يَا أَيُّهَا النَّاسُ اتَّقُوا رَبَّكُمُ الَّذِي خَلَقَكُم مِّن نَّفْسٍ وَاحِدَةٍ وَخَلَقَ مِنْهَا زَوْجَهَا وَبَثَّ مِنْهُمَا رِجَالًا كَثِيرًا وَنِسَاءً ۚ وَاتَّقُوا اللَّـهَ الَّذِي تَسَاءَلُونَ بِهِ وَالْأَرْحَامَ ۚ إِنَّ اللَّـهَ كَانَ عَلَيْكُمْ رَقِيبًا
O humankind, fear your Lord, who created you from one soul and created from it its mate and dispersed from both of them many men and women. And fear Allah, through whom you ask one another, and the wombs. Indeed Allah is ever, over you, an Observer. (Surah al Nisaa’, ayah 1)
In this ayah (quranic verse), Allah first tells us that men and women are two halves of a whole, both coming from one soul. He also tells us to fear Him, who we ask for our rights, bounties and the good of this life and the Hereafter; He is watching over you.
وَقُل لِّلْمُؤْمِنَاتِ يَغْضُضْنَ مِنْ أَبْصَارِهِنَّ وَيَحْفَظْنَ فُرُوجَهُنَّ وَلَا يُبْدِينَ زِينَتَهُنَّ إِلَّا مَا ظَهَرَ مِنْهَا ۖ وَلْيَضْرِبْنَ بِخُمُرِهِنَّ عَلَىٰ جُيُوبِهِنَّ ۖ وَلَا يُبْدِينَ زِينَتَهُنَّ إِلَّا لِبُعُولَتِهِنَّ أَوْ آبَائِهِنَّ أَوْ آبَاءِ بُعُولَتِهِنَّ أَوْ أَبْنَائِهِنَّ أَوْ أَبْنَاءِ بُعُولَتِهِنَّ أَوْ إِخْوَانِهِنَّ أَوْ بَنِي إِخْوَانِهِنَّ أَوْ بَنِي أَخَوَاتِهِنَّ أَوْ نِسَائِهِنَّ أَوْ مَا مَلَكَتْ أَيْمَانُهُنَّ أَوِ التَّابِعِينَ غَيْرِ أُولِي الْإِرْبَةِ مِنَ الرِّجَالِ أَوِ الطِّفْلِ الَّذِينَ لَمْ يَظْهَرُوا عَلَىٰ عَوْرَاتِ النِّسَاءِ ۖ وَلَا يَضْرِبْنَ بِأَرْجُلِهِنَّ لِيُعْلَمَ مَا يُخْفِينَ مِن زِينَتِهِنَّ ۚ وَتُوبُوا إِلَى اللَّـهِ جَمِيعًا أَيُّهَ الْمُؤْمِنُونَ لَعَلَّكُمْ تُفْلِحُونَ
And tell the believing women to lower their gaze (from looking at forbidden things), and protect their private parts (from illegal sexual acts, etc.) and not to show off their adornment except only that which is apparent (like palms of hands or one eye or both eyes for necessity to see the way, or outer dress like veil, gloves, head-cover, apron, etc.), and to draw their veils all over Juyubihinna (i.e. their bodies, faces, necks and bosoms, etc.) and not to reveal their adornment except to their husbands, their fathers, their husband’s fathers, their sons, their husband’s sons, their brothers or their brother’s sons, or their sister’s sons, or their (Muslim) women (i.e. their sisters in Islam), or the (female) slaves whom their right hands possess, or old male servants who lack vigour, or small children who have no sense of the shame of sex. And let them not stamp their feet so as to reveal what they hide of their adornment. And all of you beg Allah to forgive you all, O believers, that you may be successful. (Surah al Nur, ayah 31)
In this ayah, according to Ibn Kathir, Allah subhana wa ta’ala is ordering “believing women, [due to] jealousy on His part over the wives of His believing servants. It is also to distinguish the believing women from the women of the Jahiliyyah and the deeds of the pagan women ‘(?) for believing women to lower their gaze, “meaning, from that which Allah has forbidden them to look at, apart from their husbands, meaning their personal beauty by covering themselves according to His hijab which was explained as having seven conditions, according to a saheh hadith, not to reveal their beauty to anyone who is not permitted “which means protecting them from being seen by anybody.’ It goes on to detail who they can and cannot uncover in front of regarding people from all walks of life, other women, men, and children. He goes on to order women not to draw attention to their selves.
