Islam and clothing

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Adherents of Islam are concerned with clothing in two contexts: clothing for everyday, inside and outside the house, and clothing required in specifically religious contexts.

1 Modest clothing for every day wear
2 How to properly dress for prayer
3 Proper dress for hajj
4 Special clothing for officials, sayyids, and sufis
5 See also
6 External links

[edit] Modest clothing for every day wear

Quran calls this mode of dressing "modest". Muslims, male and female, are expected to dress without exposure of intimate body parts as expressed in the Qur'an:

"Say to the believing men that they should lower their gaze and guard their modesty: that will make for greater purity for them: And Allah is well acquainted with all that they do." [24:30]
"And say to the believing women that they should lower their gaze and guard their modesty; that they should not display their beauty and ornaments except what (must ordinarily) appear thereof; that they should draw their veils over their bosoms ... " [24:31]
"O Prophet! Tell thy wives and thy daughters and the women of the believers to draw their cloaks close round them. That will be better, so that they may be recognized and not annoyed. Allah (SWT) is ever Forgiving, Merciful." [33:59]

However, there are many different interpretations of what "modesty" requires. See the article on hijab for an extended discussion of modest dress.

Generally, most Islamic scholars agree that women are not required to wear the veil seeing as the Prophet said that the only part(s) of the woman's body that need not be covered are her face and hands. Rather, the wearing of the veil came later from Islamic fundamentalists. The history of women wearing the veil has existed in the Middle East since pre-Islamic times. It is said that the wearing of the veil was adopted as a part of Islam by religious fanatics (especially the Wahabbis of Saudi Arabia), from the pagan traditions of pre-Islamic Mecca & Persia.

[edit] How to properly dress for prayer

Shoes are not allowed in the mosque and must be left at the door. No special clothing is required for worship. Believers are required to dress modestly, according to the customs of their community. A head covering (kufi, like a cap or turban) is considered desirable for men, and necessary by some more strict practitioners of the religion, but is not universally seen as necessary.

All Muslims wash, or perform ablutions, before prayer, called wudu. Most mosques have some facilities for washing the hands and feet before entering the mosque. Muslim women are required to cover all of their body except for the face and hands and men have to cover from the navel to the knee.

[edit] Proper dress for hajj

Men put on special pilgrim's robes when they go on hajj or pilgrimage to Mecca and Medina. These robes are two pieces of unhemmed white cloth; they are donned before the walk to Mecca. All, rich and poor, wear the same humble garments. Many pilgrims preserve their ihram carefully. It will be their shroud when they are buried.

Women usually wear plain, simple robes as well.

[edit] Special clothing for officials, sayyids, and sufis

There is no special dress for the muezzin, who calls to prayer, nor for the imam who leads prayers in the mosque and delivers a talk or sermon. Islam tends to emphasize the direct relationship of each believer to Allah rather than elaborating roles for human intermediaries.

Muslim jurists, such as ayatollahs, imams, muftis, or qadis, may wear special robes or turbans of honor, but these vary according to local custom.

Also:

Male sayyids (also spelled sayed, sayid, or said) or sharifs, descendants of the Prophet Muhammad through his daughter Fatima and son-in-law Ali, especially as scholars in the Shia "clergy", often wear black turbans.

Male sufis, especially the more monastic amongst them, commonly wore a simple robe of white wool, (leading to one tradition of how their name came about, being supposedly derived from the Arabic suf or wool). Present day sufis often do not follow this tradition.

One Sufi order in present-day Turkey, the Mevlevi, wear white dresses with voluminous skirts. During their prayer services, they twirl (called Sufi whirling) so that the skirts stand out. Hence they are also known as Whirling Dervishes