllaahu 'anhu) said the Prophet (sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam) forbade from saffron dyed clothes. [Muslim, Nisai, Abu Dawud]
Ibn Qudaamah said, "Concerning praying in red garments, our companions have said it is makrooh for a man to clothe in it and pray in it." [Al-Mughni]
Ibn-ul-Qayyim discusses this in "Zaad-ul-Ma'ad" and says it is indeed very strongly disliked although still permissible. Allaah granted refuge from it to the Prophet (sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam) when he wore a blood-red garment and now there is doubt as to the true meaning of red cloth.
At-Tabraani in "Al-Awsat" discusses the red garment of the Prophet (sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam) and says it is a mistake to think the garment was pure red and not mixed with anything else. This red garment was a Yemeni costume woven with red and yellow thread like all such Yemeni costumes. It is called red due to the red thread in it. As for pure red then this is strongly forbidden.
Imaam Ash-Shawkaani says in "As-Sail-ul-Jarraar" that the forbiddance is with regards to the purely red type of saffron dye, but what is red due to being coloured without saffron dye then such clothes is permissible.
Notes prepared from a book by Shaikh Mashoor Hasan Salmaan
Compiled by: Abu Muntasir
1. Praying in tight clothes so that they press over the private parts ('awrah)
Praying in tight fitting clothes is deemed Makrooh according to the Sharee'ah. It also harms the body and hence it is not good from the point of view of health as well. Perhaps the one praying in such clothes actually leaves parts of his prayer out.
It is known that many people who dress in such a way do not attain their prayer at all while others attain only a little, like the prayer of a hypocrite.
Those who pray, many amongst them nowadays dress in clothes that drape around one or both of their private parts (their thighs)
Ibn Hajr says, that a group of the Hanafee scholars considered such practice as makrooh. [See Fathul-Baari 1/476]
If this is the case for normal trousers then what the case when they are very tight?
'Allaamah al-Albaanee explained that trousers have two problems:
a) This is a dress that resembles the disbelievers. Muslims used to dress in wide bottoms (saaraweel) which were loose fitting and baggy like some still do so in Syria and Lebanon. The Muslims adopted this practice of wearing trousers/pants when they were colonised. When the colonisers departed, they left behind this evil influence and changed the Muslims due to the latter's ignorance.
b) This type of dress constricts and presses upon the 'awrah. The 'awrah of a man is from his knee up to his navel. The worshipper should be as far away as he can from disobedience of Allah during his prayer. He is prostrating (in obedience and submission) to Him. How can he be praying and standing before His Lord, when his buttocks are shown up and what is between is visibly magnified?
It is surprising to find many young Muslims taking exception to ladies wearing tight clothes since they cling to their bodies, yet these young men are forgetting about themselves. There is no difference between a lady wearing tight clothes which press against her body and a man wearing trousers which also cling to his body. The buttock of both a man and a woman is part of the 'awrah and both of them are the same. So it is compulsory for the youth to be warned about this predicament about which they are blind, except for he whom Allah has guided, who are few. [Taken from one his tapes]
The Messenger (sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam) forbade a man from praying in his trousers (saaraweel) unless he had a wrapper (rida) on him. [Abu Dawud, al-Haakim and the hadeeth is Hasan]
For more details please consult the following:
"Saheeh-ul-Jaami'-us-Sagheer" of 'Allaamah al-Albaanee "Sharh ma'aani-ul-aathaar" of Imaam at-Tahaawee Shaikh Hamood at-Tuwayjiree's discussion about it in his book which talks about how resemblance of the mushrikoon has befallen upon many in "Al- Iidaah wa-tibyaan.."
As long as the trousers are wide and not tight the prayer is valid, but it is better to have a shirt or a top on that covers between the navel and the knee, or lower still unto the middle of his shins or down to just above his ankles, because that is the complete covering.
'Allaamah Ibn Baz has a fatwah where he says that it is permissible to pray in trousers so long as the 'awrah is not pressed against due to its expansiveness and his backside is not shamelessly visible. If his backside becomes visible then the prayer is invalidated and if only the clothes press against his 'awrah then it is makrooh.
