''Imama'' or ''Ammama'' or '''Emma'' (

Persian Persian may refer to: * People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language ** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples ** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...

: عمامه,

Arabic Arabic (, , or , ) is a Central Semitic languages, Central Semitic language of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family spoken primarily in the Arab world. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) assigns lang ...

: عمامة;

Egyptian Arabic Egyptian Arabic, locally known as Colloquial Egyptian, or simply as Masri, is the most widely spoken vernacular Arabic variety in Egypt. It is part of the Afro-Asiatic language family, and originated in the Nile Delta in Lower Egypt. The esti ...

: عمة IPA: �ʕem.mæor AMMĀMA, Arabic ʿEMĀMA) is a type of

turban A turban (from Persian language, Persian دولبند‌, ''dolband''; via Middle French ''turbant'') is a type of headwear based on cloth winding. Featuring many variations, it is worn as customary headwear by people of various cultures. Commun ...

. It is symbolically significant to

Muslim Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...

men. It is common especially with men in

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. It is bordered by Pakistan to the Durand Line, east and south, Iran to the Afghanistan–Iran borde ...

and

Yemen Yemen, officially the Republic of Yemen, is a country in West Asia. Located in South Arabia, southern Arabia, it borders Saudi Arabia to Saudi Arabia–Yemen border, the north, Oman to Oman–Yemen border, the northeast, the south-eastern part ...

, as well as North Africa. Wearing this headgear symbolizes authority, strength and honor. The Muslim headwear for men typically consists of two portions. The first portion is the solid cap, known as a

taqiyah In Islam, ''taqiyya'' ()R. STROTHMANN, MOKTAR DJEBLI. Encyclopedia of Islam, 2nd ed, Brill. "TAKIYYA", vol. 10, p. 134. Quote: "TAKIYYA "prudence, fear" ... denotes dispensing with the ordinances of religion in cases of constraint of preaching ...

. The second portion is the outer cloth wrap, known as an Imama (the turban). Some scholars instruct Muslim men to either wear both together, or none at all, as a way to distinguish Muslim men from non-Muslim men. A man wearing an Imama

Hadith sources of the custom

Amamma wearing is mentioned in the

Hadith Hadith is the Arabic word for a 'report' or an 'account f an event and refers to the Islamic oral tradition of anecdotes containing the purported words, actions, and the silent approvals of the Islamic prophet Muhammad or his immediate circle ...

literature. Abu Dawud mentioned in his Sunan that Muhammad said, "The difference between us and the pagans is that we wear the 'imama on top of the qalansuwa," therefore Muslim men must wear both pieces or neither. Also, Muslim men by hadith are instructed to follow a specific style of the turban wrapping, with the excess length hanging behind the back of the neck. "The best and most authentic style is to allow the loose end to hang from the back between the shoulder blades". It has also been related that Muhammad said "Adopt wearing the turban for indeed it is the mantle of the Angels and hang the tail of it on your backs!" abarānī, al-Kabīr from Ibn ʿUmar; Bayhaqī, Shuʿab al-Īman It has also been related that Muhammad said "Increase in discernment! Turbans are the crowns of the Arabs." ayhaqī, Shuʿab al-Īman from Usamah bin ʿUmayr Muslim men are not required to wear the Imama during prayer, although it is preferred to do so. Wearing the full Imama is an act of

Sunnah is the body of traditions and practices of the Islamic prophet Muhammad that constitute a model for Muslims to follow. The sunnah is what all the Muslims of Muhammad's time supposedly saw, followed, and passed on to the next generations. Diff ...

. Some hadith state it is preferred that regular Muslim men wear normal sized Imama, while scholars should wear larger ones to distinguish themselves visually. “In the Qunya t is stated ‘A long turban and the wearing of spacious clothing is commendable (hasan) for the scholars who are the signs of guidance as opposed to all other people.” ada, Majma` al-Anhur

References

Arabic clothing Headgear Religious headgear * Middle Eastern clothing Dresses Islamic male clothing Yemeni clothing {{islam-stub

Hadith sources of the custom

See also

References