Alhamduli'Allaahi
Rabbil-'Aalameen wa-ssalaatu
wa-ssalaamu 'alaa Ashrafil-Anbiyaa-e-wal-Mursaleen, wa
ba'd.
Assalaamu `Alaykum wa Rahmatullaahi
wa Barakaatuhu
Unveiling the Islamic Dress Code
(Part 1)
by
Ayub A. Hamid
.
Introduction
Islam as a way of life abhors any sexual act or any behaviour having
sexual overtones that is not between duly wedded spouses -- forbidding
absolutely any kind of sexual act, overtures or flirtation. It is extremely
sensitive about this issue and greatly emphasizes maintenance of purity by
Muslims in their character, behaviour, gaze, words and thoughts.
To help Muslims in this regard, Islam provides rules and regulations;
the observation of which will ensure an environment that facilitates the
desired level of purity as well as protects believers from sinful activities.
Segregation of males and females and use of hijaab,
jilbaab and khimaar are
part of those provisions.
This is a topic that is frequently debated, about which opinions
differ significantly and on which much confusion seems to exist. The
confusions mostly arise when the teachings of the Qur-aan
and Sunnah are not taken in their proper context;
when differences in categories of people and venues of their interaction are
not appropriately considered; or, when people try to make Islam conform to
non-Islamic lifestyles. The booklet attempts to describe those rules and
regulations in a clear, concise manner to facilitate formulation of a
balanced opinion on the subject and encourage appropriate practice.
Segregation and Reduced Interaction
In the pre-Islamic Arab society, “era of ignorance”, although some
women of noble families wore jilbaab[1]
over their dress in public, the average citizens were similar to today’s
Western society in terms of the free mixing of the sexes and lack of modesty
in dress. Nudity, though not commonly appreciated, was not a matter of major
concern. In fact, performing rites of worship in the Holy Ka’bah
naked was considered better for all non-Quraish
people than performing them clothed in their “worldly” clothes. A person who
wanted to inform his tribe of an impending danger would remove his clothes to
wave them while calling for his people’s attention. Obviously that kind of
environment neither was, nor is it now, helpful in maintaining the purity of
thoughts and behaviour that Islam requires from its adherents.
Allaah SWT is so merciful
to believers that to save them from falling into a major sin for which He has
warned of severe punishments, He has provided rules and regulations closing
those channels that may provide opportunity to sin or tempt towards it. To
save people from the dire consequences of zinaa[2]
in any shape or form, He has decreed a dress code to cover defined parts of
the body that cannot be exposed, and has decreed Muslims’ social practices
such that non-mahram[3]
males and females are segregated and their interaction is reduced to a
minimum. However, the decreed rules about dress, segregation and interaction
are not uniform for all males and females. They vary according to gender, the
closeness of relationship of the people involved, the venue and their needs
for interaction in the normal course of day-to-day life.
It should be remembered that Islamic civilization took its ideal shape
through a process of evolution, though in a very short time frame. In a mere
23 years, the ignorant culture, traditions and lifestyle of Arabs were
completely revolutionized and replaced with Islamic civilization through this
evolutionary process. The rules and regulations concerning the topic under
discussion were also implemented through this evolutionary process.
The Initial Basic Requirement –
Covering (Satar) of ‘Owrah[4]
At first, the Holy Qur-aan built upon the
natural human urge to cover one’s private parts. It reminded people of this
aspect of human nature with the example of Adam and Hawwa
and how they rushed to cover themselves with leaves of the Garden once their
private parts were exposed as a result of their disobedience to Allaah SWT at the incitement of Shaytaan.
It explained that although this shyness from nakedness (hayaa)
is part of human nature, it is the first target of Shaytaan’s
machinations against human beings. Hence, people are inclined to expose
themselves only due to the relentless incitement of Shaytaan.
After making these points, it commanded that:
“O children of Adam! We have
indeed sent down to you clothing to cover your shame, as well as to be an
adornment and protection. But the raiment of Taqwa
- that is the best. This is of the revelations of Allaah
that they may be mindful. O children of Adam! Let not the Shaytaan
seduce you as he got your (first) parents out of the Jannah
(Garden), stripping them of their clothing to expose their shame. He surely
sees you, he as well as his gang, from whence you cannot see them; surely We
have made the Shayaateen to be the companions of
those who do not believe.” Al-A’raaf 7:26-27
Through this admonition, people were told that the purpose of dress is
twofold:
·
Modesty and
decency; and,
·
Adornment and
protection from weather
People should not let Shaytaan misguide them
into losing sight of the first objective while concentrating on the adornment
aspect. To help achieve the first objective despite the incitement of Shaytaan, satar guidelines were
provided for believers to cover their ‘owrah.
Satar or ‘Owrah represents the minimum parts of the body that must
be covered from everyone with loosely fitting clothes that do not show
details of the physical figure and through which neither skin and/or its tone
are visible. It is also the minimum that must be covered for a person’s Salaah to be valid, even if the person is praying alone
at home.
Islam’s most basic step to keep minds pure and to prevent immodesty in
the society is its very strict requirement for Muslims not to expose their satar or ‘owrah to anyone other
than a duly wedded spouse[5]. ‘Owrah part of a person’s
body must be protected from anyone’s sight or touch, male or female. It
should be kept covered even if no one is around.
The Prophet also said, “Protect your ‘owrah
except from your wife or what your right hand owns.” When asked about the
situation where no one is around, he said, “Allaah
is most deserving to be felt shy from.” Tirmidzee,
Aboo Dawood and Ibn Maajah.
In another report he said, “Avoid nakedness. There are those with you
(angels) who do not part company with you except when you go for a call of
nature or to your spouse. So feel shy of them and respect them.” Tirmidzee
From very early childhood, the children must be sensitized to
maintaining their satar and keeping their ‘owrah covered so that as they grow up, their natural
discomfort with exposing satar continues to be
reinforced, against the incitements from Shaytaan.
