Introduction:Muslims are required to pay attention totheir appearance, making sure that their clothing is beautiful and clean,especially when dealing with others and when performing the prayers, as theQur’an states, “Children of Adam, wear your best clothes to everymosque.” (SooratAl-A?raaf, 7:31)Allah ? haspermitted people to wear nice clothes and put on a good appearance, as doing sois one aspect of remembering Allah’s blessings upon them. As the Qur’an states,”Say, ‘Who has forbidden the adornment of Allah, which He has brought forth forHis servants and the good things, clean and pure, which Allah has provided forthem?’ Say, ‘They are lawful for the believers in the present life but theyshall be exclusively for them on the Day of Resurrection.’ Thus we explain oursigns for a people who understand.
” (Soorat Al-A?raaf, 7:32)WHAT PARTS OF THEBODY ARE TO BE COVEREDThefirst bit of guidance given in Islam describes the parts of the body which mustbe covered in public.For women: Ingeneral, standards of modesty call for a woman to cover her body, particularlyher chest. The Quran calls for women to “draw their head-coverings overtheir chests” (24:30-31), and the Prophet Muhammad instructed that womenshould cover their bodies except for their face and hands.MostMuslims interpret this to require head coverings for women, although someMuslim women, especially those of more conservative branches of Islam, coverthe entire body, including the face and/or hands, with a full body chador.For men: The minimum amount to be covered is the body between thenavel and the knee. It should be noted, though, that a bare chest would befrowned upon in situations where it draws attention.
- Thesis Statement
- Structure and Outline
- Voice and Grammar
- Conclusion
THE FIRSTREQUIREMENT:• Extentof CoveringThe dressmust cover the whole body except for the areas specifically exempted.The Quranstates:Say to thebelieving men that they should lower their gaze and guard their modesty: thatwill make for greater purity for them: And Allah is well acquainted with allthat they do. THE SECONDREQUIREMENT:• LOOSENESSThe dressmust be loose enough so as not to describe the shape of a woman’s body. This isconsistent with the intent of the ‘ayahs cited above (24: 30-31) and is surelya crucial aspect of hiding zeenah. Even moderately tight clothes which coverthe whole body do describe the shape of such attractive parts of the woman’sbody as the bust line, the waist, the buttocks, the back and the thighs. Ifthese are not part of the natural beauty or zeenah what else is?ProphetMuhammad (pubh) once received a thick garment as a gift.
He gave it to Osamah bZayd, who in turn gave it to his wife. When asked by the Prophet whyTHE THIRDREQUIREMENT:• THICKNESSThe dressshould be thick enough so as not to show the color of the skin it covers, orthe shape of the body which it is supposed to hide.The purposeof ‘ayah (24:31) is to hide the Muslim women’s body except ma dhahara minha(the face and hands). It is obvious that this purpose cannot be served if thedress is thin enough so as to reveal the color of the skin or the shape orbeauty of the body. This is eloquently explained by Prophet Muhammad (pbuh):”In later (generations) of my umah there will be women who will be dressedbut naked. On top of their heads (what looks) like camel humps. Curse them forthey are truly cursed.
” In another version he added that they “willnot enter into paradise or (even) get a smell of it.”THE FOURTHREQUIREMENT:• OverallAppearanceThe dressshould not be such that it attracts men’s attention to the woman’s beauty. TheQuran clearly prescribes the requirements of the woman’s dress for the purposeof concealing zeenah (adornment). How could such zeenah be concealed if thedress is designed in a way that it attracts men’s eyes to the woman?This is whythe Quran addressing the Prophet’s wives as the examples for Muslim women says:”Bedizen notyourselves with the bedizenment of the Time of Ignorance…”The FIFTHREQUIREMENT:• DECENTBUT NOT FLASHYThe Quran instructsthat clothing is meant to cover our private areas and be an adornment (Quran7:26).Clothing worn by Muslims should be clean and decent, neither excessively fancynor ragged.
One should not dress in a manner intended to gain the admiration orsympathy of others ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS:• Thedress should not be similar to what is known as a male costume. lbn ‘Abbasnarrated that “The Prophet cursed the men who act like women and the womenwho act like men.• Itshould not be similar to what is known as the costume of unbelievers. Thisrequirement is derived from the general rule of Shari’ah that Muslims shouldhave their distinct personality and should differentiate their practices andappearance from unbelievers.• Thedress should not be similar to what is known as a male costume. lbn ‘Abbasnarrated that “The Prophet cursed the men who act like women and the womenwho act like men.• Itshould not be a dress of fame, pride and vanity.
Such fame may be sought bywearing an excessively fancy dress as a status symbol or an excessively raggeddress to gain others’ admiration of one’s selflessness. Both motives areimproper by Islamic standards. The Prophet (pbuh) says:”Whoever wears a dress of fame in this world; Allah will clothe himwith a dress of humiliation in the day of resurrection, then set itafire.
