The discussion about clothing and whether it has a connection to religion.

The Shaykh : The point here is that it has become a universal dress code; all countries, or many of them, wear the fez. So I engaged him in a religious matter, in that Islam forbids imitating the disbelievers, and in a social or, let us call it, philosophical matter, that clothing has an effect on the one who wears it. There is a long and very long discussion on this, but where is the point? In the end, I said to him, in order to put him in a difficult position and compel him, I said, "Do I understand from your words that this clothing has no connection to religion? That if you are wearing this cap, he is wearing a long black cap and a black robe, all black upon black, even what is this cap? The Lebanese priests have it; it is their custom, it is their dress."

The questioner : ... .

The Shaykh : Yes, I said to him, "I understand from your words that it is fine with you if you put a white cap on a red fez, is it not? Because this is clothing that has no connection to religion." He said, "No, no, no, that is not permissible." I said to him, "Why? We are men of religion; he is a man of religion." I said to him, "This is the difference between us, the Muslims, and you, the Christians. You Christians have two classes: men of religion and men without religion. What is forbidden for these is permissible for those. So it is forbidden for you to imitate the Muslims, but the others prefer it because they are men without religion. So the one who disbelieved was confounded." So I want to say that clothing has its importance in Islam, especially this trouser. The trouser has two problems: a problem that may disappear, as our brother 'Ayd said, if the disbelievers abandon the trouser, but that is unlikely, unlikely. The second problem is that it covers the 'awrah (the part of the body that must be covered). Covering the 'awrah is a defect, and the defect represents the 'awrah.

The questioner : Abu Ja'far, your brother.

The Shaykh : Ah

The questioner : He used to wear ... .

The Shaykh : Yes, exactly.

The questioner : This ... is a trial, meaning? Meaning he is.

The Shaykh : No, the problem now is not what he is wearing.

The questioner: Okay

The Shaykh : The Pakistani clothing solves the problem.

The questioner : Yes.

The Shaykh : It solves the problem, because the long shirt covers and conceals.

The questioner : By Allah, it is good.

The Shaykh : Ah

The questioner : I have an observation regarding the clothes of the priests. I heard an Islamic priest in Egypt. We notice that the priests in Europe wear white outside the church, but in our Arab countries, look, the priest wears white in the church and when he leaves the church to the street, he wears black. The reason is a fatwa from the Pope to wear mourning when Islam entered the Arab lands, so they were compelled to wear black and did not return to wearing white outside the church until Islam receded from those lands. So this is a type of belief they hold.

The Shaykh : Allah knows best, yes.

The questioner : We open the floor for the brother for his questions.