﷽
الحمد لله والصلاة والسلام على رسول الله
وعلى آله وصحبه أجمعين ومن تبعهم بإحسان إلى يوم الدين
اللهم اجعلنا منهم
We begin by mentioning the Name of The One True God, Allāh, The Infinitely Caring, Eternally Compassionate. We sincerely praise and thank God to the highest extent, and ask Him to bless, protect, honor, and compliment our Prophet and Messenger Muḥammad, his family, his companions, and those that diligently follow them until the end of times. Dear God, please include us from amongst them.
Ramaḍān in The Qurʾān
When discussing the āyāt about Ramaḍān, we may find that there is a lack of focus and attention given to the last āyah about Ramaḍān within the section of Sūrah Al-Baqarah, āyah 2:187. Perhaps because it is longer, and deals with the history, background, and technical aspects of fasting, but it really is such a beautiful āyah. Let us touch on the first part of that āyah because even out of that oft-skipped āyah, the first part is often just passed over. This is from my experience. May Allāh ﷻ allow all of us to learn and teach the Qurʾān in all its glory.
Alḥamdulillāh - Thank You, Allāh. مَا شَاۤءَ ٱللَّهُ لَا قُوَّةَ إِلَّا بِٱللَّهِ - this is what Allāh willed and there is no ability to do anything without Him, we covered the entire section of Sūrah Al-Baqarah on Ramaḍān (2:183-187) with IOK Suhbah in early 2024 right before Ramaḍān 1445. We have an article summarizing some of those discussions here: Ramaḍān is Coming!.
Rules of Fasting (Ṣiyām)
At the start of that āyah (2:187), Allāh ﷻ says: “أُحِلَّ لَكُمْ لَيْلَةَ الصِّيَامِ الرَّفَثُ إِلَى نِسَائِكُمْ هُنَّ لِبَاسٌ لَكُمْ وَأَنْتُمْ لِبَاسٌ لَهُنَّ - Intimacy (rafath) with your spouses has been permitted for you during the nights of Ramaḍān. They (your wives) are clothing (libās) for you (o husbands), and you (o husbands) are clothing (libās) for them (your wives).”
The vast majority of scholars are of the opinion that when fasting was first made an obligation on the Muslims (i.e., the day of ʿĀshūrāʾ - the 10th day of Muḥarram, and/or perhaps Ramaḍān of 2 AH), the fast (ṣiyām) was essentially the entire day and night, save the time between Maghrib and falling asleep. Other scholars, namely from the Iṣlāḥī-school of tafsīr, have a slightly different take on this in the sense that the ruling to the Ummah of the Prophet ﷺ was never that “ifṭār” (the time to eat, drink, and be intimate) was from Maghrib until sleep, but that it was the ruling of the previous nations (namely the Jews). So, when some of the Jews of Al-Madīnah became Muslim (and perhaps also those new Arabian Muslims who were native to Al-Madīnah, the Anṣār, who were not Jews, but were familiar with their practices) they defaulted to following this ruling because they did not know otherwise. Regardless, the ruling that Allāh ﷻ now gave and/or clarified to the Prophet ﷺ and his community is that fasting (ṣiyām) is from the start of Fajr (dawn, the white thread of light on the horizon coming out of the black thread that is the darkness of the night) until the start of Maghrib (sunset). From the time of sunset until dawn, it is completely permissible, rather it is encouraged — “وَٱبۡتَغُوا۟ مَا كَتَبَ ٱللَّهُ لَكُمۡ - go do what has Allāh has deemed permissible for you” — to eat, drink, and be intimate.
Spouses are Garments (Libās) - هُنَّ لِبَاسࣱ لَّكُمۡ وَأَنتُمۡ لِبَاسࣱ لَّهُنَّ
With all of that background done, let us spend some time on the next sentence within the same āyah, “هُنَّ لِبَاسࣱ لَّكُمۡ وَأَنتُمۡ لِبَاسࣱ لَّهُنَّ - They (your wives) are clothing (libās) for you (o husbands), and you (o husbands) are clothing (libās) for them (your wives).” But... What does this mean exactly? Shaykh Al-Mufassirīn (The Senior Exegete) Al-Imām Al-Ṭabarī (d. 310 AH - raḥimahu Allāh) asked the same question. Rather he went further and asked, “how is it possible for a wife to be the clothing for her husband, and then - at the very same time - the husband is the clothing for his wife. That is not physically possible!” He then presents three ways of understanding this.
- They are considered a garment for each other because they remove (outer) layers of clothing when they sleep together under one blanket wherein their bodies are fully touching, so much so that they end up partially “wearing” and “covering” the other like clothing. He then quotes some poetry to show that referring to the spouse as clothing due to skin-to-skin contact under a blanket is a well known concept.
- Nābighah said, “إِذَا مَا الضَّجِيعُ ثَنَى عِطْفَهَا ... تَدَاعَتْ فكَانَتْ عَلَيْهِ لِبَاسَا”, meaning, when the husband laying in bed turned over to his wife, she reciprocated and leaned back into him, and thus she became his libās.