Ayah 59 and 33 from surah (33) Al Ahzab also discusses the issue of hijab. Ayah 33
,وَقَرْنَ فِي بُيُوتِكُنَّ وَلَا تَبَرَّجْنَ تَبَرُّجَ الْجَاهِلِيَّةِ الْأُولَىٰ ۖ وَأَقِمْنَ الصَّلَاةَ وَآتِينَ الزَّكَاةَ وَأَطِعْنَ اللَّـهَ وَرَسُولَهُ ۚ إِنَّمَا يُرِيدُ اللَّـهُ لِيُذْهِبَ عَنكُمُ الرِّجْسَ أَهْلَ الْبَيْتِ وَيُطَهِّرَكُمْ تَطْهِيرًا
‘And stay in your houses, and do not display yourselves like that of the times of ignorance, and perform As-Salat (IqamatasSalat), and give Zakat and obey Allah and His Messenger. Allah wishes only to remove ArRijs (evil deeds and sins, etc.) from you, O members of the family (of the Prophet SAW), and to purify you with a thorough purification.’ and ayah 59,
يَا أَيُّهَا النَّبِيُّ قُل لِّأَزْوَاجِكَ وَبَنَاتِكَ وَنِسَاءِ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ يُدْنِينَ عَلَيْهِنَّ مِن جَلَابِيبِهِنَّ ذَٰلِكَ أَدْنَىٰ أَن يُعْرَفْنَ فَلَا يُؤْذَيْنَ ۗوَكَانَ اللَّـهُ غَفُورًا رَّحِيمًا ۚ
‘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.’ The tafseer of these two ayat refer to a woman covering herself and protecting her honor. Ibn Katheer(kathir) states that ayah 33 means,” These are the good manners which Allah enjoined upon the wives of the Prophet so that they would be an example for the women of the Ummah to follow. Allah said, addressing the wives of the Prophet that they should fear Allah as He commanded them, and that no other woman is like them or can be their equal in virtue and status. Ayah 59 means that ‘[h]ere Allah tells His Messenger to command the believing women — especially his wives and daughters, because of their position of honor — to draw their Jilbabs over their bodies, so that they will be distinct in their appearance from the women of the Jahiliyyah and from slave women. The Jilbab is a rida’ (full body covering), worn over the Khimar. This was the view of Ibn Mas`ud, `Ubaydah, Qatadah, Al-Hasan Al-Basri, Sa`id bin Jubayr, Ibrahim An-Nakha`i, `Ata’ Al-Khurasani and others.’ Al-Jawhari said: “The Jilbab is the outer wrapper. `Ali bin Abi Talhah reported that Ibn `Abbas said that Allah commanded the believing women, when they went out of their houses for some need, to cover their faces from above their heads with the Jilbab, leaving only one eye showing.”
Based on these two explanations, and the one above, hijab has other functions other than covering a Muslimah. It is a means of distinguishing her from non-believers and also is a means of keeping her, and to a larger extent, society clean from the despicable acts committed by people of other faiths who no longer follow their own books or obey Allah. This is not to say that it is the sole responsibility of women to ensure that societies do not become corrupted to an extent beyond what is acceptable in an Islamic society. Men also have a responsibility to keep immorality at the lowest absolute minimum or try to eradicate it entirely. This is especially true since it is men who are emams and who, generally, lead societies. But, it is a fact, biologically, that it is women who become pregnant from illicit encounters, while men show no obvious physical change by being immoral.
