His Grace - Blessed garments and beauty in modesty.

Indeed there are numerous gifts from our Lord – and an often-ignored blessing is that of clothing – a tool that protects, keeps us warm or cool, maintains our modesty and enhances our beauty.

Islam does not make us insensitive of how we appear to others nor disregardful of taking proper care of our appearance. However, it asks of us not to make it a source of personal arrogance nor look down upon others. The Quran states,

And Allah has bestowed on you clothes to cover your nakedness and for adornment… (Q7: 26)

Here we can clearly observe how our Outer adornment of a garment has been referred to with the inner quality of Clothing of righteousness.

Garments- A gift of His Grace...

Further details of clothes being one of Allah’s blessing is revealed when He says,

And Allah has given you... Garments that protect you from the heat, and garments that protect you from your enemy in battle. (Quran16: 81)

Clothing therefore is not merely a basic comfort or necessity, but also a divine gift which protects our bodies from harm and also comforts us. It requires our reflection on how beneficial certain gifts have been given by Allah.

Dress smartly, but not arrogantly...

Now, one may question how it is possible to wear fine apparel or have a preference of nicely shaped shoes? Prophet Muhammed(pbuh) has clearly clarified this for us.. Abdullah Ibn Masood (RA) narrated, “The Prophet (pbuh) said: He will not enter the Jannah [Paradise] that has the weight of an atom of arrogance in his heart.” A man asked, “What if a man loves to wear nice clothes and shoes?” The Prophet (pbuh) said: “This is one of the slightest things that Allah looks at (and is pleased with” Surely, Allah is Beautiful, and loves beauty.

Pride is to reject the truth and look down upon other human beings.

( Muslim 91) – authentic

In this prophetic saying we are given the most direct explanation. It is one thing to enjoy having clean garments and smartly dressed feet, a totally different thing to take pride and feel superior to others from it. Islam allows a person to wear clean and appealing clothes and maintain oneself nicely, so long as one's inner nature does not turn arrogant, making a Muslim look down at others and refuse to recognize truth.

Beauty, not over that of righteousness…

The essence lies in a fine balance, a balance of knowing what is allowed; it is okay to look presentable as it may be one of the numerous Blessings from Allah which He has granted, yet at the same time we must remember that appearance cannot overshadow the inward.

Whether someone wears a designer outfit or humble clothes the true recognition lies not within material worth or external fashion; not within one's outer adornment but within the sincerity of His Servants. This is why the Prophet (pbuh) stated that arrogance is nothing other than despising the truth and men.

The Best Garment is that of righteousness...

As already revealed by the Holy Quran:

… But the clothing of righteousness- that is best. (Q7: 26)

Even if outer clothes can give attraction to some extent, the outer, as well as the inner quality clothing of righteousness, becomes most essential; therefore one should equip oneself with two vital articles,

* clean and acceptable garments of the world (covering accurately)
 *presentable and proper appearance of body and spirit, and the inner, permanent attire of his/her life: – gratefulness to Allah, compassion towards others, humility towards all creation, receptiveness to the truth.

One cannot underestimate their soul while overevaluating external look, so, here comes the need of attaining true beauty which lays more than only skin-deep.

Awareness of our Lord's Favors....

In our hectic lifestyles, we often neglect the very reason why we live such a life and all that we have attained has been purely through Allah's grace and permission. To have something covering our bodies, to have a means of protection over our appearance has been facilitated by several gifts ranging from fertile land, resources for clothing to its manufacture as well. By merely treating clothes as earthly garments alone one may forget to take note of these numerous blessings of Allah, therefore if one is able to realize how greatly one has been blessed even in his ability to dress up, perhaps the purpose would then be beyond self-admirment and appear to oneself and others from the angle of a pure follower of his Creator. Both have been blessed enough for to remain humble and content and neither is superior in the sight of Allah.

Reminder from Islam:

•  Dress smartly; not to show-off; just accept the provision Allah bestowed.
•  Look clean and attractive, yet let the external form be no more than a tool for portraying an ideal and well presented Muslim, not making it a source of self-centered pride; that character takes ultimate precedence.
•  Accept Allah’s gift and offer Thanks and be sincere for what you possess of it.
•  Do not disdain or belittle fellow men who were not equally blessed by the same measure of prosperity as you, Allah truly know your innermost thought.

Summary: Inner over outward beauty...

Human beings have indeed been given the garments for multiple reasons of clothing, protection and enhancing one's beauty. However the importance of a righteous clothing has been emphasized more in the Holy Quran than any mere worldly adornment. Our Beloved Prophet (pbuh) guided us well in distinguishing worldly attraction to clothing against the inner pride of being superior than one's fellow beings.

So the attire of dignity within would then go with good presentable and a clean appearance.

Let us dress well, let us stay clean but let us be thankful for this blessing of Allah, the inner beauty is eternal while the outer beauty is temporary.