Bismillah ir-rahman ir-rahim
Assalam alaykum warahmatullah wabarakatu
Hijab
in Arabic means a screen, a curtain, a barrier or partition. In
Islam however, it has a broader meaning as a principle of modesty which not
includes a modest dressing but also behavior for both males and females.
The most visible form of hijab is
what the women of Islam wear that goes beyond the covering of just the head. It
actually refers to covering everything except the face and hands (others
include the feet) with a long and non-see through garment as one of the Islamic
school of thought interpret it.
Allah says in Surah An-Nur
(Q24:30-31), “Say to the believing men that they
should lower their gaze and guard their modesty: that will make for them
greater purity: and God is well acquainted with all that they do. And say to
the believing women that they should lower their gaze and guard modest…” From
this portion of the Qur’an, the meaning should be derived as both men and women
must behave and carry themselves humbly between one another. The term ghadd means
to reduce, shorten or lower down something. Accordingly ghadd basar generally translates
to lowering the gaze or keeping it lowered but the command does not imply the
gaze should always be kept lowered and rather it implies that one should
restrain his gaze and avoid casting off looks freely. This means if it is not
desirable to look at one should avoid having a look at it. Example men gazing
upon women except his wife or other mahram women of his family, casting looks
at the satar of other people, or fixing the eyes at indecent scenes. In a hadeeth
of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) he talked of a glance,
that which the first one is pardoned but the second look is a sin, the look
which one casts when one feels the lure of the object. Adding on to, if a
chance (first) look is cast, one should turn away their eyes or lower their gaze. And
he also termed such gazing as wickedness of the eyes [zinah of the eyes is when
look at that which is forbidden (non-mahram)]. Thus it has been used to
metaphorically refer to a person’s inner character and capabilities to grasp
and respond to the outside world correctly. Same case goes to women. The fact
of the matter is that we live in a hyper- sexualized world obsessed with
appearances, and this presents severe challenges upon the Muslim spiritual
psyche. We are bombarded with immodest images (oftentimes against our will) of
the human body that affect us consciously and unconsciously, making it an uphill
battle to be a chaste and modest human-being. Nevertheless, the definition of a
righteous Muslim is one who fights against their lowly desires and purifies
their souls from the tarnishes of this world.
After behaving in a modest
manner, the inner character then the body should also equal to the same by the ‘guard
their modesty’. Dress code is part of the overall teaching and that’s where the
modesty of women in terms of dressing is insisted but not because it’s a sign
of oppression like the ignorant claim it to be, but is a symbol of honoring the
women of Islam and to avoid any harm coming to them or view them as a tool of
liking and desires. And the aayah continues, “…that
they should not display their beauty and ornaments except what (must
ordinarily) appear thereof; that they should draw their veils over their bosoms
and not display their beauty except to their husbands, their fathers, their
husband’s fathers, their sons, their husband’s sons, their brothers or their
slaves who their right hands possess, or male servants free from physical
needs, or small children who have no sense of the shame of sex; and they should
not strike their feet in order to draw attention to their hidden ornaments. And
O you Believers, You turn all together toward God, that you may attain Bliss.” Therefore
Muslim women are required to observe the Hijab in front of any man they could
theoretically marry (non-mahram or ajnabi). Our hijab remember is a barrier, a
cover and when it’s about our garments (clothing) we should choose what accords
to Islamic mode of dressing.
Then again even when the covering is
more emphasizes on women, men are also commanded to cover their awrah. Hence
there are certain regulations listed out. For men, the basic principle concerning everything
that is worn is that it is halaal and permissible, except for that
concerning which there is a text to state that it is haraam, such as silk for
males, because the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said:
“These two [gold and silk] are forbidden for the males of my ummah and
permissible for the females.” Narrated by Ibn Maajah. Similarly it is not
permissible to wear the skin of a dead animal (one that has died of natural
causes) unless it has been tanned. With regard to wearing clothes made of wool,
goat hair and camel hair, these are pure and permissible. It is not permissible to wear thin, see-through
clothing. It should not imitate the non-believers. It was narrated
that ‘Abd-Allaah ibn ‘Amr ibn al-‘Aas said: The Messenger of Allaah (peace and
blessings of Allah be upon him) saw ‘Ali wearing two garments dyed with
safflower and said: “These are garments of the kuffaar; do not wear them.” (Muslim).
