woven from iron, just as Allah, Exalted is He, taught David: “Fashion full-length coats of mail and measure the links precisely” (Sabaʾ 34:11). They describe these coats by saying that when a person puts one on and arrows, spears, or swords come at him, they crash against the iron and their harm is averted.

As for His words, “garments that shield you from the heat,” they are the cotton and similar fabrics that protect against heat. Someone might ask, “Why did He not say, ‘protect you from the cold’?” The scholars answer that something is implied: they shield you from both heat and cold, but only heat is mentioned because the surah is Makkan—revealed in Mecca, where cold is hardly felt—so Allah reminded them of His favor in granting garments that ward off heat.

Another view is that nothing is omitted: the coats of mail that protect in battle also protect a person from the searing heat of arrows and the like, while the lighter garments ward off the atmospheric heat. Indeed, were a person in a hot climate without clothing to shield him, the scorching air would burn him, blacken his skin, cause pain, and parch it; yet Allah, Glorified and Exalted, has made the garments that repel heat one of His blessings.

The author then cites the hadith of Ibn ʿAbbās—may Allah be pleased with them both—and the hadith of Samurah, in which the Prophet ﷺ urged the wearing of white garments, declaring them among the best of your clothes, and said, “Shroud your dead in them.” The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, spoke the truth.