Colors Prohibited for Men to Wear
Answered by Shaykh Irshaad Sedick
Question Summary
Are there prohibited colors for men to wear, and what constitutes “dressing like women”?
Question Answer
In the Name of Allah, the Most Merciful and Compassionate. All colors are permissible except where there is a legislative text from Qur’an or Sunna forbidding a specific color for men or women.
Clothing Dyed with Saffron and Safflower
Red Clothing Not Dyed with Safflower
It is permissible to wear red clothes not dyed with safflower (although better if combined with another color). Al-Bara Ibn ‘Azib (may Allah be pleased with him) said: “The Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and give him peace) was of average build. I saw him in a red hulla, and I never saw anyone more handsome than him (may Allah bless him and give him peace).” [Agreed Upon]
A red hulla is a suit of two Yemeni garments (upper and lower wraps) woven with red and black stripes or red and green stripes (described as red because of the dominance of the color red). [Ibn Hajar Fath al-Bari, Sharh ‘ala Sahih al-Bukhari]
What Constitutes “Dressing like Women”?
Men should not imitate women and vice versa because “the Prophet (may Allah bless him and give him peace) cursed those men who imitate women and those women who imitate men.” [Al-Bukhari] The prohibition refers to the imitation of distinctly feminine appearances (clothing, jewelry, and hairstyles, etc.) and behavior, which are distinguished based on custom (ʿurf). [Khinn, Bugha, & Sharbaji, Al-Fiqh Al-Manhaji]
I pray this is of benefit and that Allah guides us all.
[Shaykh] Irshaad Sedick
Checked and Approved by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani
Shaykh Irshaad Sedick was raised in South Africa in a traditional Muslim family. He graduated from Dar al-Ulum al-Arabiyyah al-Islamiyyah in Strand, Western Cape, under the guidance of the late world-renowned scholar, Shaykh Taha Karaan.
Shaykh Irshaad received Ijaza from many luminaries of the Islamic world, including Shaykh Taha Karaan, Mawlana Yusuf Karaan, and Mawlana Abdul Hafeez Makki, among others.
He is the author of the text “The Musnad of Ahmad ibn Hanbal: A Hujjah or not?” He has served as the Director of the Discover Islam Centre and Al Jeem Foundation. For the last five years till present, he has served as the Khatib of Masjid Ar-Rashideen, Mowbray, Cape Town.
Shaykh Irshaad has thirteen years of teaching experience at some of the leading Islamic institutes in Cape Town). He is currently building an Islamic online learning and media platform called ‘Isnad Academy’ and pursuing his Master’s degree in the study of Islam at the University of Johannesburg. He has a keen interest in healthy living and fitness.
