What is Islam - eBook
Clothing
Every human being is born with several basic needs. Among the basic needs is the need for clothing.
Allah Ta‘ala declares: “O children of Aadam (‘alaihis salaam)! We have sent down to you clothing to cover your nudity as well as to be an adornment for you, and the garment of piety is the best.” [1]
By mentioning the aspect of covering the body before the aspect of adorning the body, the Quraan Majeed impresses upon us that the primary object of clothing (i.e. to cover one’s body) is more important than its secondary benefits (i.e. adornment).
Hence, if a woman’s clothing is transparent or tight-fitting, thereby revealing her body or the shape of her body, then such clothing will not be fit to be called ‘clothing’, and such a woman will enter under the purview of the curse of Hazrat Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam) for women wearing such clothing.
Hazrat Rasulullah (sallallahu ‘alaihi wasallam) said, “There will be women in my Ummah who although clothed, will still be naked (i.e they will wear tight fitting or transparent clothing, or clothing that does not conceal the entire body). They will attract men to themselves, and they themselves will be attracted to men. They will neither enter Jannah, nor will they perceive its fragrance, even though its fragrance is perceivable from a distance of five hundred years.” [2]