Bismillah ArRahman ArRahim بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم, In the Name of Allah the Most Beneficent the most Merciful
Islamic modesty is a concept that far surpasses the clothes we wear. It is the way we walk, the way we talk, the places we go, what we do and yes, our outer appearance. According to Islam, we are ordered to lower our gaze and guard our modesty. We should guard our speech as well, not be boastful, or a braggart. We should be simple in our dress, and this simplicity should take into consideration whatever is common in our region. For men in the time of the Prophet Mohammed peace be upon him, white was not a standard. Several hadith mention the Prophet wore black, green, and the color of clay and he favored cloth from Yemen (which was patterned and not solid color) The point is, that modesty in dress means that you do not standout or attract attention by wearing something unusual or what is not normally seen within the community.
O Prophet! Tell your wives and daughters and the believing women that they should draw over themselves their jilbab (outer garments) (when in public); this will be more conducive to their being recognized (as decent women) and not harassed. But God is indeed oft-forgiving, most merciful. (33:59)
For women this is the most well know verse, and sometimes debated verse about modesty. Debated because when it comes to women’s dress, the multitude of opinions and divisions seem overwhelming to someone who seeks the truth in knowledge. In my own humble opinion, we only need to look at the Prophet Mohammed in his behavior and understand the verse in its context.
Modesty for women is the same as men. Clothes should not be unusual or draw attention to yourself, they should cover the areas prescribed in the Quran, and they should have the purpose and goal of making you know as decent and not harassed. The color does not matter, what matters is that it is in keeping with the norms in the community. For instance, in South Africa many Muslim women wear traditional brightly colored dresses common in South Africa, but you may not find these dresses common in the Middle East. We also need to take into consideration the changing times and globalization of fashion, which in my opinion makes it more difficult to be “known”. The hijab however when worn with any modest fashion is clearly a symbol that is recognized.
“No one who has even an atom’s-weight of pride in his heart will enter Paradise.” A man asked him, “What if he likes his clothes and shoes to look good?” (Meaning, is this counted as pride?) The Prophet (s) said: “Allah is beautiful and loves beauty. Pride means denying the truth and looking down on other people.” [Sahih Muslim]
From this we understand that our clothes should not tattered or worn if we can afford better, and as Muslims we should be clean and neat in our appearance.
Modesty means to guard your behavior as well. Do not walk proudly nor slouch but be somewhere in the middle. We should take care and not spend time in places that are known for immodest behavior and we should not act immodest ourselves.
“A strong person is not the person who throws his adversaries to the ground. A strong person is the person who contains himself when he is angry.” (Saheeh al-Bukhari) (Modesty in speech)
Modesty in our speech is more than just not boasting. It is also modest to contain or not act out in anger in your words and deeds.
Hidaya @Duburiah 