The Ruling on Attending to One's Appearance and Demeanor in Islam
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The questioner:
Likewise, may Allah preserve you, the Shaykh. The Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) used to comb his hair. He loved fine clothes, and he loved fine clothes in his daily life. And Mu'adh (may Allah be pleased with him) used to wear the best of his clothes. Islam encourages appearing with a good appearance. So how is the description of the believer who seeks the Hereafter that his head is unkempt?
The Shaykh:
This is in the context of jihad. In jihad, the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) did not attend to these things.
The questioner:
In jihad, he did not apply oil or do these things. He only did them in a state of peace and in a state of...
The Shaykh:
Yes.
The questioner:
...his murmuring. Since the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) was not in battle and not in war, the Messenger describes the one striving in the path of Allah as being occupied with jihad. This does not prevent a person, when he has leisure, from improving his appearance.
The Shaykh:
Yes.
The questioner:
He combs his hair and applies oil.
The Shaykh:
Yes.
The questioner:
...distress.
The Shaykh:
Fine clothes. Allah, Exalted and Majestic, is beautiful and loves beauty, as the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said. So if a person has the opportunity to adorn himself, especially to adorn himself for prayer, for the Friday prayer, for the two festivals, or for meeting visitors, this is from the Sunnah. This is something required. But in the state of jihad, the believer does not have the leisure for these things, because jihad, as you know, involves dust, struggle, fighting, and blood. In the state where the mujahid prioritizes the requirements of jihad over the requirements of his own self. His self wants comfort, wants to appear prominent, and wants appearances. Jihad is the opposite of that. Jihad is occupied with fighting the disbelievers and battling the enemies. So he prioritizes the pleasure of Allah over the pleasure of his own self. He prioritizes what Allah loves over what his own self loves. This is what is required. But if he has the opportunity and the time is a time of peace, and he is able to beautify his appearance within the limits of what is permissible, then this is something required. This is from the Sunnah of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him): applying kohl, applying oil, combing the hair, wearing fine clothes, and wearing fine sandals. And all of this is from the blessings of Allah, Glorified and Exalted. And this is something encouraged. And this is what indicates the strength of Islam and that its people are people of civilization and progress, not as the enemies say that they are rough and that they are Bedouins and desert dwellers. No, Islam wants us to display Islam with an appearance of strength and an appearance of beauty and an appearance of utilizing the blessings of Allah, Glorified and Exalted, in the permissible manner. It is not understood from this hadith that Islam always and forever encourages a shabby appearance and not attending to one's appearance. No, it is not always like that, but this is in the time of jihad.
The other hadith says that the criterion is not the appearance, but the criterion is what is in the heart. It may be that people look down upon this person, but he has a great status with Allah because of his faith. It says that the measure is not what is with people, but the measure is with Allah, Glorified and Exalted. This is the intended meaning of the hadith. It does not encourage unkemptness and not attending to one's appearance and clothing. It does not encourage that, and it does not indicate that. But it indicates that the measure is not what people see. People may see an appearance that is not impressive, but he is in a high status with Allah because of faith.
Likewise, may Allah preserve you, the Shaykh. The Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) used to comb his hair. He loved fine clothes, and he loved fine clothes in his daily life. And Mu'adh (may Allah be pleased with him) used to wear the best of his clothes. Islam encourages appearing with a good appearance. So how is the description of the believer who seeks the Hereafter that his head is unkempt?
The Shaykh:
This is in the context of jihad. In jihad, the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) did not attend to these things.
The questioner:
In jihad, he did not apply oil or do these things. He only did them in a state of peace and in a state of...
The Shaykh:
Yes.
The questioner:
...his murmuring. Since the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) was not in battle and not in war, the Messenger describes the one striving in the path of Allah as being occupied with jihad. This does not prevent a person, when he has leisure, from improving his appearance.
The Shaykh:
Yes.
The questioner:
He combs his hair and applies oil.
The Shaykh:
Yes.
The questioner:
...distress.
The Shaykh:
Fine clothes. Allah, Exalted and Majestic, is beautiful and loves beauty, as the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said. So if a person has the opportunity to adorn himself, especially to adorn himself for prayer, for the Friday prayer, for the two festivals, or for meeting visitors, this is from the Sunnah. This is something required. But in the state of jihad, the believer does not have the leisure for these things, because jihad, as you know, involves dust, struggle, fighting, and blood. In the state where the mujahid prioritizes the requirements of jihad over the requirements of his own self. His self wants comfort, wants to appear prominent, and wants appearances. Jihad is the opposite of that. Jihad is occupied with fighting the disbelievers and battling the enemies. So he prioritizes the pleasure of Allah over the pleasure of his own self. He prioritizes what Allah loves over what his own self loves. This is what is required. But if he has the opportunity and the time is a time of peace, and he is able to beautify his appearance within the limits of what is permissible, then this is something required. This is from the Sunnah of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him): applying kohl, applying oil, combing the hair, wearing fine clothes, and wearing fine sandals. And all of this is from the blessings of Allah, Glorified and Exalted. And this is something encouraged. And this is what indicates the strength of Islam and that its people are people of civilization and progress, not as the enemies say that they are rough and that they are Bedouins and desert dwellers. No, Islam wants us to display Islam with an appearance of strength and an appearance of beauty and an appearance of utilizing the blessings of Allah, Glorified and Exalted, in the permissible manner. It is not understood from this hadith that Islam always and forever encourages a shabby appearance and not attending to one's appearance. No, it is not always like that, but this is in the time of jihad.
The other hadith says that the criterion is not the appearance, but the criterion is what is in the heart. It may be that people look down upon this person, but he has a great status with Allah because of his faith. It says that the measure is not what is with people, but the measure is with Allah, Glorified and Exalted. This is the intended meaning of the hadith. It does not encourage unkemptness and not attending to one's appearance and clothing. It does not encourage that, and it does not indicate that. But it indicates that the measure is not what people see. People may see an appearance that is not impressive, but he is in a high status with Allah because of faith.
Source
صفة المؤمن المريد للآخرة — alfawzan.live
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.