Dress Code from Quran Alone

Salaamun alaykum, dear readers!

The dress code for people as per the Quran alone can be determined if we approach the topic with full reliance on what the Quran alone says and no other source.

Steps of the Dress Code

Let’s start with the women. The first verse that gives instructions for the women’s dress code is 24:31, and it is to cover the genitals.

First Step: Cover the Genitals

The universal dress rule for women and men in the Quran is the coverage of the genitals, or “furooj” and “saw’at” in Arabic:

[7:26] O Children of Adam, We have certainly sent down upon you clothing to cover your genitals, and as decoration. But the clothing of reverence, that is better. That is among the signs of your Lord, so that they may remember.

[24:31] And say to the believing women that they should reduce from their sight, guard their genitals, and not disclose their adornment except whatever is obvious of it. And let them draw their headcovers over their “juyub” (necklines), and not disclose their adornment except to their husbands, their fathers, the fathers of their husbands, their sons…

This verse (24:31) is commonly misinterpreted to mean that women must wear a khimar (headcover).

But logically, this verse does not say, “cover the head” or “wear a headcover”.

It is only saying that if women choose to wear a headcover, then it should be extended to cover the neck opening, or the neckline, of her top garment.

So, this verse only regulates how to use a headcover rather than mandates a headcover on everyone.

To give an example, the law says to wear your seatbelt when driving cars, but that doesn’t mean it is mandatory to drive a car, nor does it presuppose that everyone drives cars. The law simply modifies how to drive cars for those who choose to do so (by mandating seatbelt usage).

Or let’s say that someone says, “Sweeten your coffee with sugar.” This is not making it mandatory to have coffee, but it is telling people who drink coffee to sweeten their coffee with sugar.

Likewise, verse 24:31 says that a person must extend their headcover over the neckline of her top when wearing a headcover, but it does not say “you must wear headcovers”.

If God intended to make mandatory for Muslim women to cover their hair, He would have said “cover your hair”, or “wear a headcover” but God didn’t say that in the Quran.

Also, it is worth noting that the command to draw the headscarf over the neckline is not even an absolute command to cover the cleavage of a woman either.

If you choose to wear a headscarf, and you draw it over the neckline as is required by verse 24:31, then this would naturally lead to covering the cleavage.

But what about when you don’t choose to wear the headscarf, and the neckline of your top exposes the cleavage? The Quran is silent on that, thus it is left up to your preference.

Second Step: Cover Any Adornments of Your Choice

Verse 24:31 says women should not disclose their adornments (zeenah in Arabic), except “ma zahara minha” (whatever is publicly visible of it). That means conceal all adornments when in public, except the publicly visible ones.

[24:31] And say to the believing women to reduce from their gaze and to guard their private parts, and not to show their adornments except “ma zahara minha” (what is publicly visible of it). And let them draw their headcovers over their clothing necklines. And they shall not show their adornments except in the presence of their husbands, their fathers, the fathers of their husbands, their sons, the sons of their husbands, their brothers, the sons of their brothers, the sons of their sisters, their women, what their right hands possess, the male attendants who have no sexual desire, and the children who are yet to attain awareness of women’s nakedness. They shall not strike their feet so as to reveal “ma yukhfina” (what they conceal) of their adornments. And repent to God, all of you, O believers, so that you may succeed.

The phrase “ma zahara minha” is crucial to understanding the meaning of verse 24:31. We find that this phrase is used in a couple of verses to forbid committing publicly visible, immoralities. The verses also forbid committing immoralities in secret, which is the opposite of committing them publicly.

[7:33] Say, “My Lord has only prohibited immoralities, “ma zahara minha” (what is publicly visible of them) and what is concealed, and the sins, and unjustified aggression, and that you associate with God that for which He has not brought down any authorisation, and to say about God what you know not.”

Therefore, verse 24:31 mandates covering all adornments except the publicly visible ones.

This phrase in verse 24:31 has generated significant confusion amongst interpreters. Some say that it means what is normally visible, some say it means what is naturally visible as a result of daily activities, and some say that it means what is necessarily visible. But these are just opinions that go beyond what verse 24:31 says, and thus, their correctness cannot be proven.

So what does adornment mean? Adornments are anything that any person uses to decorate themselves. Adornments can include clothes, makeup, jewelry, body art, and other worn or applied accessories.