- Laylā said, “رَمَوْهَا بِأَثْوَابٍ خِفَافٍ فَلا تَرَى ... لَهَا شَبَهاً إلا النَّعَامَ المُنَفَّرَا”, meaning, travelers who have been struck with hunger have placed frail athwāb (garments - plural of thawb) onto the backs of the camels within the caravan. So as the caravan goes forth, it looks like a frantic ostrich running away. The frail garments refer to the travelers/riders themselves, because they - the travelers/riders - have been afflicted with hunger and are just flesh and bones. Thus all that is seen of them is their clothing. That is why they are referred to as athwāb.
- Abū Dhuʾayb Al-Hudhalī said, “تَبَرَّأُ مِنْ دَمِ القَتيلِ وَوَتْرِهِ ... وَقَدْ عَلِقَتْ دَمَ القَتِيلِ إزَارُهَا”, meaning, you claim to have nothing to do with the killing of so-and-so and their stuff, but you are just like such-and-such women who also denied a murder, but the dead body and possessions were found with her izār (lower garment), meaning herself.
- Al-Rabīʿ explained the āyah by saying “libās” means “liḥāf” which is a blanket, bed sheet, cover, and/or wrap.
- “Libās” means “sakan” which means comfort, rest, relaxation. This is because Allāh ﷻ also says, “جَعَلَ لَكُمُ اللَّيْلَ لِبَاسًا - He (Allāh) made the night a covering and a time of ease (libās) for you” and “وَجَعَلَ مِنْهَا زَوْجَهَا لِيَسْكُنَ إِلَيْهَا - He (Allāh) made from it (the first human soul, aka Prophet Ādam ﷺ) its spouse (i.e., our mother Ḥawāʾ ﷺ) so he (Ādam) can go to her for rest and comfort.” He then quotes ʿAbd Allāh ibn ʿAbbās (raḍiya Allāh ʿanhumā), Mujāhid (d. ~104 AH - raḥimahu Allāh), Qatādah (d. 118 AH - raḥimahu Allāh), and Al-Suddī (d. 128 AH - raḥimahu Allāh), all of whom explained “libās” to mean “sakan”.
- The words “satara” and “wārā” refer to covering and concealing something from the view of others. When they are used to mean “so-and-so covered so-and-so or such-and-such”, they refer to the coverer as its cover (libās) and concealer (ghishāʾ).
That is a beautiful analysis for anyone who understands marriage. But let us dive a little deeper. Let us see how the Qurʾān uses libās and clothing elsewhere. No doubt, the Qurʾān best explains itself.
Comfort & Relaxation (Sukūn)
First, let us look again at point #2 made by Al-Imām Al-Ṭabarī (raḥimahu Allāh). Spouses are supposed to be sakan and sukūn for one another. Sukūn refers to the stillness of something after movement (taḥarruk) and is often used to mean taking up a city as your home. That is because when you have a city or place to call home, you are not constantly traveling, anxiously seeking shelter, and do not need to worry about getting rest. The āyah “جَعَلَ لَكُمُ اللَّيْلَ لِبَاسًا - He (Allāh) made the night a covering and a time of ease (libās) for you.” is a great example to illustrate that calmness and relaxation. But technically a jump is made. To understand “libās” in that āyah as “sakan”, we must first look at another two āyahs, “وَجَعَلَ اللَّيْلَ سَكَنًا - He (Allāh) made the night a time of ease (sakan) for you.” and “وَمِنْ رَحْمَتِهِ جَعَلَ لَكُمُ اللَّيْلَ وَالنَّهَارَ لِتَسْكُنُوا فِيهِ وَلِتَبْتَغُوا مِنْ فَضْلِهِ - He (Allāh) made the night a time for you to take rest, and the day a time for you to work and seek livelihood from His Excess Bounty — He did so out of His Compassion.”
We have come full circle! During the day, we are busy with work, family, food, money, and more. We are constantly on the move. When the night comes, we have time to slow down, relax, rest, take a break, and sleep. This is exactly how a husband and wife should be with each other. For the most part, they happen to either be physically separate during the day, or mentally separate as they are busy with different tasks. At night, they should take the time to unwind, relax, and spend time with each other. Not only that, but from point #1 from Al-Ṭabarī (raḥimahu Allāh), we learn to be physical: hug, embrace one another, and have skin-to-skin contact. This is not just allowed, but is a subtle instruction given by Allāh. And if this was not clear enough, in addition to “وَجَعَلَ مِنْهَا زَوْجَهَا لِيَسْكُنَ إِلَيْهَا - He (Allāh) made from it (the first human soul, aka Prophet Ādam ﷺ) its spouse (i.e., our mother Ḥawāʾ ﷺ) so he (Ādam) can go to her for rest and comfort” quoted by Al-Ṭabarī (raḥimahu Allāh), we can hit the nail on the head by mentioning the popular āyah recited at most marriage ceremonies (nikāḥ), “وَمِنْ آيَاتِهِ أَنْ خَلَقَ لَكُمْ مِنْ أَنْفُسِكُمْ أَزْوَاجًا لِتَسْكُنُوا إِلَيْهَا - From the many signs that point towards Allāh is the fact that He made spouses from you from your own human race so that you go to them seeking comfort.” This “seeking of rest and comfort” is definitely understood as a reason (taʿlīl) why we should have spouses, but perhaps - as was touched on right before - it could also be a subtle recommendation from Allāh. As in, “go and find comfort in your spouse!” Allāh knows best. As a final point from this angle, let us quickly review the āyah, “وَمِنْ رَحْمَتِهِ جَعَلَ لَكُمُ اللَّيْلَ وَالنَّهَارَ لِتَسْكُنُوا فِيهِ وَلِتَبْتَغُوا مِنْ فَضْلِهِ - He (Allāh) made the night a time for you to take rest, and the day a time for you to work and seek livelihood from His Excess Bounty — He did so out of His Compassion.” This wording only comes up once whereas the following wording comes up twice, “الَّذِي جَعَلَ لَكُمُ اللَّيْلَ لِتَسْكُنُوا فِيهِ وَالنَّهَارَ مُبْصِرًا - The One Who made the night for you to get rest and the day as an illunimator for you to see” Making sense of a deeper understanding of this wording requires more thought and reflection on my part.