The ‘owrah for males is the part of the body
from navel’s height to the knees. Thus, Muslim males cannot wear shorts that
expose any part of their thighs. This also means that it is forbidden for
Muslims to expose their satar in common
showers/change rooms or remove their clothes in the presence of others.
“The ‘owrah
or satar of man is what is between navel and
knees.” Reported by Darqutni
and Baihaqi.
The Messenger of Allaah, upon whom be peace,
passed by Ma'mar while his thighs were uncovered.
He said, to him, “O Ma’mar, cover your thighs, for
they are (part of the) ‘owrah.” Reported from
Muhammad Jahsh by Ahmad, Haakim
and Bukhaari.
Jarhad Aslami reported that once his thigh was exposed, the
Prophet said, “Do you not know that thigh is ‘owrah.”
Reported by Tirmidzee,
Muattaa and Aboo Dawood.
‘Ali reported that the Prophet
said, “Do not expose your thigh.” Aboo Dawood and Ibn Maajah
A woman’s ‘owrah is her whole body except
her head-face-neck, hands and feet. General scholarly opinion is that the
minimum part of the body that has to be exposed to perform daily chores and
functions of life is not included in satar. That is
why even if some portions of forearms close to wrist or of calves close to
ankles are exposed during performing tasks, it is considered acceptable.
‘Aaishah
reported that when the Prophet saw her sister Asmaa
wearing clothes of very thin cloth, He said, “When a woman reaches puberty,
it is not proper for her to show any parts of her body except this and this
(He pointed to hands and face).” Aboo Dawood
She also reported that the Prophet said about her niece, “When a woman
comes of age, it is not allowed for her to expose anything except her face
and except this -- and he held his forearm in his hand such that there was a
palm’s width gap between the place he was holding and his wrist.” Ibn Jareer
Although feet were not mentioned in these narrations; but in view of
the rule of necessity, feet are not considered satar.
This view is corroborated by the following:
Ummu Salamah
asked the Prophet, “Can a woman pray in a long shirt (like a night shirt) and
head-covering without a loincloth?” He said, “If the shirt is long and
flowing and covers the top of her feet.” Reported by Aboo
Dawood
A notable point is that although Asmaa was
wearing clothes, she was advised to cover up because they were not thick
enough to conceal the body properly.
[1]
A big sheet
of cloth used as an outer-garment.
[2] Any extra-marital sexual activity.
[3] Those people who are generally allowed to marry each
other.
[4] The words satar and ‘owrah are used for the same thing, the difference being
only semantic: Satar connotes covering, indicating
that parts
of the body that should be covered; ‘owrah connotes shame or shyness, indicating the parts of
the body; exposure of which should cause
shame.
[5] Medical needs are excepted.
Hijaab and Jilbaab
Part one of my booklet on "Unveiling the
Islamic Dress Code" dealt on the topic of Satar
or 'Owrah (the minimum that must be covered
from everyone except a spouse). The following is the second part
that describes the concepts of Hijaab
and Jilbaab.
The First Major Reform
Although Islamic values of
modesty, purity of character, shyness (hayaa) from
nakedness, segregation in the masjid, avoidance of indecency
and refraining from extra-marital relations were inculcated in believers’
minds from the very beginning, the first set of major commands about social
segregation and dress code were given in the fifth year after Hijrah with the revelation of soorah
Al-Ahzaab. In this soorah,
women were encouraged to stay at home and were instructed about how to
communicate with men and how to dress when they needed to leave home.
Segregation by Hijaab
Hijaab means curtain. As
generally misunderstood, hijaab in itself does not
define how a woman should dress herself. No part of a Muslim woman’s dress
has ever been termed hijaab in the Qur-aan. The Holy Qur-aan has
used the term hijaab in its common meaning, i.e.
curtain, whether real or proverbial. However, because a curtain covers and
conceals, it was commonly used as a verb for a woman covering herself to
avoid being seen by unauthorized males.
For the purposes of defining
rules of segregation and interaction between the women of a household and
outsider men, the Holy Qur-aan commanded Muslims
that if they needed to ask wives of the Prophet anything, they should do so
from behind a hijaab – a curtain:
“O believers …
and when you ask (his wives) for something, ask them from behind a hijaab. That is purer for your hearts and their hearts.”
Al-Ahzaab 33:53
On revelation of this verse,
curtains were put on the doors of the apartments of the wives of the Prophet.
Following this model, Muslims also put curtains on their doors. The curtain
provided a means of privacy so that when there was a need for an outsider
male to communicate with a female of the house they could communicate without
having to see, or be seen directly by each other. This was the first step to
ensure purity of hearts.
Accordingly, the general rule
is that when there is a need to talk, non-related males and females should
ensure that something is blocking their view from each other.
Watching one’s Speaking Style and Tone
About the tone and manner of speech,
the wives of the Prophet, and by their example, all women, were told:
“If you have Taqwa, do not be soft of speech lest a person with a
diseased heart is moved with desire, and speak in a straightforward manner.” Al-Ahzaab 33:32
Accordingly, women should not
speak in a deliberately softened, mellowed voice or flirting tone so that a
listener may not be tempted to harbour sexual desires or develop hopes and
courage to contemplate making advances. This applies to telephone calls or
any other means of communication also. Adopting such a careful attitude in
speaking is a sign of Taqwa, and carelessness in
this regard indicates absence of an appropriate level of Taqwa
in a woman.