It should not
imitate the opposite gender because the Prophet (peace and blessings
of Allah be upon him) cursed the men who imitate women and the women who
imitate men. (Bukhari). It should not hang down beneath the ankles. It
is haraam for the Muslim man to let any garment he wears hang down beneath his
ankles (an action known as isbaal); the limit for any garment is the ankles (no
wearing shorts). It was narrated from Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him)
that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said; “Whatever of
the lower garment is beneath the ankles is in the Fire.” (Bukhaari). It is haram to
wear garments of fame and vanity, which
means that stands out from others so that people will look at the wearer and
will become known to it. It was narrated that Ibn ‘Umar said: The Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: “Whoever wears a garment of
fame and vanity, Allah will dress him in a garment like it on the Day of
Resurrection.” According to another version, “…then set it ablaze.” And
according to a third version, “will dress him in a garment of humiliation.” (Abu
Dawood)
Muslim men should have a higher standard
or modesty than any man from any religion, act like gentlemen through modesty
which comes with respect as well as akhlaq, and appreciate the greater
qualities within women and their modesty in order battle out immorality in the
Muslim community.
Whereas for women, it should cover
all of the body. Allah says in
the Qur’an, “O Prophet! Tell your wives and your
daughters and the women of the believers to draw their cloaks (veils) all over
their bodies (i.e. screen themselves completely except the eyes or one eye to
see the way). That will be better, that they should be known (as free respectable
women) so as not to be annoyed. And Allah is Ever Oft-Forgiving, Most
Merciful.” This aayah clearly states that it is obligatory to cover all
of a woman’s beauty and adornments and not to display any part of that before
non-mahram men except for whatever appears unintentionally, in which case there
will be no sin on them if they hasten to cover it up. And in a hadeeth it was
narrated that Ibn ‘Umar said: The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of
Allah be upon him) said: “Whoever lets his garment drag out of pride, Allah
will not look at him on the Day of Resurrection.” Umm Salamah said, “What should
women do with their hems?” He said, “Let it hang down a hand span.” She said,
“What if that shows her feet?” He said, “Let it hang down a cubit, but no more
than that.” (Tirmidhi). This hadeeth indicates that it is obligatory for women
to cover
their feet, and that this was something that was well known among
the women of the Sahaabah (may Allah be pleased with them). Some scholars say
it is permissible to uncover the face and hands as long as there is no fitnah
caused by the action. The hijab must not be a display. It should cover the body and beauty of a woman
not show it off or attract people’s gaze and be a source of fitnah. Allah says,
“… and not to show off their adornment…” The
general meaning of this phrase includes the outer garment, because if it is
decorated it will attract men’s attention to her. In Surah Al-Ahzab (Q33:33) it
says, “And stay in your houses, and do not display
yourselves like that of the times of ignorance” It is also supported by
the hadeeth in which the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said:
“There are three, do not ask me about them: a man who leaves the jama’ah,
disobeys his leader and dies disobedient; a female or male slave who runs away
then dies; and a woman whose husband is absent and left her with everything she
needs, and after he left she made a wanton display of herself. Do not ask about
them.” It must
not be transparent or see-through. The purpose of hijab must be
achieved and in order to be a proper hijab, it must not be made of a
transparent material. In a hadeeth reported by Abu Huraira, “During the last
days of my ummah there will be women who are clothed but naked, with something
on their heads like the humps of camels. Curse them, for they are cursed.”
Another hadeeth adds: “They will not enter Paradise or even smell its
fragrance, although its fragrance can be detected from such and such a
distance.” (Muslim). Ibn ‘Abd al-Barr said: what the Prophet (peace and blessings
of Allaah be upon him) meant was women who wear clothes made of light fabric
which describes and does not cover. They are clothed in name but naked in
reality. It should
not resemble the dressing of a man. It was reported in the saheeh
ahaadeeth that a woman who imitates men in dress or in other ways is cursed.
There follow some of the ahaadeeth that we know: Abu Hurayrah said: “The
Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) cursed the man
who wears women’s clothes, and the woman who wears men’s clothes.” ‘Abd-Allaah
ibn ‘Amr said: I heard the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be
upon him) say: ‘They are not part of us, the women who imitate men and the men
who imitate women.’” It should not be similar to the dressing of the non-believers.
