with brocade. She said, “This remained with ‘Ā’ishah until she passed away; when she passed away, I took possession of it. The Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, used to wear it, and we wash it for the sick, seeking healing through it.”
He, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, had two green cloaks, a black cloak, a patched red cloak, and a cloak woven from hair.
His shirt was made of cotton and was short, with short sleeves. As for these broad, long sleeves resembling saddlebags (1), neither he nor any of his Companions ever wore them. They are contrary to his sunnah, and their permissibility is questionable, for they are a form of ostentatious display (2).
His favourite garments were the shirt and the hibarah, a type of cloak with red in it.
His favourite colour was white, and he said, “White garments are among your best clothes, so wear them and shroud your dead in them” (3). In the Sahīh (4), it is reported from ‘Ā’ishah that she brought out a cloak
(1) Akhrāj is the plural of khurj (saddlebag), a two-compartment bag placed on an animal’s back to carry belongings. Al-Buhūtī quoted this passage in Kashshāf al-Qinā‘ (1:278), adding after “like saddlebags”: “and turbans like towers”!
(2) See also al-Qaramāniyya in Jāmi‘ al-Masā’il (7:147–148).
(3) Reported by Ahmad (2047, 2219), Abū Dāwūd (3878), al-Tirmidhī (994), and Ibn Mājah (1472, 3566), from ‘Abd Allāh ibn ‘Abbās. Its chain includes ‘Abd Allāh ibn ‘Uthmān ibn Khuthaym, who is truthful and unobjectionable as a narrator. The hadith was graded authentic by al-Tirmidhī, Ibn Hibbān (5423), and al-Hākim (1:354). It has an authentic corroborating report from Samura ibn Jundab, transmitted by Ahmad (20140, 20235) and al-Nasā’ī (1896, 5322, 5323), and graded authentic by al-Hākim (4:185).
(4) Al-Bukhārī (3108) and Muslim (2080). This wording appears in the source manuscripts and the Indian edition of al-Bukhārī; in other editions it was changed to Muslim’s wording: “The soul of the Messenger of Allah was taken.”