Hide and Conceal Faults (Satr)
Allāh ﷻ tells us, “يَا بَنِي آدَمَ قَدْ أَنْزَلْنَا عَلَيْكُمْ لِبَاسًا يُوَارِي سَوْآتِكُمْ وَرِيشًا وَلِبَاسُ التَّقْوَى ذَلِكَ خَيْرٌ ذَلِكَ مِنْ آيَاتِ اللَّهِ لَعَلَّهُمْ يَذَّكَّرُونَ - Children of Ādam! Without a doubt We have given you garments (libās) to cover (yuwārī) your nakedness and private parts (sawʾāt) and to be beautiful clothes (rīsh). Taqwā-based clothing is the best. All of that is from the signs of Allāh so that they (humans) pay attention to reminders.” In the initial discussion on “libās” above, we saw the word “wārā - to conceal” used in point #3 made by Al-Ṭabarī (raḥimahu Allāh), and it is present in this āyah. Clothing is to wārā (past tense verb) yuwārī (present tense verb) someone’s sawʾah: their nakedness (ʿawrah) and private parts. Clothing is used to cover what we do not want the world to see. But Allāh said that He also gave us beautiful clothes (rīsh). Al-Ṭabarī (raḥimahu Allāh) states that “rīsh” can mean: (1) embroidery, (2) furniture, (3) luxuries, (4) wealth, (5) clothing, (6) livelihood/housing, and (7) beauty. Al-Shaykh Ṣiddīq Ḥasan Khan Al-Qinnawjī (d. 1307 AH / 1890 CE - raḥimahu Allāh) also looks at the linguistic meaning from another perspective and says that the feathers of a bird “rīsh al-ṭāʾir” have been made by Allāh to cover the bird and also be a source of its beauty.
Then Allāh ﷻ reminds us that the best clothing is taqwā-based clothing. Clothing that is worn keeping in mind the commands of Allāh, and is thus grounded in Faith (īmān) and modesty (ḥayāʾ) — two meanings that Al-Ṭabarī (raḥimahu Allāh) gives for the phrase “libās al-taqwā”. With all of that in mind, we can conclude the following:
- Clothing is used to cover what we do not want others to see.
- Clothing is used to cover what others are not allowed to see from us.
- Clothing is meant to be beautiful.
- Clothing can fail to meet its intended goal. Thus the best clothing is that which is grounded in taqwā (protecting ourselves from Allāh’s punishment by obeying Him), and thus fulfills the above goals.
What that said, let us apply this to our spouses, because we want to see how Allāh ﷻ described the roles of spouses since He ﷻ described spouses as clothing.
- A spouse should cover what we do not want others to see.
- A spouse should cover what others are not allowed to see from us.
- A spouse is meant to beautify us.
- Spouses can fail to be good spouses. Thus the best spouse is one who has taqwā (protects his or herself from Allāh’s punishment by obeying Him).
On that final point, we see how the Prophet ﷺ’s teachings not just explicitly fall in line with the Qurʾān, but also implicitly when there does not seem to be an obvious āyah to reference back to. The Prophet ﷺ said, “تُنْكَحُ الْمَرْأَةُ لأَرْبَعٍ لِمَالِهَا وَلِحَسَبِهَا وَلِجَمَالِهَا وَلِدِينِهَا فَاظْفَرْ بِذَاتِ الدِّينِ تَرِبَتْ يَدَاكَ - Men usually marry women for one of four reasons: (1) her wealth, (2) her family status and lineage, (3) her beauty, and/or (4) her religiosity. You will be a real winner if you marry a woman due to her religiosity, so good for you!” If we see taqwā in the āyah and dīn in the ḥadīth as synonymous, we see how the subtle hint in The Qurʾān becomes very obvious on the tongue of the Prophet ﷺ.