Covering one’s self with hijab, hijab as decreed by Allah and not what people decree for themselves, doesn’t make a woman less than human, rather it gives her strength, power, and protection. Our hijab is a shield against unwanted looks, ideas, violence, and degradation that is thrown at us by both men and women. It identifies us a(?), not only as follower of Allah and His Prophet, as-salat wa salam, but also is a non-verbal command to people to respect us, and not cross the boundary regarding our person. Our hijab is our statement to the world that we respect ourselves and we expect that from those who see us and speak with us, and deal with us. In addition, our hijab is a status symbol of our high honor and self-esteem. It also, from a historical perspective, used to be an outward communication of a woman’s high rank in society and her families’ wealth. In fact, the Crusades were so impressed with the outward covering, hijab, of Muslim women that many ordered their own female family members to cover as Muslimah’s, when they return to their countries (Zarzour, Civilization of Faith).
However, to the contrary, what we see today is our Muslim sisters lowering themselves to the debased level of non-Muslims, so much so that we often cannot distinguish between a believer and non-believer. And frankly, it is incomprehensible that a Muminah, a woman who believes in Allah, His Prophet, sallalahu alayhe wa was-sallam, the Last Day, and has been granted Paradise, because of her belief, and obedience to Allah and His Prophet, would care to follow women and societies who disobey their Creator and deny His Prophet. This is extremism; being extremely disobedient to the Creator, Sustainer, Owner of all things see and unseen. Extreme disobey(disobedience) is what is really at work in instances that women refuse to wear hijab, going so far as to say it is a ’choice,’ subhana’Allah. This, though is the state of affairs within the general population of Muslims—extremism in disobeying the commands of the Lord and His Prophet. It seems that they have not learned of the hadith wherein RasulAllah, sallahu alayhe was sallam, said, “During the last days of my ummah there will be women who are clothed but naked, with something on their heads like the hump of camels. Curse them, for they are cursed” and “There are two types of people of Hell that I have not seen…” and described one as being women who are clothed but naked, walking with an enticing gait, with something on their heads like the hump of a camel, leaning on one side (Muslim). To fully understand what hijab is, we first must know what it isn’t.
It appears, in all areas of the world, where Muslimahs live, a general consensus has been made to reduce hijab to mean a head scarf. Regardless of what is worn on the remainder of one’s body, as long as a scarf is on her head, she is wearing hijab, according to the extremists. She could wear her version of hijab with a mini skirt, hot pants, sleeveless shirts, and, I suppose, with a bikini, as long as her head is covered. Honestly, men do not desire women’s hair. To illustrate, in 2015, a Christian professor in a Christian university decided to show her solidarity with Syrian refugees, and as an outward show of the compassion she believes Esa had for others, by wearing a hijab. She posted her picture on her Facebook page for the entire world to see. The entire world did see, including her Evangelical co-professors and the head of her Evangelical university. Needless to say, she was fired for wearing hijab. But, the irony is, is that she isn’t wearing hijab. In her Facebook picture, she has a head scarf partially on her head, and is wearing a sleeveless dress (http://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/16/magazine/the-professor-wore-a-hijab-in-solidarity-then-lost-her-job.html). While I can fully appreciate her intention, she failed completely in terms of hijab. The reason she failed is that hijab, for those Muslimahs who don’t know, and as a reminder and verification for those who do, hijab consists of eight conditions:
1. The whole body, except for the exempted parts (face and hands) should be covered completely,
2. The color and/or fabric should not be attractive,
3. The clothing should not be transparent,
4. The clothing should not be tight fitting
5. Garments should not be perfumed,
6. The form of the clothing should not resemble men’s clothing,
7. It should not resemble the clothing of non-believers,
8. Garments should not be ostentatious.
These eight conditions were derived from ahadith and tafseer of the ten ayat that refer to hijab and were collected by Sheikh al Albani in his book, The Hijab of the Muslim Women as in the Quran and Sunnah.
