Assalaamu alaykum wa rahmatullaahi wa barakaatuhu, Shaykh. What is the ruling on wearing jeans clothing for men and for women? I do not mean wearing jeans pants, but the clothing material in itself. For example, there are jeans ladies' winter jackets, other jackets, jeans hand bags, and so on. Please advise about the jeans material. Also, is there a difference between men's jeans material and that of women? May Allaah reward you, Shaykh.

All perfect praise be to Allah, The Lord of the worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allah and that Muhammad, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, is His slave and Messenger. 

The jeans material is like any other material from which clothing is manufactured; the basic principle is that all materials are lawful for both men and women (unless proven otherwise by Sharia evidence). Allah, The Exalted, reminds His slaves of the blessings that He has conferred upon them, and this indicates that they are all lawful.

Allah, The Exalted, says (what means): {It is He Who created for you all of that which is on the earth. Then He directed Himself to the heaven (His being above all creation) and made them seven heavens, and He is Knowing of all things.} [Quran 2:29] Shaykh ‘Abd Ar-Rahmaan As-Sa‘di wrote, “It means that Allah has created for you out of His mercy and kindness to you all that which is on the earth to benefit of, enjoy, and to take lessons. This verse proves that the basic principle is that all things are pure and lawful because the context in which the verse comes reminds people of the divine bounties and blessings that Allah, The Exalted, has conferred upon Mankind...”

This basic principle applies to all types of materials except for what has been excluded by Sharia evidence. Jeans clothing is not unique for men; it is allowable for both men and women to wear it.

It should be noted that the Muslim woman is free to wear whatever clothes she wants outdoors provided that she abides by the relevant Sharia provisions for the women's dress such as being loose-fitting and not tight-fitting, not outlining her body, being thick and not see-through, not being an adornment in and of itself, and the like of the specifications of the Islamic dress code for women, as underlined by scholars. For more benefit, please refer to fatwa 83702.

Allah knows best.