When we try to draw a picture of the man who was God’s Messenger (peace be upon him), we need to look at every aspect of his personality. Fortunately, we have authentic reports that speak about his every movement and every action. We learn what he said on matters of religion and politics, and what he said when he did anything in the normal way any person does in life. These reports give us a picture of his behavior and attitude in normal situations, which are far more helpful in understanding his character than the attitudes he adopted in difficult and major situations.
Let us take the example of wearing new clothes. Abu Saeed Al-Khudri reports: “When the Prophet had a new garment, he would mention its type, whether a robe, a shirt or a turban, and he would say a prayer: ‘All praise is due to You, my Lord, for giving me this robe (or shirt, turban, etc.). I pray You to grant me of the best it gives and the best it was made for, and I seek Your shelter against its evil and the evil for which it was made.’” (Related by Ahmad, Abu Dawood and Al-Tirmidhi.)
Thus the Prophet would attribute the fact that he had a new garment to God, from whom we receive everything we have. He praises God for giving it to him. This is indeed true even when we buy the new garment with our own money. Everything we have is only granted to us by God’s grace. It is through His grace that we are able to work and earn money, and according to His law that we inherit from our deceased relatives, and by His grace we enjoy health. Thus, everything we may have is due to His grace. This is acknowledged by the Prophet as he put on any new garment, attributing his having it to God’s grace.
The Prophet’s prayer, for the best that the garment was made for, means that he should use it in whatever earns God’s pleasure. By contrast, his prayer for protection against the evil for which the garment was made means that he should not use it for any purpose that may incur God’s displeasure.
Abdullah ibn Umar reports: “The Prophet saw Umar wearing a white shirt. He asked him whether it was new or had just been washed. Umar said that it was washed. The Prophet said to him: ‘May you wear garments that are new, and may you be praised in your lifetime, and may you die a martyr.’” (Related by Ahmad and Ibn Majah.)
This Hadith shows how the Prophet was aware of even the small details of the life of his companions. Here he asks one of them about his shirt and whether it was new or just washed. Then he prays for him. We will do well to emulate the Prophet and show pleasure when any friend of ours wears something new or smart.
We should also note that the Prophet’s prayer for Umar mentions three things: 1) that he may wear new garments, which was fulfilled as the Muslim community moved from a state of poverty to prosperity; 2) that he would be praised, which was fulfilled on a wide scale during his lifetime, as he ruled the Muslim state for ten years in which it attained worldwide glory; and 3) that he would die a martyr. Again this was fulfilled as Umar was assassinated by an unbeliever when he was leading the Fajr prayer in the Prophet’s Mosque.
Another Hadith concerning clothes is reported by Umm Khalid bint Khalid ibn Saeed. She states that the Prophet was brought a collection of clothes including a black top garment with two distinctive colorful markings. “He said: ‘To whom do you think we should give this top garment?’ No body answered. He then said: ‘Bring me Umm Khalid.’ I was taken to him, and he put the garment on me with his own hands, and said: ‘May you wear out your garments.’ He repeated this twice. He looked at one of the colorful markings on the garment, and then said: ‘Umm Khalid, this is very pretty.’” (Related by Al-Bukhari, and Abu Dawood.)
The first thing to note about this Hadith is that it gives us an idea of how the Prophet lived among his people and how he cared for them. His community was largely a poor community. Therefore, when he is brought a collection of garments, he examines them in front of his companions because he does not want to keep any of them for himself. When he finds a good garment suitable for a young person, he asks around for suggestions as to whom to give it. Nobody mentions anyone, so he specifies a young girl and asks for her to be brought in. When she comes, we see the Prophet putting the garment on her with his own hands. He looks at her when she had the garment on, examining one of its two distinctive markings, which, we are told in another version, were either red or green, and telling the girl how pretty she looked in her new outfit. Although Umm Khalid was not related to the Prophet, we see him speaking endearingly to her, putting her at ease and bringing a bright smile onto her face. He also prays for her to wear out her garments, which is a prayer for a long life. This is like we say today to someone with a smart outfit, “How elegant you look in your outfit. May you live and wear more and more.”
From the many Hadiths that mention the Prophet’s clothes we learn that he had something on his head most of the time. This could be anything that was worn in his community. Several Hadiths describe his headgear. Amr ibn Hurayth, for example, says: “I saw the Prophet delivering a speech, wearing a black turban.” Another report by the same companion of the Prophet gives more details: “I can almost see the Prophet wearing a black turban and leaving its end loose between his shoulders.” (Related by Muslim, Abu Dawood, Al-Nassaie and Al-Tirmidhi.)
In both these Hadiths, and in several others, the Prophet’s turban is described as black, which is the reason for scholars who trace their ancestry to the Prophet’s family wearing black turbans. However, this does not give a preference for this particular type of headdress. The Prophet used what was available to him and commonly used in his community.