Even before the revelation of Islam in the Arabian peninsula, covering the head among Arab men and women was a custom native to the region and was seen as a sign of modesty. Someone without a head covering was seen as uncouth and vulgar.

C) Head Coverings

Men:

1- ʿImāma عِمامة

TheʿImāma or Turban from Persian (dulband) is a long cloth wound around the head multiple times to form a head-covering. It’s a popular headwear in many cultures found in the Indian Subcontinent, the Middle East, and Southeast Asia, in addition to being a religious headwear in Islam, Hinduism, and Sikhism.

The ʿImāma was an existing head covering worn by the Arabs before Islam was revealed in Arabia. Its significance is illustrated in a famous Arabic proverb: “Al-ʿAmāʾim Tijān Al-ʿArab,” meaning “Turbans are the crowns of the Arabs”. In the Jahiliyyah, the ʿImāma was worn by the elites and wealthy mercantile class of the Arabian tribes as a symbol of high status and dignity. Aside from being a headwear, it served multiple functions for the Arabian man, as shown in this quote by the 7th-century Arabic grammarian Abu al-Aswad al-Duʾali: 

” A shield in war, a shade in the heat, a blanket in the cold, an umbrella in the rain, and an extension in hight.” 

The ʿImāma was a key hallmark of Islamic fashion for men (and sometimes women) throughout the Islamic caliphates. In the early days of Islam, it didn’t have as much significance as later on, especially in medieval Islamic eras, even as an indicator of your occupation or social status. Muslims, especially Caliphs and high-ranking officials, took great measures to wear ʿImāmas made from the most expensive and ostentatious fabrics. It was often accentuated as the centerpiece of the whole attire, sometimes adorned with a precious stone or jewel, decorated and embroidered with golden or silverwork.

The prophet wore several ʿImāmas in different colors, including black, yellow, green, and white. Transmitted hadiths report that the prophet wore a black ʿImāma on the day he conquered Mecca. The prophet wore his ʿImāma in several styles; for example, after winding theʿImāma around his head, he would take the remaining loose tail or end and let it drape between his right shoulder and neck (it resembles the way Afghani men drape it), or throw it on his back between his shoulders. Another style is taking the loose tail, running it under the chin, and tucking it on the other side. This style is called Taḥnik or Tallaḥy تحنيك أو تلَّحّي meaning “running under the chin” or “making a beard.”

2- Qalansuwa قلنسوة

The word qalansuwa is presumed to be an Arabized word from the English caul or calotte from the Latin Cucullus. It is essentially a skullcap made from different materials like hides, furs, and wool. Unfortunately, there is no information on its shape or materials from this period. It was reported that the prophet and the fourth Rashidun Caliph, ʿAli ibn Abi Tālib wore white qalansuwas. The third Rashidi Caliph, ʿUthmān Ibn ʿAffān was reported to have also worn a qalansuwa but with no information on its color or the material. 

From the 8th century in the Islamic world, Muslims adopted the fashion of wrapping the ʿImāma (turban) around a wide range of auxiliary qalansuwas (caps). As the Muslim world was conquered and ruled by various ethnic groups and cultures, different terms came into the Arabic lexicon to denote the foundational brimless cap, such as qalansuwa, kalawatta, Taqqiya, shashiyya, tarboosh … etc.

The wearing of caps both served as fashion and function, fashion previously addressed, while function pertained to avoiding the resemblance of non-muslim apparel, mainly the Jews and Christians, who usually wore a cap alone. A hadith attributed to the prophet points up the rationale behind it, 

“What differentiates between us (Muslims) and the non-believers are the imama (turban) over the qalansuwa (cap).“ 

Throughout the medieval Islamic caliphates, from the Rashidun caliphate and during the Umayyad and Abbasid, to the Fatimids and others, Islamic sumptuary laws have regulated the outwears of the non-Muslim subjects living under Islamic rule. These rules were known as Ghiyār, meaning distinction or cognizance. It was credited to ʿUmar Ibn Al-Khattāb for the establishment of the Ghiyār regulations. They were laws amongst many others intended for dealing with the non-muslim faith denominations or (Ahl Ad-dimmah/Dhimmis in Arabic) living under the Muslims’ protection, that fell under what is known as The pact of Umar الشروط العمرية.

In early Islam and in the Umayyad period, the Arabs were still outnumbered compared to the non-Muslim population inside the regions they governed, so they were ordered to maintain their traditional costume as a means to establish their contrary identity. Also, in the early centuries of Islamic rule, the non-muslims were prohibited from adopting Arab garments into their outwear, and if they did (which did eventually take place) they would wear distinguishing garments separating them from the Muslims, like a special girdle or wearing different colors from the Muslims.

The Ghiyār regulations in general were enforced in a disparate manner from one Islamic dynasty to the other and rather depended on the ruler’s personal degree of tolerance and flexibility. Most historical sources across several Islamic dynasties convey that the pre-existing non-Muslim communities mingled and cohabitated with the fully Islamized and Arabized regions, successfully assimilating into the Islamic cultural hegemony and eventually adopting the Arabic dress and language alongside their native tongues.

