Starting university soon, so I was thinking I should start wearing the Kufi to school - until I realized, I don't even know the virtues!
There is that Desi myth that wearing the kufi is like a helmet so Shaitan can't get in your head.
But I wanted reliable sources. What are the virtues of wearing a Kufi? Do any of you wear Kufi everywhere? Why do you do it? What do you tell someone when they ask you?
To wear a topi/hat is well established Sunnah for a Muslim man. Many great scholars of the past and present have emphasised that a Muslim should wear a hat particularly in prayers as in the Hanafi school of thought it is reprehensible to pray wihout a hat if one is able to do so.
The Prophet (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam) also wore a hat:
Abu Kabsha (Ra) narrates that the hats of the companions of Rasulullah (Sallallaahu Alayhi Wasallam) used to be round and spacious.
(Mirqaat vol.8 pg.246)
It is narrated by Tabrani on the authority of Ibn Umar (Ra) that Rasulullah (Sallallaahu Alayhi Wasallam) used to wear a white hat.
(Ibid)
Hassan Basri (Rahmatullah Alayhi) states that the people (Sahaaba - Radhiallaahu Anhum) used to make Sajda (prostrate) upon their turbans and hats.
(Bukhari vol.1 pg.56; Rashidiyya)
Mullah Ali Qari (Rahmatulah Alayhi) states that the wearing of the hat has become one of the salient symbols of Islam.
(Mirqaat vol.8 pg.246) It is the only outward and unique salient feature that distinguishes a Muslim from a non-Muslim. No other community group or people wear the Muslim type hat.
The crown of the beiever: The Turban:
What was also very emphasised in the past and present is to wear the crown of the believer:
The turban (Imaamah):
'Abd Allah ibn 'Umar said:
"The Prophet used to wind the turban around his head and tuck it in behind him, letting its extremity hang down between his shoulders."
Jabir (Ra) said:
"The Prophet entered Mecca on the Day of victory wearing a black turban and he loosened its two ends between his shoulders." (Muslim & Abu Dawud)
All of the founding Imams of the four schools of Ahl al-Sunnah wal-Jama'ah wore the turban. Imam Malik (Ra) stressed the wearing of the turban, particularly for the learned:
"The turbans should not be neglected," he said. "I wore the turban with
nary a hair on my face. When I asked permission from my mother to pursue
the scholarly life she said: 'First, wear the garb of the scholars'; she
took me and dressed me in short-hemmed (mushammara) garments, placed a
tall headcover on my head and tied a turban around it then she said,
'Now go and write the Science'.
"I saw over 30 men wearing the turban in my teacher Rabi'a's circle. He
would not put it down before the Pleiades rose (late at night) and he
used to say: 'I swear it strengthens wit!"'
Such is the high nobility of the turban that we are told even the angels wore it. Of the Qur'anic verse,
"Your Lord shall help you with five thousand angels bearing marks" (Surat Ali 'Imran, verse 125)
Ibn 'Abbas, the greatest of the early exegetes, said:
"Th e signs are that they wore turbans."
The Sunnah is both inward and outward:
The Sunnah covers both external and internal and both are just as important as each other just like external hijaab is just as important as internal modesty. The Prophet, his Companions, the Successors, and the totality of the pious after their time and down to ours over the centuries have all worn the hat, turban, the beard, and the loose-fitting clothes associated with Islam which distinguishes us from non Muslims.
So how can any Muslim condone abandoning any of these aspects of our Deen (way of life) under the pretext that they concern externals or customs or
"are not of the customs of today", or that they belong to
"the past". Surely it is only the enemies of Islam would oppose those who are faithful to each and every aspect of the Sunnah, including the Prophet's manner of dressing, eating, and everyday living.
What would they say of the Companion `Abd Allah ibn `Umar, who used to dismount in order to walk on the exact same spot the Prophet had put his steps although such walking was not part of his lawgiving?
(Bayhaqi, al-Sunan al-kubra 5:245)
Subhaanallah the companions followed the Prophet down to the smallest of details and to them they loved nothing less but to follow the Prophet in each and every aspect of their life no matter how small it may seem.
Almighty Allah says: "Say (O My Prophet to the believers): If you love Allah, follow me."
The deen of Islam which consists of the Qur'an and the Sunnah which not just concerned with the inwardness but also the outwardness. It encompasses EVERY aspect of our lives including what we wear and is not merely exclusive to inwardness.
The proof that following the Prophet's example in the minutest details of dress is a Sunna is given by the following hadith in Bukhari:
Narrated Ibn `Umar (Ra): The Prophet wore a gold ring and then the people followed him and wore gold rings too. Then the Prophet said,
"I had this golden ring made for myself. He then threw it away and said,
"I shall never put it on." Thereupon the people also threw their rings away.
(Bukhari)
So his companions did not limit themselves to following him inwardly but they also followed him outwardly, even to the most smallest of detail as mentioned in the couple of examples above. To them Each and every Sunnah was just as important as the other whether it was the dress or everyday matters such as eating, walking, and sleeping etc.
Make the Sunnah more dear to us than anything else:
Surely one would do anything for a beloved. So if the Prophet (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam) is that beloved to us then we would do anything and everything to imitate him whether it is an internal or external Sunnah.
The Prophet (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam) said:
“None of you have faith unless I'm dear to him then his father and his son and all Mankind” (Bukhari)
Revive the Sunnah in each and every aspect of our lives:
Therefore let us revive the Sunnah and practise and implement it in each and every aspect of our lives whether internally or externally and let us hold on to it dearly and listen to NO ONE who tells us to do the opposite or wants us to conform to any other ideals which is contrary to it:
The Prophet (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam) said regarding the reward for reviving his Sunnah:
Whoever gives life to one of my Sunnas which was eliminated after my time will receive the reward of all those who practice it without their reward being diminished... (Tirmidhi (hasan), Book of knowledge; al-Baghawi, Sharh al-sunna 1:233)
Whoever gives life to one of my Sunnah's, he loves me: and whoever loves me is with me. (Tirmidhi)
By following the Sunnah in each and every aspect of our lives can become worship and a means to please Allah. That is the unique thing about Islam that it is not limited to our prayers but encompasses EVERYTHING we do.
So let us make him the Prophet (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam) our role model in each and every aspect of our lives. For in the Hereafter we will be with the ones we loved and if we truly love the Prophet then we will keep his Sunnah alive and practise and implement it in each and every aspect of our lives both inwardly and outwardly.
May Allah enable us to hold onto the Sunnah and make it more dear to us than anything else. Ameen
