The Prophet's Guidance in Dress and Appearance

Ibn al-Qayyim presents the Prophet's ﷺ guidance on clothing and personal appearance — an area of Islamic practice that is often misunderstood as mere cultural convention but which carries profound theological and ethical dimensions. The way a Muslim dresses, grooms, and presents himself is not a trivial personal matter but a reflection of his relationship with his Lord, his community, and the values of modesty, gratitude, and dignity.

The Prophet ﷺ wore what was available and did not attach excessive importance to the material of his clothing, yet he maintained certain clear principles. He wore white garments most often and said: 'Wear white garments, for they are the purest and finest of your garments, and shroud your dead in them.' He also wore striped Yemeni garments (burd Yamani), green garments, and a black turban on specific occasions. He wore a qamis (tunic) with sleeves reaching to the wrists and a garment length that fell between the knee and the ankle.

The Prophet ﷺ prohibited men from wearing garments that fell below the ankle (isbal), a prohibition connected both to arrogance (the original cultural context) and to a general standard of modesty. He said: 'Whatever is below the ankle from the izar is in the Fire.' He also prohibited men from wearing silk, pure gold, or garments dyed with saffron. He wore a silver ring on his right hand (or left — the narrations differ), engraved with 'Muhammad, Messenger of Allah' as his seal for correspondence.

Regarding footwear, he wore sandals (ni'al) with two straps and commanded putting on the right sandal first and removing the left first. He prohibited walking with one sandal on and commanded putting both on or removing both. He also wore khuffs (leather socks) and was permitted to wipe over them in wudu, a dispensation he demonstrated to his companions who had sometimes doubted its permissibility.

For the turban (imamah), the Prophet ﷺ wore it regularly and sometimes tied its tail between his shoulders. He said: 'The difference between us and the polytheists is the turban over the cap.' The turban, while not obligatory, carries the honor of prophetic association. He also wore a cap (qalansuwa) without a turban on some occasions.

Regarding hair, he maintained his hair at various lengths during his life — at times reaching his earlobes, at times reaching his shoulders. He parted his hair in the middle and maintained it with oil, which gave it a quality that those who saw him described as reflecting light. He grew a beard and commanded Muslim men to grow their beards and trim their mustaches: 'Trim the mustaches and let the beards grow — be different from the Magians.' He prohibited shaving the beard, and the scholars of his school considered this prohibited or strongly disliked at minimum.

Ibn al-Qayyim draws together the threads of this chapter by noting that the Prophet's ﷺ approach to dress was characterized by three principles: gratitude to Allah for the blessing of clothing (expressed by saying the prescribed supplication when dressing), modesty as a reflection of inner taqwa, and a distinctive Muslim identity that sets the believer apart from those who do not submit to Allah. Dress is not merely utility — it is a statement of identity, gratitude, and belonging to the ummah of Muhammad ﷺ.