Is Wearing a Colorful Palestinian Thawb and Listening to Music Permissible?

Answered by Shaykh Irshaad Sedick

Question

Is it permissible to wear a modest, colorful Palestinian thawb with embroidery, follow the opinion permitting music under certain conditions, and what happens to those proven wrong on the Day of Judgment?

Answer

In the Name of Allah, the Most Merciful and Compassionate.

Wearing a Palestinian Thawb

It is permissible to wear a modest, colorful Palestinian thawb with embroidery as long as it adheres to Islamic guidelines for clothing. These include:

• Covering the ‘awra (private areas required to be covered).
• Avoiding tight or transparent clothing.
• Ensuring it is not worn to attract the gazes of the opposite sex.

Wearing traditional attire, such as a Palestinian thobe, can even be praiseworthy if it symbolizes cultural heritage or solidarity with the oppressed, provided it complies with Islamic modesty standards.]

Allah (Most High) says,

“O children of Adam! We have provided for you clothing to cover your nakedness and as adornment. But the clothing of righteousness—that is best. That is from the signs of Allah that perhaps they will remember.” [Quran, 7:26]

Allah (Most High) says,

“Tell the believing women to lower their gaze and guard their chastity and not to reveal their adornments except what normally appears. Let them draw their veils over their chests and not reveal their hidden adornments except to their husbands…” [Quran, 24:31]

Permissibility of Music

Music is unlawful according to the Shafi‘i School (and the rest of the Four Sunni Schools), and Allah knows best.

Being Proven Wrong on the Day of Judgment

For those “proven wrong” on the Day of Judgment regarding permissible matters, they are not sinful if they acted sincerely and within the bounds of a valid scholarly opinion. The Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace) said,

“When a judge gives a ruling, striving to reach the correct conclusion, he will have two rewards if correct and one reward if mistaken.” [Bukhari, Muslim]

This principle applies to anyone sincerely following a valid scholarly opinion. Accountability rests on one’s sincerity, adherence to the methodology of Sacred Law, and effort to seek the truth.

Conclusion

• Palestinian Thawb: Permissible if modest and culturally meaningful.
• Music: Impermissible according to the Shafi‘i School.
• Day of Judgment: Those proven wrong but who acted sincerely upon valid scholarship will be rewarded for following a sound view.

[Shaykh] Irshaad Sedick
Checked and Approved by Shaykh Mohammad Abu Bakr Badhib

Shaykh Irshaad Sedick was raised in South Africa in a traditional Muslim family. He graduated from Dar al-Ulum al-Arabiyyah al-Islamiyyah in Strand, Western Cape, under the guidance of the late world-renowned scholar Shaykh Taha Karaan (Allah have mercy on him), where he taught.

Shaykh Irshaad received Ijaza from many luminaries of the Islamic world, including Shaykh Taha Karaan, Shaykh Muhammad Awama, Shaykh Muhammad Hasan Hitu, and Mawlana Abdul Hafeez Makki, among others.

He is the author of the text “The Musnad of Ahmad ibn Hanbal: A Hujjah or not?” He has been the Director of the Discover Islam Centre, and for six years, he has been the Khatib of Masjid Ar-Rashideen, Mowbray, Cape Town.

Shaykh Irshaad has fifteen years of teaching experience at some of the leading Islamic institutes in Cape Town). He is currently building an Islamic podcast, education, and media platform called ‘Isnad Academy’ and has completed his Master’s degree in the study of Islam at the University of Johannesburg. He has a keen interest in healthy Prophetic living and fitness.