This command about tone of
voice and those related to khimaar and jilbaab detailed in subsequent sections are for women
only; and are prescribed for their own purity, safety, mental comfort and
protection from sin and harassment. However, the rest of the Islamic
teachings that apply to all Muslim males and females prohibit any
communication (chat, correspondence, emails etc.) where the text or tone
carries any sexual overtones or which is conducted with any motive of sexual
nature. They should not even fantasize or lustfully think about a person. Any
activity carrying sexual motive is Zinaa of one
sort or the other, and must be avoided. The Messenger SAAW said:
"Eyes fornicate
and their fornication is the look, ears' fornication is listening, tongue's
fornication is talking, hands' fornication is touching and feet's fornication
is walking. The heart lusts and desires and the private parts either confirm
it or deny it." (Muslim)
In addition, Muslims have been
forbidden from engaging in secret friendships.
Dressing for Outdoors
To avoid victimization from
harassment and mischief of unscrupulous men, women were encouraged to stay
inside as much as possible:
“And stay in your
houses and do not display your finery (tabarruj)
like the displaying of the former time of ignorance (pre-Islamic lifestyle);
and establish Salaah, and pay Zakaah,
and obey Allaah and His Messenger. Allaah only desires to keep away the uncleanness from
you, O people of the House, and to purify you a (thorough) purifying.” Al-Ahzaab 33:33
Tabarruj is derived from baraja. It means being conspicuous, prominent or
elevated. Tabarruj in case of women will, then, be
a coquettish display of her figure and fineries, which is a culture of
ignorance (whether pre-Islamic or Western), not behoving or becoming of
Muslim women. Instead, Muslim women should prefer to stay at home and avoid
undue attention from outsiders.
However, there are always some
legitimate reasons for women to go out. In that case, they were told:
“O Prophet! Say to
your wives and your daughters and the women of the believers that they bring
down upon them a part of their jalabeeb (outer
garments); this is more suitable so that they will be known, and thus not be
given trouble; and ever is Allaah Forgiving,
Merciful.” Al-Ahzaab 33:59
The context of the verse is
that: Immediately before this verse, there was condemnation of the behaviour
of the hypocrites and troublemakers who were abusing Muslim women by their
sexual harassment practices, false rumours and undue accusations. They were
warned of the severe punishment in the Hereafter for their depraved
behaviour. Then, in this verse, the Muslim women were told that, in order to
avoid harassment, they should give a clear signal by their Islamic attire
that they are chaste, Allaah-fearing Muslim women.
Immediately after this verse, the perpetrators of harassment were warned of
dire consequences at the hands of the Prophet and his companions. In other
words, the culprits were condemned and warned both from the punishment in
this world and in the Hereafter to ensure that they dare not harass Muslim
women; while at the same time, Muslim women were commanded to take their own
precautions. In this way, it is an example of Islam’s solving a problem by
attacking its causes from every perspective, instead of superficially
addressing some of the symptoms of the issue.
But what does the command
imply?
Jalaabeeb is plural of jilbaab, which used to be a big sheet of cloth (chaader) that was wrapped around the body as an outer
garment. Arab ladies of noble families used to wear jilbaab
when leaving their homes. It was defined as “the big sheet over khimaar” (huwar-ridaa fowqal-khimaar).
What should women do with this jilbaab or wrapping sheet? Some people translate the verse as if it
just means that they should “wrap their jilbaab
around themselves” or “draw their cloaks close around them”, but that is not
correct for two reasons.
If the intent was to advise the
women that they should just wrap the jilbaab around
their bodies, the wording for that purpose would have been yudneena ilayhinna jalaabeebihinna; but instead, the Qur-aan
has used yudneena ‘Alayhinna
min jalaabeebihinna. The verse is talking about
only a part of the jilbaab, not the whole jilbaab; and it uses the preposition ‘alaa
which gives the meaning of “over”, instead of preposition ilaa
to indicate wrapping around. Thus, the correct meaning of the verse is that
they should take a part of their wrapping sheet (jilbaab)
and hang it over themselves or bring down a part of it over themselves.
The function of the sheet to be
wrapped around the body was already known and understood, but now, in
addition to wrapping around the body, they should bring down or hang a part
of it over them. Thus, in addition to covering their whole body with her
wrapping sheet (jilbaab), a Muslim woman should
pull a part over her face to cover it in such a way that she still can see
the path for safe walking or driving. This meaning has been reported by early
Mufassireen and scholars like Ibn ‘Abbaas, Qataadah and Suddee. When asked by Ibn
Sireen about the intent of this verse, ‘Ubaidah As-Salmaani
demonstrated it by wrapping a sheet and covering most of his face by a part
of that sheet – just like Ghonghat that women in
villages of Pakistan do with their chaader. At the
time of the Prophet, after the revelation of this verse, that was how jilbaab (wrapping sheet or chaader)
was used by women companions to cover their body from head to ankles as well
as the substantial part of the face only keeping enough opening to see the
way.
The purpose mentioned for this
covering up is that they would be recognized and not harassed. This is to
give a clear indication to the public at large that this woman is a Muslim
woman who is serious about her modesty and purity and who is not comfortable
with allowing anyone to glance/see her face, figure and finery, much less
anything else. Considering the stated purpose, it is obvious that this extent
of covering up is from the general public, not from one’s close social circle
– relatives and very close family friends.
Accordingly, when an Allaah-fearing Muslim woman steps out of her house for
outdoor needs, she must cover all her body with a big sheet of cloth and
substantially cover her face so that only a small opening remains through
which she can see her way. Or, they should use some sort of loose outer
garments that fulfill the same purpose of covering her whole body and a substantial
part of the face.
Khimaar and lowering of the
gaze
This is the third part that clarifies
the concept of Khimaar. Some readers have asked
questions relative to the first two parts, Inshaa Allaah, those will be answered after the series is
finished. In fact, some of the questions may automatically be answered by the
subsequent installments.
The Second Major Reform
Although Muslims by now had been well trained in Islamic values of
modesty, decency and avoiding any sexual interactions between non-spouses,
some more refinement was needed to ensure optimal purity and to eliminate any
opportunity that may put people into tempting or testing situations. The
second major pronouncement in this regard came in the 6th year of Hijrah in soorah Noor:
ôTell the believing men
that they should lower some of their gazes and guard their private parts.
