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 what was made apparent of it. And let them draw their headcovers over their “juyub” (clothing 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 khimar”.

It is only saying that if women possess khimars with them then it should be extended to cover the neck openings, or the clothing necklines of one’s outer garment.

So, this verse only regulates how to use khimars rather than mandates one on everyone. It instructs those who choose to wear one to modify it by extending it to cover the “juyub” or the neck openings of their tops.

To give an example, wearing seatbelts are required by law when driving cars, but that doesn’t mean it is mandatory to drive a car. 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 simply modifies how to wear a headscarf for Muslim women who choose to wear one, rather than mandating to use one.

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.

The word hijab (which means barrier or veil) is used a total of seven times in the Quran, but never once did it refer to any kind of clothes or headscarves in the Quran.

What is the “Adornment” in 24:31?

Verse 24:31 says women should not disclose their adornment, except whatever God made obvious and clear that she can reveal.

The phrasing of this verse in Arabic is, “illa (except) ma (what) zahara (has become obvious) minha (of it)”.

So which adornments of her body are obviously permitted for her to reveal?

This is very similar to the dietary prohibitions in the Quran: a Muslim should not eat whatever God obviously prohibited in the Quran

That logically means any other kind of food which God didn’t clearly or expressly prohibit in the Quran is made obviously permissible to eat.

Likewise, the Quran clearly and obviously mentioned a body part that a woman is supposed to cover.

That means anything besides that specific body part is able to be revealed.

The only body part in the Quran that has obviously been commanded to cover up is the genitals (furooj), in verse 7:26 and 24:31.

So if the genitals should obviously be covered up according to the Quran, then all other body parts are obviously able to be shown (hair, neck, arms, thighs, abdomen, even cleavage).

Those are not mandatory to cover up unless there are specific circumstances, which are mentioned in verse 33:59.

A very common interpretation is that verse 24:31 makes the coverage of the cleavage mandatory, which is not what the verse actually says.

As it was discussed previously, verse 24:31 says that if a woman wears a headscarf, she must extend it to cover the “juyub” (necklines of their tops).

The “jayb” (singular form of juyub in Arabic) refers to a part of one’s outer garment (neckline) according to Classical Arabic dictionaries such as Lane’s Lexicon, rather than the breasts or any specific part of the human body.

The Arabic word for the actual human body part (chests and breasts) is “sadr”, which is not in verse 24:31.

So verse 24:31 does not directly mandate anyone to wear a headscarf or cover the cleavage, but it only modifies how to use a headscarf if a woman chooses to wear one (by extending it to cover the neckline of her shirt or outer garment).

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 at minimum be just enough to provide enough recognition to protect yourself from harm.

There are four potential sources for harm: legal, emotional, physical/verbal, and social.

Avoiding legal harm means avoiding legal dress code violations, violations in the dress code as mandated by one’s employers, or dress code violations in any place that has formal dress code or uniform requirements.

Avoiding physical/verbal harm means avoiding clothes that you find is likely to cause others to physically or verbally harass you. If people are not harassing you due to your clothing choices, then it’s allowed to be worn.

Avoiding emotional harm is avoiding clothes that cause you to have emotional discomfort or distress.

Maybe people won’t verbally or physically harass and bully you about your clothing choice, but others might make rude or negative comments about it to others or to themselves when passing by you or seeing you. If people’s negative comments don’t cause you any emotional damage or discomfort, then it is okay to wear. But if it does, you might want to wear something else.

Avoiding social harm means to not go beyond the boundaries and social norms found in gatherings and privately-owned areas.

For example, you can wear whatever you want at the beach as long as there is no nudity, because it’s a public place, and only the government gets to set the dress standards in public areas. But you should not be underdressed or overdressed while at privately-owned places and events such as restaurants, malls and shops, etc. Only the property owner gets to set any formal and unspoken rule about what to wear.

Another example is gatherings. If you are at a privately organized gathering with a group of people (such as weddings, funerals, protests, a friend’s house, etc.) then you must not wear clothes that are considered inappropriate by those who organize and host the gatherings. You can’t wear a MAGA hat or an “I love Trump” T-shirt to an anti-Trump protest organized by Democrats, for example.

The Quran states that in all gatherings, people should make room when asked to make room, (verse 58:11) indicating the importance of politeness and not wearing clothes that make members of the gathering uncomfortable and not wearing clothes that feel “out of place”.

What causes legal, emotional, and physical/verbal 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 unlikely to cause the wearer to experience emotional, legal, and verbal/physical harm.

