THE NEED TO WEAR GARMENTS

One of the differences between human and animals is that human are blessed with the ability to wear garments. Garments:

• Protect the body
• Cover the nakedness
• Hide physical defects
• Decorate the personality.

No other creature is blessed with any special addition to its body in order to be able to enhance its personality as the human being.

Allah wants us to present ourselves as the best of everything He created as we represent Him here on earth. He says:

O children of Adam We have bestowed clothes upon you to cover your shame as well as to make you look beautiful. (7:26)

The Holy Prophet Muhammad (pboh) is reported to have said:

Allah is the embodiment of beauty and love beautiful things.

Perhaps this is one of the reasons why Allah says:

O Children of Adam wear your beautiful clothes in every Masjid. (2:187)

One of the distinctive use of garments is to cover the nakedness. Islam requires that a person should not expose his/nakedness to others except his/her spouse.

The first thing that Adam and Eve felt shame about was their nakedness, which was the mission of Satan, i.e. to uncover their nakedness. Allah tells us about this in the following verse of the Holy Qur’an. He says:

Then Satan began to whisper suggestions to them, in order to reveal to them their shame that was hidden from them. (7:20)

So by deceit he brought about their fall; when they tasted of the tree; their shame became manifest to them; and they began to sew together the leaves of the Garden to cover their bodies. (7:22)

Part of the mission of Satan is to get the progeny of Adam to walk naked like the animals all over the place. Allah warns us about this in the following words:

O Children of Adam, do not let Satan seduce you, in the same manner as he got your parents out of the Garden, by stripping them out of their garments to expose their shame. (7:27)

Satan loves to see the nakedness of human beings. Prophet Muhammad (pboh) taught his companions to pray to Allah every time one goes into the washroom, to keep Satan away from him or her as he (Satan) would like to look at and play with the human private part.

Allah says: He and his tribe watch you from a position where you cannot see them. (7:27)

As carnival is coming, you will see many people being trapped by the deceit of Satan, as he decorates the evil and make it look attractive. Please guard yourselves; and pray to Allah for protection from the tricks of Satan.