Conversely, when we look around in our societies, whether we live in a predominately Muslim country of not, one can see many Muslimahs wearing hijab, but unfortunately, they are becoming the minority. All too many of our sisters don’t reflect the honor and high value Allah, subhana wa ta’ala gave Muslim women, by wearing hijab. What we see is the inferior with inferiority complexes that have bought into the idea that freedom equals, not following the perfect religion, but rather, imitating non-believers in every way possible. When I think about this, I remember the hadith of Allah’s Messenger (sallAllahu alaihi wa sallam) who said: ‘You will indeed follow the ways of those before you, hand span by hand span, and an arm’s length after another. Even if they enter into a lizard’s hole, you will follow them.’ We (the Sahaba) asked, ‘Is it the Jews and the Christians?’ He replied, ‘Who else!’” [Bukhari]
This hadith doesn’t mean that Muslims will follow the kuffar in the good, it means to abandon our own way, lifestyle, clothing, etc., so that we lose our own identity, and become like non-believers in actions. Why are Muslims so fascinated by non-Muslims, to the extent that they imitate them mindlessly? Again, it seems that it has to do with their feelings of inferiority. In general, Muslims have allowed themselves to be placed in this position and have absorbed it because of their turning away from their religion, the one accepted by Allah, Islam, and for Muslimah’s, abandoning wearing Allah’s hijab is proof of this.
We’re all aware that non-Muslims and even some misguided Muslims believe that wearing real hijab hinders, oppresses and stigmatizes women. They claim it is a sign of gender bias, misogyny, and repression. I completely agree with them on this point. I have personally been treated with gender bias, misogyny and repression by these very people who claim that it does all these things. The people who oppose hijab are fulfilling these negative claims, regarding the treatment of women who were hijab, by doing these actions themselves. I have been refused employment, cursed at by men and have been treated as a second class citizen because I choose to obey my Lord and wear, not only hijab, but also niqab. But, unfortunately, I’m not alone in feeling this oppression by the ‘liberators/modernists.’ Many other Muslimahs have had the same experience as me. Brilliant, warm, open, creative hijab/niqab wearing women are discriminated against every day because they have chosen obedience over disobedience-and not one would choose the opposite.
Those Muslims and non-Muslims who repress us hijab wearing Muslimahs are trying to push their own agenda, by excluding hijab/niqab wearing women from there elite circle of non-practicing, non-believing society. They feel, as some have said, embarrassed to be seen with women who allow themselves to be oppressed into wearing hijab. They have bought into this oppression fallacy as an excuse not to obey Allah and His Prophet, sallahu alayhe was sallam. Hijab wearers suffer from Stockholm syndrome, they wrongly claim, a psychological disorder in which the captive sympathizes with their captors to the extent that they join their cause or ideology. Plainly speaking, by wearing our hijab and/or niqab, we become the accomplices of our enemy. If this were true, then this is a psychological issue on first, a massive scale, since there are millions of Muslim women worldwide, and it has been an on-going psychosis for centuries. Second, if women were oppressed/repressed/subjugated by their male counterparts, then it would not be possible for women in Muslim courts to be granted dissolution of their marriages, as happens every day in any part of the world with a Muslim court, as well as given other rights granted by Al Khalaq.
What has happened, in fact, is that women who refuse, deny or even hate hijab have chosen to be in a lower, debased position instead of the high, honorable position given to them by Al Adl. Allah, azza wa jall, is the Most Just with everything He has created. He would never be unjust, since He is too high above such an action as unjust. Therefore, for those Muslimahs who claim that hijab is oppression, discrimination and misogynistic, it is a serious, vile thought regarding their Creator. Allah has perfect wisdom, and He loves His creation, especially Muslims, to the extent that His Mercy overpowers His anger Bukhari recorded the Hadith narrated Abu Hurairah (radhi-Allah-hu ‘anhu): The Messenger of Allah (sallAllahu alayhe wa sallam) said: “When Allah completed the creation, He wrote in His Book which is with Him on His Throne, “My Mercy overpowers My Anger” [Sahih Bukhari – Book: 54, Beginning of Creation, Hadith: 416]. In His perfect justice, He elevated Muslimahs to a position of honor, respect, dignity, safety and righteousness that no human or human law can even imagine or come close to, by mandating that Muslimahs wear hijab. Why debase one’s self to a lower level than what He gave us? And, again, hijab as Allah decreed it, not as any whim or wishing wants. To wear less than what Allah decreed is following wicked desires that are whispered by Shaitan to cause us to be disobedient. As Allah, subhana wa ta’ala warns us in His words:
يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا قُوا أَنفُسَكُمْ وَأَهْلِيكُمْ نَارًا وَقُودُهَا النَّاسُ وَالْحِجَارَةُ عَلَيْهَا مَلَائِكَةٌ غِلَاظٌ شِدَادٌ لَا يَعْصُونَ اللَّهَ مَا أَمَرَهُمْ وَيَفْعَلُونَ مَا يُؤْمَرُونَ .