2. Praying in thin and transparent clothing
Just like it is makrooh to pray in tight fitting clothes which cling to the 'awrah and show them up, it is not permissible to pray in thin clothes which is transparent enough to make the (actual) body visible. [Fataawaa Rasheed Ridaa 5/2056]
Praying in sleeping suit or pyjamas:
Abu Hurairah (radhiAllaahu 'anhu) reports that a man stood up to the Prophet (sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam) and asked him about praying in a single garment. So he (sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam) said, "Unless you find two garments." Then he asked 'Umar (radhiAllaahu 'anhu) who said, "When Allah is generous, be generous yourselves. A man prayed in a lower garment (izaar) and an upper garment (ridaa), a waist wrapper (izaar) and a shirt (qamees), in a lower wrap (izaar) and an outer garment with full length sleeves (qaba`), in trousers (saraaweel) and an upper wrap (ridaa), in trousers and a shirt (qamees), in trousers and upper garment (qaba`), in tubbaan and qaba`, and in tubbaan and qamees. [Bukhaaree, Maalik in al-Muatta, Muslim, Abu Dawud, Nan-Nisai, Ibn Maajah, al-Humaidee, Ahmad in al-Musnad, at-Tayaalisee, at-Tahaawee, al-Baghawee, Abu Nu'aim, al- Khateeb]
'Abdullaah ibn 'Umar (radhiAllaahu 'anhu) saw Naafi' praying by himself in a single garment (thawb). So he said to him, "Can you not wear two garments?" He said, "Of course". He said, "Do you go out to the market in a single garment?" He said, "No". He said, "Allah has more right that He is dressed up for!" [at-Tahaawee in "Sharh ma'anee-ul-aathaar", "Tafseer-ul-qurtubee" and "al-mughnee"]
Such is the case for one who prays in his night garments. He would feel shy to go to market in it on account of its thinness and transparency.
Ibn 'Abdul-Barr said in "at-tamheed" : "The people of knowledge love for one to be enveloped in his garments; that he beautifies himself for his prayer as much as he is able with regards to his clothes, applies perfume and cleanses his teeth (miswaak)."
On the topic of conditions for the correctness of the prayer, the jurists (fuqahaa) talk about the condition of covering the 'awrah: They make the condition for the covering to be thick and say it is not permissible to make it fine so that the skin tone is visible. ["al-majmoo'", "al- mughnee", etc]
This is a requirement whether for a man or a woman, whether praying alone or in congregation. So whoever's clothes reveal his 'awrah in spite of his ability to keep it covered, then his prayer is invalidated.
"Yaa banee aadama khudhoo zeenatakum 'inda kulli masjidin..."
"O Children of Adam! Take your adornment (by wearing your clean clothes),
while praying..."
[Sooratul-A'raf Aayah 31]
According to "Ad-deenul-khaalis" 2/101 and "at-Tamheed" 6/379 the aim of zeenah (adornment) is the thawb and the command means to conceal the 'awrah for every prayer.
Praying in light tunic:
Some people pray in garments that only lightly cover their bodies and its transparency allows one to see the person's skin colour, while not wearing anything underneath. (It is not enough to wear shorts or trunks underneath unless it covers the extent between the belly-button and the knee.) The statement of Umar previously shows usage of more than one garment to screen oneself and how one garment is added to another. The evidence shows that it is compulsory (waajib) to be properly covered and praying in only one garment is allowed only because of the person's straightened circumstances (poverty). The prayer of someone in two garments is better than doing so in one. This has been clearly elaaborated by Qaadhi 'Iyaadh who has dispelled the differences regarding this maatter. [See Fathul-Baari, al-majmoo' 1/476 and Nayl-ul-awtaar 2/78, 84]
Imaam Shaafi'ee said if a person prays in his shirt and it reveals him, then his prayer is invalidated. [See al-Umm 1/78]
Even worse for ladies:
The lady doing that is in a more terrible situation than the man. And if she prays in a loose outer garment with sleeves and slit in front then it is better for her to wear her jilbaab on top. She must make sure she does not pray wearing delicate material such as nylon or shifon.
Consider the hadeeth where we are told how in the last part of the nation of Muhammad (sallallaahu 'alaihi wa salam) there will be ladies who are "dressed yet they are naked."
Ibn 'Abdul-Barr says such women will dress in light material which will cover them yet not screen them, so they will be dressed in name but naked in reality. ["Tanweer-ul-hawaalik" 3/103]
A report from Hisham ibn 'Urwah shows once Mundhir ibn Zubair sent a beautiful garment from Kohistan to Asma bint Abi bakr who having felt the material and disapprovingly asked for it to be sent back to the sender. When asked as to why since it did not show the body, she replied it was transparent. [Ibn Sa'd in "at-tabaqaat-ul-kubra" 8/184 : saheeh]
As-Safaareenee said it is forbidden to wear clothing that is light and fine so that the 'awrah is not covered whether for a male or a female. This is a matter of the Sharee'ah without any difference. ["ad-deen-ul-khaalis" 6/180]
Ash-Shawkaanee said in "Nayl-ul-awtaar" 2/115 that it is compulsory (waajib) for a lady to cover her body with a garment which is not transparent. This is a condition for covering the 'awrah.
