—that is to say, asking to be clothed may be done in two ways: verbally and practically.

1. Verbal request: you supplicate to Allah to clothe you. When you ask Him to clothe your physical body with tangible garments, ask Him as well to veil your moral nakedness by guiding you to obey Him.

2. Practical request: this, in turn, has two forms. The first is through righteous deeds, and the second is by employing the material means that provide clothing—establishing workshops, factories, and the like.

The linkage between food, clothing, and guidance is meaningful. Food, in truth, is an inner garment for the body; hunger and thirst leave the stomach empty of nourishment, and that emptiness is a kind of exposure. Clothing, by contrast, covers the body outwardly. Guidance, however, is the most important covering of all: it veils hearts and souls from the blemishes of sin.

Then He, Most High, says: “O My servants, you sin by night and by day, yet I forgive all sins; so seek forgiveness from Me and I shall forgive you.” This, too, is part of Allah’s complete favor upon the servant: He offers him the chance to seek forgiveness and turn back to Him, even as He says, “You sin by night and by day, and I forgive all sins”—meaning every sin, whether idolatry, unbelief, grave offenses, or minor faults. Allah forgives them all, but only after a person seeks His pardon. Hence His words: “So seek forgiveness from Me and I shall forgive you,” that is, ask Me for pardon so I may pardon you.

Yet asking for forgiveness is not simply uttering, “O Allah, forgive me.” It must be accompanied by sincere repentance with which one truly returns to Allah.