appears in that very form and actually indwells it! If the claimant is an ittihādī—that is, a pantheist who speaks of existential union—he will say, “This is one of the manifestations of the Real,” and he calls such forms “the epiphanies of beauty.”

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The second group took the opposite extreme and said: “Allah, exalted is He, has censured handsome looks, perfect stature, and fine physical form.” Thus He said about the hypocrites: “And when you see them, their bodies please you” (al-Munāfiqūn 4). He also said: “How many a generation We destroyed before them who were superior in furnishings and in outward appearance” (Maryam 19:74)—furnishings meaning wealth, and outward appearance meaning looks; al-Ḥasan remarked: “It refers to their features.” In Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim (1) the Prophet ﷺ said: “Allah does not look at your forms or at your wealth; rather, He looks at your hearts and your deeds.” They argue that the ḥadīth does not negate the look of perception, but the look of affection. They continue: “He has forbidden us to wear silk and gold, and to use gold and silver vessels, yet these are among the greatest adornments of worldly life. He also said: ‘Do not strain your eyes toward the splendor of worldly life with which We have endowed some of them, so that We might test them thereby’ (Ṭā Hā 20:131).” And the ḥadīth states: “Simplicity of dress is part of faith” (2). Allah has condemned those who are prodigal, and extravagance in clothing is no different from extravagance in food and drink.

The question is settled by saying that beauty in appearance, clothing, and bearing falls into three categories: that which is praiseworthy, that which is blameworthy, and that which is neither praised nor blamed.

The praiseworthy kind is whatever is for Allah’s sake, assists obedience to Him, facilitates the carrying out of His commands, and helps one to respond to Him—just as the Prophet ﷺ would adorn himself when receiving delegations (3). It is comparable to putting on the gear