3. Praying in long and overflowing lower garment (practising isbaal or being a musbil)
Abu Hurairah (radhiAllaahu 'anhu) said: "While a man was praying with his lower garment hanging down the Messenger (sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam) said to him, "Go and do wudhu." So he went, performed ablution and came back. He (sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam) said, "Go and do wudhu." So a man said to him, "O Messenger of Allaah! Why do you ask him to do wudhu?" So he remained silent about him. Then he said, "He was praying while his lower garment was hanging down (i.e., he was a musbil)." [Abu Dawud, Musnad Ahmad, An-Nisai in Sunan al-Kubra, an-Nawawi]
'Abdullaah ibn 'Umar (radhiAllaahu 'anhumaa) reported that the Messenger of Allaah (sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam) said, "Allaah does not look at the prayer of a person who lets his lower garment flow out of pride" [Ibn Khuzaimah]
Ibn Mas'ood (radhiAllaahu 'anhu) said he heard the Messenger of Allaah (sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam) say, "Whoever lets his lower garment hang down (over or below the ankles) from vanity then there is neither ease from Allaah nor anything blessed." [Abu Dawud and in 'Allaamah Albaani's Saheeh Jaami'-us-Sagheer]
This means there is no forgiveness for him or honour for him with Allaah. He does not preserve himself from the evils of his actions. It is also said that this means he does not (really) believe with regards to what Allaah has made permissible and forbidden. Also, some say it means he has freed himself from Allaah and become separated from His Deen. For further details and discussion on the understanding presented, please consult "Faidh-ul-Qadeer" and "Al-Majmu'".
The Shafi's and Hanbalis reckon the tradition is a proof that it is forbidden to let the lower garment drop below (the top of the ankles) in prayer when done out of pride, and according to the Shafi's it is objectionable when no vanity is intended. [See "Al-Majjmu'" and "Nail-ul-Awtaar"]
For a detailed discussion on this please consult "Majmoo' al-Fataawa" of Ibn Taimiyyah, "Fathul-Baari", and "'Awn-al-Ma'bood" where you will find the explanation that it is indeed forbidden to practice isbaal whether with pride or without it.
Shaikh Ahmed Shaakir pursued this matter in his verification of authenticity of prophetic reports (hadeeths) in Ibn Hazm's "al-Muhalla" and showed how the author had left out the first hadeeth which is a strong proof that the prayer of a musbil is invalid.
Ibn al-Qayyim elaborated about the first hadeeth and said letting the lower garment flow is sinful. The man was ordered to perform ablution and pray because ablution puts out the heat of sinfulness.
At-Teebi explained the man was asked to do ablution although he was clean so that he would consider the reason why he was ordered so. Allaah blessed the request of the Prophet in that such outward cleanliness will cleanse the stain of arrogance inside, because exterior cleanliness affects the inward cleanliness.
Ibn Taimiyyah in his "Majmoo' al-Fataawa" emphasised that it is the same whether one practices isbaal of his trousers, or lower wrap or shirt (qamees). It is obligatory for every Muslim to leave isbaal and fear Allaah about it.
'Allaamah Ibn Baz's discussion on isbaal
'Allaamah Ibn Baz was asked whether it is correct to pray behind an innovator (mubtadi') and one who is a musbil and he said:
"The prayer is correct behind the innovator and the one who is a musbil and (one who has some) other sin according to what is more right from what the scholars say, as long as it is not a bid'ah of disbelief (kufr) for the person. If it is a bidah of disbelief like that of a Jahmee and similar to that, which takes a person outside the fold of Islaam, then it is not correct to pray behind such people. However, it is obligatory for those responsible (amongst the people) that they choose the imaam to be of a pleasing character and safe from bid'ah and immorality. (This is) because being an imaam is a great (and important) trust (amaanah). He stands as an example to the Muslims by it. Thus it is not permissible to render its custodianship to the people of innovation and immorality when others are able to be appointed."
Isbaal is totally sinful which is necessary (waajib) to avoid and warn against it because of the statement, "Whatever hangs below both ankles from the lower garment (izaar) is in the Fire." [Bukhaari, An-Nisai]
Whatever is like the izaar also comes under the same judgement, like the shirt (qamees), trousers, cloak (woollen - basht) and similar to that. It is authentic from the Messenger of Allaah (sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam) that he said, "Allaah will not speak to three (types of people), nor will He look at them on the Day of Judgement, nor will He purify them, and they will have a painful punishment: the person who is a musbil with regard to his garment, ... ..." Muslim brings this in his Saheeh.