Beauty (Zīnah)
We have seen from the previous section that rīsh as a type of clothing can be something nice and beautiful. Just a few āyāt later, in the same section, Allāh says, “يَا بَنِي آدَمَ خُذُوا زِينَتَكُمْ عِنْدَ كُلِّ مَسْجِدٍ - Children of Ādam! Wear your nice clothes for every prayer and place of prayer.” Al-Ṭabarī (raḥimahu Allāh) gives the background behind this āyah and says that people used to perform ṭawāf (the 7 rounds around the Kaʿbah in Makkah) naked (due to a Qurashī policy that a person’s everyday clothes are not pure or worthy enough to be in such holy place, so either purchase our “special Qurashī clothing” or do not wear anything). This āyah is a command that everyone must have their ʿawrah (their “nakedness” covered) when performing ṭawāf. As such, Al-Ṭabarī (raḥimahu Allāh) defines “zīnah” (literally adornment) as clothing. The vast majority of scholars also hold that opinion.
They additionally add on that “عِنْدَ كُلِّ مَسْجِدٍ - for every prayer and place of prayer” means how it has been translated, instead of “at every mosque”. Meaning that the rule simply does not apply to every place of prayer, but every prayer itself. So make sure to dress properly when praying. Al-Imām Abū Al-Faraj Jamāl Al-Dīn Ibn Al-Jawzī (d. 597 AH - raḥimahu Allāh) adds one more opinion that it can refer to wearing one’s nicest clothes when people gather (on Friday) and Eid.
From this we see that clothing (libās) and adornment (zīnah) have been used interchangeably. Thus we can hopefully extract from the usage of “rīsh” and “zīnah” - both literally meaning beautiful clothing - instead of or alongside “libās” to highlight that “libās” can and should be beautiful (as we briefly hinted at earlier). As such, the Prophet ﷺ told Al-Mughīrah ibn Shuʿbah (raḍiya Allāh ʿanh) to go look at his fiancee (makhṭūbah), saying, “انْظُرْ إِلَيْهَا فَإِنَّهُ أَحْرَى أَنْ يُؤْدَمَ بَيْنَكُمَا - Go look at her. It will spark and maintain your love for each other.” The point being, they should both view each other as beautiful and attractive. This is to be kept in balance with the guidance mentioned above by the Prophet ﷺ, that is, religiosity is the main factor, and it supersedes all other factors.
As a side point, we also have to understand that beauty and attraction is not simply a function of the eyes and physical appearance. The entire world may find a certain woman ugly, but if the man who is married to her sees her piety, kindness, and love, he may very well find her to be the most beautiful woman on earth. And in the same way, the entire world may find a certain man ugly, but if the woman who is married to him sees his piety, kindness, and love, she may very well find him to be the most handsome man on earth.
Also, it can be said that in modern society, men and women will dress up, look good, and wear their best clothes in public, but will be unkept and dressed in their raggedy shaggy pajamas at home for their spouse. However, we learn from Ibn ʿAbbās (raḍiya Allāh ʿanhumā) that both husband and wife - yes, both - should try and look their best for their spouse. In regards to the āyah, “وَلَهُنَّ مِثْلُ الَّذِي عَلَيْهِنَّ بِالْمَعْرُوفِ - husbands and wives have equitable rights due to each other” he, Ibn ʿAbbās (raḍiya Allāh ʿanhumā), said, “إِنِّي أُحِبُّ أَنْ أَتَزَيَّنَ لِلْمَرْأَةِ كَمَا أُحِبُّ أَنْ تَتَزَيَّنَ لِي الْمَرْأَةُ - I love to dress up and look good for my wife, the same way I enjoy her dressing up and looking nice for me.”
We should also note, adhering to the point earlier about taqwā and modesty (ḥayāʾ), one is not to flaunt their spouse. We should not be showing off our clothes (although some people do). The point of nice clothes is to make us look good. Our job is to make our spouse look and be good. We should not be people who are the source of the world finding out about our spouses’ faults (because we all have faults). Rather we should speak positively about them, mention their good qualities, and help them be more beautiful in the sight of Allāh, as well as being appreciated among people.
Protection (Wiqāyah)
Allāh ﷻ tells us, “وَجَعَلَ لَكُمْ سَرَابِيلَ تَقِيكُمُ الْحَرَّ وَسَرَابِيلَ تَقِيكُمْ بَأْسَكُمْ - He (Allāh) made clothing (sarābīl) for you: some clothes will shield you from the heat, and other clothes will protect you when you are at war.” Al-Ṭabarī (raḥimahu Allāh) explains “سَرَابِيلَ تَقِيكُمُ الْحَرَّ - clothing that shields you from the heat” to refer to clothes (thiyāb), a synonym of “libās”. He quotes Qatādah (raḥimahu Allāh) saying that these garments (thiyāb) being referred to here are clothes made from cotton (quṭn), linen (kattān), and wool (ṣūf). He then explains “سَرَابِيلَ تَقِيكُمْ بَأْسَكُمْ - clothes that protects you when you are at war” to mean that it protects weapons from reaching your flesh, and ends by quoting Qatādah (raḥimahu Allāh) who said it refers to metal (ḥadīd).
