Beyond Extremism: The True Essence of Islamic Dress and Faith

📎 The original text can be found here: <a href=”https://t.me/DrAkramNadwi/5528″ target=”_blank”>https://t.

me/DrAkramNadwi/5528

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم
In the Name of Allah, the Most Merciful, the Most Compassionate

Extremism in the Name of Religion
By Dr. Mohammad Akram Nadwi, Oxford

🟢 Introduction

We have a friend, Maulana Irfanul Haq Mazahiri, who has a refined taste for literature and poetry. Among the scholars, there are very few with such a delicate taste. Yesterday, while commenting on an article of mine titled “Islamic Dress,” he wrote:

🟢 Criticism of Islamic Dress Codes

“In the circle we belong to, the five-sided Gol Topi (cap) is ranked number one. If someone wears a four-sided cap or the round caps sold in the markets, from Gujarat, Delhi, to Saudi Arabia under various names, they cannot be considered a part of the Thanawee school of thought or accepted by it. If someone wears a long two-layered cap (like our Shaykh, Maulana Muhammad Younus Sahib of Jaunpur, or Maulana Ali Mian used to wear), it would further degrade the so-called ‘Islamic standard,’ and the discomfort will show on the face or in words. It would imply that only about 5% of Muslims are wearing ‘Islamic dress,’ while the rest of the Muslims in the world, aside from their assumed sect, are wearing non-Islamic clothes. And if someone’s dress is non-Islamic, how can they be worthy of being called religious?”

🟢 Further Criticisms on Dress

“Moving on from the cap to the kurta (long shirt), it too has a specific form. The first condition is that it should have folds. A Bangla-style kurta without folds is not acceptable in this circle, which feeds on the name of Hazrat Thanawee (may Allah have mercy on him)… this is considered the ‘Islamic dress,’ and everything else is non-Islamic.”

🟢 Exaggeration in Dress Standards

“Let’s continue with the kurta. If it’s a Pathani suit with rounded edges and sleeves similar to a shirt with buttons, it too is not part of the Islamic dress, as it is not worn in a specific region of India. Even a kurta with just buttons added to the sleeves for convenience is disapproved in this circle.”

“Then we come to the pajama. Even here, you can’t wear just any pajama and call it Islamic. It must meet specific measurements – the cuff shouldn’t be too wide, nor should the width above the knee be too wide, or else it would resemble Salman Khan’s pajama, imitating which is no less than disbelief. Even if it makes it difficult for you to move around in the heat, or makes offering prayers in this tight pajama challenging due to sweat, you still cannot alter its form.”

🟢 The Problem of Extremism in Dress Codes

Our other friend, who is the Imam of fatwas and the guardian of the “old ways,” but whom we call our mentor and guide, responded to this post by asking:
“Who imposed their preferences on others?”

🟢 A Reflection on Tradition vs. Innovation

Our mentor is like an ostrich. Just as an ostrich hides its head in the sand, thinking the problem has disappeared, our mentor believes that closing his eyes to issues is a solution. According to him, if something is denied, it ceases to exist. In fact, he’s two steps ahead of the ostrich. He believes that if a flaw is named a virtue, it no longer remains a flaw.

🟢 Cultural Influences on Dress

For example, they consider the attire worn in Indian madrasas as the dress of the pious. It was pointed out that the Prophet (peace be upon him), who was the leader of the pious, had no difference in dress compared to Abu Jahl and Abu Lahab. They responded:
“Where are you, the leader of the prophets, and where are we, the embodiment of sin?”

It was then pointed out that the companions (may Allah be pleased with them), whom they regard as the standard of truth, saw no difference in the dress of the pious and non-pious. They replied:
“The companions are the standard of truth in belief, not in practice.”

🟢 The True Essence of Religion

The real question arises: where did this extremism in the name of religion come from? Religion is fundamentally about meanings and realities, while forms and appearances are customs. In the early days of Islam, the focus was on meanings and realities, and the followers of religion were united as one Ummah, competing with each other to attain spiritual truths. If we examine the lives of the companions, they were a nation whose faith was as firm as mountains, whose reliance on the Lord of all worlds was absolute. Their hearts were filled with love and fear of Allah, their actions driven by piety, and their ultimate submission and acceptance of fate marked the peak of their Islam.

🟢 Cultural Deviation

Then came a time when a people slowly made forms and appearances the religion itself. For them, the importance was given to the kurta, pajama, cap, and shawl. We cannot imagine a Shaykh-ul-Hadith or a common teacher in India wearing pants and a shirt, although it’s quite ordinary for the same Shaykh to skip lessons, be untimely, avoid study, and waste students’ time, despite the fact that wearing pants and shirts is not a sin, whereas betraying a trust is a major sin.

🟢 The Absurdity of Appearance-Based Judgments

No teacher will be seen smoking, but you will find many teachers and Shaykh-ul-Hadith who chew paan or use tobacco: “If a veil covers the face of truth,
The crime lies with our superficial gaze.”

🟢 Conclusion

It’s regrettable that customs have been labeled as religion. This is the extremism into which a large section of our society has fallen. There is never extremism in the core truths of religion, such as piety, honesty, humility, submission, divine love, sincerity, or fear of Allah. Extremism always arises in forms, appearances, and customs.

In the end, I must clarify that I have no objection to any type of clothing. I myself mostly wear kurta and pajama. However, my grievance is with those who consider only their attire as Islamic or more Islamic. They think themselves better because of their outward appearance and look down upon other Muslims with contempt, sacrificing the true meanings and values of religion for customs and traditions.

📌 Let us remember: “The most honorable of you in the sight of Allah is the most righteous.” (Quran 49:13)

May Allah grant us wisdom and the blessings of faith.