A Dictionary of Islam Being a cyclopedia of the...

DRESS. Arabic libās (لـبـاس). Decent apparel at the time of public worship is enjoined in the Qurʾān, Sūrah vii. 29: “O children of Adam! wear your goodly apparel when ye repair to any mosque.” Excess in apparel and extravagance in dress are reproved, Sūrah vii. 25: “We (God) have sent down raiment to hide your nakedness, and splendid garments; but the raiment of piety, this is the best.”

According to the Hidāyah (vol. iv. p. 92), a dress of silk is not lawful for men, but women are permitted to wear it. Men are prohibited from wearing gold ornaments, and also ornaments of silver, otherwise than a silver signet ring. The custom of keeping handkerchiefs in the hand, except for necessary use, is also forbidden.

The following are some of the sayings of the Prophet with regard to dress, as recorded in the Traditions. Mishkāt, xx. c. i.: “God will not look at him on the Day of Resurrection who shall wear long garments from pride.” “Whoever wears a silken garment in this world shall not wear it in the next.” “God will not have compassion upon him who wears long trousers (i.e. below the ankle) from pride.” “It is lawful for the women of my people to wear silks and gold ornaments, but it is unlawful for the men.” “Wear white clothes, because they are the cleanest, and the most agreeable; and bury your dead in white clothes.”

According to the Traditions, the dress of Muḥammad was exceedingly simple. It is said he used to wear only two garments, the izār, or “under garment” which hung down three or four inches below his knees, and a mantle thrown over his shoulders. These two robes, with the turban, and white cotton drawers, completed the Prophet’s wardrobe. His dress was generally of white, but he also wore green, red, and yellow, and sometimes a black woollen dress. It is said by some traditionists that in the taking of Makkah he wore a black turban. The end of his turban used to hang between his shoulders. And he used to wrap it many times round his head. It is said, “the edge of it appeared below like the soiled clothes of an oil dealer.”

He was especially fond of white-striped yamanī cloth. He once prayed in a silken dress, but he cast it aside afterwards, saying, “it doth not become the faithful to wear silk.” He once prayed in a spotted mantle, but the spots diverted his attention, and the garment was never again worn.

At first, he wore a gold ring with the stone inwards on his right hand, but it distracted his attention when preaching, and he changed it for a silver one. His shoes, which were often old and cobbled, were of the Ḥaẓramaut pattern, with two thongs. And he was in the habit of praying with his shoes on. [SHOES.]

The example of Muḥammad has doubtless influenced the customs of his followers in the matter of dress, the fashion of which has remained almost the same in eastern Muḥammadan countries centuries past; for although there are varieties of dress in Eastern as well as in European countries, still there are one or two characteristics of dress which are common to all oriental nations which have embraced Islām, namely, the turban folded round the head, the white cotton drawers, or full trousers, tied round the waist by a running string; the qamīs, or “shirt,” the k͟haftān, or “coat,” and the lungī, or “scarf.” The qamīṣ is the same as the ketoneth of the Hebrews, and the χίτων of the Greeks, a kind of long shirt with short sleeves, the ends of which extend over the trousers or drawers, reaching below the knees. The k͟haftān answers to the Hebrew מְעִיל meil (1 Sam. xviii. 4), a tunic worn as an outer garment. The Jewish בֶּגֶד beged, or שִׂמְלָה simlah, must have been similar to the quadrangular piece of cloth still worn as a scarf in Central Asia, and called a lungī, and similar to the ʿabāʾ of the Egyptians. It is worn in various ways, either wrapped round the body, or worn over the shoulders, and sometimes folded as a covering for the head.

The dress of the men of the middle and higher classes of Egypt consists of the following articles. First a pair of full drawers of linen or cotton tied round the body by a running string or band, the ends of which are embroidered with coloured silks, though concealed by the outer dress. The drawers descend a little below the knees or to the ankles; but many of the Arabs will not wear long drawers, because prohibited by the Prophet. Next is worn a qamīs or “shirt,” with very full sleeves, reaching to the wrist; it is made of linen of a loose open texture, or of cotton stuff, or of muslin, or silk, or of a mixture of silk and cotton in strips, but all white. Over this, in winter, or in cool weather, most persons wear a sudeyree, which is a short vest of cloth, or of striped coloured silk, or cotton, without sleeves. Over the shirt and the sudeyree, or the former alone, is worn a long vest of striped silk or cotton (called kaftān) descending to the ankles, with long sleeves extending a few inches beyond the fingers’ ends, but divided from a point a little above the wrist, or about the middle of the fore-arm, so that the hand is generally exposed, though it may be concealed by the sleeve when necessary, for it is customary to cover the hands in the presence of a person of high rank. Round this vest is wound the girdle, which is a coloured shawl, or a long piece of white-figured muslin.