To the first part, “سَرَابِيلَ تَقِيكُمُ الْحَرَّ - clothing that shields you from the heat,” Siddīq Ḥasan Khan (raḥimahu Allāh) explains that it is not just heat, but also the cold; it was not mentioned because it should be obvious to the reader. When teaching Sunan Abī Dāwūd to IOK’s Full Time Seminary’s graduating class of 2019, Shaykh Muhammad Umar Razzaq (ḥafiẓahu Allāh) mentioned that same point about the āyah implying cold in addition to the explicit mention of heat. He explained that, although the Ḥanafī school does not take rulings via the linguistic instrument of “mafhūm al-mukhālafah - understanding the implication of the opposite of what was said”, that is restricted to deriving law, not understanding concepts in general, and thus we can infer that Allāh mentioned a few uses of clothing (sarābīl) even though all types of protection via clothing are to be understood: be it heat, cold, rain, sun, swords, arrows, spears, poison ivy, mosquitos etc.
With that being said, we can connect the protection (wiqāyah) received from clothing (sarābīl) to the role of a spouse who is clothing (libās) for their spouse. A husband and wife should strive to protect each other from evil, from harm, from sin, and most of all, the punishment of Allāh. We have used the term protection (wiqāyah) already above. It comes from the verb in the āyah, “تَقِيكُمُ - protects you” which is related to the oft-repeated Qurʾānic Dictate of taqwā which means to protect and shield oneself from the anger and punishment of Allāh by obeying Him. The noun “wiqāyah” literally refers to a shield. We must use the proper equipment to save us from each respective harm. To protect myself from Hell, I stay away from disobedience. To protect ourselves from heat, we wear cotton. To protect ourselves from swords, we wear metal armor. We must use common sense and our God-given intellect to protect ourselves in the correct way. I cannot expect an iron-clad suit of armor to protect me from the heat, nor can I expect cotton to protect me from Hell. So a husband and wife too must play their proper role in protecting each other in the best way possible. How they advise each other, correct one another, and learn and grow their mistakes should be done with Islamically-guided wisdom. As just mentioned, a husband and wife should protect each other from harm; be it harm from themselves or others. We can see this displayed in the teachings of the Prophet ﷺ in three ways. So as to not get confused between the back and forth of the word “spouse”, we will focus on a husband protecting his wife in the following scenarios.
- A husband protecting his wife from herself. Once a group of Jews came to visit the Prophet ﷺ, and they “greeted” him by saying, “السَّامُ عَلَيْكُمْ - May you die!” to which our mother, ʿĀʾishah (raḍiya Allāh ʿanhā), replied in loving defense of her husband, the Prophet ﷺ, by saying, “بَلْ عَلَيْكُمُ السَّامُ وَاللَّعْنَةُ - No! May you die and be cursed!” Upon hearing that, Prophet ﷺ taught her, “يَا عَائِشَةُ إِنَّ اللَّهَ يُحِبُّ الرِّفْقَ فِي الأَمْرِ كُلِّهِ - O ʿĀʾishah! Allāh loves gentleness in all matters.” Thus he ﷺ taught her and protected her from harming herself via sins.
- A husband saving his wife from himself. The Prophet ﷺ said, “الْمُسْلِمُ مَنْ سَلِمَ الْمُسْلِمُونَ مِنْ لِسَانِهِ وَيَدِهِ - A true Muslim is someone that other Muslims are safe and protected (salima) from his tongue and hands.” Thus a husband or a wife cannot be a true complete Muslim (al-muslim al-kāmil) if they hurt their spouse via their words (tongue) or through physical means (hands). Also, when the Prophet ﷺ was asked about different kinds charity and good deeds (ṣadaqah), he said the least someone can do is, “يُمْسِكُ عَنِ الشَّرِّ - restrain evil.” One of the ways that is understood is to retrain and prevent your harm and evil from reaching others.
- A husband saving his wife from someone else. We have the most perfect example within the Prophet ﷺ who lived this. Once Abū Bakr (raḍiya Allāh ʿanh) went to visit his daughter, ʿĀʾishah (raḍiya Allāh ʿanhā), and when he arrived, he asked the Prophet ﷺ for permission to enter. When Abū Bakr (raḍiya Allāh ʿanh) entered, he heard his daughter, ʿĀʾishah (raḍiya Allāh ʿanhā), speaking to the Prophet ﷺ in a loud voice. Upon hearing and seeing that, he went to her and grabbed her and was about to hit her, saying, “I never want to see you raise your voice to the Prophet ﷺ ever again!” at which point the Prophet ﷺ stepped in between the, blocking and shielding Āʾishah (raḍiya Allāh ʿanhā) from Abū Bakr (raḍiya Allāh ʿanh). And so Abū Bakr (raḍiya Allāh ʿanh) left. After he left, the Prophet ﷺ lovingly remarked (not in a patronizing way, since that is sinful), “كَيْفَ رَأَيْتِنِي أَنْقَذْتُكِ مِنَ الرَّجُلِ - See how I saved you from that man?” This is also seen from scenario one in which our mother, ʿĀʾishah (raḍiya Allāh ʿanhā), speaks out to defend the honor and rank of her husband, the Prophet ﷺ, and shielded him ﷺ from the harmful speech of others - albeit in a manner that the Prophet ﷺ ultimately deemed incorrect.
