More on Muhammad’s Cross Dressing

I have written extensively on the fact of Muhammad being a cross-dresser who would dress up in women’s clothing, particularly in the dresses of his child-bride. I will provide the links to my articles/rebuttals at the conclusion of the post.

Here I want to provide further corroboration for Muhammad wearing women’s clothing from a woman author who wrote a scholarly tome on the issue of Arab clothing for a scholarly publisher. The writer candidly states that the supposed authentic Sunni narrations explicitly attest to Muhammad wearing his child-bride’s dress. Note what she writes:

“Some wraps and mantles at this time seem to have been associated with one sex or the other, although these were in the minority. The rida’ was a man’s mantle par excellence, and for the man of honor, in the words of the Jahili poet al-Samaw’al, ‘every rida’ he wears is becoming.’ The jilbab, khimar, and mirt, on the other hand, were primarily for women. The traditionalists al-Tirmidhi, Muslim and Abu Dawud all repeat a hadith about Muhammad wearing a black mirt, but all other references to this garment are solely in a feminine context. In several hadiths, the Prophet is specifically said to be wearing his wife Aisha’s mirt, which would seem to indicate that it was normally a woman’s garment.²⁰…” (Yedida Stillman, ARAB DRESS: From the Dawn of Islam to Modern Times [BRILL, 2000], p. 13; emphasis mine)

²⁰ The Prophet reported to wear a black goats hair mirt: Muslim, Sahih, Kitab al-Libas, hadith 36; Abu Dawud, Sunan, Kitab al-Libas, bab 5; al-Tirmidhi, Sunan, Kitab al-Adab, bab 49. Feminine context: Imra’ al-Qays, Mu’allaqa, 28; al-Bukhari, Sahih, lii, 15. The Prophet wearing his wife’s mirt: Muslim, Sahih, Kitab Fada’il al-Sahaba, hadith 27 and elsewhere. (Ibid., pp. 13-14)

And here are some of the narrations, which the author listed in her footnote:

43 Chapters on Manners

(49) Chapter: What Has Been Related About The Black Garment

Narrated 'Aishah:

"The Messenger of Allah went out during the morning wearing a Mirt made of black hair."

Grade: SAHIH (Darussalam)

Reference: Jami` at-Tirmidhi 2813

In-book reference: Book 43, Hadith 87

English translation: Vol. 5, Book 41, Hadith 2813 (sunnah.com: https://sunnah.com/tirmidhi:2813; emphasis mine)

34 Clothing (Kitab Al-Libas)

(1507) Chapter: Regarding Wearing Wool And Hair

'Aishah said: The Messenger of Allah went out one morning wearing a variegated garment of black goat hair. Narrated Utbah ibn Abdus-Sulami: I asked the Messenger of Allah to clothe me. He clothed me with two coarse clothes of linen.

Grade: SAHIH (Al-Albani)

Reference: Sunan Abi Dawud 4032

In-book reference: Book 34, Hadith 13

English translation: Book 33, Hadith 4021 (sunnah.com: https://sunnah.com/abudawud:4032; emphasis mine)

Chapter Title, "From the Virtues of Uthman Ibn Affan."

Narrated by Abdel Malik ibn Shu’aib ibn Laith Ibn Sa’ad, narrated by his father, narrated by his grandfather, narrated by Ukail ibn Khalid, narrated by ibn Shihab, narrated by Yahya ibn Sa’id ibn al-Aas who narrated that Aisha, the wife of the prophet, and Uthman related to him that Abu Bakr requested permission from the prophet to enter when the prophet was lying down on Aisha’s bed WEARING HER GARMENT (mirt). So the prophet gave permission to Abu Bakr to enter while he (Muhammad) was in that state and Abu Bakr finished what he needed and left. Later, Umar came and requested permission to enter and the prophet gave him permission to enter while he (Muhammad) was in that state. So Umar finished what he needed and left. Later, Uthman requested permission to enter to the prophet, so Muhammad sat up and told Aisha, "TAKE ALL THE CLOTHING THAT BELONGS TO YOU."

So Aisha did as the prophet requested and left. Afterwards, Aisha asked the prophet, "O prophet! Why is it that I didn’t see you anxious when Abu Bakr or Umar came like you were when Uthman came in?"

The prophet replied, "Uthman is a bashful man, and I feared that if I gave him permission to enter in the state that I was in, he would not have finished what he came for."

Sahih Muslim, Hadith Number 4415

Volume Title, "From the virtues of the Companions."

The Explanation of Sahih Muslim by Al-Nawawi

His saying "wearing HER garment (mirt)."

It is pronounced as "mirt" with a diacritical mark underneath that "m". It is a cloak made out of wool. Al-Khalil said that it is A ROBE made out of wool or cotton or the like. Ibn al-A’raby and Abu Zaid said that it is A LOINCLOTH, a waist wrap (izar). 

حدثنا عبد الملك بن شعيب بن الليث بن سعد حدثني أبي عن جدي حدثني عقيل بن خالد عن ابن شهاب عن يحيى بن سعيد بن العاص أن سعيد بن العاص أخبره أن عائشة زوج النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم وعثمان حدثاه أن أبا بكر استأذن على رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم وهو مضطجع على فراشه لابس مرط عائشة فأذن لأبي بكر وهو كذلك فقضى إليه حاجته ثم انصرف ثم استأذن عمر فأذن له وهو على تلك الحال فقضى إليه حاجته ثم انصرف قال عثمان ثم استأذنت عليه فجلس وقال لعائشة اجمعي عليك ثيابك فقضيت إليه حاجتي ثم انصرفت فقالت عائشة يا رسول الله مالي لم أرك فزعت لأبي بكر وعمر رضي الله عنهما كما فزعت لعثمان قال رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم إن عثمان رجل حيي وإني خشيت إن أذنت له على تلك الحال أن لا يبلغ إلي في حاجته.

صحيح مسلم .. كتاب فضائل الصحابة .. باب من فضائل عثمان بن عفان رضي الله عنه 

Further Reading 

Revisiting the Issue of Muhammad’s Cross Dressing

Muhammad's Cross Dressing: Appendix: Further References

Reexamining Muhammad’s Cross-Dressing

The Meaning of Mirt and Thawb

Aisha’s Garments: Uncovering Another Muhammadan Lie

An examination of Muhammad’s Dress Code

An Inspired Cross-Dresser? Further Proof for Muhammad Being a Fraud