In the name of Allah, We praise Him, seek His help and ask for His forgiveness. Whoever Allah guides none can misguide, and whoever He allows to fall astray, none can guide them aright. We bear witness that there is no one (no idol, no person, no grave, no prophet, no imam, no dai, nobody!) worthy of worship but Allah Alone, and we bear witness that Muhammad (saws) is His slave-servant and the seal of His Messengers.
Hijab,
or veil, takes the center stage whenever there is battle between truth and
falsehood. It has always been a sensitive issue, but it recently received a
great deal of attention due to legislation and proposed legislation in several
European countries (e.g., France, Germany) that ban its use in government
institutions as well as educational institutions. For women who wear hijab out
of religious conviction, the truth is obvious and indisputable. For others with
limited knowledge or understanding of Hijab, it can be confusing.
It
is important to understand several points related to hijab and modesty. The
first point is that modesty had been the norm in history, up until the later
part of the past century. If one were to peruse historical books of various
times and ages, one would find modest covering of women in almost every
society. The other point is that modesty is a component in several world
religions, particularly in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. It may come as a
surprise to many that it was not Islam that invented modesty or hijab. This
existed in the laws of religions revealed before Islam, and remnants can still
be found in the altered books of those faiths. With the final message given to
Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), the order for Hijab was confirmed and
finalized.
This
is a reality since all of those revelations came from the same Source, Allah.
Mary, mother of Jesus (may Allah exalt their mention), is rarely depicted
without a traditional head-covering and one would assume her to be Muslim.
(Which, of course, she was.) One can still find both Jewish and Christian women
today who cover in much the same way as Muslim women. It is one of the common
bonds that are shared by these three major faiths.
MORE THAN A RELIGIOUS
SYMBOL
Hijab
represents a woman’s submission to her Creator and her connection with the
faith. While referring to it, Allah Almighty says: “That is more suitable that
they will be known...” But, while hijab is a symbol, in reality it is much more
than that. The following purposes and functions of hijab will clarify this
point.
Hijab
is a test for the Muslim woman. It is clear from the Qur’an and the Hadiths
that hijab is a religious obligation, which a woman has to undertake. There is
no scholarly difference on this point and the Muslim Ummah has applied it for
over 14 centuries. When a Muslim woman wears hijab she is obeying and
submitting to Allah. The following verses of the holy Qur’an refer to the
obligatory nature of hijab: “And tell the believing women to reduce [some] of
their vision and guard their private parts and not expose their adornment
except that which (necessarily) appears thereof and to wrap (a portion of)
their headcovers over their chests and not expose their adornment except to
their husbands, their fathers, their husbands’ fathers, their sons, their
husbands’ sons, their brothers, their brothers’ sons, their sisters’ sons,
their women, that which their right hands possess, or those male attendants
having no physical desire, or children who are not yet aware of the private aspects
of women. And let them not stamp their feet to make known what they conceal of
their adornment. And turn to Allah in repentance, all of you, O believers, that
you might succeed.” [Qur’an, 24:31)
Also Allah says:
“O Prophet, tell your wives and your daughters and the women of the believers
to bring down over themselves [part] of their outer garments. That is more
suitable that they will be known and not be abused. And ever is Allah Forgiving
and Merciful.” (Qur’an, 33:59)
A
woman who wears hijab liberates herself from the vain and selfish desire to
show off her beauty and to compete with other women around her.
This
is an innate desire that is exacerbated by wanton display and tamed by modesty
and covering. With the hijab, a woman does not have to live up to society’s
expectations of what is desirable, and she no longer has to use her beauty to
obtain recognition or acceptance from those around her.
In
the chapter of Al-Ahzaab mentioned above, Allah Almighty Says what means “That
is more suitable that they will be known and not be abused.” Thus, one of the
functions of hijab is to protect women from abuse and harm. This particularly
includes various forms of sexual abuse and harassment, which are prevalent in
societies in which few women cover. Men often get mixed signals and believe
that women want their advances by the way they reveal their bodies. The hijab,
on the contrary, sends a signal to men that the wearer is a modest and chaste
woman who should not be annoyed.
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