“Tileinscribed with Hadith: “The Prophet said: The intention is the Act.Conferences call for integrity, security for discretion. ..
“COMMUNITY QUESTION & ANSWERS:1. Is it allowed for a veiled girl to attend co-education Schools? Answer: If she observes all the rules of hijaband is sure that no one would look at her with lust, then it is allowed. 2. If yes, then she would not be able to answer the questions put forward to herby the teacher, she would have to whisper? Answer: Talking to Ghair Mahram becomes haram(forbidden) when there is a danger that the said Ghair Mahram may get lustfulideas by hearing the voices of the women.3. Can a woman participate fully in social and economic life remaining in purdah? Answer: Yes, provided she does not exceed thelimits laid down by the Shari’ah of Islam. Remember that Islam does not allowfree mingling of males and females. 4.
In many societies both men and women have no work. Forexample, in an agricultural society, as in Tanzania, both men and women have towork in fields without which the family would starve. What would you suggestunder this condition? Answer: If you want to follow Islam you mustchange.
In fact the notion that in an agricultural society a woman must work inthe fields is based on short-sightedness. We see women working in Tanzania andthen generalize it as a principle of sociology. We forgot that the countrieswhich are feeding the world, like U.S.A.
, Canada, Australia etc. areagricultural countries, but their agriculture does not depend on their womenworking in the fields. So, it is not agriculture, per se, which demandswomen’s back breaking labor, it is backwardness which compels Tanzania women towork in the fields, and not its agricultural society. And we may say that Islamdoes not like this backwardness; it wants these ladies to return to theirproper place that is home. In other words Tanzanians society will have tochange by following Islamic principles if it wants to march forward. 5. Alims have been told to oppose Bid’at. At what stage should they do it? Atearly stage or later stages? Answer: At every stage.
6. Muslim Women in different countries put on different types of veil. Which typeof veil is in keeping with the principle of Islam? Answer: Any type that would suit them providedthe main purpose of hijab, i.e., hiding of their bodies, is served.
7. Is it not necessary for our women to go and obtain knowledge in medicine orpharmacy etc.? A woman patient would prefer to be examined by a female doctorrather than a male one. She should also express herself more freely to a femaledoctor. There are only two women’s colleges in the world in medicine; and dueto the shortage of women doctors, it is necessary for our women to go and joinother colleges and therefore they have to come out of Purdah. Answer: She should try to go to a women’scollege only.
8. Someladies, without veil have kept their dignity. So why all this? Answer: Purdah of eyes and Purdah of dress, bothare compulsory for all Muslim women.
The dignity of a Muslim woman in the eyesof Allah depends on Purdah, for example, see the Ayat which says, “You are not likeany other women”. It is the distinction and dignity of Muslimwoman to “stay in your houses”. If we try to separate their dignity form Purdah,then our out-look is not in conformity with God’s preference. By observing only the Purdah of Eyes, the ladiesmentioned in the question are obeying only part of the divine law. 9. I believe in Islam that man and women will be treated equally tomorrow on theDay of Judgment. Now if that is the case, in view of the present inflation, whycannot a woman work and help the man in running a home? Answer: Do not be extravagant and try to remainwithin the limits of the income earned by the husband.
However a woman can helpincreasing the income by such means which do not require her to discard hijab.Equal treatment on the Day of Judgment does not mean equal burden in this life. 10. Should parents abstain from recommending Purdah to their daughters lest she isforced after marriage by her in-laws to take it down? Answer: As far as she is with you, you are toperform your duties and responsibilities. What happens at a later stage whenshe is with her husband is not your responsibility. If you are afraid thatafter one week you will not get any food, would you start starving from today? 11.
Is it respectable for a girl to have her veil removed by her in-laws? Answer: No. It is haram. She has to refuse. 12. Purdah is wajib for a girl, but if the husband forbids her to do wajib things,what can she do then? Is it wajib to listen to her husband? Answer: No. She is not to listen to him if hetells her to commit a sin. And the husband gets twice the sin for forcing herto remove Purdah or do any haraam thing. 13.
Accepting that woman’s place is at home, should a wife in western countries beallowed to work in order to help her husband whose income alone is notadequate? Answer: I think one thing must be clarified herebefore answering this question. Al-Tauba baed al-hijra is one of the sevengreat sins. If someone is living in a place where he is free to practice hisreligion, and he willingly migrates to a place where he will not be free toobserve religious commands, it is called Al-Tauba Baed Al-Hijra (literalmeanings: To become a nomad after hijrat). Many of our brethren had to go to westerncountries because of the circumstances beyond their control. They should not beblamed. But there are others who have opted for such countries just for worldlygains. They bear the great responsibility, not only of their own Akherat, butof their children and future generation also.
