As most of us would have noticed, our clerics tend to wear special type of clothes which makes them appear distinguished from everyone else. Is there a valid reason for this?
Kafi
محمد بن يحيى، عن أحمد بن محمد، عن محمد بن سنان، عن أبي الجارود، عن أبي سعيد عن الحسين (عليه السلام) قال: من لبس ثوبا يشهره كساه الله يوم القيامة ثوبا من النار
Muhammad b. Yahya from Ahmad b. Muhammad, from Muhammad b. Sinan, from Abil Jaarood, from Abi Sa'eed from Imam Hussain(as) who said "Whoever wore a dress attracting attention to him Allah(swt) will cover him on Qiyama with dress of fire."
علي بن إبراهيم، عن أبيه، عن ابن أبي عمير، عن أبي أيوب الخزاز، عن أبي عبدالله (عليه السلام) قال: إن الله تبارك تعالى يبغض شهرة اللباس
Ali b. Ibrahim, from his father, from ibn abi Umair, from abi Ayyoob al Khazzaz, from abi Abdullah (as) who said: "Indeed Allah (swt) hates shuhrah (fame) of the dressing."
Grading
Majlisi (Miratul Uqool): حسن Hasan (Good)Bahboodi: صحيح Sahih (Correct/Authentic)
عدة من أصحابنا، عن أحمد بن محمد بن خالد، عن عثمان بن عيسى، عمن ذكره عن أبي عبدالله (عليه السلام) قال: الشهرة خيرها وشرها في النار
A group from our companions, from ahmad b. Muhammad b. Khalid, from Uthman b Isa, from one who mentioned to him, from abi Abdullah (as) who said: "The shuhrah (fame), good of them and bad of them are in the fire."
bro you didn't give the reference of the book..!
ReplyDeleteand is أحمد بن محمد al-siyari??
I did, it's from Al Kafi(a primary shia hadith book). The name of the book(al Kafi) is written in blue on top of the hadith.
ReplyDeleteThe exact reference of this hadith is Kafi, vol 6, page 445, hadith number 4. You may find it here:
http://www.al-shia.org/html/ara/books/lib-hadis/al-kafi-6/18.htm#3
I'll need to check about Ahmad b.Muhammad. Actually by modern rijal standards the sanad is problematic because the status of Muhammad b. Sinan is controversial and Abul Jaarood was the founder of the jarudiya zaydi sect and is considered unreliable. Nevertheless, Shaikh Hurr al Amili(one of the greatest shia scholars) considered this hadith reliable enough to include it in his Wasail al shia.
thanks for reply
ReplyDelete"Whoever wears a dress to/which attract attention Allah(swt) will cover him on Qiyama with dress of fire."
this is very illgical and can not be the hadith of IMAM..!
"this is very illgical and can not be the hadith of IMAM.."
ReplyDeleteThat's a dangerous statement to make. In fact in al Kafi in the chapter on libas(clothes) we have a full chapter كراهية الشهرة
"Dislike for publicity" which states ahadith for the severe dislike for wearing clothes which attract attention. In fact, the cleric themselves accept these ahadith and use it as justification to not do tahannuk with their amama.
Anyhow, if you find a hadith odd then it's best to stay neutral about it rather than to outright reject it. Insha'Allah in future I'll post those ahadith which forbid us from outright rejecting odd ahadith.
Brother, this is very rash statement you are making. There are so many hadeeth that talks about wearing a `amaamah for Salaah and some of them show the istiHbaab of it.
ReplyDeleteI am not rejecting this hadeeth, even though this hadeeth is wear because of Muhammad bin Sinaan (being weak), and Aboo Jaarood (being majhool). But you have to reconcile both hadeeth together.
Remember the halaal of Muhammad (SAWAS) will be Halaal to the day of judgment. So just becuase it was a norm back in the day and attention weren't drawn to them, it doesn't mean you can put this under the category of "publicity".
You'll need to reconcile both together, and by that you cannot apply the `amaamah to this hadeeth or other aHaadeeth like this.
@Nader: Salam alaykum,
ReplyDeleteBro, I think you misunderstood me. I'm not at all against the wearing of amama, in fact I consider it highly mustahab. As you can see in the post "amama of scholars" and my comments, I made it clear that I only dislike the current practice of wearing amama without hanak.As far as this post is concerned, I wasn't referring to the amama at all but rather, their(clerics) overall clothing in general (qandoora,cloak/dishdasha etc). As for the amama, they can wear it simply on shalwar kameez, or even on normal pant shirt.
That said, I would argue that their hanak less amama does nothing more than to draw attention. And I myself admitted that the hadith is da'eef but it's ironic that clerics refuse to do tahannuk saying it will attract attention thereby it's haram, but continue to wear their special clothes (which I just described).
Wa `Alaykum Assalaam,
ReplyDeleteYes, this is no doubt the case. It is to distinguish the "clerical" class from the `aamah (laymen).
