Question: Is wearing an 'imāmah (turban) and growing the hair long a Sunnah or a customary practice?

Sheikh Rashād Adh-Dhal'ee ḥafidhahullāh responds: This is something the Prophet ﷺ did following the customs of his people, as he practiced these things before Prophethood, dressing as his people did. The actions of the Prophet ﷺ, as previously mentioned, can be categorised in several ways: 1⃣. Some actions stem from human nature, whoever it may be, such as eating, drinking, and sleeping; these are natural human behaviors and are not described as Sunnah. 2⃣. Other actions were customary practices he adopted from his people, such as wearing certain types of clothing. He wore the izaar (lower half covering) and ridaa' (upper half covering) as his people did, and perhaps he wore a qamees (thawb), grew his hair long and wore an 'imāmah. These matters are not described as Sunnah in the absolute sense; because they were practices he engaged in before Prophethood and continued after Prophethood. Therefore, these actions are not considered Sunnah per se, but if someone performs them with the intention of emulating the Prophet ﷺ, they will be rewarded for their intention. 3⃣. Additionally, there are actions the Prophet ﷺ performed as acts of worship, which are described as Sunnah. 4⃣. And other matters that were unique to him, such as continuous fasting and marriage without a dowry, which were permitted by Allah specifically for him, even if he didn't practice it. So, the actions that the Prophet ﷺ did out of cultural habit; and the way to determine this is to look to whether he practiced it before Prophethood. There's no doubt that the Prophet ﷺ would wear such clothes prior to his Prophethood. There are explicit hadiths indicating that he wore the izaar before his Prophethood. For example, in the story of 'Abbās when they were building the masjid, 'Abbas told him (and he was a young boy at the time) to put his izaar on his shoulder to protect it from the stones. This indicates he wore the izaar before his Prophethood and continued after it, meaning such actions were cultural practices rather than Sunnah. He came and found his people adhering to these practice so he conformed with them in that. These matters are not Sunnah per se, but if someone adopts these practices with the intention of following the Prophet ﷺ, they will be rewarded for their intention. @madrasatuna