But for any individual person, if it does cause these things, then they might need to adjust their clothes.

In more conservative and less liberal areas and countries, however, more clothes is protective from legal and physical harm. It can even save your life if you visit Muslim countries with strict dress code laws.

The 2022 killing of Mahsa Amini in Iran occurred during detention by the Iranian police. She was detained for 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 an unfortunate kind of social harm.

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 social harm to a woman back then is different from what may cause social harm to a woman today.

So the jilbab is just an outer garment of any length, and the length that one should wear depends on what kind of harm or uncomfortable behaviors the individual herself experiences or not in response to her fashion choices.

If a woman in Iran notices that she experiences zero social or legal harm while wearing a T-shirt and shorts, then she can wear it.

But if a woman in Brazil finds that she is harassed more or gets more weird looks when wearing T-shirt and shorts in public compared to longer clothes, then she should wear longer clothes.

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 social harm for her personally.

Relaxing the Dress for Older Women

In verse 24:60, God states that there is no blame on menopausal women who aren’t expecting marriage anymore if they “yada’na thiyabahunna” (put aside their clothes), provided that they don’t show their adornment, but it’s better for them to refrain from doing that.

This tells us that older women who do not expect marriage anymore (whether because they are already married, or because they are single and not looking for marriage anymore) can take off or put aside as much of her clothes as she wants, as long as the genitals (the only body part specifically mentioned by the Quran as a woman’s adornment) are covered.

Although God says it’s better for them if they do not do this and just stick to the same level of coverage that applies to younger women.

The likely reason is that the protection from harm in verse 33:59 has more priority than the freedom to wear less clothes in public.

[24:60] And the post-menstrual women who do not expect marriage, there thus is no blame upon them that they put aside their clothes, without displaying their adornment, but that they refrain is better for them; God is Hearing, Knowledgeable.

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 social or legal harm to her personally.

The bikini top is a very short jilbab (outer garment), but is still a jilbab nonetheless since the Quran states that jilbab lengths are not fixed or constant.

Just don’t wear one in Iran or other places where it is illegal.

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 get arrested, or experience uncomfortable stares or harassment, or other types of social and legal harm.

But if she finds it more protective for her personally to wear longer clothing, she should do so.

The same standard applies to digital settings such as YouTube, Instagram, Facebook, and more; if the outfit does not violate social media guidelines and does not cause her to experience any social harm in real life, then it can be worn.

Men’s Dress Code

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

How much to cover is up to him, as long as it not seen as inappropriate for the setting and doesn’t cause him any social or legal harm, according to verses like 2:195, which says not to throw one’s self with their own hands into harm.

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.

The Importance of Intention

Neither a man or woman should wear any clothing with the intention of promoting things that is banned in the Quran. Verse 4:85 says those who intentionally promote a bad deed to others will get a share of it.

For example, our clothes shouldn’t have messages promoting racism, sexism, polytheism, bullying, alcohol consumption, etc.

Intention matters a lot when choosing what to wear. Even a simple, innocent jacket can either be prohibited or permitted depending on why one wants to wear that jacket. Your intention therefore dictates the permissibility of your outfit.

Men and women should not intend to cause other people to want unlawful sex with them while choosing what to wear.

A man can wear a suit and tie if he wants, but the purpose of wearing it shouldn’t be to cause people to want unlawful sex with him before marriage. The same applies to women and their clothing.

There is nothing wrong with dressing for the purpose of increasing one’s own attractiveness, because looking attractive and finding others to be attractive is not prohibited by God in the Quran.

What is prohibited, however, is the actual act of unlawful sex, or having a serious desire to commit it, therefore one should not dress to intentionally make others want to do it.

For example, there is a huge difference between, “I’m dressing to look and feel confident, handsome, beautiful, or attractive, but I don’t wish to cause others to want sexual relations with me,” and “I intend to cause people to want sexual relations with me with my fashion choices.”

Also, people should not dress with the intention of vanity or boasting about themselves.

For example, there is nothing wrong with wearing suits and ties, or nice dresses, or even having a Lamborghini, but the underlying intention should not be to use them as status symbols and think, “Hey look at me, I’m so rich, elite, and cool, I have a high-quality suit and tie, or the fanciest dress, and even a Lambo!”

As long as the minimum Quranic requirements are all met, and the underlying intention behind one’s clothing choice is not anything bad, then there is no problem or issue with minimal or maximal clothing. It’s a matter of personal opinion and preference.

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 to add more 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 for their inconvenience and be totally unaware that this was a self-imposed limitation.

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.