Suhaib Webb – Settling The Cultural Clash Angel Jibrail Teaches Us

When Angel Gabriel came to visit

the community of the prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam,

there's a very important lesson.

And that was how was he dressed?

Did he dress in a culture different than

the people recognized?

Did he dress in a in a culture

that was foreign

to the people of Medina, or did he

wear the dress which was culturally appropriate for

the people he was sent to? He would

wear the dress which was culturally appropriate for

the people that he was sent to. Therefore,

Allah

has commanded him to do that.

In our dawah,

there are times where we certainly need to

wear thobes and turbans, and there are times

where we need to display our honor as

Muslims.

But there's also nothing wrong

with dressing like the people you reside amongst

if the effort is to bring them close

to Islam and you are not capitulating

yourself to their authority. That's very important.

It's not done out of shame,

it's done out of being smart.

Imam Ibn Taymiyyah was asked

about dressing in the clothes of the non

Muslims, if this falls under Tashabuh Bil Kufar,

you know, emulating the disbelievers and so on.

He said absolutely not.

And he said for a number of reasons.

Number 1 is you're gonna bring people closer

to you. You're gonna create these relationships that

you already have. Number 2, you're gonna protect

yourself.

When Sayyidina Umar ibn Khattab radiAllahu anhu went

to Damascus,

and he found Muawiyah

and the people who had began to,

join Muawiyah's ranks even at that time,

that they were

dressing in a very fancy way, a very,

very kind of austere way.

Imam al Qarafi and Warrboroke

mentions

that clothing

is not a bidah.

The way you dress is not an innovation.

He mentions this narration. When Sayyidina Amr saw

them, he said, I know you know that

I don't like this,

but I know you know your people a

bit better than I do. So handle your

people.

Deal with your people.

The people of sham at that time.

So the point is if we look at

the dawah in America, we have to be

strategic. I remember one time I made a

mistake. I gave a Khudbah and I mentioned

this,

in Masjid Dawah in Chicago.

Masha'Allah, what a community, man.

My brother came to me and said, Sheikh,

if I start to wear the clothes that

I wore before I was, you know, a

Muslim and I get shot because I used

to be in a gang. So the thobe

and the turban are protecting me. Say amen,

wear the thobe and turban.

But there's other instances where where people have

been told to dress in Pakistani cultural dress

or in Malaysian cultural dress or in African

cultural dress,

and it has created more of a harm

for them than a benefit

within the realms of their family and their

community

and the people around them.

So what falls under IBHA,

permissibility,

is largely left to your own personal decision.

And when we see that Angel Gabriel is

able to go into a place

and not create no smoke man,

right?

And dress in the custom of the people

because in general we say in

Right?

Customs

customs and so on and so forth

generally are considered permissible unless there is a

text to show they are forbidden

or a consensus.