Male Hijab

Bismillah Al-Rahman Ar-Rahim. Allahumma salli a'la Muhammad wa'ali Muhammad.

The concept of hijab in Islam has a very broad meaning. It has many applications and it is spoken about with different aspects. It might be referring to the inner aspects of purity, inner purity, inner chastity and modesty. It might be referring to the outer material, physical sides of the Islamic dress code and what not. As Muslims, we know that we need to collectively emphasize on how this needs to be practiced and implemented in our communities.

And this is why there are many instructions given to us by the Qur'an and by Ahlul Bayt, alayhum as-assalam, in this regard. All for the sake of avoiding the committing of any type of sin. And this is why when we do speak about the many aspects of hijab, we refer to, for example, the social or the physical side of hijab.

Now, dressing in public is very important for us, and it also reflects on our inner being as well. The way I dress and the way I present myself, it reflects in itself on how my inner side is. And this is why there are many good examples of how a man should be dressed, and many bad examples of how a man should be dressed.

Today, I am going to be giving samples of dress code that is appropriate, a dress code that is inappropriate. Now, many of these views might be shared by other scholars, by other Jurists, Ulama, Maraj'a. I will be referring to some of these issues as far as halal and haraam is concerned. Many of them are just not the pleasant way for a person to be presenting himself in public. And so if we were to further develop our understanding of what modesty and hijab and compliancy to these things are concerned, we will be able to mature in that regard.

This is one example of what I would refer to as inappropriate dressing in public. I going going to this extreme of showing him how this is, even though we shouldn't be showing it that much in public. But for example, we have a singlet and we have shorts and this is what we would probably commonly see whether we go outside or here or there. Now, I would not see this as an appropriate way of a mu'min presenting himself, especially if he is going to be doing so in the public eye.

Now, we might also see some people who think that they are dressed in a suitable way, but we look at the colour choice, for example. I'm very sure there would have been other types of colours that were available. But nowadays we see a lot of our boys wearing feminine colours. And we have, of course, the big problem of the open chest syndrome where a person wants to show his masculinity by those hairs. These nice muscles are also shown because of how tight the T-shirt is. And of course, we can't overlook the fact that he is probably wearing some designer underwear, Calvin Klein or Lacoste or what not. How about when he turns around and he does rukuh or sujood in the Masjid, three quarters of everything is going to be shown. Is that appropriate way of how a person should be dressed?

Then we have another high level of extreme, who someone who wants to act all religious and everything else, but at the same time, you know, they want to get into the mode of showing off their six pack abs. And of course, we can't not look at the tattoos that this person has. He's one of the three. He wants to be one of the three one three. And he's a loyal supporter of Hizbullah. But at the same time, he has that complexity of also wanting to be a gangster and a thug person. And, of course, he has the necklace of dhulfiqar. And umm, what's that? A Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings ring. So is it appropriate for a mu'min to be exposing himself in this way, especially in front of non-mahram women? Of course not, in many cases, it might even be haraam.

So what is the solution to all of this? For us to make sure that we are able to look into our dress codes and how we can adjust everything in such a way where we comply with the rules and regulations of Islam. Every civilization, every religion has a dress code. Now, we're not saying go all the way and become very cultural and go along with all the rings and the dishdasha and the abaya and this and that. We might not ask, for example, Sadiq or I don't know where Ibrahim is coming, he's getting dressed as well to wear this and walk down Westfield shopping centre.

But it's not something that we should be ashamed of. If there is an opportunity of people to dress in this particular way, then why not? Maybe when you're going to the Masjid or maybe when you're doing this and that. But if it's all for the show, then, you know, that might not be the right thing to do. But in any case, these are simple examples of what would be a extreme on one side and another extreme on the other side.

As Muslims, we try very much to live in the Western society with all the difficulties that it entails. We're not judging anybody by condemning people to how it is they choose their life, because unfortunately, we have no jurisdiction, we have no authority over them. But we should try to engage with the younger youth and making sure that they preserve their integrity and their well-being by making sure that they emphasize on the outer appearance and that in turn will reflect on their inner sides. If you are focused on improving your outer side, then this will automatically have an impact on your inner side.

Keeping that beard, keeping a correct hairstyle, dressing in an appropriate way, even if it means, you know, you want to be wearing this brand or that brand. There's absolutely nothing wrong with that as long as it is in line with the guidelines of our religion. Wear loose clothing, making sure that your tops your clothes are appropriate, keeping keeping the beards and avoiding any type of dubious dresses or clothing that would bring about a bad reputation for yourself or your family.

We know as Muslims, that we represent our religion and we represent what it is that we do as a society. And so whatever the case may be, looking into these type of things is very important.

And thank you to our nice models, Sadiq, Ibrahim and Hassan and may Allah Subhana Wa Ta'ala, grant us the opportunity of being aware of our responsibilities. And we conduct ourselves in public, in the society in such a way, with so high standards that we will bring honour to our 12th Imam ajjala Allahu ta'ala farajahu ash-Sharif. Wa alhamdulillahi Rabbil 'Alameen. Wa as-salatu wa as-salaam ‘ala sayyidina Muhammad wa alihi at-tahireen.