Quran, Culture And Civilization

Quran, Culture And Civilization

Reconsidering the Historical-Cultural Anthropology of Clothing and Its Impact on the Interpretation of Related Quranic Verses

Authors
Hossein Mohammadian 1
Farzad Dehghani 2
Sayyed Abolfazl Mosavifard 1
1 Assistant Professor, Department of Arabic Language and Literature, Faculty of Theology and Islamic Studies, Hakim Sabzevari University, Sabzevar, Iran.
2 Associate Professor, Department of Quran and Hadith Studies, Faculty of Theology and Islamic Studies, Hakim Sabzevari University, Sabzevar, Iran.
10.22034/jksl.2025.528417.1474
Abstract
Attention to the discursive elements of the period of the Quran's revelation and the pre-Quranic milieu enables a deeper understanding of the concepts expressed in certain verses. Neglecting these elements weakens readers' engagement with such verses and contributes to disagreement among exegetes over their meanings and referents. One cultural element closely associated with Arab life is clothing, including its types, functions, and discursive features. Using documentary-library research and a descriptive-analytical method within an anthropological approach, this study seeks to reconstruct the discourse of clothing and its various forms, and to examine how they contribute to Quranic discourse construction and help resolve exegetical disagreements. The findings show that the Quran's earliest audience, because of their intimate familiarity with the functions of clothing, readily understood the metaphor of spouses as garments for one another. Later exegetes, by contrast, often interpreted its features through assumptions shaped by the clothing conventions of their own times. A historical-cultural anthropological examination of clothing in the period of revelation reveals a deeper conception of the marital relationship that appears to have received insufficient attention in later exegesis. The study further shows that, in correspondence with the symbolism and discursive features of clothing among the Arabs, the Quran presents clothing as a major divine blessing and introduces a new, foundational use of the concept in the expression 'garment of piety.' This Quranic discourse construction reorients other discourses of clothing around this principle and directs them toward human flourishing.
Keywords
Holy Quran
cultural anthropology
clothing
discourse construction
Subjects
The Holy Quran.
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  • Receive Date 09 July 2025
  • Revise Date 27 October 2025
  • Accept Date 16 November 2025
  • Publish Date 23 September 2026