That is purer for them. Indeed Allaah is well aware
of what they do.
And say to the believing women that they should lower some of their
gazes and guard their private parts; that they should not display their
beauty and ornaments except what (must ordinarily) appear thereof; that they
should draw their head-coverings over their bosoms and not display their
beauty and ornaments except to their husbands, their fathers[1], their husband's fathers,
their sons, their husbands' sons, their brothers or their brothers' sons, or
their sisters' sons, or their women, or those whom their right hands possess,
or feeble dependents having no need (of women), or children who did not have
any exposure to what is hidden of women; and that they should not stamp their
feet so that their hidden adornments are not known.
And O you Believers! Turn all together towards Allaah,
so that you may be successful.╜ (An-Noor 24:30-31)
The context of this verse is the following:
At the very outset, the soorah declares
sexual activity between non-spouses (zinaa), a
publicly indictable offence that must be prosecuted by the state even if it
is by mutual consent of the parties or no party affected by the behaviour
presses charges. It takes similar severe measures against accusations of bad
conduct. Then, it gives instructions about the etiquette of visiting one╝s friends and relatives. In that context, it
gives the instructions contained in the above-quoted verses. These verses are
then followed by instruction for the unmarried people to get married; thus
completing the comprehensive solution for eradication of zinaa
and indecency in the society[2].
According to the context, these verses provide a code of conduct to be
adopted by relatives and close family friends when they are visiting each other╝s residence and the dress code to be observed
by women inside the house in their presence; as compared to the instructions
given in soorah Ahzaab
for dealing with outsiders and strangers, and dressing for outdoors.
Lowering
the Gaze
Both Muslim men and women have been commanded to lower their gaze. It
is general command to apply whenever and wherever males and females come
across each other. But it is also made specific by the context indicating
that when visiting each other╝s homes, lower
your gaze.
Lowering the gaze does not mean that Muslims should always keep their
head down and should not look up. Actually, the words used are ôthey should lower some of their looks╜, indicating
that only certain type of looks are being talked about. It means that they
should not look intently at someone of an opposite sex, stare, exchange
lustful eye contact or look intentionally after an initial inadvertent look.
People are not accountable for the first, inadvertent look, but the second
look is sinful. The look becomes ôsecond╜ as
soon as the person makes it intentional instead of inadvertent, starts
assessing the attractiveness of the subject or starts enjoying the look.
Following are some of the teachings in this respect:
"O Ali! Do not follow up with another look after the
(inadvertent) first look. The first is forgiven but not the second." (Ahmad, Tirmidzee, Aboo Dawood).
The Prophet was asked about a sudden, unintentional glance. He said,
"Move your glance away." (Muslim, Ahmad, Tirmidzee, Aboo Dawood)
"The fornication of the eyes is the sight (to gaze at a person of
opposite sex), the fornication of the tongue is the talk, and the heart
(inner self) lusts and desires and the private parts testify all this or deny
it." (Aboo Hurayrah, Bukhaari)
"Eyes fornicate and their
fornication is the look, ears' fornication is listening, tongue's fornication
is talking, hands' fornication is touching and feet's fornication is walking
(for that purpose). The heart lusts and desires and the private parts either
confirm it or deny it." (Muslim)
The Messenger SAAWS quoted Allaah SWT saying, ôThe look is
one of the poisonous arrows of Iblees. Who removes
it because of My fear, I will give him such a faith, the sweetness of which
he will find in his heart.╜ (Tabaraani from
╗Abdullah bin Mas╝ood)
ôIf
a Muslim encounters a glimpse of the attractions of a woman but removes his
glance, Allaah makes his subsequent ╗Ibaadah such that he enjoys its sweetness.╜ (Aboo Umaamah in Musnad Ahmad)
This Qur-aanic
command of being careful with one╝s sight
also applies to looking at the private parts of other people of one╝s own sex:
ôNo
man should cast an eye on the private parts of a man and no woman should cast
an eye on the private parts of a woman.╜ (Reported by Muslim, Ahmad, Tirmidzee and Aboo Dawood)
ôDo
not look at the thigh of a living person or dead.╜ (Reported by ╗Ali in Aboo Dawood and Ibn Maajah)
Guarding oneself from committing fornication of gaze is extremely
important for the purity of heart and mind of people. In fact, almost all bad
ideas, fantasies, affairs and relationships start with a look. Those who
control their sight are rewarded by sweetness in their worship.
Although this command is for both sexes, the severest warnings are for
men because the looking of men at women is far more serious than looking of
women at men. Because of this difference in nature and the applicability of
command, women are required to cover when stepping out, but men are not.
While the men are not allowed a second look at all, women are allowed to look
at men in normal affairs of life as long as the look remains pure and does
not carry any intent of a sexual nature. They can also watch men╝s sport activities or skill demonstrations, as
the Prophet facilitated the sight for ╗Aaishah
in watching a men╝s show on the occasion of
an Eed. Relaxed rules for a woman looking at a man
are not only needed for day to day matters but may also be needed for some
special circumstances. An example of special circumstances was the situation
of Faatimah bint Qais who did not have a place to spend her ╗Iddah[3]
and the Prophet suggested that she spend it at the house of Ibn Maktoom who was blind.
Protecting Private Parts
Protecting private parts not only implies protecting them from zinaa[4], but it also means
protecting them from others╝ view and sight. This protection goes
beyond the sex organs and extends to ╗owrah
or satar, as described in the beginning. The
protection of the private parts in every sense of these words can never be
overemphasized because it is a critical mean for the Islamic goal of purity
of character and behaviour.