Seeking Comfort and Warmth (Istidfāʾ)
This is another related meaning that requires us to see and appreciate the deep connections between various āyāt and aspects of the sunnah. We have been focusing on spouses as clothing (libās), and we have touched upon āyāt that either explicitly or implicitly refer to clothing. Here we have another implicit connection. Allāh ﷻ tells us, also in Sūrah Al-Naḥl (#16) as was our previous discussion on protection, “وَالأَنْعَامَ خَلَقَهَا لَكُمْ فِيهَا دِفْءٌ وَمَنَافِعُ وَمِنْهَا تَأْكُلُونَ - And He (Allāh) created livestock from which you get clothing for warmth (difʾ), various other benefits (manafiʿ), and meat that you eat.” The word “anʿām” refers to livestock, which refers to four-legged domesticated farm animals raised for agricultural purposes, and includes, but is not limited to: camels, cows, goats, and sheep. But we want to focus on “لَكُمْ فِيهَا دِفْءٌ - from which you get clothing for warmth (difʾ)”. The word “difʾ - دِفْءٌ” literally means warmth, the opposite of cold. Al-Ṭabarī (raḥimahu Allāh) explains that this refers to clothing (malābis) made from wool, leather, and fur that is used for warmth. He those quotes Ibn ʿAbbās (raḍiya Allāh ʿanhumā) defining “difʾ” as “thiyāb” (clothing), and Mujāhid (raḥimahu Allāh) explaining it as “knit/weaved clothing” (libās yunsaj).
Now that we have connected libās to difʾ, let us look at how difʾ (seeking of warmth) via one’s spouse is done in the life of the Prophet ﷺ and his companions (raḍiya Allāh ʿanhum). Our mother, ʿĀʾishah (raḍiya Allāh ʿanhā), said that, “رُبَّمَا اغْتَسَلَ النَّبِيُّ ﷺ مِنَ الْجَنَابَةِ ثُمَّ جَاءَ فَاسْتَدْفَأَ بِي فَضَمَمْتُهُ إِلَىَّ وَلَمْ أَغْتَسِلْ - Sometimes, after the Prophet ﷺ and I were intimate, he would bathe before I had bathed. So when he finished his bath, he would come to me seeking warmth (istadfaʾ), so I would hug him tightly even though I had not bathed yet.” We find the great companions ʿUmar ibn Al-Khaṭṭāb (raḍiya Allāh ʿanh), ʿAbd Allāh ibn Masʿūd (raḍiya Allāh ʿanh), Abū Al-Dardāʾ (raḍiya Allāh ʿanh), Ḥudhayfah ibn Al-Yamān (raḍiya Allāh ʿanh), Ibn ʿUmar (raḍiya Allāh ʿanhumā), their noble students (tābiʿūn) ʿAlqamah ibn Qays Al-Nakhaʿī (d. 62 AH - raḥimahu Allāh), Al-Aswad ibn Yazīd (d. 74/75 AH - raḥimahu Allāh) all doing the same thing, that is, seeking warmth from their wife after having taken a bath.
Intertwining (Mukhālaṭah) and Envelopment (Ghashāwah)
Allāh ﷻ says the following when discussing a group of people that He punished. “فَأَذَاقَهَا اللَّهُ لِبَاسَ الْجُوعِ وَالْخَوْفِ - Allāh made them (the people who rejected their prophet and were extremely ungrateful for the constant provision Allāh continued to bless them with) taste the libās (‘clothing’) of hunger and fear.” What does it mean for someone to taste or be afflicted with (adhāqa) “لِبَاسَ الْجُوعِ وَالْخَوْفِ - the libās (“clothing”) of hunger and fear”? Al-Ṭabarī (raḥimahu Allāh) says the hunger (jūʿ), and the harm of that hunger, mixed and intertwined (mukhālaṭah) with their bodies. The hunger was so interconnected into their bodies that Allāh then referred to it as clothing (libās). The great grammarian, linguist, writer, and literarian, Maḥmūd - Jār Allāh (the neighbor of Allāh) - Al-Zamakhsharī (d. 538 AH - raḥimahu Allāh), talks about how clothing (libās) wraps (ishtimāl) the wearer, thus clothing covers and envelopes (ghashāwah) people. So the meaning of “لِبَاسَ الْجُوعِ وَالْخَوْفِ - the libās (“clothing”) of hunger and fear” thus becomes “hunger and fear that enveloped, wrapped, and concealed them.”
Additional points on libās, mukhālaṭah, and ghashāwah from Al-Mufradāt
We just saw how Al-Ṭabarī (raḥimahu Allāh) made an instant connection between libās and mukhālaṭah, and how Al-Zamakhsharī (raḥimahu Allāh) made an instant connection between libās and ghashāwah, showing their expertise in the Arabic language.
