Prohibition of Wearing Clothes of Fame, Opposite Gender, or Specific to the Other Sex
✍ Written by: Imran Ayoob Lahori
Islam strictly prohibits three types of clothing:
① Clothes of fame and ostentation (shuhrah).
② Men wearing women’s clothing.
③ Women wearing men’s clothing.
① Clothes of Fame (Shuhrah)
Hadith of Ibn ʿUmar (رضي الله عنهما):
من لبس ثوب شهرة فى الدنيا ألبسه الله ثوب مذلة يوم القيامة
“Whoever wears a garment of fame in this world, Allah will clothe him with a garment of humiliation on the Day of Resurrection.”
[Ṣaḥīḥ Ibn Mājah: 2905; Ibn Mājah: 3606; Abū Dāwūd: 4069; Ahmad: 2/139]
Explanation:
Clothes of fame are those garments that are noticeably different in color or style from common people’s clothing, attracting attention and causing the wearer to fall into pride and arrogance.
This prohibition does not include fine or neat clothing, but only such garments worn out of pride, show-off, or to stand out.
[Nayl al-Awṭār: 1/596]
The Prophet ﷺ also said:
لا يدخل الجنة من كان فى قلبه مثقال حبة من خر دل من كبر
“He will not enter Paradise who has even an atom’s weight of arrogance in his heart.”
[Ṣaḥīḥ: al-Ṣaḥīḥah: 1626; Tirmidhi: 1999; Ahmad: 1/451; Ibn Ḥibbān: 1455; al-Ḥākim: 1/26]
② Men Imitating Women in Clothing & Women Imitating Men
Hadith of Abu Hurairah (رضي الله عنه):
أن رسول الله لعن الرجل يلبس لبس المرأة والمرأة تلبس لبس الرجل
“The Messenger of Allah ﷺ cursed the man who wears the clothing of women and the woman who wears the clothing of men.”
[Ṣaḥīḥ: Ṣaḥīḥ Abū Dāwūd: 3454; Abū Dāwūd: 4098; Ahmad: 2/325; Ibn Ḥibbān: 1455; al-Ḥākim: 4/194]
③ Hadith of Ibn ʿAbbās (رضي الله عنهما)
لعن رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم المتشبهات من النساء بالرجال والمتشبهين من الرجال بالنساء
“The Messenger of Allah ﷺ cursed the women who imitate men and the men who imitate women.”
[Bukhārī: 5885, Kitāb al-Libās: Bāb al-Mutashabbihīn bi al-Nisāʾ wa al-Mutashabbihāt bi al-Rijāl]
Conclusion:- Wearing clothes that are distinctly for fame and arrogance is prohibited.
- Men are prohibited from wearing women’s clothing, and women are prohibited from wearing men’s clothing.
- Any form of gender imitation in appearance is cursed by the Prophet ﷺ.