With satar covered, men can appear in front
of others. Similarly, if satar is covered, a woman
can appear in front of her mahrams, her female
friends or relatives, those feeble dependent males who do not have any sexual
inclinations, and children who do not have exposure to sexual matters. She
can do so even if she is wearing her adornments, make up, fragrance and
jewellery, as long as satar or ╗owrah is appropriately covered except for hands, feet and
head-face-neck.
Mahrams are the relatives who cannot
marry a woman: Her fathers including grandfathers and uncles, fathers of the
husband, her own or her husband╝s sons, her
brothers, and her nephews (sons of sisters and brothers).
Hiding the
Zeenah
The first two commands (lowering of gaze and protection of private
parts) were common for all Muslims û males and females. The third command is
especially for women requiring them to hide their zeenah
from everyone except for the people mentioned in the previous section û her
fathers including grandfathers and uncles, fathers of the husband, her own or
her husband╝s sons, her brothers, and her
nephews (sons of sisters and brothers), her female friends or relatives,
those feeble dependent males who do not have any sexual inclinations, and
children who do not have exposure to sexual matters. She must hide her zeenah from everyone else.
Zeenah includes natural physical beauty
of a woman as well as all beautification aids and adornments used to increase
her attractiveness such as hairstyle, make-up and jewellery. To hide it, they
must wear Khimaar in such a way that it covers
their chests as well as adornments. Because Khimaar
does not cover the face, to avoid displaying their beautification (zeenah), she must not wear any facial makeup if there are
any males at home who are not in the list of the people to whom zeenah can be shown.
Khimaar (also called dopatta)
is a cloth to be worn or wrapped that must be big enough to cover head, neck
and upper body and must not be sheer so that it can truly cover up or hide Zeenah. Obviously, hanging a piece of cloth or dopatta on one╝s shoulder
does not fulfill this command nor does using a small scarf that just covers
head and neck, leaving chest or bosom covered by shirt or blouse only.
Similarly, using a cloth which is not thick enough to hide zeenah[5]
will not be in compliance with this command.
It should not be construed that women are not allowed to use makeup at
all. In fact, women are encouraged to use makeup and beautification within ôreasonable╜[6] limits to beautify
themselves for enjoying themselves with their spouses in married life. That
is why the verse does not order them to avoid zeenah,
but commands them to hide it from others than those mentioned.
In addition to covering themselves with khimaar,
they should walk and move around gracefully without stamping their feet lest
they attract attention of people because of the sounds produced by such
walking and by jingle or clink of jewellery.
In addition to khimaar, it must be
remembered that, the rest of the clothes must also be thick and loose to hide
the body and its figure properly:
ôThere
will be women in the Fire who remain naked despite wearing clothes, are
inclined towards men and attract men to themselves. They will not go to the Jannah and will not even smell its scent, though its
scent will be experienced from great distances.╜ Reported from Aboo Hurayrah by Tabaraani and Muattaa
If these precautions are carefully taken, women are absolved of the
responsibility for any zeenah that cannot be
covered such as:
- Jewellery
like bangles and rings;
- Khimaar and clothes themselves; or,
- Zeenah that is accidentally exposed.
╗Aaishah reported that when these
verses were revealed, every believing woman found some thick cloth and
started using it as their khimaar. The next morning
every woman who came for Fajr Salaah
to the masjid was covered with a khimaar[7].
[1] Include grandfathers and uncles. The Prophet said, ôA person╝s uncle is in
place of father.╜ Muslim
[2] For details on Islamic marriage please refer to the author╝s book ôMuslim
Youth, Sex and marriage╜.
[3] ╗Iddah is the period a woman has to
wait before she can re-marry after a divorce or death of her husband.
[4] Any sexual activity with a non-spouse.
[5] Dihyah Kalby
reported that the Prophet gave him some fine cotton cloth and said, ôMake yourself a shirt and give the rest to your wife to
make
her khimaar, but tell her to join another cloth
underneath so that it does not show the body.╜ Reported by Aboo Dawood
╗Aaishah
saw a bride who was wearing khimaar made of thin
and transparent kind of cloth. She told her, ôAnyone
who wears clothes like this, disbelieves soorah An-Noor.╜
[6] What are ôreasonable╜
limits of beautification in Islam is a separate topic. As a general
rule, no physical changes to the body are allowed
for beautification.
[7] Tafheemul Qur-aan, vol. 3, page 386, with reference from Ibn Katheer.
Clarifications and concluding comments
Previous three parts
explained the meanings and application of Satar, Hijaab, Jilbaab and Khimaar, today clarifications and concluding comments are
presented.
Clarifications
Towards the end of the
soorah, Allaah Subhaanahu wa
Ta'aalaa addresses concerns of some people and clarifies two
points relating to the provisions mentioned above:
- An exception has been given from these
strict requirements to those women who are at an age when they do not
have any sexual desire or attractions. They are absolved from covering
themselves with khimaar, provided they are not
tempted to show off their attractions and adornments.
ôAnd (as for) women advanced in
years who do not hope for a marriage, it is no sin for them if they put off
their (outer) garments in such a way as not to show adornment; but to refrain
is better for them; and Allaah is Hearing,
Knowing.╜ (An-Noor 24:60)
By the
same token and with the same proviso, they are exempted from jilbaab as well.
- These provisions are not meant to stifle
the socialization among relatives and friends. While observing etiquette
commanded in this soorah An-Noor (lowering gaze, using khimaar,
etc.) and saying Islamic salutation with sincerity, people should visit
each other, host each other and feel free to share food with each other
including handicapped people who need support of the society, relatives
and close friends:
ôThere is no constraint on the blind
man, nor is there constraint on the lame, nor is there constraint on the
sick, nor on yourselves that you eat from your houses, or your fathers'
houses or your mothers' houses, or your brothers' houses, or your sisters'
houses, or your paternal uncles' houses, or your paternal aunts' houses, or
your maternal uncles' houses, or your maternal aunts' houses, or from houses
of which the keys are in your possession, or your close friends' (houses).
