ISLAMIC DRESS

Old topic I know.

Some muslims when newly joining the 'religious right path' and start to show their dedication to Islam, the first things they do are: grow a beard and wear jalabiya. I am not generalizing but I have seen many cases so far.

Excuse me, why? Why are growing a beard and wearing a dress symbols of anything. Is this considered sunna? I dont think so. In fact, NO. I don't see it as a sunna. I see it as sunna of the people of Mecca at the time of the prophet. I bet that Abu-Lahb was growing his beard too and was also wearing a Jalabiya. So it is not really a prophet's thing but a 'location', 'norm' dress code of a region.

Comments

Eman M said…
Haal,
Actually yes, growing a beard is a surely Sunna. It is not a sunna for only the people of Mecca, but for all the muslim men generally.
النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم يقول: "اعفوا اللحى وحفوا الشوارب"

This is for all men, so this is a sunna.. but that doesn't mean that a man who shaves is a sin, el mawdo3 mesh ""fard".

I don't know about the Jalabiya actually.
8/04/2005 10:22:00 am
haal said…
Well, it is not. Christian priests have a beard, jews grow their beard....so it is not only for muslims.
8/04/2005 11:50:00 am
Anonymous said…
heheheh famous communists tend to have bears, hippies too

I think it is just laziness I hate shaving even though I don't really like my beard.
8/04/2005 03:16:00 pm
Eve said…
The beard was a way to spot each other in the early days of Islam. Jews had beards and mustaches so muslims would shave their mustaches to be known by their fellows.

This is what I heard. I;m not sure, but it makes sense
8/04/2005 05:20:00 pm
ألِف said…
It doesn't make sense to me, Eve. Early Muslims were not surrounded by that much *Jews*, and the few who lived in Arabia formed no threat to Muslims. On the other hands Arabs, Muslims or not (AbuGahl), all grew beards and left their hairs long.

In my opinion it's all a matter of ancient fashion: Egyptians shaved and Arabs and Persians grew beards. Big deal!
8/05/2005 05:07:00 am
haal said…
I see it as an ongoing struggle to occupy public sphere....'WE ARE HERE'! Nothing more. A political domination. And I see the hadith of the prophet asking moslems not to wear the same dress as the 3ajam, in the context of a political differentiation not a sunna!

Maybe there is an esoteric meaning to growing a beard. If there is, then it sure is not Islamic invention as many mentioned, it was an ancient custom....Labeling it islamic, is just another way of 'living in it' as alif said.
8/07/2005 08:55:00 am
doshar said…
i think having a beard or not is the least of our concerns these days. i think alot of things people do out of sunna is just out of love of the prophet. and wanting to be like him as much as possible. but i believe that being like him from the inside is much more important than the beard. on the other hand if someone wants to have a beard as sunna, where is the harm in that?
8/07/2005 11:18:00 pm
haal said…
So I read that the prophet added kohl and put red Henna on his hair, why arent muslim men doing the same? Or they just pick and choose from sunna what suits their society! This is what i am talking about, halal and haram is not of my concern! Not when we talk about beards!
8/08/2005 08:20:00 am
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