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Wednesday, July 22, 2015

Prayer attire: Keep it plain and simple

It's all part of caring and consideration for the feelings of fellow worshippers.
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From Mahmood Abdul Razak via e-mail
I refer to the article titled “The fashion police at mosques” by Fa Abdul. She wrote about a certain “pakchik” who counselled her son about being properly dressed when attending congregational prayers.
I must say the pakcik did the right thing. So did Fa when she told her son he should pay at least as much attention to his prayer attire as to the clothes he wears for worldly occasions. Indeed, I feel that one should double the effort when it comes to prayers, within one’s means, of course.
I have corrected strangers about their prayer attire before, in a nice way. None have reacted negatively, at least during our brief conversations. Certainly, one should not wear, for instance, jerseys that display inappropriate images or words.
I believe that plain and simple wear should be encouraged. Yes, prints and visuals can distract other worshippers. Not everyone can be so steeped in pious concentration that nothing can distract him. Similarly, scents should be moderate. Even the recitations of individual worshippers – as opposed to the imam’s – should not be so loud as to disturb the concentration of others. This is all part of caring and consideration.
Fa’s son has his points, especially in regard to reserved prayer spots. Apart from the imam, only the muezzin should have his place reserved. In normal practice, of course, we defer to community leaders. Deference to leadership isn’t wrong, but the intention must be proper. Islam promotes respect to leadership, but leaders must return this respect. One way of showing this is for them to arrive at the mosque early enough to take up the front rows.
As to the colours of one’s attire, it can be argued that there is little difference between a Metallica shirt and a loud orange baju Melayu in terms of visual noise. But surely, a Metallica shirt has no place in a house of worship. When you’re having a personal moment with God, you really shouldn’t be asserting your idolatry of a musical band.
Mahmood Abdul Razak is an FMT reader.

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