“Umar was with the Prophet (peace be upon him) when he saw a suit made of silk being sold at the door of the mosque. He said: ‘Messenger of God! Would you like to buy this suit to wear on Fridays and when you receive delegations?’ The Prophet said: ‘Such a suit is worn only by one who comes empty handed on the Day of Judgment’. Later, a few similar suits were sent to the Prophet. He gave one as a gift to Umar. Umar said to him: ‘Messenger of God, you have given me this suit while earlier you spoke negatively about Utarid’s suit’. The Prophet said: ‘I have not given it to you to wear’. Umar sent it as a gift to a brother of his who lived in Makkah and was an unbeliever.” (Related by Al-Bukhari).

This incident must have taken place before silk was made forbidden for Muslim men to wear. Otherwise, Umar would not have suggested that the Prophet should wear a suit made of silk. Had it been forbidden at the time and Umar did not know of the prohibition, the Prophet would have stated that clearly. He only said that it was not the sort of garment Muslims should wear. When he later sent a silk suit to Umar, Umar was disturbed. He immediately went to the Prophet wondering why he was given a gift which Muslims are not permitted to use. The Prophet made it clear to him that he did not expect him to wear it. This left Umar with the choice of either selling it or giving it to someone who could wear it. He sent it to a half brother of his who at the time followed the faith of the pagan Arabs. Even though those pagans in Makkah tried hard to suppress Islam and waged war against the Muslims on several occasions, it was perfectly permissible for Muslims to send them gifts, like Umar did. By doing so, he hoped that his brother would start thinking about Islam. At least he would not think that Islam put a barrier between him and his brother.

From another point of view, the Hadith makes clear that when we go to the mosque for Friday prayer, we should wear good clothes. In another Hadith, the Prophet suggested to his companions that they should keep a suit for Fridays, if they could. At the time, most Muslims were very poor. Many did not have more than one suit which they wore all the time. Some of them would stay at home when their suits were being washed, because they did not have another. They would wait until their washed clothes have dried before they could go out again. Umar was aware of the Prophet’s suggestion to have a suit for Fridays. Hence when he saw the silk suit being sold, he made his suggestion to the Prophet.