Question:
Assalamu’alaikum Ya Mawlana Syaikh Hisham,
What is the history of the vest and why we are wearing vest. Any secret behind the vest? Thank You Syaikh. Shukran Lillah.
Answer:
Wa `alaykum as-Salam wa rahmatullah,
The design of the vest frequently worn by the Shaykhs – with the distinctive shape at the shoulders – appears closest in form to the vest known as Haydariye. This terminology reveals an association with Sayyidina `Ali who is called Haydar, may Allah ennoble his face.
In Ottoman times this vest was distinctive of the Sufi brotherhoods. For the Bektashi Order – an order with special veneration for the Imams of the Holy Prophet’s Family – the shoulders symbolized the letter `ayn; at the front of the vest, two strands of seven crystal beads distinguished their Haydariye from its appearance in other brotherhoods, such as the Mevlevi Order.
To be aware of the Men of Allah is to follow their example, and so the wearing of the Haydariye becomes nothing other than a particular expression of the “libas ut-taqwa”:
يَا بَنِي آدَمَ قَدْ أَنزَلْنَا عَلَيْكُمْ لِبَاسًا يُوَارِي سَوْءَاتِكُمْ وَرِيشًا وَلِبَاسُ التَّقْوَىَ ذَلِكَ خَيْرٌ ذَلِكَ مِنْ آيَاتِ اللّهِ لَعَلَّهُمْ يَذَّكَّرُونَ
{O Children of Adam! We have revealed unto you raiment to conceal your shame, and splendid vesture, but the raiment (libas) of taqwa, that is best. This is of the revelations of Allah, that they may remember.} (Surat al-`Araf, 7:26)
Mahmoud Shelton