There is no blame on you that you eat together or separately. But when you
enter houses, greet your people with a salutation from Allaah,
blessed (and) good; thus does Allaah explain to you
the revelations that you may understand.╜ (An-Noor 24:61)
It
should be remembered that the commandments of soorah
Al-Ahzaab regarding jilbaab
or talking from behind the curtain do not apply to the visitation of these
people.
- It should also be noted that these
teachings of soorah Noor
that apply to female dress code for houses of Muslims when non-mahram males are present also apply to women╝s attendance in the houses of Allaah, the masaajid. If
women are wearing proper dress and khimaar
without wearing any makeup or perfume and they stay at the back of the masjid behind men╝s
rows, no body has any right to exclude them from the masjid
or to insist on putting a partition or curtain before them.
As for
not allowing them to come to masjid, the Messenger
himself has granted permission to women to attend masjid:
ôDo not prevent the female slaves of Allaah
from masaajid.╜ (Muslim
and Aboo Dawood)
ôIf a wife of any of you seeks permission to attend masjid,
do not stop her.╜ (Bukhaari)
ôAllow women to come to masjid at night╜ (Reported
by Aboo Dawood)
ôOn many occasions I start the prayer with the
intention of prolonging it and then shorten it on hearing the crying of a
baby for fear of keeping his mother away from attending to him.╜ (Reported
from ╗Abdullaah Bin Abee
Qataadah in Bukhaari)
He
also said, ôDo not prevent your women from masaajid, though their houses are better for them.╜
(Ahmad and Aboo Dawood)
Although
the Prophet indicated that their houses are better for them, it should not be
overextended to mean that their attendance is undesirable. The Prophet was
not shy of telling the truth in Sharee╝ah.
Had it been undesirable, he would have clearly said it so and not repeatedly
commanded his companions not to stop them. The parallel is that the Qur-aan regards secret Sadaqah
better than revealing it, but it still regards open Sadaqah
as good action. The disclosure of Sadaqah does not
negate its goodness or reward, unless it is done merely to show off, is used
to cause hurt or is given to impress favour upon the recipient. Similarly,
although a woman╝s prayer at home is better,
the prayer in the masjid is good. The only factor
which will make her attendance at the masjid
undesirable is if there is some other ulterior motive behind attending, or if
her responsibilities to her children suffer as a consequence.
As per
the report from ╗Aaishah, women wore only khimaar and did not have their faces covered within the masjid. Neither Allaah nor His
Messenger commanded that a partition or curtain be put up in the masjid. They were just commanded to maintain separation
without any partition or curtain:
ôWomen lines used
to be behind men╝s lines. After salaam at the
completion of Salaah, the Prophet would give some
time for women to leave before men do so.╜ (Ummi Salamah in Ahmad and Bukhaari)
"The best lines for men are the front ones and the worst are the
back ones. The worst lines for females are the front ones and the best are
the back ones..." (Muslim, Aboo Dawood, Tirmidzee, Nasaaee, Ahmad)
The
Prophet had dedicated one door of his masjid for
women by saying one day, "If we could only leave this door for the
ladies!" (Aboo Dawood)
When
the Prophet saw men and women mixing up on their way home from masjid, he said to women, ôWait,
it is not proper for you to walk in the middle of the street. You should walk
on the side.╜ (Aboo Dawood)
The
excuse used to disallow women from coming to masjid
and for closing them up behind partitions is that the times are not good like
the time of the Prophet, hence it is dangerous to keep it the way it was at
the time of the Prophet. This is not a new argument; people started using this
argument soon after the Prophet. Ibn ╗Umar told his son, "I heard the Messenger of Allaah say, "Do not prevent your women from (going
to) the Mosques if they seek your permission to do so." His son Bilal said, "Surely we will stop them." Ibn ╗Umar turned to his
son, rebuking him in a way he was never heard before and said, "I tell
you the saying of the Prophet and you say you will stop them."
The
fact is that the predecessors as well as the successors of Ummah are equal in matters of lawful and unlawful things.
Islamic teachings are for all times and no one has authority to overrule the
word of the Prophet.
The
irony is that the same people who want to close them out of masjid, allow their women to go to markets, to high
schools and to universities where the environment is at its worst. The place
where only God-fearing people show up, they are banned from; but the places
where all the troubles take place, they are allowed freely and they
themselves go happily. If anything, the changed times require us to bring
them more often to the masjid so that the
remembrance of Allaah and Islamic reminders help
them cope with the bad situation rather than depriving them of those
opportunities of reminders and letting them fall victims to Shaytaan in markets, schools and universities. For them
to benefit from their attendance in masjid, they
should have the same kind of welcoming environment in the masjid
as it was at the time of the Prophet and his Khulafaa.
They should be able to see the Imam or the speaker, raise questions and
discuss issues, as they were able to do during the golden times of Islam.
Precautions
According to these commands, wearing proper dress
and khimaar and without wearing makeup, women can
come in front of all relatives and close family friends who come to visit the
family in their homes. The prime example is from the Hadeeth
already quoted earlier where the Prophet had told Asmaa,
his sister-in-law, that it was all right to leave hands and face uncovered.
Other examples indicate that Allaah-fearing members
of one╝s community or close friends can also
be entertained by the woman of the house:
On walimah of Aboo Usaid As-Saa╝idiyy, his
wife prepared the food and served to guests. (Reported by Sahl bin Sa╝d in Bukhaari and Muslim)
The
Prophet asked Faatimah bint
Qais to spend her ╗Iddah
at Umm Shareek╝s house, but then retracted
saying, ôShe is a woman whom many of my companions
visit (are invited for
meals).╜
According to the second Hadeeth,
it was acceptable for Umm Shareek to host those
people, but at the same time, it was not appropriate for Faatimah
to be there in their presence. This indicates that the level of care depends
on the circumstances of a person, thus one must be cautious in this respect.
