The Ruling on Wearing the Iqal
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The questioner : Your Eminence the Shaykh! Is it true that you wore the 'iqal when someone asked you, and is it permissible to wear the 'iqal?
The Shaykh : No, by Allah, this is a strange question. First, I do not remember wearing an 'iqal, and if I did, the point is that I clarify to this questioner that wearing the 'iqal is not forbidden. However, I do not remember doing so. The default ruling for wearing the 'iqal is permissibility, based on the saying of Allah, Blessed and Exalted is He:[Al-A'raf 7:32].
But if a person is in a position where people would criticize him for wearing the 'iqal, then we say: keep back the backbiting from yourself; do not wear the 'iqal. Not because it is forbidden, but so that people do not talk about his honor and it does not become known among people.
Now, if it is a student, do we say he should not wear the 'iqal? I answer him: No, why? Because people do not look at him in a way that would lead them to talk about him. A student might keep it on, or he might keep it for a week and then take it off. It is well known that young people are quick to change; today he comes with a ghutrah and an 'iqal, tomorrow with a shemagh and an 'iqal, and the day after with a ghutrah and a shatfah, and so on.
The questioner : And neither a ghutrah nor a shemagh?
The Shaykh : And tomorrow he comes with a kufiyyah with a tassel like this, and so on. He has a different outfit every day. But a person should be composed, composed and settled in his clothing and his affairs. Yes.
The Shaykh : No, by Allah, this is a strange question. First, I do not remember wearing an 'iqal, and if I did, the point is that I clarify to this questioner that wearing the 'iqal is not forbidden. However, I do not remember doing so. The default ruling for wearing the 'iqal is permissibility, based on the saying of Allah, Blessed and Exalted is He:
Say, "Who has forbidden the adornment of Allah which He has produced for His servants and the good [lawful] things of provision?"
قُلْ مَنْ حَرَّمَ زِينَةَ اللَّهِ الَّتِي أَخْرَجَ لِعِبَادِهِ وَالطَّيِّبَاتِ مِنَ الرِّزْقِBut if a person is in a position where people would criticize him for wearing the 'iqal, then we say: keep back the backbiting from yourself; do not wear the 'iqal. Not because it is forbidden, but so that people do not talk about his honor and it does not become known among people.
Now, if it is a student, do we say he should not wear the 'iqal? I answer him: No, why? Because people do not look at him in a way that would lead them to talk about him. A student might keep it on, or he might keep it for a week and then take it off. It is well known that young people are quick to change; today he comes with a ghutrah and an 'iqal, tomorrow with a shemagh and an 'iqal, and the day after with a ghutrah and a shatfah, and so on.
The questioner : And neither a ghutrah nor a shemagh?
The Shaykh : And tomorrow he comes with a kufiyyah with a tassel like this, and so on. He has a different outfit every day. But a person should be composed, composed and settled in his clothing and his affairs. Yes.
Source
لقاء مع طلاب جامعة الإمام بمسجد الإسكان — archive.org (24:21)
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.