Power Dressing- The Islamic Perspective
By: Humaira Kapadia
Tags: Sprituality, Clothing, Hijab, Fashion, Islam

“Invisible. That is what Phoebe Philo’s clothes for Céline make you feel. Not romantic, like Valentino. Or dark and edgy, like Saint Laurent. Simply invisible. A woman in a perfectly cut shirt and a pair of pants. And, oh, what a relief! Because we are busy. We work. We wipe our children’s mouths with the backs of our hands as we rush out the door. We don’t have time to consider whether our prints match or our buttons align. To try on different outfits each morning, like so many different personalities. To fuss and preen. That seems silly, somehow weak. Despite Philo’s many best efforts, there is a Céline uniform: large, slouchy trousers; a collarless shirt; flats; a tuxedo jacket – preferably in navy, black or cream. The clothes are quiet and not meant to make a statement. And so you look invisible. Able to be viewed for more than your surface appearance. This is power dressing.”

-By Whitney Vargas for The New York Times.

As I stumbled upon this quote (originally in an Instagram post) and eventually looked up the article, I couldn’t help but draw a parallel between it and the purpose of clothing in Islam. More specifically, the general guidelines of clothing for Muslim women in Islam. And I was honestly intrigued. Because it was refreshing to know that this British designer pretty much summed up how clothing should be viewed at and for what purpose.

Despite the obsession of the female form and the amount of clothing on a woman or lack thereof, the notion that you can be viewed for more than your surface appearance is something to reflect upon. I’ve always wondered how we as women don’t exist on this planet to adhere to a specific form or to fashion trends or the reduction of our physical selves to merely that-just outer bodies being beautified and made to look sensational. However- with the magnetic exposure to all forms of media and images of how a woman is supposed to look like, our hearts and minds may gradually get perverted into believing that these standards need to be followed.

Let’s talk about the Islamic perspective on clothing and modesty. Do adornment and wanting to look good have no place in the Shari’ah? It is actually quite on the contrary. Allah says in the Qur’an, “Children of Adam, We have given you garments to cover your nakedness and as adornment for you.”(Qur’an 7:26)

When we talk about post-modern conceptions of beauty, it has a lot of negative connotations that look at Eurocentric ideals as being an epitome. If we look at the term beauty without these notions, we can truly understand the place of adornment in Islam. God Himself mentions adornment, beautification and embellishment as one of the reasons for ordaining clothing. Every time we dress up, it is pretty amazing to know that clothing was ordained especially for us, the children of Adam, by God. Everything in Islam is spiritual.

There is even a hadith on beauty which further emphasizes the aesthetic reasons for clothing.

Abdullah ibn Mas’ud reported: The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said, “No one who has the weight of a seed of arrogance in his heart will enter Paradise.” Someone said, “But a man loves to have beautiful clothes and shoes.” The Prophet said, “Verily, Allah is beautiful and He loves beauty. Arrogance means rejecting the truth and looking down on people.”

Source: Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim 91

Grade: Sahih (authentic) according to Muslim

The Prophet (peace be upon him) clarified to his companions that wanting to look good with fine clothes and shoes is not synonymous with being arrogant. The fine balance between clothing for adornment and clothing for convenience’s sake in Islam is what really fascinates me. This is real power dressing.