The ordinary outer robe is a long cloth coat, of any colour, called by the Turks jubbah, but by the Egyptians gibbeh, the sleeves of which reach not quite to the wrist. Some persons also wear a beneesh, which is a robe of cloth with long sleeves, like those of the kaftān, but more ample; it is properly a robe of ceremony, and should be worn over the other cloth coat, but many persons wear it instead of the gibbeh.

Another robe, called farageeyeh, nearly resembles the beneesh; it has very long sleeves, but these are not slit, and it is chiefly worn by men of the learned professions. In cold or cool weather, a kind of black woollen cloak, called abāyeh, is commonly worn. Sometimes this is drawn over the head.

In winter, also, many persons wrap a muslin or other shawl (such as they use for a turban) about the head and shoulders. The head-dress consists, first, of a small close-fitting cotton cap, which is often changed; next a tarboosh, which is a red cloth cap, also fitting close to the head with a tassel of dark-blue silk at the crown; lastly, a long piece of white muslin, generally figured, or a kashmere shawl, which is wound round the tarboosh. Thus is formed the turban. The kashmere shawl is seldom worn except in cool weather. Some persons wear two or three tarbooshes one over another. A shereef (or descendant of the Prophet) wears a green turban, or is privileged to do so, but no other person; and it is not common for any but a shereef to wear a bright green dress. Stockings are not in use, but some few persons in cold weather wear woollen or cotton socks. The shoes are of thick red morocco, pointed, and turning up at the toes. Some persons also wear inner shoes of soft yellow morocco, and with soles of the same; the outer shoes are taken off on stepping upon a carpet or mat, but not the inner; for this reason the former are often worn turned down at the heel.

The costume of the men of the lower orders is very simple. These, if not of the very poorest class, wear a pair of drawers, and a long and full shirt or gown of blue linen or cotton, or of brown woollen stuff, open from the neck nearly to the waist, and having wide sleeves. Over this some wear a white or red woollen girdle; for which servants often substitute a broad red belt of woollen stuff or of leather, generally containing a receptacle for money. Their turban is generally composed of a white, red, or yellow woollen shawl, or of a piece of coarse cotton or muslin wound round a tarboosh, under which is a white or brown felt cap; but many are so poor, as to have no other cap than the latter, no turban, nor even drawers, nor shoes, but only the blue or brown shirt, or merely a few rags, while many, on the other hand, wear a sudeyree under the blue shirt, and some, particularly servants in the houses of great men, wear a white shirt, a sudeyree, and a kaftān, or gibbeh, or both, and the blue shirt over all. The full sleeves of this shirt are sometimes drawn up by means of a cord, which passes round each shoulder and crosses behind, where it is tied in a knot. This custom is adopted by servants (particularly grooms), who have cords of crimson or dark blue silk for this purpose.

In cold weather, many persons of the lower classes wear an abayeh, like that before described, but coarser and sometimes (instead of being black) having broad stripes, brown and white, or blue and white, but the latter rarely. Another kind of cloak, more full than the abayeh, of black or deep blue woollen stuff, is also very commonly worn, it is called diffeeyeh. The shoes are of red or yellow morocco, or of sheep-skin. Those of the groom are of dark red morocco. Those of the door-keeper and the water-carrier of a private house, generally yellow.

The Muslims are distinguished by the colours of their turbans from the Copts and the Jews, who (as well as other subjects of the Turkish Sultān who are not Muslims) wear black, blue, gray, or light-brown turbans, and generally dull-coloured dresses.

The distinction of sects, families, dynasties, &c., among the Muslim Arabs by the colour of the turban and other articles of dress, is of very early origin. There are not many different forms of turbans now worn in Egypt; that worn by most of the servants is peculiarly formal, consisting of several spiral twists one above another like the threads of a screw. The kind common among the middle and higher classes of the tradesmen and other citizens of the metropolis and large towns is also very formal, but less so than that just before alluded to.

The Turkish turban worn in Egypt is of a more elegant fashion. The Syrian is distinguished by its width. The Ulama and men of religion and letters in general used to wear, as some do still, one particularly wide and formal called a mukleh. The turban is much respected. In the houses of the more wealthy classes, there is usually a chair on which it is placed at night. This is often sent with the furniture of a bride; as it is common for a lady to have one upon which to place her head-dress. It is never used for any other purpose.

