Mu' meneen Brothers and Sisters,

As Salaam Aleikum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh.  (May Allah's Peace, Mercy and Blessings be upon all of you)

One of our brothers/sisters has asked this question:

Why is wearing kafni and sayias made compulsory for ziyarat? 

(There may be some grammatical and spelling errors in the above statement. The forum does not change anything from questions, comments and statements received from our readers for circulation in confidentiality.)

Answer:

Why bohri dress is compulsory while visiting graves?

In the name of Allah, We praise Him, seek His help and ask for His forgiveness. Whoever Allah guides none can misguide, and whoever He allows to fall astray, none can guide them aright. We bear witness that there is no one (no idol, no person, no grave, no prophet, no imam, no dai, nobody!) worthy of worship but Allah Alone, and we bear witness that Muhammad (saws) is His slave-servant and the seal of His Messengers.

Allah says in the Holy Quran Chapter 7 Surah Aaraf verse 26:O children of Adam, we have sent down to you clothing in order to cover the shameful parts of your body, and to serve as protection and decoration. And the best garment is the garment of piety.

There is no particular dress code in Islam for the believing men. Whatever is pure and clean and adequately covers the ‘satr’ of the man is appropriate and permissible for the believing men in Islam.

The boundaries set by Allah and His Messenger (saws) in regards to clothes for the believing men are as follows:

Clothes made of silk were declared haraam. All other fabrics like cotton, wool, polyester, etc. are thus legal and within the boundaries set by Allah and His Messenger (saws).

Whatever clothes one wears, the ‘satr’ should be adequately covered.

Whatever clothes one wears, they should not lead to any ‘arrogance’ by the wearer.

A man should not dress like a woman, and a woman should not dress like a man.

Whatever clothes one wears, he should not copy a pagan culture or religion.

As long as one does not transgress the above boundaries of Allah, he is allowed to wear any kind of garments they choose.

Your Question: Why is wearing kafni and sayias made compulsory for ziyarat? 

The Bohras are commanded by their leaders to wear a particular sytle of clothing which differentiate them from the other people, and are thus commanded by their leaders to wear the specific kafnis, saayas, topis, etc. This has more to do with Bohraism than Islam. Allah and His Messenger (saws) has put no such restrictions on the believers and has not ordained a particular dress code for the men. It is the sect leaders who have ordained this particular style of clothing for the members of their sect for reasons best known to them.

Whatever written of Truth and benefit is only due to Allah’s Assistance and Guidance, and whatever of error is of me. Allah Alone Knows Best and He is the Only Source of Strength.

Your Brother in Islam,

Burhan