3- Burnous بُرنُس

A burnous or burnoose (probably derived from Greek and Latin birrus) refers to a hood. Although orientalist scholar of Arabic Language and History, Reinhart Dozy, points out that it referred to a qalansuwa or a long cap worn by hermits in early Islam but later became a hood. The hood can be a separate article or attached to a cloak or any gown. It was a popular garment in the pre-Islamic Arabian Peninsula, and was uncommon during the Middle Ages in the Arab East, unlike the Arab West, and is still worn nowadays in the Maghreb Region (Northwest Africa).

Women:

Covering the head for women in Ancient Arabia was an established socio-cultural convention that goes back a long time. Like most Near Eastern societies in antiquity, veiling in Arabia served as a marker of class distinction between free and slave women and those of elite/common status. Not to mention, it was a functional byproduct of living in a severe desert environment. The sandy and arid climate of the Arabian Peninsula propelled most women to swath themselves entirely with clothing to lessen the effects of the scorching sun.

The earliest reference to veiling by Arab women, let alone how they dressed in general, was by the 3rd-century Christian theologian Tertullian, who describes in his book De virginibus velandis, the modesty of Arab women and how they veil themselves and called upon the contemporaneous women of his time to emulate them:

Arabia’s heathen females will be your judges, who cover not only the head, but the face also, so entirely, that they are content, with one eye free, to enjoy rather half the light than to prostitute the entire face. A female would rather see than be seen.”Chapter XVII. 

—-An Appeal to the Married Women.

Historical literary chronicles, save artistic ones, either by other cultures or by indigenous Arabs themselves, provide no mention of the types of headdresses that Peninsular Arab women wore on their heads. Pre-Islamic (Jahili) Arabic poetry is likely our only source in this area.

Veils were perhaps the most abundant references in poetry. These varied in their typology and function; some were for the face or head. (Check my article on the etymology of veils in Arabic.)

The second most common head-covering worn within Arabia, and throughout the Roman Mediterranean, were the large wraps or mantles that women wrapped themselves into when they went outdoors. These garments provided modesty by hiding the body contours and were easily drawn over the heads as a veil. The iconographic repertoire of Ancient Arab kingdoms/city-states that were established across various locales in the peninsula and the Southern Levant depicts women dressed in similar styles.

Female statues from Palmyra, Petra, Tylos, Hatra, Thaj, and other centers of Arab rule or settlement, usually have their heads covered with various headdresses and they are swaddled in large mantles, sometimes covering the head with separate veils or with a part of the mantle.

Khimār, qināʿ‘, miqnaʿa, Naṣif, būrqū, lithām, and ḥijāb are all terms used to describe various veils in the Pre-Islamic poetry and medieval Islamic literary sources. These veils were not the only garments designated as head coverings; a variety of garments were available to them to serve as a veil. Women covered their heads and face with large mantles like the izār, Milḥafa, or Jilbāb. Women would sometimes cover themselves entirely with a large mantle and take the remaining ends to cover their faces.

1- Veil/Khimār خِمار

A khimār is a woman’s veil covering the head, neck, chest, and sometimes face. Veils were de rigueur for girls from the onset of puberty and for all women, regardless of class, and were the subject of fashion concerning material, color, pattern, and availability.

The veil was a common female headwear worn throughout history in several cultures and religions. It was typically worn in ancient times by upper-class women as a symbol of modesty and high status. In pre-Islamic Arabia, the head veil was commonly worn by women; however, it loosely covered the head and was left to drape on the back, leaving the face, ears, and entire upper area uncovered.

When Islam was revealed to Prophet Mohammad, women were issued an ordinance to cover their chests. “… let them draw their veils (khumurihin) over their chests, and not reveal their ˹hidden˺ adornments” [An-Nur 24:31]. Muslim women complied with the divine injunction and began wrapping their veils around, covering their necks, ears, and chests. In the early days of Islam, lasting to the late Umayyads, veils were only worn by free women and forbidden for slave women. Veiling was not only a religious obligation but served as an instrument of social cognizance between the two classes; the accessible and inaccessible. It was reported that Caliph Umar Ibn Al-Khattab struck a slave girl for wearing a veil and trying to imitate a free woman: 

“Uncover your head, and do not resemble the free women”. 

Perhaps following in his predecessor’s footsteps, according to traditional Muslim sources, Umar ibn Abd al-Aziz (Umar II), the second Umayyad caliph wrote to his viceroys:

“no slave woman shall wear a Khimār or imitate the freewoman.” 

This injunction should not be interpreted as religious zealotry but as an enforcement of pre-existing social mores in the ancient Eastern Mediterranean whereby Free women were distinguished from harlots by veiling.

D) Footwear

1- Khuff خُف

It’s of Persian origin, and it’s a leather socks-like boot that reaches up the ankles, usually padded with wool or fur, and is ground level with no heels. It was reported that the prophet wore Khuffs. Yellow and black were reported as the favorable colors, while red Khuffs were frowned upon since red was attributed to being the color of grandiosity.

2- Niʿāl نِعال

They are sandals or shoes made from leather or palm fibers. Arabian niʿāls were made from camel leather. According to a hadith, the prophet wore ‘niʿāl sibbtiyah’, meaning double-laced tanned sandals that had the hair removed (it was the general practice at that time in Arabia to wear shoes with hair on them).