Clothing owed (kiswa)

Kiswa in the lexicon is the garment one covers oneself with and adorns oneself with; its plural is kusa, and the one who is clothed is the opposite of the naked ¹. Its ruling differs with its kind: a wife's clothing, a relative's clothing and the clothing given in expiating an oath ¹.

The jurists agree that a husband must clothe his wife once she has made herself available to him as is due, on the verse "the father of the child must provide for them and clothe them in what is customary" and the hadith "their provision and clothing are due from you in what is customary." Clothing is always needed, so it is owed like maintenance ². What suffices varies with her height, build, the heat and cold of her land ².

The Hanafis, in the apparent narration, measure clothing by the husband's means: a poor husband clothes her with the least that suffices, a middling one with better, and a rich one with the best that is customary, with a shirt, a headscarf, a wrap and trousers, and in winter a coat, shoes and stockings ^{2 3}. The Malikis fix provision twice a year, for winter and summer ³. The Shafi'is and Hanbalis measure it by sufficiency, and the judge decides in dispute; the Shafi'is require every six months a shirt, trousers, a headscarf, a pair of slippers and in winter a padded coat, and the Hanbalis set the least as a shirt, trousers, a veil, shoes and a winter coat ^{3 4}.

The Hanafis fix clothing every half year; a husband need not renew it while what she has is still fit, but must if it wears out in ordinary use before the term, and not if it is wasted, stolen or lost. The Hanbalis give it at the start of the year, and renew when it would normally wear out ^{3 4}.

If he clothes her and then divorces her, or one of them dies before the garments wear out, most schools say he may not take them back, since he has discharged his duty. The Malikis require more than two months to have passed; the opposite view, as with maintenance for the future, allows taking them back ^{4 5}.

If clothing is not given for a time it becomes a debt on him which must be paid, whether or not a judge ruled. One Shafi'i view says it is not a debt, since clothing is use rather than ownership; the Hanafis say not unless she borrowed on the judge's order; the Malikis hold that a poor husband's arrears are not a debt, but a rich husband's are ⁵.

The Malikis, the preferred Shafi'i view and the Hanbalis hold that if the husband cannot clothe her she may seek separation if she is not patient, on the verse "keep them with kindness or release them with kindness." The Hanafis do not separate them over clothing; the judge fixes the clothing and orders her to borrow against him ^{5 6}.

Clothing is owed to a relative whose maintenance is owed, if the one owing is well off, on the verse "and do good to the two parents." The duty is the amount sufficient for the need, with regard to his age, condition and the custom of the land ^{6 7}.

All agree that clothing ten poor persons is one of the forms of expiation for an oath, the swearer choosing between freeing a slave, feeding, and clothing, on the verse in Surat al-Ma'ida, verse 89. The sufficient measure differs: the Malikis, Hanbalis and Muhammad among the Hanafis require enough to pray in; the other Hanafis require what suits the average person; the Shafi'is accept any garment usually worn ⁷.