When the person does so with izaar or something similar due to pride and arrogance then that makes him even more strong in sinning and draws him nearer to the punishment, since the Prophet (sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam) said, "Whoever lets his garment flow (upon and beneath the ankles) due to vanity Allaah will not look at him on the Day of Judgement."
It is compulsory for every Muslim to be on guard against what Allaah has forbidden for him with regards to isbaal and other sins.
[Mujallat-ud-Da'wah No. 913]
4. Rolling up the garment in prayer
One of the mistakes of some of those who pray is that they tuck up their garments before starting their prayer.
It is reported from Ibn 'Abbaas (radhiAllaahu 'anhumaa) that the Messenger of Allaah (sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam) said, "I have been ordered to prostrate upon seven (bones) and that I neither tuck up the hair nor the garment (thawb)." [Muslim, An-Nisai, Ibn Khuzaimah]
Ibn Khuzaimah interpreted this narration with a chapter heading "Prevention from tucking up the garments in prayer".
An-Nawawi said the scholars are in agreement that it is not permissible to pray while his garment is rolled up or his sleeve or anything similar. [Sharh Saheeh Muslim]
Imaam Maalik said that if his clothes are already like that since he was doing a job and he rolled it up for that work and he started his prayer as he is, then there is no harm that he prays in that condition.
However, if he only does that to tuck up his hair or garment then there is no good in it. [Al-Mudawwanat-ul-Kubra]
An-Nawawi continued to say that the prohibition of hemming the garment is that of strong dislike. If he prays like that then he does evil although his prayer is correct. This is supported by At-Tabari where he speaks of a consensus by the scholars and Ibn-ul-Mundhir who takes recourse to Hasan Al-Basri.
5. Praying without covering the head
It is permissible to pray in bare head for a man. The head is 'awrah for a woman. However, it is recommended (mustahab) that he is completely dressed for prayer. This includes covering the head with a cap, or turban or something similar from what is customary from his clothes.
Uncovering the head without excuse is detested (makrooh) specially in the compulsory prayers and even more specially in congregation.
'Allaamah Albaani said: "As for what I see, it is makrooh to pray with the head bare and this is indisputable. It is recommended for Muslims to enter the prayer in full Islamic manner of dressing because of the hadeeth, "Allaah has more right that you beautify for Him." [At-Tahawi, At-tabraani, Al-Baihaqi. See Silsiltus-Saheehah]
"This is not from the good manners from the customs of the Salaf to have the head uncovered and walk like that on the road, and enter places of worship like that, but it is from the ways of the foreigner which has infiltrated the Islamic lands when the disbelievers set foot in it, and imported their corrupt custom and the Muslims imitated them in it. So repel it and its likes... ... This is an extraordinary accident and it is not appropriate that it should warrant contradicting the prior Islamic culture, and be taken as an excuse for permission to pray without head-covering."
Then 'Allaamah Albaani goes on to explain the mistake of some brothers in Egypt who brought the proof of the permissibility to pray without covering the head by analogising with how the head is uncovered for someone in ihraam during the pilgrimage. This is wrong since not covering the head during the pilgrimage is from the law (Sharee'ah) of Allaah. If their analogy was right them they should make it compulsory to pray without any head covering at all since it is obligatory to do so during the pilgrimage! [Tamaam-ul-Minnah fee ta'leeq 'alaa fiqh-us- Sunnah by 'Allaamah Albaani]
It is not established at all that the Messenger (sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam) ever prayed outside the pilgrimage with bare head, without a turban/cap. Whoever thinks he did so then he should bring the proof. If he (sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam) had done so, it would have been recorded.
Let it be known that it is just makrooh for a man to pray with bare head. [Al-Majmoo' - Al-Baghawi etc.]
PS: The narration attributed to Ibn 'Abbaas that the Prophet (sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam) would sometimes remove his cap and place it as a sutrah in front of him is weak (da'eef). Even if it was authentic then it does not prove praying in bare head since it is compulsory and more important to take a sutrah and it is more evident that he did that to make up for lack of any suitable sutrah.
6. Praying in clothes which has pictures on it
A'isha (radhiAllaahu 'anha) said that (once) the Messenger of Allaah (sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam) prayed in a woollen garment which had markings on it. When he finished his prayer he said, "Go to Abu Jahm ibn Hudhaifah with this garment and bring me an inbijaaniyyah, because this has distracted me too much in my prayer." [Bukhaari, Muslim, Nisai, Ibn Maajah, Muatta of Maalik]
The inbijaaniyyah that the Messenger of Allaah (sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam) desired is a thick garment which has no markings or pattern on it unlike the khameesah (woollen garment which he was wearing at the time) which he rejected and it had such markings. And patterns are more preferable than pictures.
