Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Muslim Brothah
MONDAY, 12 MARCH 2012
FOLLOWERS
ABOUT ME
BLOG ARCHIVE
2012 (6)
November
(1)
And tell the believing women to lower their gaze and be modest, and to
display of their adornment only that which is apparent, and to draw their
cover over their bosoms, and not to reveal their adornment except to
their own husbands ... (Quran 24:31).
MEANING OFKHIMAR
Al-Mumin
View my complete
profile
April (1)
March (1)
Is Hijab
Mandatory
in Islam:
Part I
February (1)
The imam will tell you that Allah chose to use the word khimar for alcohol,
because it is anything that "covers" the intellect and leads one to other
http://muslim-brothah.blogspot.com/2012/03/hijab-mandatory-or-not.html[20.5.2015. 21:06:55]
January (2)
sins. If khimar trulymeant head cover, can you imagine how odd these
verses would sound if they were telling the believers to abstain from head
covers? That wouldn't make much sense, would it?What's interesting is
that Allah uses this same word for covering of the bosom.Therefore, the
word khimar,even according to some mistaken scholars, does in fact
mean "to cover".
http://muslim-brothah.blogspot.com/2012/03/hijab-mandatory-or-not.html[20.5.2015. 21:06:55]
At the time of the Prophet, some women used to wear ankle bracelets and
bells. Women in India and Pakistan still do, and some would stamp their
feet in order to seduce men or to get their attention.Out of all the verses
in the Qur'an, He clearly tells us not to eat the flesh of swine, blood, and
even several different animals that are killed improperly. We are told to
avoid strong drink/gambling, avoid usury, abstain from backbiting, to cover
the bosom, to lower our gaze, when and how to pray, and steps in
performingwudu.
Allah evenexplicitlytells us to
wet our heads before we pray.
Ifthe hijabwas truly
mandatory, why wouldn't He
simply order women to cover
their heads, just as all the
other verses of Divine
Instruction? Why do we have to
dig out so much
ahadithinterpretation in order
to prove the head cover, which
is still left unproven in the end?
If the hijabwas such an
important practice, as are the many other teachings in the Qur'an, wouldn't
Allah have cared to explicitlyorder women to cover their heads. Instead,
they are told to cover their bosoms and body parts, as in 24:31.
http://muslim-brothah.blogspot.com/2012/03/hijab-mandatory-or-not.html[20.5.2015. 21:06:55]
http://muslim-brothah.blogspot.com/2012/03/hijab-mandatory-or-not.html[20.5.2015. 21:06:55]
since this Law (shariah) was given to them by their Messenger, Moses. But
Jesus tells them:
Moses allowed you to divorce your wives because your hearts were hard.
But it was not this way from the beginning.I tell you that anyone who
divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another
woman commits adultery. (Matthew 19:8-9)
Some Muslim men think the same way of divorce (similar to the Jews), as
it is allowedin the Qur'an, yet it should really only be for valid reasons. You
can't simply throw away a woman when you're done with her. I have seen
some instances in a community where an imamwould actually encourage a
woman who is having marital problems to divorce her husband, and quickly
marry her in order to get into her pants. One must ask the question, how is
this different from adultery? Is he really following the shariah? Yet this is
the kind of hypocrisy we deal with--the same hypocrisy and lawful shariah
misunderstood evenduring the time of Jesus (Isa).
CULTURE VS RELIGION
Many religious followers can
mistake cultural norms for
religious or spiritual practices.
For example, it is a known fact
that most women during the
Prophet's time in the
ArabianPeninsula did cover
their head--but so did men!
And so did Mother Mary of
Jerusalem. If this is the basis
for our belief, how come men
aren't required to cover their
heads? The reality is, had they
not covered their heads in the
heat of the sun, they would be
asking for trouble (i.e. heat
stroke)! And who is to say that
these were not worn as a looseheadcover rather than a
completehairsuffocation.
Also, men's and women's dress were very loose and open, in order to allow
air circulation. Although it is fair to say that women (and men) should not
wear tight bodily revealing clothes, the abayahshould not be considered an
Islamic dress either! Can you imagine a MuslimaEskimo freezing and
tripping over the snow in herabayah,while trying to hunt a seal? Whilst
not followingunnecessarytrends, who is to say that we cannot wear
ordinary clothing, such as loose-fitted shirts and jeans? Allah reminds us in
the Qur'an the purpose of clothing:
O Children of Adam! We have revealed unto you garments to cover your
shame, and splendid vesture; but the garment ofrighteousness--that is
best. This is of the revelations of Allah, that they may remember. (7:26)
PURPOSE OF HIJAB?
Many imams will tell us that the purpose of hijabis to hide a women's
precious beauty, while using many other sugar-coated sayings.Although
we can agree that hairis beautiful, but so are hands, nose, eyes, and
http://muslim-brothah.blogspot.com/2012/03/hijab-mandatory-or-not.html[20.5.2015. 21:06:55]
mouth!In fact, the face is probably the most beautiful thing God has
created on a human being! (This would be a great time forthe niqabistto
jump in). But let's ask ourselves the question of which is more attractive:
a) an image of a face with the hair covered or
b) an image of hair with the face covered
Almost anybody (especially the niqabist) can
agree that the first option is the mostattractive. Most men may probably agree that
they would rather see skin thanfilamentous
biomaterial (i.e. hair). With this same notion of
hiding her beauty, should the woman now
cover her face?