It is stated in sharee’ah that Muslims, men and women alike, should
not resemble or imitate the kuffaar with regard to worship, festivals or clothing
that is specific to them. This is an important Islamic principle which
nowadays, unfortunately, is neglected by many Muslims, even those who care
about religion and calling others to Islam. This is due either to ignorance of
their religion, or because they are following their own whims and desires, or
because of deviation, combined with modern customs and imitation of kaafir. It should not be for fame. The garment
implies it’s precious and show admiration. It should be loose not to show the body and thus not tight or thin to reveal her awrah. The
purpose of clothing is to prevent fitnah (temptation), and this can only be achieved
if clothes are wide and loose. Tight clothes, even if they conceal the colour
of the skin, still describe the size and shape of the body or part of it, and
create a vivid image in the minds of men. The corruption or invitation to
corruption that is inherent in that is quite obvious. So the clothes must be
wide. It should
not have perfume such that when passing others can smell it. There are
many ahaadeeth which forbid women to wear perfume when they go out of their houses.
We will quote here some of those which have saheeh isnaads: Abu Moosa al-Ash’ari
said: the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said:
“Any woman who puts on perfume then passes by people so that they can smell her
fragrance, is an adulteress.” Zaynab al-Thaqafiyyah reported that the Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: “If any one of you (women)
goes out to the mosque, let her not touch any perfume.” Abu Hurayrah said: the
Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: “Any woman
who has scented herself with bakhoor (incense), let her not attend ‘Ishaa’
prayers with us.” Moosa ibn Yassaar said that a woman passed by Abu Hurayrah
and her scent was overpowering. He said, “O female slave of al-Jabbaar, are you
going to the mosque?” She said, “Yes,” He said, “And have you put on perfume
because of that?” She said, “Yes.” He said, “Go back and wash yourself, for I
heard the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) say:
‘If a woman comes out to the mosque and her fragrance is overpowering, Allah
will not accept any prayer from her until she goes home and washes herself.’ ” Just
as the prohibition covers perfume applied to the body, it also covers perfume
applied to the clothes, especially in the third hadeeth, where bakhoor
(incense) is mentioned, because incense is used specifically to perfume the
clothes. The reason for this prohibition is quite clear, which is that women’s fragrance
may cause undue provocation of desires. The scholars also included other things
under this heading of things to be avoided by women who want to go to the
mosque, such as adorned clothes, jewelry that can be seen, excessive adornments
and mingling with men.
Allah says in Surah An-Nur (Q24:60),
“And as for women past childbearing who do not
expect wedlock, it is no sin on them if they discard their (outer) clothing in
such a way as not to show their adornment. But to refrain (i.e. not to discard
their outer clothing) is better for them. And Allah is All‑Hearer, All‑Knower” The evidence
from this verse is that Allah states that there is no sin on old women who have
no hope of marriage because men have no desire for them, due to their old age
(if they discard their outer clothing), subject to the condition that their
intention in doing so is not to make a wanton display of themselves and should
remain modest.
The black dressing is not a must
because it’s not in the condition of a woman’s garment that it should be black;
a woman can wear what she wants as so long as it’s under the conditions
mentioned. Women may wear other colors that are worn only by women, do not attract
attention and do not provoke desire. Wearing black is not a must but many
choose to wear it because it is farthest removed from being an adornment. There
are also reports which indicate that the women of Sahaabas used to wear black. When
the aya is Surah An-Nur was revealed, the women of the Ansaar went out looking
as if they were crows on their heads because of their garments. It was
classified as Sahih in Sahih Abu Dawood. The standing committee said: This is
to be understood as meaning that those clothes were black in color.
As for men, it is mustahabb to
wear white clothes. It was narrated that Ibn ‘Abbaas said: The Messenger of
Allaah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: “Wear white clothes,
for they are the best of your clothes, and shroud your dead in them.” (Tirmidhi).
This is what the scholars regarded as mustahabb. Also narrated by Abu Dawood.
In addition it is Sunnah for a
Muslim to start with the right when dressing, and to say, Bismillaah (In the
name of Allah), and to start with the left when taking clothes off. It was
narrated that Abu Hurayrah said: The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings
of Allah be upon him) said: “When you get dressed and when you do wudoo’, start
on the right.”
What we decide to put on should resemble as Muslims not ‘half-way’
measures, we should then be mindful of our dressing. We are a symbol of what
Islam is. We should appreciate and be proud it and remember our reward is with
Allah. Hijab is not an option but mandatory in Islam that must be observed by
both male and female, even though dressing is stressed upon women, it should be
in our best interest to denounce evil and block the means that leads to it.
Shaytan flows through the son of Adam like blood, may Allah guide us and keep
us away from his whispers.
And Allah knows best.
0 comments:
Post a Comment