It should also be
noted that this permission does not imply that males and females from
friendly families, cousins and in-laws can all sit together to gossip and
joke around as they like. They must
still respect the general directions relating to males/female interaction
given to Muslims such as:
- There must be a mahram
present when any male family friends or relatives are visiting someone╝s house. Also, two persons who are
non-mahram to each other should never meet
privately:
ôAvoid visiting women (when the husband or a mahram
is not at home). A person asked, ôwhat about
in-laws?╜ He (the Messenger Sall-Allahu alayhi wa sallam)
said, ôIn-laws are deadly.╜ (In other words,
unhindered socialization of males with female in-laws can create serious
problems).
ôDo not go to visit those women whose husbands are out of town. Shaytaan runs in any of you like blood.╜ (Reported
by Jaabir bin ╗Abdullaah
in Tirmidzee)
ôWhoever believes in Allaah and the Last Day, he should not be alone with a
woman without the presence of a mahram. Otherwise, the
third with them will be Shaytaan.╜
(Ahmad)
Ibn ╗Abbaas related that the messenger of Allaah
said, ôNone of you should meet a woman alone unless
she is accompanied by a mahram.╜(Bukhaari, Muslim)
╗Umar reported that Rasoolullaah
said, ôWhen a man is alone with a woman, the Shaytaan becomes the third.╜ (Tirmidzee)
- Physical contact such as shaking hands
between all non-mahrams should be avoided:
ôIt is better for anyone of you to be poked in your
head with an iron needle than to touch a woman who is not Halaal
(to touch).╜ (Reported by M╝aqal
bin Yasaar in Tabaraani
and Baihaqi)
While
taking oath of allegiance, the Prophet used to take men╝s
hands in his hand but took only verbal oath from women without ever taking a woman╝s hand. (Reported by
╗Aaishah in Aboo Dawood)
Umaymah bint Ruqayqa
said, ôI went to the Messenger of Allaah with the women who gave an oath of adherence to
him. They said, ╗Messenger of Allaah! We
pledge not to associate anything with Allaah, not
to steal, not to commit adultery, not to kill our children, nor to produce
any lie that we have devised between our hands and feet, and not to disobey
you in what is good.╝ The Messenger of Allaah
said, ╗In what you can do and are able.╝ Umaymah
continued, ôThey said, ╗Allaah
and His Messenger are more merciful to us than ourselves. Come, let us give
our hands to you, O Messenger of Allaah!╝ He
said, ╗I do not shake hands with women. My word to a hundred women is
like my word to one woman.╝╜
- It is not even conceivable in a Muslim
society that there will be such free interaction between males and females
that will give them any opportunity to make fun of each other. Subtly
underscoring that attribute of Muslim society, soorah
Al-Hujuraat commanded men not to make fun of
men and women not of women, instead of just saying, ôPeople
should not make fun of each other.╜
- Considering the care and caution
expected of Muslims in ensuring segregation and avoiding free mixing,
when these relatives and friends are visiting, the best practice is to
seat male and females in different rooms, if possible. This will allow
both genders to socialize freely without maintaining the quiet, reserve
and constrained environment that is called for when they are in the same
room.
Parallel and Differentiation
Just as a believing
woman was commanded in Al-Ahzaab to cover her body
including most of her face with jilbaab when
outdoors and not to display her figure and finery, in An-Noor,
she has been asked to cover herself with khimaar
and not to display her zeenah. For both at home and
outdoors, the theme of coverage is consistent but the extent of coverage is
different.
Many people who do
not keep the context of both of these soorahs in
view, confuse the teachings of the two and fail to recognize the difference
in the applicability of the commands contained in them. Some go to one
extreme, and apply the teachings of Al-Ahzaab of
covering the face even within one╝s home even
from one╝s relatives. Others go to the other
extreme and claim that even for outdoors, khimaar╝s
coverage is enough and women do not need to pull their jilbaab
over their faces. Even the concept of khimaar in
their minds is limited to a headscarf.
An argument they
present against the women╝s use of jilbaab to cover themselves including their faces is that
the command to lower the gaze would have been unnecessary if covering up of
women would have been an Islamic requirement. This line of argument
conveniently overlooks that, despite Al-Ahzaab╝s
commandment for covering up with jilbaab, lowering
of the gaze is still important for all Muslims for multiple reasons. First of
all, even if everyone is covered up properly, both men and women would still
need to lower their gaze because the physique/aura of the opposite sex has
its own attraction. In addition, for women, it is obviously important because
men are not required to remain out of sight. For men, these instructions are
very important because women from their own families and friends are not
required to cover their faces and the non-Muslim women will always continue
to display their beauty.
The opinion against
substantially covering faces when outside is also invalid on the basis of
historical evidence:
Talking
about her being left behind and being seen by Safwan
Bin Mu╝attal, ╗Aaishah
said, ôHe recognized me because he had seen me
before the commandment of hijaab. I woke up by his
recitation of inaa lillaahi
wa innaa ilayhi raaji╝oon which
woke me up. So I covered my face with my jilbaab.╜
(Reported by Bukhaari,
Muslim, Ahmad and Ibn Jareer)
Ummi Khallaad came to the Prophet to find out
about her son╝s martyrdom, and her face was
covered. Some people wondered about her being so careful even at the death of
her son. She responded, ôI have lost my son, not my
hayaa (modesty).╜ (Reported
by Aboo Dawood from Thaabit Bin Qais)
Summary and Conclusion
This is the
conclusion of the series started a few weeks ago.
Summary
1.
Islam
as a way of life decrees Muslims to maintain an extremely high level of
modesty, decency and purity in their character, behaviour, gaze, words and
thoughts.
2.
It
absolutely forbids any kind of sexual act, overtures or flirtation or any
behaviour having sexual overtones that is not between duly wedded spouses.