The dress of the women of the middle and higher orders is handsome and elegant. Their shirt is very full, like that of the men, but shorter, not reaching to the knees; it is also, generally, of the same kind of material as the men’s shirt, or of coloured crape, sometimes black. A pair of very wide trousers (called shintiyān) of a coloured striped stuff, of silk and cotton, or of printed or plain white muslin, is tied round the hips under the shirt, with a dikkeh; its lower extremities are drawn up and tied just below the knee with running strings, but it is sufficiently long to hang down to the feet, or almost to the ground, when attached in this manner. Over the shirt and shintiyān is worn a long vest (called yelek), of the same material as the latter; it nearly resembles the kaftān of the men, but is more tight to the body and arms; the sleeves also are longer, and it is made to button down the front from the bosom to a little below the girdle, instead of lapping over; it is open, likewise on each side, from the height of the hip downwards.

In general, the yelek is cut in such a manner as to leave half of the bosom uncovered, except by the shirt, but many ladies have it made more ample at that part, and according to the most approved fashion it should be of sufficient length to reach to the ground, or should exceed that length by two or three inches or more. A short vest (called anteree) reaching only a little below the waist, and exactly resembling a yelek of which the lower part has been cut off, is sometimes worn instead of the latter. A square shawl, or an embroidered kerchief, doubled diagonally, is put loosely round the waist as a girdle, the two corners that are folded together hanging down behind; or sometimes the lady’s girdle is folded after the ordinary Turkish fashion, like that of the men, but more loosely.

Over the yelek is worn a gibbeh of cloth or velvet or silk, usually embroidered with gold or with coloured silk; it differs in form from the gibbeh of the men, chiefly in being not so wide, particularly in the fore part, and is of the same length as the yelek. Instead of this, a jacket (called saltah), generally of cloth or velvet, and embroidered in the same manner as the gibbeh, is often worn.

The head-dress consists of a takeeyeh and tarboosh, with a square kerchief (called faroodeeyeh) of printed or painted muslin or one of crape, wound tightly round, composing what is called a rabtah. Two or more such kerchiefs were commonly used a short time since, and still are sometimes to form the ladies’ turban, but always wound in a high flat shape, very different from that of the turban of the men. A kind of crown, called kurs, and other ornaments, are attached to the ladies’ head-dress. A long piece of white muslin, embroidered at each end with coloured silks and gold, or of coloured crape ornamented with gold thread, &c., and spangles, rests upon the head, and hangs down behind, nearly or quite to the ground; this is called tarhah, it is the head-veil; the face-veil I shall presently describe. The hair, except over the forehead and temples, is divided into numerous braids or plaits, generally from eleven to twenty-five in number, but always of an uneven number; these hang down the back. To each braid of hair are usually added three black silk cords with little ornaments of gold, &c., attached to them. Over the forehead the hair is cut rather short, but two full locks hang down on each side of the face; these are often curled in ringlets and sometimes plaited.

Few of the ladies of Egypt wear stockings or socks, but many of them wear mezz (or inner shoes) of yellow or red morocco, sometimes embroidered with gold. Over these, whenever they step off the matted or carpeted part of the floor, they put on baboog (or slippers) of yellow morocco, with high-pointed toes, or use high wooden clogs or pattens, generally from four to nine inches in height, and usually ornamented with mother-of-pearl or silver, &c.

The riding or walking attire is called tezyeereh. Whenever a lady leaves the house, she wears, in addition to what has been above described, first, a large, loose gown (called tob or sebleh), the sleeves of which are nearly equal in width to the whole length of the gown; it is of silk, generally of a pink or rose or violet colour. Next is put on the burkaʾ or face-veil, which is a long strip of white muslin, concealing the whole of the face except the eyes, and reaching nearly to the feet. It is suspended at the top by a narrow band, which passes up the forehead, and which is sewed, as are also the two upper corners of the veil, to a band that is tied round the head. The lady then covers herself with a habarah, which, for a married lady, is composed of two breadths of glossy, black silk, each ell-wide, and three yards long; these are sewed together, at or near the selvages (according to the height of the person) the seam running horizontally, with respect to the manner in which it is worn; a piece of narrow black ribbon is sewed inside the upper part, about six inches from the edge, to tie round the head. But some of them imitate the Turkish ladies of Egypt in holding the front part so as to conceal all but that portion of the veil that is above the hands. The unmarried ladies wear a habarah of white silk, or a shawl. Some females of the middle classes, who cannot afford to purchase a habarah, wear instead of it an eezār (izār), which is a piece of white calico, of the same form and size as the former, and is worn in the same manner.

