There is a statement by some scholars regarding the saying of Allah the Exalted: "and the Sabians," that they were a group of Jews who settled in Iraq and adopted the red shemagh as their emblem.
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The questioner : The questioner says: May the Shaykh be respected, I read for some scholars in the interpretation of the saying of Allah the Exalted: [Al-Baqarah 2:62] the verse, regarding the Sabians that they were a group of Jews who settled in Iraq and adopted the red shemagh as their emblem, along with lengthening their hair in mourning for the killing of the Prophet of Allah, Yahya. Does this statement, assuming it is correct, imply that we are imitating them in this attire?
The Shaykh : Meaning the shemagh? By Allah, this is a problem. Perhaps the shopkeepers who have shemaghs do not hear this talk. The reality is that the reports coming from the Children of Israel are neither affirmed nor denied, and no legal rulings are derived from them. Then, is the red clothing they wear pure red or mixed with another color? It has been reported from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) the prohibition of pure red clothing. As for the shemagh, praise be to Allah, it is not pure red clothing, but rather half of it is white or close to that, so it does not fall under the prohibition of red clothing. As for what was mentioned about the Sabians and that they are a people who took red clothing as their emblem, I know nothing about that. But as I said, what comes from the Children of Israel is neither affirmed nor denied, and no rulings are taken from it except what our Shari'ah has testified to as true and valid, so we follow what the Shari'ah has testified to.
Indeed, those who believed and those who were Jews or Christians or Sabeans
إن الذين آمنوا والذين هادوا والنصارى والصابئينThe Shaykh : Meaning the shemagh? By Allah, this is a problem. Perhaps the shopkeepers who have shemaghs do not hear this talk. The reality is that the reports coming from the Children of Israel are neither affirmed nor denied, and no legal rulings are derived from them. Then, is the red clothing they wear pure red or mixed with another color? It has been reported from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) the prohibition of pure red clothing. As for the shemagh, praise be to Allah, it is not pure red clothing, but rather half of it is white or close to that, so it does not fall under the prohibition of red clothing. As for what was mentioned about the Sabians and that they are a people who took red clothing as their emblem, I know nothing about that. But as I said, what comes from the Children of Israel is neither affirmed nor denied, and no rulings are taken from it except what our Shari'ah has testified to as true and valid, so we follow what the Shari'ah has testified to.