2 supplications
Duas for Wearing Clothes
Clothing is a blessing that covers and adorns us (Qur’an 7:26). The Prophet ﷺ taught us to thank Allah when we dress, and to ask for the good of new clothes.
Getting dressed
الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ الَّذِي كَسَانِي هَذَا الثَّوْبَ وَرَزَقَنِيهِ، مِنْ غَيْرِ حَوْلٍ مِنِّي وَلَا قُوَّةٍ
Al-hamdu lillahil-ladhi kasani hadhath-thawba wa razaqanihi, min ghayri hawlin minni wa la quwwah.
Praise be to Allah who has clothed me with this garment and provided it for me, without any power or strength on my part. His past sins are forgiven.
Source: Sunan Abi Dawud; Jami‘ al-Tirmidhi
Wearing new clothes
اللَّهُمَّ لَكَ الْحَمْدُ أَنْتَ كَسَوْتَنِيهِ، أَسْأَلُكَ مِنْ خَيْرِهِ وَخَيْرِ مَا صُنِعَ لَهُ، وَأَعُوذُ بِكَ مِنْ شَرِّهِ وَشَرِّ مَا صُنِعَ لَهُ
Allahumma lakal-hamdu anta kasawtanih, as’aluka min khayrihi wa khayri ma suni‘a lah, wa a‘udhu bika min sharrihi wa sharri ma suni‘a lah.
O Allah, to You belongs all praise; You have clothed me with it. I ask You for its good and the good for which it was made, and I seek refuge in You from its evil and the evil for which it was made.
Source: Sunan Abi Dawud; Jami‘ al-Tirmidhi
Sunnah etiquette of clothing
- Start with the right side when dressing and with the left when undressing (at-Tirmidhi).
- Say “Bismillah” when taking clothes off: it screens your ‘awrah from the eyes of the jinn (at-Tirmidhi).
- Praise Allah for a new garment and pray for a friend who wears one: “Wear it out and may Allah replace it.”
- White clothes were praised by the Prophet ﷺ: “Wear white, for it is among the best of your clothes” (Abu Dawud, at-Tirmidhi).
- Men do not wear silk or gold, and nobody lets a garment trail out of pride (al-Bukhari, Muslim).
Gratitude for what we wear
Clothing is a blessing that covers, protects and beautifies: “O children of Adam, We have sent down to you clothing to cover your nakedness and as adornment, but the clothing of righteousness is best” (7:26). The du‘a for getting dressed recognises that the garment came from Allah “without any power or strength from me”, and the Prophet ﷺ said that whoever says it has his past sins forgiven (Abu Dawud).
The Prophet ﷺ also said: “Allah is beautiful and loves beauty” (Muslim), so wearing clean, neat clothes is not vanity. What is blameworthy is pride, extravagance and imitating what is forbidden. A new garment is an occasion for a new du‘a and for giving an old one in charity.
Meaning of the du‘a for new clothes
“O Allah, praise is Yours; You have clothed me with it. I ask You for its good and the good for which it was made, and I seek refuge in You from its evil and the evil for which it was made.” The good of a garment is that it covers, protects from heat and cold and is worn in obedience; its evil is that it is worn in sin or leads to pride. The Muslim asks that his clothes help him in good.
Practical tips
- Say the du‘a when putting on clothes in the morning, not only for new ones.
- Start with the right sleeve and the right shoe.
- Give away a garment you no longer wear when you buy a new one.
- Choose clean, modest clothes for the mosque, as the Qur’an says: “Take your adornment at every place of prayer” (7:31).
- Avoid clothes worn to show off or that imitate what is forbidden.
Duas for Wearing Clothes: questions and answers
Is there anything to say when taking clothes off?
Say “Bismillah”: the Prophet ﷺ said it is a screen between the eyes of the jinn and the ‘awrah of people (at-Tirmidhi).
What do I say to someone wearing new clothes?
You can say: “Wear it out and may Allah replace it”, as the Companions said to one another (Abu Dawud).