Will you give information about the decree of wearing a turban, cap, shalwar (baggy trousers) and gown in daily life, and wearing them while performing prayers?

Will you explain if wearing a turban, shalwar (baggy trousers) and gown is sunnah, mustahab or mubah, and their role in worshipping? Is it necessary to wear a turban, shalwar and gown during daily life when we are not worshipping? Or, should we dress based on the customs of the place where we live considering that it was a custom of the Prophet (pbuh) and that it changed from tribe to tribe and that what matters is wearing plain, clean clothes that will not tighten the outlines of the body and that will take gender difference into account?   

Dear Brother / Sister,

Turban and cap are mubah (permissible) things. Everybody is free to wear or not to wear a turban or cap. For, the religion of Islam did not make it compulsory for Muslims to wear a turban or cap unless they wear something that is accepted as a sign of unbelief (like clerical hat worn by priests).

However, it is sunnah to wear a turban while performing prayers. The Messenger of Allah (pbuh) states the following:

"A two-rak'ah prayer performed by wearing a turban is better than seventy rak'ahs performed without a turban."(Taj. I/169)

Therefore, it is more appropriate to give importance to wearing a turban. There is no information about the length of the turban. It depends on the custom. (al-Fatawa al-Kubra, I/169) There is disagreement about whether a cap is regarded as a turban. According to Ibn Hajar, it is not regarded as a turban. According to what is written in the book Bughyatul-Mustarshidin, it is regarded as a turban.

Islam does not introduce a special garment to Muslims and it does not prohibit this or that garment. Therefore, the garments of all Muslims are not the same. Some wear gowns; others wear caftan; there are also Muslims who wear shawls, turbans, trousers (pants), shalwar (baggy trousers) etc. Everybody is free regarding the issue.

However, it is not appropriate to wear eye-catching clothes that are not traditional in a country. According to Shafiis, the witnessing of the people who wear such clothes is not valid. However, it is permissible to wear the clothes that unbelievers wear unless they are strange and eye-catching. The following is reported from al-Mughira bin Shuba:

"The Prophet (pbuh) put on a Byzantine gown with narrow arms."(Bukhari, Muslim)

According to what is understood from this hadith, it is permissible to wear the clothes that unbelievers wear (Mirqatul-Mafatih. IV/416). The coats that we wear today are regarded as gowns. For, there is no difference between the gown mentioned in the hadith and the coats we wear today. 

Questions on Islam