Sura 7, al-Araf, Mecca 39

The Quranic Text & Ali’s Translation:

يَا بَنِي آدَمَ ...

7: 31. O children of Adam!

... خُذُواْ زِينَتَكُمْ عِندَ كُلِّ مَسْجِدٍ وكُلُواْ وَاشْرَبُواْ وَلاَ تُسْرِفُواْ...

wear your beautiful apparel at every time and place of prayer: eat and drink: but waste not by excess,

...إِنَّهُ لاَ يُحِبُّ الْمُسْرِفِينَ ﴿٣١﴾

for Allah loveth not the wasters.

Transliteration Ya_ bani a_dama khuzu_ zinatakum 'inda kulli masjidiw wa kulu_ wasyrabu_ wa la_ tusrifu_, innahu_ la_ yuhibbul musrifin(a).

7: 31

Asad

O Children of Adam! Beautify yourselves for every act of worship, and eat and drink, but do not waste; verily, He does not love the wasteful !

Pickthall

O Children of Adam! Look to your adornment at every place of worship, and eat and drink, but be not prodigal. Lo! He loveth not the prodigals.

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Ali’s comments:

C1013. Beautiful apparel: zinat: adornments or apparel for beautiful living:

construed to mean not only clothes that add grace to the wearer, but toilet and cleanliness, attention to hair, and other small personal details which no self-respecting man or woman ought to neglect when going solemnly even before a great human dignitary, if only out of respect for the dignity of the occasion. How much more important it is to attend to these details when we solemnly apply our minds to the Presence of Allah.

But the caution against excess applies: men must not go to prayer in silks or ornaments appropriate to women. Similarly sober food, good and wholesome, is not to be divorced from offices of religion; only the caution against excess applies strictly. A dirty, unkempt, slovenly Faqir could not claim sanctity in Islam. (R).