(Ma'ārifal-Qurān 549) Posted by HE, 16/10/20

قل من حرم زينة الله التي اخرج لعباده والطيبات من الرزق

In this first āyah there is a warning for those who are extreme and introduce hardship in their worship. They view as piety, refraining from and perceiving as harām upon themselves, things which Allah Ta'ala has made halāl. Just as the Pagans of Makka would view wearing clothes in the days of haj for tawāf as impermissible, and refraining from eating some types of halāl and pure foods, as a form of worship.

Such people have been rebuked somewhat harshly, and asked who made harām those clothes of adornment and pure foods which Allah Ta'ala created for his servants.

Abstinence from nice clothes and enjoyable food is not the teaching of Islam.

Designating halāl and harām is solely the right of the Creator. Others have no say in this. Those who view attire and food which Allah has made halāl as being harām, are deserving of punishment. Choosing worn out clothes despite having financial capacity is neither an Islamic teaching, nor encouraged in Islam, as many with no knowledge believe.

From amongst the pious and the Imāms of Islam whom Allah had granted wealth, many would wear high quality and valuable attire. Rasūlullah ﷺ also chose to wear high quality attire when finances permitted. In one narration, as Rasūlullah ﷺ came out he had a shawl worth 1000 dirhams. Imām Mālik r would always wear valuable, high quality clothes. Someone had arranged to prepare 360 suits for him for annual use, and a garment worn by him once, would not be worn again. It would be given to a poor student.

The reason for this is that Rasūlullah ﷺ has informed us that when Allah Ta'ala offers a servant his blessing, he likes to see the effect of this on his clothing etc. This is because expression of blessing is a form of gratitude. Conversely, choosing to wear worn and torn, unclean clothes is a form of ingratitude.

It is important to note that one should stay away from two things; boastfulness and pride. Clothing should not be worn merely to show others or for status. Evidently, the pious were free from this.

What is recorded from Rasūlullah ﷺ, Omar r, and others of generally wearing insignificant clothes has two explanations. Firstly, the majority of their wealth would be distributed among the poor and on Islamic causes, leaving little for themselves to purchase nice clothes. Secondly, they were role models. There was a lesson in their simple clothing to leaders, not to establish awe via financial distinction over the poor.