Bismillah
ReplyDeleteSalam
Actually, Clerical garb )if you wish to call it) is the only dress that has stayed the same - everything else was europeanised, etc.
So, in reality, they stayed true to their origins, while others, slowly, drifted away.
Knowledge of History is a must for any activity - especially interpreting a hadith spoken in history about a situation linked to history.
Wassalam
@Anonymous: Wasalam,
ReplyDeleteSure, that may very well be true. But there are other ahadith which specify that the best dress is one which is customary of the particular period. Wearing of this clerical garb is not recommended in ahadith. But yes, wearing amama with hanak is recommended. So our clerics have done the opposite, they wear their attention seeking uniform(which isnt recommended in ahadith) while refusing to wear amama with hanak(which IS recommended in ahadith) under the pretext of it being libas al shuhrah etc.
As for interpreting ahadith, I don't interpret ahadith neither is ANYONE allowed to do so. For interpretation we must refer to the muhkam and expository ahadith themselves. I made 2 posts about this issue, here:
http://realtashayyu.blogspot.com/2011/02/how-to-interpret-ahadith.html
http://realtashayyu.blogspot.com/2011/04/how-to-determine-scope-of-ahadith.html
even if this hadith is true, it certainly does not apply in case of wearing clothes that are sunnah! this hadith applies to wearing something like hip hop or goth clothes or very revealing clothes
ReplyDeleteStop deceiving the people. (I mean this in a good way, no offense)
ReplyDeleteSahih hadith from al-Kafi vol. 3 :
الْحُسَيْنُ بْنُ مُحَمّدٍ عَنْ عَبْدِ الِّ بْنِ عَامِرٍ عَنْ عَلِيّ بْنِ مَهْزِيَارَ عَنِ النّضْرِ بْنِ سُوَيْدٍ عَنْ هِشَامِ بْنِ سَالِمٍ عَنْ سُللَيْمَانَ بْلنِ خَالِدٍ قَالَ سَأَلْتُ أَبَا عَبْدِ الِّ ( عليه السلم ) عَنْ رَجُلٍ أَمّ قَوْماً فِي قَمِيصٍ لَيْسَ عَلَيْهِ رِدَاءٌ فَقَالَ لَ يَنْبَغِي إِلّ أَنْ يَكُونَ عَلَيْللهِ رِدَاءٌ أَوْ عِمَامَةٌ يَرْتَدِي بِهَا .
Imam Ja'far (a) said: It is necessary that at the time of leading the prayers, the Imam is wearing an amaa'ma and a rida' (cloak).
While I understand this is a khass hadith for the time of leading the prayers, and I do not employ qiyaas in saying that one should use this hadith to show that clerics should wear amaa'ma and rida' at all times, it should however, serve as a good enough argument for why the clerics are in the habit of doing what they do (most, if not all of them being leaders of prayers).
Moreover, whatever happened to the well-known hadith which says actions are judged by intentions? If a particular cleric seeks to attract attention to himself by wearing the particular gear, then he shall be blame-worthy. It is plain stupid and more importantly against Islamic principles, to generalize and blame all Shia scholars for attracting attention to themselves by wearing these clothes.
If they only wore it while addressing the people or when among laymen, your argument would have a sufficiently sound base to be argued. But the fact that they wear it all the time, even in the religious schools where everyone is wearing the same thing shows that most of them in fact are not seeking attention.
Not that it matters, but I have seen these same 'scholars' come in public without their amaa'ma/cloaks and wearing them for Salaah only. Finally, famous scholars (like the one whose picture you've put up in this post) do not need the help of some piece of cloth of attract the attention of the people, wherever they go. They would be recognized with, or without it.
One last thing: what defines clothes that are 'customary' of a particular period (referring to the hadith which recommends such clothes)? Why is it automatically a pant and a shirt? If you go to Qom, an amaa'ma, cloak is pretty much conventional there. Going by your same argument, wearing a shalwar qameez, for example, in the US where most people are seen wearing pants and shirts would be frowned upon? In fact, wearing anything that the majority of the people are not wearing would be disliked. Is that what we are saying here?
May Allah (swt) guide us all to the Siraat al Mustaqeem.
@Basim: Salam,
ReplyDelete1) As for these clerics being prayer leaders, that itself is a problem that being an imam al jama'ah is one of the sub professions of the professional clergy men. There is no place for a profession called clergy (maulana, shaikkh, marja, mujtahid etc) in sharia. The famous companions of our Imams (as) who were called scholars by the Imams (as) themselves were ordinary traders, not uniformed professional clerics (or professional prayer leaders). Unfortunately today's "scholars" do not fit this criteria.
BTW, I'd made a post on SC ages ago about this problem but noone replied, feel free to bump it.
http://www.shiachat.com/forum/index.php?/topic/234990112-scholarsprofessional-clergymen/
2) As for actions being judged by intentions, this is true. If some righteous scholars wear such clothes due to taqiyya from their own community then that's fine, I don't blame them. I myself sometimes wear black clothes during muharram out of taqiyya from my community although I know wearing black clothes is extremely makrooh.
