A mureed who is also the khalifah of a senior Shaikh said: "Once I was leaving for work and Hadhrat (rahimullaah) remarked that it was not forbidden t

Answer

The Hadhrat‟s advice is improper. Regardless of a dress not being „specific to a religion‟, if it is a kuffaar dress -style, then it is not permissible. It is an error to aver that shirt and trousers are not „specific with a people‟. In of western kuffaar - the Yahood and Nasaara. The wholesale adoption of this kuffaar fashion does not negate the fact that it is a dress style specifically of the kuffaar.

It is indeed Imaani deficiency which induces a Muslim to discard his Sunnah dress simply because he happens to be in a non-Muslim country. It is worse if the Muslim happens to be a khalifah of a senior Shaikh of Tasawwuf. There is absolutely no valid reason for a Muslim to discard his Islamic/Sunnah dress merely because he is going to a non- Muslim country.

Millions of Muslims living in kuffaar countries don their Islamic garb without any prob- Shaikh did not apply his mind correctly when he proffered this egregiously inappropriate advice to his khalifah. Along with kuffaar dress come kuffaar attitudes. While the Sunnah dress inhibits a person from flagrant sin, there is no such protection in a kuffaar dress.

The Hadhrat has understood that the topi has greater significance than the Sunnah dress. This notion is incorrect. Just as a barehead is Tashabbuh bil kuffaar, so too are the shirt and trouser. If the khalifah finds it plausible to wear a Sunnah topi in a non-Muslim country, what prevents him from a Sunnah dress? The advice is baseless and erroneous.