However, regarding the adornments that women are supposed to conceal, verse 24:60 says that single, post-menstrual women who no longer have any desire or expectation to get married can set aside their clothes to whatever extent they want, as long as they do not show their adornments. This indicates that clothes are not in the category of adornments that women should conceal.

[24:60] Regarding the post-menstrual women who no longer expect marriage, there is no blame upon them for setting aside their clothes, provided they do not display their adornments. But to refrain is better for them. God is Hearer, Knowledgeable.

So what adornments can remain visible, and what adornments are supposed to be concealed? Verse 24:31 lists two categories of adornments: what women conceal (ma yukhfina), and what remains visible (ma zahara). Anything that does not fall in the “ma yukhfina” category are the adornments that are allowed to remain visible.

Notice that “ma yukhfina” does not mean “what they are ordered to conceal”. It simply just means anything that a woman chooses to conceal.

So if a woman chooses to conceal an adornment for whatever reason (whether out of preference, or because to protect herself from any societal taboos and stigmas), she should not display it except in private or in the presence of her spouse and relatives, nor should she move her body in such a way as to draw attention to it.

That means a woman is permitted to decide what adornments she prefers to be concealed and what adornments she is okay with publicly showing.

Final Step: Flexible Outer Garment Length, Protection from Harm

Let us analyze this verse, which contains the final step of the dress code for women:

[33:59] O you prophet, tell your spouses, your daughters, and the women of the believers to “yudneena” (lower) upon themselves of their “jalabib” (outer garments). That is nearer, that they be recognized, then not harmed; God has been Forgiving, Merciful.

So the Quran mandates an outer garment known as “jalabib” as the final step of the dress code. The term “jalabib” is the plural of “jilbab”.

It is commonly believed that jilbab only refers to a full-bodied outer garment, but that belief is not correct.

Verse 33:59 itself says that there can be long jilbabs and short jilbabs. We know this because the verse says women should “yudneena” (lower) their jilbabs, but does not give a specific length for exactly how much to lower it.

If the height of the jilbab can be lowered, then logically, the height of the jilbab can also be raised as well, thus indicating that jilbab is not a single type of garment with a single length. That means any length of upper-body clothing can be a jilbab, whether it is as short as a cropped top and sports bra, or as long as a dress.

The only stated requirement in this verse for how long the jilbab should be is that the length is sufficient for women to be “recognized, then not harmed“. In other words, the length of the jilbab should provide the bare minimum recognition that is necessary to protect yourself from harm.

There are two potential sources for harm: legal harm, physical harassment, and non-physical harassment.

Avoiding legal harm means avoiding any formal or unwritten dress violations. Some examples include the dress code as mandated by one’s employers and school uniform requirements. Some places don’t have a formal dress code, but there is unspoken agreement about what is inappropriate to wear (like wearing something other than a suit and tie at American, non-Muslim funerals).

Avoiding physical harassment means avoiding clothes that you personally find is likely to cause others to physically harass you.

Avoiding non-physical harassment is avoiding clothes that cause people to verbally harass you or make unwanted comments about you when they see you, or look at you in disrespectful ways.

Of course, it is worth noting that if you do not feel any emotional distress or discomfort from non-physical harassment due to your clothes, then it is not a source of harm. Some people are more sensitive, while for others, rude and unwanted comments do not cause significant emotional harm or sensitivity. The harm from non-physical harassment can come only from how it affects you mentally and emotionally.

What causes harm to someone changes from place to place, and person to person. For example, in places like North, South, and Central America, and Europe/Australia, wearing shorts and tank tops, and even cropped tops in public places (such as grocery stores, malls, some university campus grounds, etc.) is normalized and thus less likely to cause the wearer to experience legal harm or harassment from others.

But in more conservative areas, however, more clothes is protective from legal harm and harassment. It can even save your life if you visit Sunni or Shia countries with strict dress code laws, for example.

The 2022 killing of Mahsa Amini in Iran occurred during detention by the Iranian police. She was detained for simply taking off her hijab in public, and she died from trauma to her head inflicted by the police (as per leaked medical reports and CT scans indicating severe head trauma, and eyewitness testimonies).

It is commonly believed that back then, in pre-Islamic Arabia, free women who didn’t wear a full-length outer garment was mistaken for slave women and harassed/mistreated in public, which was a highly unfortunate thing.

But we don’t live in the era of the Arab slave trade anymore, and the social dynamics of today is wildly different from place to place. Clothing or fashion that may have brought legal, physical, and verbal harm to a woman back then is different from what may cause similar harm to a woman today, therefore women today do not have to wear a full-length outer garment like the women during the time of the prophet did.

