The Book of Dress

There was a man in Damascus who was a Companion of the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ). He was called Ibn Al-Hanzaliyyah. He was a lonesome person and would rarely spend some time in the company of people. He would spend most of his time performing Salah and when he finished, he would engage himself in Tasbih (Subhan-Allah) and Takbir (Allahu Akbar), until he would go home. He passed by us one day when we were sitting with Abud-Darda' (May Allah be pleased with him). The latter said to him: "Tell us something which will benefit for us and will not harm you." He said: "The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) sent a detachment. When they returned, one of them came to the assemblage in which the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) was present and said to his neighbor during the conversation: 'I wish you had seen us when we encountered the enemy. So-and-so (a believer) took up his spear, struck and said: Take this from me and I am the Ghifari boy. Now what do you think of this?' The neighbor said: 'I think that he lost his reward because of boasting.' He said: 'I see no harm in it.' They began to exchange arguments till the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) heard them and said, 'Subhan-Allah (Allah is free from every imperfection). He would be rewarded (in the Hereafter) and praised (in this world)'. I noticed that Abud-Darda' (May Allah be pleased with him) felt a great pleasure at this remark and, raising his head began to repeat: "Have you heard the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) say this!" Ibn Al-Hanzaliyyah (May Allah be pleased with him) continued responding until I asked Abud-Darda' (May Allah be pleased with him) not to annoy him.Ibn Al-Hanzaliyyah (May Allah be pleased with him) happened to pass by us another day and Abud-Darda' said to him: "Tell us something which will benefit us and will not harm you." He said: "The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) told us, 'He who spends to purchase a horse (for Jihad) is like one who extends his hand for spending out of charity without withholding it."'He passed by us another day and Abud-Darda' (May Allah be pleased with him) said to him: "Tell us something which might benefit us, and will not harm you." He said: "The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) once said, 'Khuraim Al-Usaidi is an excellent man were it not for his long hair and his lower garment which is hanging down.' When Khuraim heard about what the Prophet had said about him, he trimmed his long hair up to his ears with a knife and raised his lower garment half way to his shanks."On another occasion he passed by us and Abud-Darda' (May Allah be pleased with him) said to him: "Tell us something that will benefit us and will not harm you." He said that he heard the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) say, while coming back from an expedition: "You are returning to your brothers, so set your saddles and clothes in order so that you look tidy and graceful. Allah hates untidiness."[Abu Dawud].

Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said, "The lower garment of a believer should be half way below the knees. He is guilty of no sin if they are up to the ankles. That which is below the ankles is in the Fire (of Hell). Allah will not look at one who allows his lower garment to trail out of vanity.[Abu Dawud].

My lower garment was trailing as I passed by the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) so he said, "Raise your lower garment, Abdullah." I lifted it up and he told me to raise it higher. I complied with his orders and as I was still trying to find the best place (for it), one of the people asked where it should reach and he (ﷺ) replied, "Half way down the knees."[Muslim].

The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said, "On the Day of Resurrection, Allah will not look at the one who trails his lower garment out of arrogance." Umm Salamah (May Allah be pleased with her) asked: "What should women do with the hem of their clothes?" He (ﷺ) said, "They might lower them a hand's span." She said: "But their feet would still remain exposed." He said, "Let them lower them equal to arm's length but not more than that."[Abu Dawud and At-Tirmidhi].

[At-Tirmidhi].

[At-Tirmidhi].

[Al-Bukhari and Muslim].

Another narration is: "Who has no share in the Hereafter."

The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said, "He who wears silk clothes in this life shall not wear them in the Hereafter."[Al-Bukhari and Muslim].

I saw the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) holding a piece of gold in his left hand and a silk (cloth) in his right hand. Then he said, "These two are forbidden for the males of my Ummah."[Abu Dawud].

The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said, "The wearing of silk and gold has been made unlawful for males of my Ummah and lawful for the females."[At-Tirmidhi].

The Prophet (ﷺ) prohibited us from eating or drinking from gold or silver utensils and from wearing silk and brocade, or sitting on (anything made from) them.[Al-Bukhari].

[Al-Bukhari and Muslim].

[Abu Dawud].

The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) prohibited the use of the skins of wild animals.[Abu Dawud, At-Tirmidhi and An- Nasa'i].Another narration in At-Tirmidhi is: The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) forbade the use of the skins of wild animals in making firash (i.e., something to sit on or lie down on, such as cushions, pillows, covers, spreads, saddles, etc.).

[Abu Dawud and At-Tirmidhi].

I heard the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) saying, "Put on white clothes because they are the best; and use them for shrouding your dead."[Abu Dawud and At- Tirmidhi].

The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said, 'Wear white clothes because they are the purest and they are closest to modesty; and shroud the dead in it."[An- Nasa'i and Al-Hakim].

Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) was of medium stature. I saw him wearing a red mantle. I have never seen anything more graceful than that.[Al-Bukhari and Muslim].

I saw the Prophet (ﷺ) by Al-Abtah valley in Makkah, in a red tent made from tanned skin. Bilal brought him ablution water. Then the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) came out wearing a red mantle; and I can still remember looking at whiteness of his shanks. So he made his ablution, and Bilal (ﷺ) pronounced the call for prayer (Adhan). I kept following the movement of his (Bilal's) face to the right and to the left when he recited: 'Come to the prayer; come to the success.' Then a spear was fixed (as a Sutrah) in front of Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) who then stepped forward and led the prayer. Dogs and donkeys passed in front of him (beyond the spear) and no one prevented them from doing so.[Al-Bukhari and Muslim].