Islamic Clothing Glossary: Every Muslim Men's Garment Explained (A-Z)
Walk into any Muslim clothing store — or wedding, or Eid gathering — and you'll hear a dozen garment names from a dozen cultures, sometimes used interchangeably by people who aren't quite sure of the difference themselves. That's not a knock on anyone; the vocabulary genuinely spans continents and centuries. Here's the plain-English glossary of Muslim men's clothing, A to Z, organized by garment family, so you always know exactly what you're looking at (and exactly what to search for when buying).
The Main Garments
Thobe / Thawb — the ankle-length robe worn across the Muslim world; the umbrella term for most of what's below, and the word you'll see most often on US and UK retail sites regardless of the wearer's specific cultural background. Full deep-dive in our What Is a Thobe guide.
Jubba — the South Asian and Turkish term for essentially the same garment; often cut slightly looser through the body than a Gulf-style thobe. If a store sells "jubbas," you're looking at thobes — the names are regional, not different products.
Kandura / Dishdasha — Gulf regional names for closely related cuts: the collarless Emirati kandura with its signature tarboosha tassel hanging from the neckline, and the dishdasha worn in Kuwait, Iraq, and Oman. The tassel and collar details are the easiest visual tell between the two — differences fully explained in our comparison guide.
Gandora — North Africa's relaxed, often short-sleeved warm-weather robe, built for heat rather than formality; see the Moroccan collection.
Qamees — the Arabic word used in hadith for the Prophet's ︑ most beloved garment; in modern practice, essentially another name for the thobe/kurta family, and a word you'll hear more in religious contexts than retail listings.
Shalwar Kameez — the South Asian two-piece: a long tunic (kameez) worn over loose trousers (shalwar), rather than a single ankle-length robe. It's the everyday standard in Pakistan and common at US desi masjids, and functionally a different silhouette from the one-piece thobe family above.
The Outer Layers
Bisht — the sheer, gold-trimmed ceremonial cloak draped over a thobe at weddings and Eid gatherings; essentially the "black-tie" layer of Gulf dress, worn open over the shoulders rather than closed like a coat. Burda — a woolen cloak with deep prophetic history and one of the most storied garments in Islamic tradition; we wrote its full story here if you want the background. Turkish / Ottoman coat — the structured winter overlayer built to match a thobe's length exactly, rather than a generic jacket that stops at the hip; see the collection.
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The Headwear
Kufi / Topi — the rounded prayer cap; "topi" is the South Asian term (yes, that's our namesake — The Topi Wala literally means "the cap seller"). Ghutra / Shemagh / Keffiyeh — the folded headcloth traditional to the Gulf and Levant, held in place by the black agal cord — a look most Americans recognize even without knowing the vocabulary. Imamah — the turban, typically wrapped over a kufi in many traditions and reserved for more formal or religious occasions.
The Lower Half
Izar — the simple waist-wrap worn in Yemen and Southeast Asia, and also the lower cloth used in ihram during Hajj and Umrah. Sirwal — loose trousers worn underneath thobes; the practical, comfortable answer to the question every new thobe-wearer eventually asks: "what do you actually wear underneath?"
Why the Names Matter
Knowing this vocabulary does three things: it helps you shop precisely instead of guessing at product names, it helps you appreciate the specific cultures and histories behind each piece rather than flattening them all into one generic look, and it makes clear that this diversity of names and cuts all serves one shared value — dignified, modest dress, expressed a dozen different ways across a dozen different regions.
Explore the whole family of garments — thobes, kanduras, gandoras, coats, and kufis alike — in our full collection.