Therefore, the universal bare minimum coverage for women is to fully cover the genitals and wear some kind of outer top garment (verse 33:59 prohibits being topless), and the rest (including the length of her garments) is up to the woman given that she wears whatever is unlikely to cause any legal or physical and verbal harm for her personally.

Applying the Dress Code in Practice

The dress code of a woman in the Quran is very flexible, so let us see what that looks like in practice.

Believe it or not, Muslim women ARE allowed to wear bikinis and bathing suit at any beach or pool only if it covers the genitals fully and it doesn’t cause any legal harm or any physical and non-physical harrassment to her. This is probably the bare minimum allowable clothing.

The bikini top is one of the shortest jilbabs (outer garment) to exist, but is still a jilbab nonetheless since the Quran states that jilbab lengths are not fixed or constant.

And for casual outdoor settings beyond the beach (like the park, or gym, or other places), a Muslim woman may feel free to wear crop tops, tank tops, shorts, and/or sports bras as outer garments if they want to, provided that she does not experience harm (whether legal, physical, visual, or verbal).

The same standard applies to digital settings such as YouTube, Instagram, Facebook, and more; if the outfit does not violate the guidelines of these digital settings, and it does not attract any legal, physical, and non-physical harm to her in real life, then it can be worn.

Men’s Dress Code

For the men, there is no minimum or maximum dress code in the Quran besides covering up the genitals.

However, the only limiting principle is politeness, because the Quran in a large number of verses forbids behavior that is impolite and not conducive to positive social interaction with the people around them.

For example, if a guy is hanging out with some of his friends or visit someone’s house as a guest, and if they find it uncomfortable and awkward for him to be shirtless when in their company, then politeness obligates him to wear a shirt in their presence.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the dress code for men and women in the Quran is quite flexible. At the end of the day, it is God, and not people, who sets the boundaries of Islam, and those boundaries have been made clear in the Quran. Any flexibility that God has granted beyond that should be met with appreciation and gratitude.

Moreover, the amount of clothes that one wears doesn’t by itself make anyone a better worse Muslim.

The Quran states in verse 7:26 that even though clothes have been provided to provide genital covering, and for decoration, what is better than any piece of clothing is reverence, or taqwa, in Arabic.

This means that the amount of clothing one wears on their body is far less important for a Muslim in the sight of God than the content of one’s personality. A fully clothed person can be a much more insincere in his or her faith compared to someone who enjoys wearing T-shirts and shorts.

Quranic Warning: Appreciate Your Flexibility

It is an even bigger sin in the Quran to fabricate a prohibition and attribute it to God, both intentionally and unintentionally, than to take advantage of the flexibilities found in what God explicitly stated in the Quran.

Verse 5:101 tells people to not ask questions about things to which, if they knew the answer, would cause more distress for them.

[5:101] O you who have believed, do not ask about things which, if disclosed, would distress you. And if you ask about them when the Quran is being revealed, it will be disclosed to you. God has pardoned it, and God is Forgiving, Forbearing.

[5:102] Certainly, people before you have asked them, then they became disbelievers thereby.

One way that such answers will distress them is if they receive flexible guidelines but still proceeded to ask Muhammad for more and more restrictions to that flexibility until the added restrictions are something they are not happy with.

Verse 5:102 further warns that people before Muhammad have disbelieved after asking their prophet/messenger such questions and getting back inconvenient responses from God.

The Quran further warns that if people continued to ask prophet Muhammad these questions while the Quran is being revealed, they will get their answers revealed in the Quran. Once it’s revealed in the Quran, it will be too late to take it back if they don’t like it.

One example of this is the story of the cow in Surah 2, when God told the followers of Moses to slaughter a cow. They could have slaughtered any cow to fulfill the command, but they kept making Moses ask God for details and specifics, until they were made to slaughter a very specific kind of cow which was so beautiful that they almost were not going to do it.

And the distress warned of in 5:101 does not even require new revelation; if a person approaches the Quran’s flexible commands with a restrictive mindset, then they will impose unnecessary limits on themselves through their own interpretation, and they will later blame God if they are not happy with their own self-imposed limits.

Thus, the Quran provides strong lessons teaching that when God provides flexibility, He wants you to appreciate it and to trust that He means exactly what He tells you when He says something.