Islam: The Religion and the People

Chapter 12: Dress

In a message to all humanity, the Koran states: “O children of Adam, we have given you clothing to cover your shame, and to be an adornment for you, but the garb of piety is the best” (7:26). The early Arab lexicographers add an obvious further purpose—“to protect against heat and cold.” Common usage, sometimes backed by state enforcement, added yet another function for clothing—to proclaim identity and allegiance.

Some forms of clothing can be traced back in the Middle East to remote antiquity. The earliest and most basic are headgear and footwear, for protection against nature, and some form of girdle or loincloth, presumably for protection against one’s fellow men. By the time of the advent of Islam in the 7^th century CE, ...