3) Since you yourself state that you've seen scholars who wear amama and rida only for prayers and in public wear normal clothes, so are these scholars right or the ones who wear it in public as well? This itself shows that some scholars also do not consider wearing a uniform in public appropriate.
4) I agree with you, wearing shalwar kamiz in west would probably not be a good idea. One should dress up as per the local customs.
Wassalam
Wa Alaykum Assalam,
ReplyDelete1) 'Everything is Halal, until proven Haram'. The fact that there is a khass hadith for one who leads the prayer (عَنْ رَجُلٍ أَمّ قَوْماً) does in fact imply that not just any Tom, Dick and Harry can lead prayers and that leading the people in prayer IS something certain people may be reserved to perform. Hence there being so many criteria for those who lead the people in prayer (of being just, of legitimate birth, etc.)
2) Taqiyya? I fail to understand this point. Why would they fear their lives with something so trivial? Also, we have people who have studied in Qom who choose not to go for the typical attire. One example would be Talib Jauhari (who you don't seem to be a fan of). Moreover, Dhakku sahab also wears the same clothes. Does your critique extend to him as well or did you mean him when you referred to the taqiyya scholars? Does he mention this in any of his books?
3) Perhaps, yes. It is pretty reasonable to think that meeting the laymen in 'their clothes' would make the scholars seem more affable and would make it easier for them to 'blend in'. But then again, the scholars (most of who who reside in Qom and Najaf) already DO 'blend in' with the amaa'mas and cloaks. It is their custom. In fact, one who enters a hawza building without such clothes would probably be the odd one out. Hence your criticism of 'Shia' scholars is inappropriate. You should consider changing your title since you seem to agree with me.
1) I agree with the conditions you quoted for being prayer leader, all shias agree on it. But you can see for yourself that these conditions don't restrict us to pray behind professional clerics. Yes, leadership of prayers should be delegated to the best among the community, but it is not at all established that its the clergymen (including maraji'). Apart from the questionable content which is the centre of focus in hawza curriculum, the professional clergymen don't even earn a living but live off khums and have made religion their profession. As for those scholars who don't live off khums and have alternate means they should definitely be respected.
ReplyDelete2) I agree that there isn't a fear of life in this case but even a trivial issue like clothes may cause big problems. It isn't unheard of in indo-pak that scholars (such as naqqan sahab) getting beaten up by angry mob because he didn't say what they wanted to hear. And I mentioned taqiyya mainly to give them benefit of doubt. At the end of the day, a nobody like me may wear black clothes in Muharram to avoid problems, but if I were a known scholar then it would be necessary for me to not wear it and clearly tell the people the reasons.
As for talib johri (who actually studied in najaf with allama zeeshan haidar jawadi), he wears sherwani which isn't at all a common dress in Pakistan. And for dhakku sahab, obviously he's a fallible, he may have committed a mistake. I definitely respect him for his overall works/views but I don't agree with him on each and everything. There's no comparison between dhakku sahab and talib johri, even from an usooli point of view.
3) Just to make it clear, I'm not criticizing the clerics who wear their garb in the hawza, or in a campus city such as qum. They're definitely right to wear it there so as to blend in (although I don't agree with the trend in najaf/qum where laymen are frowned upon by the clerics if they wear the same garb, thereby making their clothes a "uniform"). The criticism was on those clerics who wear such clothes in public, and you yourself stated that some scholars wear their garb only during prayers not after that. So it means scholars also do not consider it right.
As for changing the title, in the past readers have sometimes pointed out mistakes and I've edited the posts accordingly, but in this case I don't see what's objectionable? In itself I don't think the title is "loaded". If you have a valid objection then write it, I'll change it then.
Salam
The writter of this article is extremely unaware of what he is doing
ReplyDeletethis tradition is narrated in Sunni books too, such as Sunan Abu Dawoud
"Narated By Abdullah ibn Umar : The Prophet (pbuh) as saying: If anyone wears a garment for gaining fame, Allah will clothe him in a similar garment on the Day of Resurrection."
http://www.hadithcollection.com/abudawud/259-Abu%20Dawud%20Book%2027.%20Clothing/17906-abu-dawud-book-027-hadith-number-4018.html
Albani graded this tradition as "Sahih" in his book "Ghayat al-Maram" page 73
Salam brother,
ReplyDeleteI think you're getting confused. I am not a sunni, I am a Shia.
I would highly appreciate if the Admin could disband the comments section so that the personal "opinions" of Mutah mongers is not shared. A good thread always has to get ruined by the personal opinion of an idiot who the last time he referenced any literary material was to look for Mutah loopholes. Such as that clown up there postulating that he believes "this can't be the hadith of an Imam." The Imam's personality is not based off of your paradigm. Don't cherry pick what you like and dislike.
ReplyDelete