On the feet are worn short boots or socks (called khuff), of yellow morocco, and over these the baboog. The dress of a large proportion of those women of the lower orders who are not of the poorest class, consists of a pair of trousers or drawers (similar in form to the shintiyān of the ladies, but generally of plain white cotton or linen), a blue linen or cotton shirt (not quite so full as that of the men), reaching to the feet, a burkaʾ of a kind of coarse black crape, and a dark blue tarhah of muslin or linen. Some wear, over the long shirt, or instead of the latter, a linen tob, of the same form as that of the ladies; and within the long shirt, some wear a short white shirt; and some, a sudeyree also, or an anteree. The sleeves of the tob are often turned up over the head; either to prevent their being incommodious, or to supply the place of a tarhah. In addition to these articles of dress, many women who are not of the very poor classes wear, as a covering, a kind of plaid, similar in form to the habarah, composed of two pieces of cotton, woven in small chequers of blue and white, or cross stripes, with a mixture of red at each end. It is called milayeh; in general it is worn in the same manner as the habarah, but sometimes like the tarhah.

The upper part of the black burkaʾ is often ornamented with false pearls, small gold coins, and other little flat ornaments of the same metal (called bark); sometimes with a coral bead, and a gold coin beneath; also with some coins of base silver and more commonly with a pair of chain tassels of brass or silver (called oyoon) attached to the corners. A square black silk kerchief (called asbeh), with a border of red and yellow, is bound round the head, doubled diagonally, and tied with a single knot behind; or, instead of this, the tarboosh and faroodeeyeh are worn, though by very few women of the lower classes.

The best kind of shoes worn by the females of the lower orders are of red morocco, turned up, but generally round, at the toes. The burkaʾ and shoes are most common in Cairo, and are also worn by many of the women throughout lower Egypt; but in Upper Egypt, the burkaʾ is very seldom seen, and shoes are scarcely less uncommon. To supply the place of the former, when necessary, a portion of the tarhah is drawn before the face, so as to conceal nearly all the countenance except one eye.

Throughout the greater part of Egypt, the most common dress of the women, merely consists of the blue shirt or tob and tarhah. In the southern parts of Upper Egypt chiefly above Akhmeem, most of the women envelop themselves in a large piece of dark-brown woollen stuff (called a hulāleeyeh), wrapping it round the body and attaching the upper parts together over each shoulder, and a piece of the same they use as a tarhah. This dull dress, though picturesque, is almost as disguising as the blue tinge which women in these parts of Egypt impart to their lips. Most of the women of the lower orders wear a variety of trumpery ornaments, such as ear-rings, necklaces, bracelets, &c., and sometimes a nose-ring.

The women of Egypt deem it more incumbent upon them to cover the upper and back part of the head than the face, and more requisite to conceal the face than most other parts of the person. I have often seen women but half covered with miserable rags, and several times females in the prime of womanhood, and others in more advanced age, with nothing on the body but a narrow strip of rag bound round the hips.

In summer the men wear a coarse cotton shirt, over which the wealthy put a kombar, or “long gown,” as it is worn in Turkish towns, of silk or cotton stuff. Most of them, however, do not wear the kombar, but simply wear over their shirt a woollen mantle. There are different sorts of mantles, one very thin, light, and white woollen, manufactured at Bag͟hdād, and called mesoumy. A coarser and heavier kind, striped white and brown (worn over the mesoumy), is called abba. The Bag͟hdād abbas are most esteemed, those made at Hamah, with short wide sleeves, are called boush. (In the northern parts of Syria, every kind of woollen mantle, whether white, black, or striped white and brown, or white and blue, are called meshlakh.) I have not seen any black abbas among the Aenezes, but frequently among the sheikhs of Ahl el Shemal, sometimes interwoven with gold, and worth as much as ten pounds sterling. The Aenezes do not wear drawers; they walk and ride usually barefooted, even the richest of them, although they generally esteem yellow boots and red shoes. All the Bedouins wear on the head, instead of the red Turkish cap, a turban or square kerchief, of cotton or cotton and silk mixed; the turban is called keffie; this they fold about the head so that one corner falls backward, and two other corners hang over the fore part of the shoulders; with these two corners they cover their faces to protect them from the sun’s rays, or hot wind, or rain, or to conceal their features if they wish to be unknown. The keffie is yellow or yellow mixed with green.

Over the keffie the Aenezes tie, instead of a turban, a cord round the head; this cord is of camel’s hair, and called akal. Some tie a handkerchief about the head, and it is then called shutfe. A few rich sheikhs wear shawls on their heads of Damascus or Bag͟hdād manufacture, striped red and white; they sometimes also use red caps or takie (called in Syria tarboush), and under those they wear a smaller cap of camel’s hair, called maaraka (in Syria arkye, where it is generally made of fine cotton stuff).