Sunnah Color of Turban

بسم الله الرحمـن الرحيم

والصلاة والسلام على رسوله الكريم

والعاقبة للمتّقين

 

Color of Turban

Recently a well-known Barelwi sect, so-called Da’wat-i-Islami, known for their green turbans, decided to update their ‘uniform’ by adapting seven other colors for their turban: 1. Black 2. Burnt 3. Yellow 4. Saffron 5. Red 6. White and 7. Green. The truth is, we do not know any authentic evidence which establishes that the Prophet ﷺ ever wore a solid green turban. Undoubtedly, the Hadith mentions that the Prophet ﷺ would wear a solid black turban, as he wore it during the Conquest of Mecca, and also on the pulpit with its two ends hanging between his shoulder blades. Of course the Prophet ﷺ encouraged us to wear pure white garments, and that would include a white turban. According to the Hadith of Ibn Umar^RA via Zayd b. Aslam^RA the Prophet ﷺ wore clothing dyed with yellow, including his turban. In a weak report, it is mentioned that the Prophet ﷺ wore a Qitri turban, which is a coarse cloth with red in it and designs, imported from Qatar or the region of Bahrain in eastern Arabia (the Gulf region). As mentioned, this report is weak due to an unknown narrator – Abi Ma’qal. So it must be repeated that there is absolutely no authentic proof that the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ ever wore a green turban. Therefore, while wearing any color of turban is permissible, it is not Sunnah to wear a green colored turban, rather, one should stick to black and white colored turbans. It is also permissible to wear turbans with designs or patterns just as it is permissible to wear a solid colored turban. The green turban was (until quite recently!) almost exclusively associated with these grave-worshiping Barelwis and other misguided pseudo-Sufi sects, and hence the people of Tawhid and Sunnah tend to avoid that color of turban and stick to the Sunnah of black or white colored turbans. It is also mentioned in a Hadith that the Prophet ﷺ described the seventy-thousand Jews of Isbahan who would follow the Dajjal (Antichrist) as being draped in Sijan which the Ulama, such as Mulla Ali Qari, explained as being green shawls. As for wearing green garments in general, that is definitely a Sunnah as it is proven from an authentic Hadith that the Prophet ﷺ wore two green garments.