Now, coming to the question, the first advice tosuch people is not to go to such countries where they cannot meet theirexpenses without wife’s earning. If they are there, and it is unavoidable, thenthe answer to question No. 9 is applicable here. CONCLUSION:The part one was written in October 1977.
Fifteen months later, came the Islamic revolution of Iran, and Islamic rule wasestablished there on 11/1979. It was a world-shaking phenomenon which changedthe direction of history throughout the world. Not only did it create religiousawakening in every Muslim community, but also gave courage to down-trodden and oppressedmasses everywhere and up against the exploiters and oppressors. One the visible effect of the Islamic Revolution was to turn the direction ofthe youths from western culture to Islamic norms. Young Muslims boys now feelproud to keep beard and young girls have rediscovered the dignity of IslamicHijab. And it is happening not only in the eastern countries but even in theWest.
So far so good, we, of the older generation, are really happy to see thispleasant change. At the same time, it is necessary, rather essential, to guidethe youths to the proper Islamic path, charting for them the full course oftheir spiritual journey. It will enable them to see how much they haveprogressed and how far they have to go yet. Before going ahead, I should mention an important principle of Islamicideology, and that is the inter-relation of Islamic Laws and Islamic Ethics.Islamic Laws teach the minimum a person is required to do, and transgression ofwhich entails sins and is sometimes considered a crime.
Islamic Ethics take aman from that starting point to the highest peak of spiritual perfection.If a man is sick and weak, he first needstreatment to cure his disease; after that he needs special regimen of diet,exercise and tonics to restore his body, to bring him to the peak of his healthand strength. The same principle applies in the spiritual field. Islamic lawskeep man free from ills of sin and crime, while Islamic Ethics show him the wayto noble spiritual perfection and strength. From Islam’s point of view, it is not enough to merely ordain some basic lawsto protect the believers from sins, and leave them at that. A weak patient,even when cured of a disease, is an easy target of further attacks unless hisstrength is restored.
Nor has Islam merely exhorted its followers to strive toreach high moral standards, without prescribing some rules to prevent them fromnegative influences. Of what use will be tonics if body is riddled with debilitating diseases. ThusIslamic Laws and Islamic Ethics are inter-linked; they are different stages ofthe same spiritual journey.
Islam knows that spiritual level of all people isnot the same. Therefore, it has chosen for us the highest ethical and spiritualideas, at the same time it has laid down minimum requirements which one cannottransgress without exposing himself to spiritual peril. Let us, look, for example, at the concept of charity. A Muslim is responsiblefor providing sustenance to his immediate family (parents, self, wife andchildren).
It is only after meeting those obligatory expenses, that he isexhorted to spend on charity. Allah says in the Quran: “And they ask youas to what they should spend. Say: What you can spare.” This is the starting point of charity.
But suppose you have some food justsufficient to satisfy the hunger of your own family, and your brother’s or neighbor’sfamily has nothing to eat. Islamic Ethics exhorts you to share that little foodwith them. Of course, your family will remain half-hungry; but it not betterthat ten people should share in that little food, rather than five eating theirfill while the other five remain starving? Allah says: “…and they prefer(other) over themselves though poverty may afflict them.” This stage of charity is high commendable and is a hallmark of Islam. Yet, itis not the ultimate destination, the final goal. If we want to see the idealcharity, we will have to study the lives of the Holy Prophet and his familymembers (peace and mercy of Allah be on them all). Look at the verses of theChapter 76 ad-Dahr, and you will see ‘Ali, Fatimah, al-Hasan, al-Husayn and themaid Fiddah, fasting three days consecutively without taking any food and everynight giving their breads to a poor man, an-orphan and a captive.
Three nightsthey fed hungry persons and stayed for more than 72 hours without a singlemorsel. Allah praises them in these words: “They fulfill vowsand fear a day the evil of which shall be spreading far and wide. And they givefood out of love for Him to the poor and the orphan and the captive. We onlyfeed you for Allah’s sake; we desire from you neither reward nor thanks.” Many orient lists, who are generally oblivious or ignorant of thisinter-relation of the Islamic Laws and the Islamic Ethics, take it uponthemselves to pronounce judgment on Islam, unfavorably comparing it Laws (i.e.
the minimum requirements) with “the highest ethical stand points” ofChristianity, and then pontificating that Islamic “moral teachings” have”shortcomings”. And unfortunately the same disoriented outlook is inculcated in most of thosestudents who study Islam directly or indirectly under these non-Muslim orientlists. They look at Islam not as a single living entity, but as a lifelesscollection of disjointed limbs.
Not surprisingly, when such people look at Fiqh(jurisprudence), they do not see it as an essential part of the whole Islam,but consider it the Alpha and Omega of Islam, the total Islam.