About Islamic Clothing

In Islam every command upon the Muslims is authentically rooted in the Qur'an---the revealed Speech of Allah---and in the Sunnah, the revealed and authentic practices of the Messenger, Muhammad (may the peace and blessings of Allah be upon him). The Islamic dress is a command to follow the guidelines of how to dress, as a form of worship. Protecting one's honor and modesty are at the core of protecting an Islamic identity, and is a core element in protecting the moral standard of society.
Modesty is connected to faith and is an integral feature of a believer in Islam. Men are commanded to not look at non-related women, limit their desires, and to guard their modesty from everything prohibited, and then women are command to do the same, while not displaying their beauty to the public eye. Islamic clothing is not only obedience to this command, but it is also a display of being generous and shy before Allah---the the one who creates, sustains and guides the people to success---for having taught this generation the righteous dress of all the prophets.

Considerations

The Islamic dress is secondary to developing a heightened level of consciousness of Allah, which leads to the importance of covering the heart from corruption and becoming accountable to Allah for what the Muslim does. Understanding who Allah is and the duty of worship to Allah propels the Muslim towards understanding the importance of obeying Allah's Commands. As with all aspects of Islam, the Islamic dress stems from a development and cultivation of faith in the heart that leads to understanding the importance of putting this command into action.
Islamic clothing is a part of the rules and regulations governing the moral integrity and socialization of society, in a preventative approach. It is designed to protect the chastity and nobility of both men and women. It is sufficient to obey the limits of Islamic clothing merely on the fact that Allah tells the Muslims to do it, however it is easy to observe that men are naturally stronger than women. Islam puts a natural protection over Muslim women, by protecting them from all types of men, and protecting both men and women from harming themselves.
The purpose of the Islamic clothing is to cover the awrah, or privacy, of the men and women, giving a dress that is both modest and honorable. It is also designed to cover the zinaat, or beautification---both natural and adorned---of the women.
In the Qur'an, Muslims are informed that Allah gave the Children of Adam---meaning all human beings---clothing that will cover their bodies, and that righteousness improves and perfects this clothing. (See chapter 7, verse 6).
In another verse, Allah commands the Prophet, and all the Muslims, that the women must cover everything, including their faces and hands, with the exclusion of the eyes for seeing their way. This is clearly a respectable identification of women that is meant to protect them from public harm. (See chapter 33, verse 59). From that time until now, Muslim women have always found relief, freedom, comfort, respect and dignity in wearing the full covering.

Islamic Men's Clothing

Muslim men wear Islamic clothing that not only covers their awrah, but it is also full of character. The thoub is a very common, long and loose top that extends down below the knees. It is a modest dress, and it identifies a Muslim man. The thoub comes in many styles and colors, and it is also called a dishdasha. Sometimes the thoub is covered with a bisht, vest, overcoat or shawl, dependent upon culture and climactic conditions.
Muslim men also cover their heads, out of humility to Allah. There are varying styles of the kufiyyah, or kufi. In many parts of the world, especially hot climates, Muslims cover their kufiyyah with a gutra or shmaagh, which may be held in place with an agaal. The gutra also acts as a barrier to the sun and climate.
Muslim men also wear an izaar, which is a lower garment. The izaar is wrapped at the waist. They also wear pants that extend to the region somewhere between the knees and the ankles, because it is not allowed to extend the lower garment below the ankles. The izaar was instructed by the Prophet (may the peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), where the Muslim men were told that pants are the exception to the izaar and khuffain, or leather socks, were the exception to sandals. (See the book: Sahih Al-Bukhari, volume 7, number 695)

The Conditions of Hijaab

The legislation of hijaab requires that certain conditions must be met in order for the hijaab to be complete. Firstly, the awrah must be covered. This is the area, from the waistline to the knees for men, and everything except the hands and face for women. Covering the awrah is commanded for all times, even in the company of family, but the hijaab of covering everything---including the hands and face---is commanded in front of ghair-mahram (unrelated) men.
The hijaab must be loose and not tight, and it must be thick or opaque, and not see-through. The hijaab must be free of imitation of men and other religions, and it cannot be perfumed for the public. The hijaab is also completed by the conduct of the one wearing the hijaab---not publicly displaying their features, both in conduct and speech.
Muslim men observe the same guidelines in the design of their clothing and they are not allowed to wear silk. They are also commanded to have high moral characters, both in their speech and actions.
For the women, the styles are many, and the designs of the hijaab is as diverse as the many lands and cultures. The limits of the hijaab, however, must universally be observed in the basics of covering everything, including the face and the hands, men not dressing like women, and women not dressing like men.

Khimar - Headcover

The khimar is the head cover that Muslim women wear to complete the covering of their awrah. It covers the head, the ears, the neck and the chest. There are many styles of the khimar, such as a wrapped shayla, a longer chador, or the hooded styles of the khimar.

Jilbaab - Overgarment

The jilbaab covers the basic part of the hijaab that covers the awrah. Once everything except the hands and the face is covered, a woman is considered covered properly for worship and amongst her relatives. When she needs to go out into the public, she covers this level of her hijaab with a jilbaab. The jilbaab fulfills the commandment to cover in front of strangers, and it covers everything except the eyes to see her way. There are many variations to the jilbaab around the world, however to qualify as a jilbaab, it cannot display the form of the woman wearing it. Some jalaabeeb (plural of jilbaab) have more than one piece to its design, while others are just one piece that covers the entire body.

Niqaab

The niqaab is a part of the jilbaab. The command to cover everything except the eyes to see, can be accomplished by wearing a small garment over the face. When the verses of the Qur'an were revealed to instruct the women to wear the jilbaab, the women immediately tore off small pieces of cloth from other garments, to wear over their faces.

Burqa

The burqa is a version of the jilbaab, and it meets the requirement of the jilbaab. It is designed as one garment, to cover everything, leaving one or two eyes to see. Some styles have a mesh fabric sewn at the level of the eyes, and the women are able to see through it. Depending on the custom of the people, the jilbaab or burqa may come in different colors, colors that are not considered unusually attractive in their society.

Resources

• Islamic Clothing Requirements
• Male Hijaab
• The Virtues Of Hijaab