- Just like Allāh said spouses are libās for each other, Arabs call a close friend a khalīṭ. It is also said, “ولَابَسْتُ فلانا: خالطته - I did mulābasah with someone, meaning I did mukhālaṭah with him.” Meaning, I spent time with him. Allāh ﷻ makes use of this meaning by saying, “وَإِنَّ كَثِيرًا مِنَ الْخُلَطَاءِ لَيَبْغِي بَعْضُهُمْ عَلَى بَعْضٍ إِلا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا وَعَمِلُوا الصَّالِحَاتِ وَقَلِيلٌ مَا هُمْ - Many close friends (khulaṭāʾ) transgress the rights of their friends - unless they are close friends who believe and do good deeds (aka are pious) - and these kinds of friends are rare.”
- Also, we have been referring to libās as clothing, which comes from the verb: لَبِسَ يَلْبَسُ لُبْساً - referring to covering, concealing, and clothing. But, another variation is used: لَبَسَ يَلْبِسُ لُبْسَة (which is used in the Qurʾān) and الْتَبَسَ يَلْتَبِسُ الْتِبَاساً - referring to confusion (iltibās). In the same way that خَلْط and اخْتِلَاط mean not just mixing, but also confusion.
- Allāh refers to the night with both words. Allāh says, “جَعَلَ لَكُمُ اللَّيْلَ لِبَاسًا - He (Allāh) made the night a covering and a time of ease (libās) for you.” and also says, “وَاللَّيْلِ إِذَا يَغْشَى - I (Allāh) swear by the night when it covers!”
The Prophet ﷺ’s Recommended Actions (Sunan) with Clothing
We also learn how to interact with clothing from the habits and teachings of the Prophet ﷺ.
- He ﷺ was commanded to, enjoyed, and told others to clean their clothes. — From the earliest of revelations to the Prophet ﷺ is Sūrah Al-Muddaththir (#74), in which Allāh ﷻ commands the Prophet ﷺ to, “وَثِیَابَكَ فَطَهِّرۡ - Keep your clothes clean!”
- He ﷺ would make a prayer (duʿāʾ) upon wearing a new garment. — Whenever the Prophet ﷺ got a new garment, he would make a prayer (duʿāʾ), saying, “اللَّهُمَّ لَكَ الْحَمْدُ أَنْتَ كَسَوْتَنِيهِ أَسْأَلُكَ خَيْرَهُ وَخَيْرَ مَا صُنِعَ لَهُ وَأَعُوذُ بِكَ مِنْ شَرِّهِ وَشَرِّ مَا صُنِعَ لَهُ - O Allāh! Thank You! Complete gratitude and compliments are due to You only. You clothed me with this [naming the garment]. I ask You for all the good it has to offer and can be used for, and I take You protection from all the bad it has and can be used for.”
- He ﷺ taught us to make duʿāʾ whenever we wear any garment. — The Prophet ﷺ said, “Whoever wears a garment and says, ‘الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ الَّذِي كَسَانِي هَذَا الثَّوْبَ وَرَزَقَنِيهِ مِنْ غَيْرِ حَوْلٍ مِنِّي وَلاَ قُوَّةٍ - Thank You, Allāh! Complete gratitude and compliments belong to You. You clothed me with this garment and provided it for me without any effort and ability from my end’ will be forgiven for all their minor sins.”
- He ﷺ would mend, stitch, and sew his clothes. — Our mother ʿĀʾishah (raḍiya Allāh ʿanhā) was asked about the Prophet ﷺ’s general habits and housework, to which she responded with things like: “He ﷺ would (1) يَخْصِفُ النَّعْلَ - mend his sandals, (2) وَيَرْقَعُ الثَّوْبَ وَيَخِيطُ - stitch and sew his clothes, and (3) يَفْلِي ثَوْبَهُ - would clean his clothes (by removing lice).”
- Some say he ﷺ would give names to some of clothes.
Conclusion
I cannot grasp, let alone convey, the unimaginable beauty within the statement of Allāh, “هُنَّ لِبَاسࣱ لَّكُمۡ وَأَنتُمۡ لِبَاسࣱ لَّهُنَّ - They (your wives) are clothing (libās) for you (o husbands), and you (o husbands) are clothing (libās) for them (your wives).” This is just one sentence from one āyah of the Qurʾān that we explored. How many more endless treasures exist in this one sentence, let alone the rest of Allāh’s Book?
If we summarize the practical takeaways from the above, we see the following (again, defaulting to husband for ease and clarity, though these work both ways):
- A husband should provide ease and relaxation for his wife.
- A husband should find ease and relaxation in his wife.
- A husband should provide physical touch and intimacy for his wife.
- A husband should find physical touch and intimacy for his wife.
- A husband should make himself beautiful for his wife (spiritually, character-wise, and physically).
- A husband should find beauty in his wife (spiritually, character-wise, and physically).
- A husband should help his wife beautify herself (spiritually and character-wise).
- A husband should speak about his wife in a positive way.
- A husband should not try to find faults in his wife.
- A husband should protect his wife from himself.
- A husband should protect his wife from herself.
- A husband should protect his wife from others.
- A husband should protect his wife from Hell and Allāh’s Punishment.
- A husband should find warmth in his wife (physical and emotional).
- A husband should provide warmth to his wife (physical and emotional).
