83 – Even though many of our jurists and worshippers regard this practice as superior to all others, they are mistaken!
84 – The correct view is that the finest path is the path of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ—the one he laid down, commanded, encouraged, and to which he remained steadfast.
85 – His practice in dress was to wear whatever was readily available, whether cotton, wool, or anything else. (1)
86 – Therefore, whoever shuns the lawful wearing of cotton, linen, and the like out of asceticism or as an act of devotion is sinful; likewise, those who refuse to wear wool and similar fabrics and insist on nothing but the most luxurious garments out of indulgence and pride. Both attitudes are censured.
Censure of ostentatious clothing
87 – For this reason some of the early generations said, “They used to dislike two kinds of conspicuous garments: those that are overly fine and those that are unduly shabby.” (2)
I said: This is indeed an act of devotion that commands respect, yet even when it comes from an Athari imam it remains a meritorious—not obligatory—practice. Sound reports confirm that the Prophet forbade *sawm ad-dahr* (fasting every single day) and forbade reciting the Quran in less than three days. The religion is one of ease, and adherence to the sunnah is paramount. May Allah be pleased with Wakiʿ—but where today can we find another like him? (Siyar Aʿlam an-Nubalaʾ, 9/142-143).
(1) See: Ibn al-Qayyim, Zad al-Maʿad, 1/142-143, where he reproduces most of these excerpts.
(2) Thus Ibn Abi al-Dunya relates in al-Tawaduʿ wa’l-Khumul (no. 64) and in Islah al-Mal (no. 400) that Sufyan ath-Thawri said: “They disliked two kinds of ostentation: fine clothes that make one conspicuous so people raise their gaze to him, and shabby clothes through which he is belittled and his religion demeaned.” See also: Ibn al-Jawzi, Talbis Iblis, p. 238.