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**diegogo** · 08-05-2012, 12:47 PM

One thing I heard about west african ulama is that they dress like the common people, so when they join people they are not distinguished and people think they are just like them...so they are open...those who dress with the "sunnah" dress are too different from the commoners so they either avoid them or they act different in front of them.

That doesn't make sense.

"Sunnah" dress is normally either kurta/shalwar (i.e. mainly 'Pakistani' style) or along the lines of a thobe (i.e. mainly 'Arab' style), and the colors are more on the plain side (no exuberant designs etc). If you walk into any mosque, especially for Jummah (which is what this thread is about), Alhamdulillah you will see masses of people dressed in "Sunnah" clothes. Of course there will be people in "regular" (i.e. 'Western') clothing, but there will be just as many in "Sunnah" clothes (at least in the USA). Most of the time here if you happen to go to a mosque for the first time, you can't even tell who is the imam, because every other brother is wearing kurtas and thobes and sporting beards etc, Masha'Allah. Then when it's time for the Imam to get up, the person who you would've thought the least would be the Imam (i.e. the "young buck" with a beard dressed in a nice thobe sitting all the way in the back) gets up and goes up front. Subhan'Allah. That's just an example obviously but we see it all the time and it's the truth.

That being said, if there are places where that is not the case... i.e. the Imam is the only one (hard to believe) wearing "Sunnah" clothing, then these are the exact places where the Imams/Ulema need to wear "Sunnah" clothes even more so than other places such as the ones I described in the above paragraph. This will ensure that at least there are some following the proper Sunnahs of dressing and Insha'Allah it will 'rub off' on the masses and eventually one would start to see more and more people sporting Sunnah clothes. That's how I started wearing Sunnah clothes to the Masjid. I used to see other brothers wearing them and it made me want to do it more and more, and I'm sure I am not the only one that has happened to.

those who dress with the "sunnah" dress are too different from the commoners so they either avoid them or they act different in front of them. That is an issue of approachability. If an Imam/Scholar does not have a friendly, 'approachable' personality where people feel comfortable going up to them and asking questions etc, then it won't matter what he is wearing... he will still be the same unfriendly, unappraochable person. If he takes off his thobe and puts on pants & a t-shirt, he will still be the same person inside those clothes. If anything, if he takes off his Sunnah clothes and wears non-Sunnah clothes instead, he will be missing out on the barakah of the Sunnah clothing and so will others around him.

Just like a Muslim can't/won't walk into a bar, sit down, and start having a drink so he can "be like everyone else" and hence it will be "easier" for him to make dawah to these people; the Imams and Ulemas can't start compromising on Sunnahs (including the way they dress) just so it will (supposedly) be "easier" for the "commoners" to talk to them.

Forgive me if I said anything wrong and ask Allah

to forgive me as well. Allah knows best.

08-05-2012, 12:47 PM	#14
diegogo Join Date Oct 2005 Posts 448 Senior Member	One thing I heard about west african ulama is that they dress like the common people, so when they join people they are not distinguished and people think they are just like them...so they are open...those who dress with the "sunnah" dress are too different from the commoners so they either avoid them or they act different in front of them. That doesn't make sense. "Sunnah" dress is normally either kurta/shalwar (i.e. mainly 'Pakistani' style) or along the lines of a thobe (i.e. mainly 'Arab' style), and the colors are more on the plain side (no exuberant designs etc). If you walk into any mosque, especially for Jummah (which is what this thread is about), Alhamdulillah you will see masses of people dressed in "Sunnah" clothes. Of course there will be people in "regular" (i.e. 'Western') clothing, but there will be just as many in "Sunnah" clothes (at least in the USA). Most of the time here if you happen to go to a mosque for the first time, you can't even tell who is the imam, because every other brother is wearing kurtas and thobes and sporting beards etc, Masha'Allah. Then when it's time for the Imam to get up, the person who you would've thought the least would be the Imam (i.e. the "young buck" with a beard dressed in a nice thobe sitting all the way in the back) gets up and goes up front. Subhan'Allah. That's just an example obviously but we see it all the time and it's the truth. That being said, if there are places where that is not the case... i.e. the Imam is the only one (hard to believe) wearing "Sunnah" clothing, then these are the exact places where the Imams/Ulema need to wear "Sunnah" clothes even more so than other places such as the ones I described in the above paragraph. This will ensure that at least there are some following the proper Sunnahs of dressing and Insha'Allah it will 'rub off' on the masses and eventually one would start to see more and more people sporting Sunnah clothes. That's how I started wearing Sunnah clothes to the Masjid. I used to see other brothers wearing them and it made me want to do it more and more, and I'm sure I am not the only one that has happened to. those who dress with the "sunnah" dress are too different from the commoners so they either avoid them or they act different in front of them. That is an issue of approachability. If an Imam/Scholar does not have a friendly, 'approachable' personality where people feel comfortable going up to them and asking questions etc, then it won't matter what he is wearing... he will still be the same unfriendly, unappraochable person. If he takes off his thobe and puts on pants & a t-shirt, he will still be the same person inside those clothes. If anything, if he takes off his Sunnah clothes and wears non-Sunnah clothes instead, he will be missing out on the barakah of the Sunnah clothing and so will others around him. Just like a Muslim can't/won't walk into a bar, sit down, and start having a drink so he can "be like everyone else" and hence it will be "easier" for him to make dawah to these people; the Imams and Ulemas can't start compromising on Sunnahs (including the way they dress) just so it will (supposedly) be "easier" for the "commoners" to talk to them. Forgive me if I said anything wrong and ask Allah to forgive me as well. Allah knows best.
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