While men wear dishdashas and kurtas during prayers, women wear abayas and jilbabs for the same. Following are some guidelines that will be helpful while selecting an Islamic dress to be worn for prayers:
Go for traditional dark colors
Dark colors are always preferred over brighter ones while choosing Islamic prayer clothes. Dresses worn by Muslims should not attract unwanted attention, particularly during prayer. Hence it is better to choose dark colors such as black, blue or brown. For instance, a traditional black abaya looks simple, modest as well as beautiful when worn for prayers. Similarly men can wear a dark kurta or thobe.
Consider the Length of Dress
Length of an Islamic dress is a crucial factor, particularly when it is being worn for a prayer session. Prayer dresses for Muslim men and women both should be considerably long. For instance, kurtas worn by men should extend at least till their knees. Dishdashas, abayas and jilbabs are ankle-length outfits. However, these dresses should not extend beyond the ankle of wearer.
Pick a Suitable Fabric
The fabric of an Islamic prayer dress needs to be thick enough to hide the skin tone of wearer. The dress should not be designed with see-through material.
No Flashy Designs
If you are wearing an Islamic dress for prayer, make sure it is as simple as possible. There should not be any fancy patterns or flashy designs on it.
Loose Fitting
Whatever be the occasion, Islamic dresses need to be loose-fitting. This is particularly important during prayer sessions. A loose outfit completely hides the body figure of wearer and thus maintains modesty in dressing. Abayas and jilbabs worn by Muslim women as well as kurtas and thobes worn by Muslim men are considerably lose.
Cover the Head
Wearing a head scarf or cap is another major requirement during Islamic prayers. Muslim women have multiple types of headscarves to choose from such as khimar, shayla, and al amira.