EVERY passing day of our lives we are witnessing a transmogrification of our children and wives from a wrapper wearing mammalian’s species to a short, pint-sized jumper and see-through bodice wearers! Now sleeveless shirt and undershirt are worn by the cynosure of our eyes and their mothers with barely nothing as skirts underneath as covers of their blossoms and private parts of their beloved bodies.
And when the good nature (fitrah) created with them sometimes visits their souls, they resort to tight-fisted trousers which are cut at the knees and which reveal poignantly, the woman essentials.
The tops they normally don these days are also mostly craziness in the name of fashion or being in vogue. They always show their backs and the straps of the brasserie holding the depository of their children’s food when they are not cut in the front for every eyes to pry curiously at.
The nakedness which the bestowal of clothing by the Creator of the universe has come to civilise is being revisited in the name of modernity and new normal. Any-how-ness in dressing has also come to symbolise people’s outlooks these days even among the claimants who have professed Islam as a religion, Allah as their one and only indivisible God and prophet Muhammad ( salla-llahu) as the completion of the chain of Allah’s apostleship.
Scripturally, hitherto human same had been hidden from the two progenitors of man. Adam and Eve’s had been living in the Garden without having the awareness of their naked private parts for both were not given the knowledge to perceive the feeling in looking at the nakedness of one another until Satan whispered suggestions to them to eat from the forbidden tree so that their shame that was hidden from them before now would be revealed to them.
The beginning of the matter was that after God Has put the two aforementioned progenitors of men in the Garden ,He Had told them thus:
” O Adam! Dwell here and your wive in the Garden and enjoy its good things as you wish : but approach not this tree, less you become of the unjust”_ Qu’ran 7-19
Afterwards, according to Qu’ran 7-20, Satan would come to them and whisper suggestions to them in order to reveal to them their same that was hidden from them before and said :” your Lord only forbade you this tree, lest you should become angels or such beings as live for ever.”
Not done, Satan swore to them both, that his suggestions to them to have a taste of the tree they had been forbidden from, were born out of his genuine concerns for them and that he was a sincere adviser on their matters ! Eventually, by deceit he goaded them into eating the forbidden fruits of the forbidden tree and brought their fall.
Earnestly too, their shameful parts which were hidden from them until now became manifested to them and they began to sew together the leaves of the Garden over their bodies! Later after they both had released their mistake and come with the words of repentance:” we have wronged our own souls:if you would not forgive us and bestow upon us your mercy, we shall certainly be among those who lost” _ they were pardoned and given the arts of clothing or raiment to serve three purposes according to Qu’ran 7-26 as follows:
” O you Children of Adam! We have bestowed raiment upon you to cover your shame ( nakedness) , as well as to be an adornment to you, but the raiment of righteousness is the best. Such are among the signs of Allah, that they may receive admonition!”
Therefore, the three purposes of clothing are to serve as a cover of man’s nakedness, as an adornment and decoration of man’s body and as a symbol of righteousness which must be worn or decked with solemnity and decorum.
But the manners of dressing, adornment and decoration of our children and wives’ bodies theses days by themselves after man had been made to perceive their shame (nakedness) is coming to be at par with Adam and Eve’s covering of their private parts with leaves from the Garden living every other things naked except the human essentials and breast before they were bestowed with raiment to cover them.
Truth be told, our children and wives are becoming naked each passing day of our lives without care! Even in the houses of God, faith centers, schools ( both religious and secular) and graveyards our children and wives have gone haywire in the name of dressing.
God is being worshipped without the solemnity, soberness and seriousness required to do so! He is being paraded as human equal while we say whenever we find ourselves in exposing what He Has commanded we cover :” God will understand”, “God knows” and ” God will not look at that”!
Not only that, those who are covering their nakedness properly nowadays among men and women are being ridiculed, victimized and abused both in deeds and words as outcasts, the secluded, and non-civilized ones as if covering of their bodies and blossoms are thievery and murder not minding the attendant repercussions of exposing the bodies such as disrespect, jealousy, rape, diseases and murders!
Besides, the benefits the proper covering of one’s shame or nakedness have bestowed on man such as respect for human dignity, deference and reference to good modest dressing, enjoyment of legal adornments and avoidance of sins, had been disregarded!
Alas! Sometimes,you see mothers who are supposed to be discerning in dressing and carriage wearing debauched attires while sometimes they are the ones commanding their children and wards to dress shabbily and with contemptible when going out of their homes!
Islamic Rulings On Dressing
Nothing essential to human and environmental progress has ever been neglected in the glorious Qur’an without being mentioned, discussed or deliberated upon. This principle is also applied to the arts of dressing too! The rulings on dressing in Islam can therefore be segmented into three. They are:
_ Al-Wajib ( The Mandated): The mandated of man and woman’s dressing is the one which covers their awra, i.e their nakedness and the one which protects them against diseases and hindrance from proper living!
The Man’s awra or nakedness or shame is from his abdomen to his knee or lower legs! If he could cover these parts ,he has already fulfilled the obligatory part of his dressing and he can pray and worship his Lord in that state.
The Woman’s aura on the other hands, is every part of her body except her hands ( palms) and face! Even her leg is part of her shame and nakedness! She is to cover including her legs up to her foots with clothes or shocks if she can’t find clothing material that can do such for if she pray without covering them ( her legs up to the foots), the Islamic jurists say that she will have not the rewards of that prayer since she has not covered her shame properly)
_ Al-Mandub (The Permissible): This encompasses clothing materials which can be used as adornment and decoration for one’s body. This also extends to perfume, cream and other items which are permitted for man and woman to enjoy as part of their dressing!
Man is freed to use perfume both at home and when he is outside but woman are not! She is only allowed to use perfume only when she is under her husband’s roof or her own home! Creams and other adornments which are not inimical to both man and woman’s bodies are allowed for both!
_ Al-Haram(The Prohibited ) : The prohibited among dressings and adornments are those deemed illegals by God and His apostle Muhammad ( salla-llahu alehi wasalam) ! The clothes to be worn by both male and female in Islam must not be tight, transparent, unnecessarily loud nor be cut, shredded at the private parts or essential parts of man and woman anatomies!
It must also be noted that Islam has not prohibited all clothing materials based on their prices! Whenever one is capable of buying them without hindrance or pushing one into debt, one is free to buy and wear any clothes one may like.
From Abiy A’awaz who narrated
from his father that : I came to the presence of prophet Muhammad ( salla-llahu alehi wasalam) and on me was a shabby dress. Then the prophet ( salla-llahu alehi wasalam) asked me: ” Do you possess any wealth ? ” And I replied him in the affirmative!. And he proceeded: ” which kind of wealth you possessed ?” And I replied to his questioning as follows:
” Allah Has blessed me with Camels, rams and goats, horses and many a maid!” And the prophet ( salla-llahu alehi wasalam) opined afterwards:” when Allah Has bestowed you wealth make sure you manifest Allah’s grace and abundance on you!”
In another prophetic instance, Mu’az Ibn Annas ( Radiya-llahu anhu) said that the prophet ( salla-llahu alehi wasalam) said that :” He who wears a clothes and say;” praise be to the one who has worn for me this and who has provided it for me with no cost nor power from me; Allah will forgive his sins both the past and the incoming ones!
If one can think critically on the blessing of clothing and on the one who Has bestowed it on one without no cogent efforts in getting it from one’s part, one will realize that showing gratitude to the Provider’s of this blessing through the words of mouth by praising and adoring Him, by giving parts of it to the less privileged and largely by being responsible, modest and discernable in wearing it , is an obligatory steps in showing appreciation to God Almighty.