At-Teebi said while commenting on the above narration that pictures and similar things which can be seen affects the pure hearts and clean souls. [See "'Umdatul-Qaari" and "Fathul-Baari"]
Anas (radhiAllaahu 'anhu) said that (once) A'isha (radhiAllaahu 'anha) had a curtain which she used to screen a side of her house. The Prophet (sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam) said to her, "Remove it from me, because its pictures keep on turning my attention away from my prayer." [Bukhaari]
The above narration presents a difficulty when viewed against the other hadeeth also from A'isha (radhiAllaahu 'anha) which says that the Messenger of Allaah (sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam) would not enter the house which had a screen/curtain with pictures on it. [Muslim] This is resolved by knowing that this narration is talking about pictures of living creatures on the material while the first narration is not about such.
The above hadeeth of Anas (radhiAllaahu 'anhu) is evidence that it is makrooh to pray in a garment which has pictures on it.
From the above evidences al-Qatalaani said in "Irshaad-ul-Saari" if the picture distracts a person praying in front of it then it is more so when he is clothed in such garments. Al-'Aini in "'Umdat-ul-Qaari" noted about the chapter in Bukhaari "Dislike of praying where there is a picture" that this means this chapter (by Bukhaari) explains that it is makrooh to pray in the house which has a garments with pictures on it. Thus if it is makrooh to do so in such case then it is worse when dressed in such material.
The jamhoor hold the position that it is makrooh.
Their evidence is the narration from A'isha (radhiAllaahu 'anha) who said: "I had a garment with pictures on it which I had spread out and the Messenger of Allaah (sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam) was praying towards it. So he said, "Take it away from me." So I (cut it into pieces and) made (some) screens (out of it). [Muslim, Nisai]
After mentioning this hadeeth an-Nawawi said, "As for the garment which has a picture or a cross or whatever draws the attention away, then praying in it or towards it or on it is makrooh due to the hadeeth."
7. Praying in saffron dyed clothes ( Saffron colour is red or bright orange-red)
'Abdullaah ibn 'Umar (radhiAllaahu 'anhumaa) said that the Messenger of Allaah (sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam) saw him dressed with two saffron coloured garments. So he said, "This is the dress of the disbelievers, so do not clothe yourself with it." [Muslim, Musnad Ahmad]
In one narration he (sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam) said to him, "Did your mother order you to wear it?" I said, "Shall I wash them both?" He said, "Rather burn them both!"
Yet another narration says, "So I did that."
In another narration it says how he was seen by the Prophet (sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam) in a garment stained with saffron dye so he was told, "What is this garment that is upon you?!" So he understood by that its dislike and went home and found them heating up the stove to cook meat and threw the garment into it. Then he went to the Prophet (sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam) the next day and he said, "What have you done with your garment?" So when he had told him, he said, "Why didn't you clothe some of your family with it? There is no harm in the ladies using it." [Musnad Ahmad, Abu Dawud, Ibn Maajah]
It is reported from Anas (radhiAllaahu 'anhu) that the Prophet (sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam) forbade the man from wearing saffron (clothes). [Bukhaari]
'Ali (radhiAllaahu 'anhu) said the Prophet (sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam) forbade from saffron dyed clothes. [Muslim, Nisai, Abu Dawud]
Ibn Qudaamah said, "Concerning praying in red garments, our companions have said it is makrooh for a man to clothe in it and pray in it." [Al-Mughni]
Ibn-ul-Qayyim discusses this in "Zaad-ul-Ma'ad" and says it is indeed very strongly disliked although still permissible. Allaah granted refuge from it to the Prophet (sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam) when he wore a blood-red garment and now there is doubt as to the true meaning of red cloth.
At-Tabraani in "Al-Awsat" discusses the red garment of the Prophet (sallallaahu 'alaihi wa sallam) and says it is a mistake to think the garment was pure red and not mixed with anything else. This red garment was a Yemeni costume woven with red and yellow thread like all such Yemeni costumes. It is called red due to the red thread in it. As for pure red then this is strongly forbidden.
Imaam Ash-Shawkaani says in "As-Sail-ul-Jarraar" that the forbiddance is with regards to the purely red type of saffron dye, but what is red due to being coloured without saffron dye then such clothes is permissible.
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