- A husband should be deeply connected to his wife (physically and emotionally).
- A husband should hug, embrace, and be intimate with his wife.
- A husband should find hugs, embraces, and intimacy from his wife.
- A husband should help his wife be clean and pure (spiritually and physically).
- A husband should pray (duʿāʾ) for the needs of his wife as well as for her (continued) piety and righteousness. — We see find this explicit in the Qurʾān. Allāh ﷻ, Al-Raḥmān (The Infinitely Caring), when describing and praising His special slaves and servants, describes them as those who make the following prayer (duʿāʾ), “رَبَّنَا هَبْ لَنَا مِنْ أَزْوَاجِنَا وَذُرِّيَّاتِنَا قُرَّةَ أَعْيُنٍ وَاجْعَلْنَا لِلْمُتَّقِينَ إِمَامًا - Our Master! Please gift us joy and happiness from seeing goodness and piety within our spouses and children, and make us from the leaders of the pious!”
- A husband can give loving nicknames to his wife. — The Prophet ﷺ would, at times, call his wife ʿĀʾishah (raḍiya Allāh ʿanhā) by a shorter version of her name, “ʿĀʾish”.
O Allāh! Allow our tongues, our lips, and our mouths to easily and constantly recite Your Book. O Allāh! Give us a deep understanding of Your Word. O Allāh! Gift us a personal relationship with Your Speech. O Allāh! Illuminate, purify, and give life to our hearts through Your Book. O Allāh! Help us act on Your Guidance and Commands in Your Perfect Final Revelation, to live by them, and to die by them. O Allāh! Make us beautiful, loving, caring, chaste, pious husbands to our wives. O Allāh! Make us beautiful, loving, caring, chaste, pious wives to our husbands. O Allāh! We ask You what Your special slaves, ʿIbād Al-Raḥmān, ask you: رَبَّنَا هَبْ لَنَا مِنْ أَزْوَاجِنَا وَذُرِّيَّاتِنَا قُرَّةَ أَعْيُنٍ وَاجْعَلْنَا لِلْمُتَّقِينَ إِمَامًا - Our Master! Please gift us joy and happiness from seeing goodness and piety within our spouses and children, and make us from the leaders of the pious! O Allāh! We ask You what Your closed dear friend Ibrāhīm ﷺ asked You: رَبِّ اجْعَلْنِي مُقِيمَ الصَّلاةِ وَمِنْ ذُرِّيَّتِي رَبَّنَا وَتَقَبَّلْ دُعَاءِ رَبَّنَا اغْفِرْ لِي وَلِوَالِدَيَّ وَلِلْمُؤْمِنِينَ يَوْمَ يَقُومُ الْحِسَابُ - My Master! Make me, my children, and my entire future progeny to come people who regularly and diligently pray (ṣalāh)! Our Master! Accept this plea and these acts of obedience! Our Lord! Forgive me, my parents, and all the believers on the day humanity stands for account!
اللهم فهمنا
ربنا زدنا علما
اللهم فقهنا في الدين وعلمنا التأويل
اللهم معلم آدم وإبراهيم ومحمد علمنا مما علمتهم
اللهم ارزقنا علما نافعا وحكمة بالغة
اللهم افتح علينا فتوح العارفين
يا فتاح يا عليم
اللهم صل وسلم على رسولك المصطفى الكريم
وعلى آله وصحبه أجمعين ومن تبعهم بإحسان إلى يوم الدين
اللهم اجعلنا منهم
Written exclusively in the blessed month of Ramaḍān of the years 1445 and 1446.
Acknowledgements
I hope and pray that my parents, teachers, spouse, and children are always rewarded for all the good Allāh facilitates for me to do through their prayers, instruction, support, and mentorship. But for this article, I cannot help but mention my dear beloved shaykh, Ḥaḍrat Mawlānā Abū Al-Zahrāʾ Abdul Wahab ibn Parwiz Khan (ḥafiẓahu Allāh wa raʿāh - May God preserve him and lovingly look after him [as well as his family, teachers, and students]). He, Shaykh Abdul Wahhab (ḥafiẓahu Allāh), was sharing some reflections at the wedding ceremony of one his students (who happens to be a friend and relative of mine), and he mentioned this āyah. I swear to God - wallāhi, I never understood this āyah, “هُنَّ لِبَاسࣱ لَّكُمۡ وَأَنتُمۡ لِبَاسࣱ لَّهُنَّ - They (your wives) are clothing (libās) for you (o husbands), and you (o husbands) are clothing (libās) for them (your wives)” until he made those beautiful comments about how one takes care of their clothes and how that relates to the love, care, and protection one should show to their spouse. Not only did he help me memorize the Qurʾān, but he also taught me its real applicable meanings; that is a true teacher of Qurʾān. May Allāh ﷻ bless him, his family, his teachers, his students, and allow him to always piously and sincerely serve His Book, The Qurʾān, āmīn.
Credits to Editors
May Allāh ﷻ reward those who helped write and edit this, including, but not limited to, Shaykha Ayesha Syed Hussain, and Munir Eltal.
Footnotes