Which is translated as: ‘O you who believe! Ward off from yourselves and your families a Fire (Hell) whose fuel is men and stones, over which are (appointed) angels stern (and) severe, who disobey not, (from executing) the Commands they receive from Allah, but do that which they are commanded.’ The tafseer of this ayah can best be explained by the saying of the Salaf as-Salah: · ‘Alî b. Abî Tâlib – Allah be pleased with him: Discipline them, teach them.
· Ibn ‘Abbâs – Allah be pleased with them: Stay obedient to Allâh, stay away from disobeying Allâh and command your families to remember Allâh, and He will save you from the Fire; · Mujâhid – Allâh have mercy on him: Fear Allâh and obey him (practice taqwâ) and tell your families to practice taqwâ; · Qatâdah – Allâh have mercy on him: A person protects his family by telling them to obey Allâh and forbidding them from disobeying Him. He upholds Allâh’s commandments and helps his family to uphold them. So if you see some disobedience of Allâh you stop them from doing it, and you reprimand them (Al-Tabarî, Al-Tafsîr, Sûrah Al-Tahrîm). Our righteous predecessors, both men and women understood the how vital Islam was to their lives, as vital as water, food or sleep. And, we, in this day and age, so many centuries after them, can learn so much and understand so much regarding Islam. That is one of the reasons that they were mentioned in the Quran and Sunnah to be followed after Allah and His messenger, (sal Allahu alaihi wa sallam). They are the best people after our Master, so why would Muslims, not want to follow their example and instead follow fulana and fulana, who are disbelievers in Allah, azza wa jall? Alla, azza wa jall, never praised the disbelievers, but He most certainly praised the Companions, both male and female. لَّذِينَ اسْتَجَابُوا لِلَّـهِ وَالرَّسُولِ مِن بَعْدِ مَا أَصَابَهُمُ الْقَرْحُ ۚ لِلَّذِينَ أَحْسَنُوا مِنْهُمْ وَاتَّقَوْا أَجْرٌ عَظِيمٌ ﴿١٧٢﴾ Meaning in English: {Those [believers] who responded to Allah and the Messenger after injury had struck them. For those who did good among them and feared Allah is a great reward} 3/172. An explanation to this ayah can be found in the writing of Ibn Abî Mulaykah – Allah have mercy on him – said: “I met thirty of the Prophet’s Companions – Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him – and every one of them feared falling into nifâq (hypocrisy); not one of them claimed he had the level of faith of Jibrîl or Mîkâ`îl.”Quoted by Al-Bukhârî, Al-Sahîh, Chapter on the believer fearing that his deeds will be nullified without him realizing. In this chapter and narration there is a refutation of the Murji`ah sect who claimed that îmân (faith) consists of belief in the heart and nothing else i.e. a person’s deeds are not part of his faith and do not affect it.” https://www.sayingsofthesalaf.net/they-all-feared-hypocrisy/ Therefore, sisters, to be a believer, what is in our hearts is demonstrated or shown by our actions. Otherwise, we fall into hypocrisy, which is a major sin.
Sisters, honor, respect and value yourselves as Allah has honored, respected and valued you by giving you the blessing of Islam and hijab. Do not let yourselves fall into a debased, low level of humanity by disobeying your Creator and Sustainer. To show full appreciation for all that we know we have and for all that we do not know we have, for His protection from what we fear will happen and protection from what we do not know could have happened, for all the blessing we have received and the blessing that we do not know that we received, obey Allah, and obey His Messenger, by wearing His hijab.
Um Ahmad
March, 2017