Dress & Behave appropriately to maintain the image of Islam ( Abdullah Cheng)
Dear brothers and sisters,
When you look at yourself in the mirror, and try to see yourself as if you are another person. What are the first things that comes to your mind? Is it the type of clothes you’re wearing? Is it the color of your clothes? Is it your hairstyle? Is it your smell? Is it your smile? If you saw someone on the street like yourself, would you want to approach him, or would you try to stay away from him?
These are the things that people notice immediately when seeing somebody. Many of us may have a wrong understanding about the appearance that a Muslim should have in Islam. Our culture has made us think that in order to be modest, we need to wear cheap and low quality clothes, to not be concerned about our appearance, to show that we are not somebody who is living a luxurious life. If that was the case, then we should have been wearing the Ihram clothes throughout the entire year.
In fact, all of the things I mentioned earlier about the features which people notice about us, every single one of them has been mentioned by the Prophet ﷺ in different Ahadith, and he has taught us how to deal with them. Regarding the hair style, we know that the Prophet ﷺ would comb his hair. Regarding the types of clothes, he would wear thobes and cloaks of white and green color. He encouraged men to put on perfumes. He encouraged us to smile as it is a form of charity. In fact, on this day of Jumuah, it is part of the Sunnah to take a good shower, put on perfumes, wearing good clothes before coming to the masjid.
All of these highlights the importance of maintaining a positive image and good impression in the public. To wear good clothes and maintaining a positive image is not showing off or being prideful, unless you feel a sense of superiority over other people. The Prophet ﷺ said:
إِنَّ اللَّهَ جَمِيلٌ يُحِبُّ الْجَمَالَ
Allah is beautiful, He loves beauty. [Sahih Muslim 91]
It is especially important if we are leaders and people of impact, as it makes it easier for people to approach us. On the contrary, if we do not take good care of our appearance, then it may be difficult for people to take us as examples and follow. And we all know that we are leaders in certain aspects of life. It’s not necessarily being a leader in a masjid, but also a leader among friends, among colleagues, among family members, and also, being a Muslim among non-Muslims. When we are the only Muslim in our surroundings, we are the ambassador of Islam, we are the image of Islam, and we represent Islam even if we don’t have the intention. When we are the only Muslim in our surroundings, we are the image of Islam, and we represent Islam even if we don’t have the intention.
The Prophet ﷺ narrated, that every Muslim is a shepherd and is responsible for his flock. [Sahih Bukhari 7138] When you are the leader, you don’t just consider for yourself when making any decision, but you would take actions in favor of the entire group and maintain a positive image of that group. Allah says in the Qur’an:
كُنتُمْ خَيْرَ أُمَّةٍ أُخْرِجَتْ لِلنَّاسِ تَأْمُرُونَ بِٱلْمَعْرُوفِ وَتَنْهَوْنَ عَنِ ٱلْمُنكَرِ وَتُؤْمِنُونَ بِٱللَّهِ
You are the best community ever raised for humanity—you encourage good, forbid evil, and believe in Allah. [3:110]
We are part of the best people in humanity, we should serve as a good example for people to follow, there should be clear differences between us and non-Muslims, not just in our food, not just in our clothes, but more importantly in our characters.
The Prophet demonstrates a good example for all of us. Once, there was a hypocrite who accused the Prophet of being unfair. This is a grave sin that deserves to be punished to death, however the Prophet refused to do so, because he said: “People would say that Muhammad is killing his companions”. Does the Prophet (ﷺ) worry about his fame? Absolutely not. He cares about the reputation of Islam as a whole because people might be discouraged to Islam if it has been presented with a bad image, since in reality, most people who are not Muslims cannot differentiate between Muslims and hypocrites, Sunni or Shia, this sect or that sect, this madhab or that madhab. Which means that even if we don’t acknowledge, we are considered to be within the same group by the people outside.
Therefore, all of us need to be able to think broader, not just thinking for myself, but think for the sake of Islam, that of course every single action we do is ultimately for Allah, however at the same time, we cannot ignore the impact we leave to the people around us. Whether it’s through our appearance or through our characters or our actions, we need to also take into account the impression we leave if someone is witnessing.
The next time we go out, make sure to dress up properly, make sure to brush our teeth, make sure to be clean, not to impress people, but to show them the beauty of Islam, and hoping that it could lead them closer to Islam.
May Allah grant us sincerity in our actions, may Allah protect us from pride and jealousy, and may Allah guide those whom He loves.