It is
extremely sensitive about this issue and does not allow Muslims even to:
§
Stare,
exchange lustful eye contact or even look intentionally after an initial
inadvertent look;
§
Communicate
(chat, exchange correspondence, emails etc.) where the text or tone carries
any sexual
overtones or some sexual consideration is intended;
§
Spend
time together just for fun;
§
Fantasize
or lustfully think about a person.
3.
To
ensure this level of purity and modesty, it has decreed certain social
etiquette, rules of conduct and dress code that must be practiced diligently
by a believer. Those provisions are covered in the points 4-13 that follow.
4.
It
decrees segregation among males and females and reduced interaction among
them. As a general rule, Muslim males socialize only with males and females
socialize with females. Similarly, women pray with women at the back of the masjid and men pray with men at the front.
5.
Both
must protect their ‘owrah or satar
from a look or touch of anyone except their spouse. They must also not cast a
look at anyone else’s ‘owrah or satar.
No tight or revealing clothes for both and no shorts for men. Women can live
with minimum clothing to cover their satar in the
presence of mahrams, female friends, dependent
feeble males who do not have sexual desires and children who are not yet
exposed to any aspect of human sexuality.
6.
Both
men and women must lower their gaze, removing their eyes from a subject
before it becomes a look that is intent, imparts enjoyment, carries/conveys
sexual feelings or starts assessing beauty.
7.
In the
presence of any non-mahram relative or close family
friends, women should use Khimaar to cover their zeenah such as hairstyle, jewellery, chest, etc. and
should not wear makeup. They should move around in a manner that avoids
drawing attention.
8.
A man
and woman who are not mahram to each other should
never spend any time alone.
9.
There
should be no physical contact or shaking hands between females and those
males from whom zeenah is to be hidden.
10. Males and females
who are not close family friends or relatives should talk, in case of need,
to each other only from behind a partition or curtain.
11. Women should not
talk to any non-mahram male in a soft voice
that may incite or encourage him to harbour sexual desires, hope or courage
for making advances.
12. Women should not step
out of the house with fragrance on.
13. Women should not
venture outdoors without wrapping themselves in jilbaab
over their Khimaar and substantially covering their
face.
What
should Sincere Muslims do?
The true slaves of Allaah -- those who have Taqwa
and want to please Allaah Subhaanahu
wa Ta`aalaa have no
choice but to abide by all of His commands. Abiding by this code of conduct
is relatively easy for any Allaah-fearing Muslim,
except for rule # 6, 9, 10 and 13, practice of which is more challenging. He
or she can practise the rest of the rules on his or her own as they are
personal matters for which general public’s cooperation or understanding is
not needed. Of course there will be difficulties and of course the practising
Muslims will be labelled with all kind of epithets by those who do not care
to abide by Allaah’s rules, but it is fairly in
one’s power to practice them properly living in any society.
Despite the
challenges, however, our success depends on abiding by the complete code of
conduct decreed by our Master. Although #9 is difficult, we should learn and
develop courage to refuse shaking hands with non-mahram
people. The real challenge is in fulfilling code 6, 10 and 13, especially for
those living in non-Muslim societies.
Rule # 6 is very challenging for men because of the naked beauty and
attraction drawing their attention from all directions. This needs constant
reminders and extreme vigilance to “lower some of one’s gaze”, to save
oneself from “second” look and to fight the temptations of Shaytaan. In
parallel, the very challenging for women is Rule # 13. However, there are
always means around for those who value obedience to Allaah.
They can wear a loose, sewn jilbaab as marketed
nowadays ensuring that their khimaar is big enough
to be drawn forward to cover a substantial part of their face. They also have
the option of using sunglasses to their benefit as part of their outer
attire.
The toughest for
both men and women is #10. The extent of their difficulty depends on the type
of studies or job a person is engaged in. We frequently find ourselves in
situations where in our study, job or business situations, we need to talk to
people of the opposite sex, face to face on a daily basis. Looking constantly
away will be extremely impolite, so what do we do? We can do whatever is in
our power currently, fearing Allaah and seeking his
forgiveness all the time. But to deserve Allaah’s
forgiveness and to justify our living in the kind of society where full
practice of our Deen is not possible, we must be
actively spending time to perform Islamic Da’wah so
that a majority of people embraces the truth of Islam and the society
democratically moves towards the Islamic ideals.
If we keep working
to improve the society of our residence, and in the meantime, continue
endeavouring to minimize such encounters while continually seeking Allaah’s forgiveness, hopefully, our Merciful Lord and
Master will forgive us and reward us according to the best of our actions.
However, those who simply disregard Islamic teachings should worry about
having to justify to Allaah on the Day of Judgment
their carefree attitude towards His commands in this life. What would they
have to say?
May Allaah give us all courage, wisdom and fortitude to live
by His commands in a balanced manner so that we apply them where they should
be applied -- without confusing them in their application, without
compromising in their abidance and without self imposing the restriction
which Allaah and His Messenger did not impose. The
continual perseverance in obedience to Allaah,
despite the pressures of dominating powers and cultures, is our most
important daily jihaad. Those who persevere in
their sincere obedience to Allaah, their Master,
are the real winners. They are not lonely, weak, or helpless, but rather they
are well consoled, protected and supported -- even if they do not appear that
way to the general public. About them, the Qur-aan
says:
(As for) those who say: Our Lord is Allaah,
then persevere in the right way, the angels descend upon them, saying,
“Fear not, nor grieve, and receive good news of the Garden which you have
been promised. We are your protecting friends in the life of this world and
in the Hereafter, and you shall have therein what your souls desire and you
shall have therein what you ask for -- as hospitality from one Oft-Forgiving,
Most Merciful!" (41:30-32)
Copyright ©2003, Ayub A. Hamid
Permission is granted to circulate among private
individuals and groups,
to post on Internet sites and to publish in full
in not-for-profit publications.
Contact author for all other rights, which are
reserved
|