Women are told that their hairshould only be
revealed to their husbands. They are told to hide their beauty (i.e.
hair),yet they are freely able to beatify their faces with petrochemical
makeup and lipstick, highlighting their eyes, brows, and lips. Also, does
highlighting one's eyes with mascara, eyeliner, and eye shadow help men
to "lower their gaze" (24:30) or raise their gaze to stare at those
beautifully noticeable eyes? Wouldn't this directly help two eyes to meet
and stare? We must be skeptical of the makeup imams and ask
ourselves,why the double standards? Speaking of double standards, if hair
is such a private part, should men not cover their hair as well? Picture that
for a second.
While trying to sound equal, imamswill also preach in the masjid that the
man's hijabis lowering his gaze, whereas the woman's hijabis covering her
hair. However, this doesn't agree with the Qur'an, since Allah orders both
man andwoman to lower their gazes. So why simply stress on the man?
And it also creates a notion (which I have seen) that hijabisdon't have to
lower their gaze, staring at menas they walk by. This is the kind of
hypocrisy we are dealing with when our imamspreach fake
outwardlyteachings, forget about guarding one's heart from evil thoughts.
http://muslim-brothah.blogspot.com/2012/03/hijab-mandatory-or-not.html[20.5.2015. 21:06:55]
CONCLUSION
Whoever works any act of righteousness and has faith,- His/her endeavour
will not be rejected: We shall record it in his/her favor.(21:94)
Not choosing to wear a hijabdoes not make a woman immodest nor
unrighteous, as Allah will reward us for all our acts of goodness as
mentioned in the verse above.I am not against wearinghijab, but nor am I
against not wearing one. I am not against the idea of a hijabjust as much
asI am not against a baseball cap, a tuque, or a wig. A woman should
have the right to choose if she would like to wear one or not.But Muslim
women should not be discriminated against or judged for not wearing one.
I know a precious girl who was righteous and modest, yet she did not wear
hijab. Some of the hijab-wearing girls were out doing immodest things, and
in the end, the modestnon-hijabi was looked down upon by them for not
wearing the hijab. How twisted and backwards have we become to think
like this?Let's leave the judging to Al-Hakam, The Judge.
http://muslim-brothah.blogspot.com/2012/03/hijab-mandatory-or-not.html[20.5.2015. 21:06:55]
Qur'an, comes from guarding your chastity. And true modesty comes from:
And tell the believing women to lower their gaze and be modest, and to
display of their adornment only that which is apparent, and to draw their
covers over their bosoms, and not to reveal their adornment ... (Quran
24:31)
Related Articles:
Is Hijab Mandatory in Islam: Part II
Hijab & Niqab in the Qur'an
http://muslim-brothah.blogspot.com/2012/03/hijab-mandatory-or-not.html[20.5.2015. 21:06:55]
No comments:
Post a Comment
Comment as:
Publish
Notify me
Preview
Newer Post
Home
Older Post
http://muslim-brothah.blogspot.com/2012/03/hijab-mandatory-or-not.html[20.5.2015. 21:06:55]
Muslim Brothah
SUNDAY, 4 NOVEMBER 2012
FOLLOWERS
ABOUT ME
Say [O Muhammad]: "Who forbids the nice things God has created for His
creatures, and the good provisions?" Say: "Such provisions are to be
enjoyed in this life by those who believe. Moreover, the good provisions will
be exclusively theirs on the Day of Resurrection." We thus explain the
revelations for people who know.[Quran 7:32]
BLOG ARCHIVE
2012 (6)
November
(1)
Al-Mumin
View my complete
profile
Is Hijab
Mandatory
in Islam:
Part II
April (1)
INTRODUCTION
If you haven't read Part I, it can be read here. The above verse was
revealed to Prophet Muhammad (pbuh), with God ordering him to "say", in
response to something that he was facing at that time, as seen with the
context. It was most likely similar to things that Jews forbid when Jesus
came to them with clear signs. So why do many Muslims keep forbidding
hair, the filamentous biomaterial that grows from follicles found in the
dermis? Why do they treat the head like a private part, when really it is
no different (in attractiveness) than their face, or many would say it doesn't
even come close to being more attractive than the face! And even if
hairwas to be covered, why would this include ears?
OTHER SCHOLARLY INTERPRETATIONS
There are people who attest thatkhimardoes not mean head-cover, and
they are definitelynot alone in questioning this notion. Check out scholars
of Indonesia, Turkey, Libya, and Iraq; orsee works by Khaled Abou El Fadl,
Amina Wadud, Fatima Mernissi, Leila Ahmed, Dr. Ibrahim B. Syed
(President ofIslamic Research Foundation International, Inc).Majority of
salafi/wahhabi scholars and their translators insist that khimar means headcover,onlybecause they resort to ahadithwhich possibly imply that the
women (culture and norms of that time)did cover their heads (but as did
men also). Perhaps it is orthodox vs un-orthodox? However, this is a poor
way to translate the Qur'an. We should not fall into this trap, becausekh
mm r( )or khimar(in Quran, 24:31) is also mentioned in reference
to wine and intoxicants, describing them as "covering" the intellect.
Therefore,khimar orkh mm r()should be properly translated as
cover. If you have not read our previous blog post, please read it here.
http://muslim-brothah.blogspot.com/2012/11/hijab-is-not-islamic-part-ii.html[20.5.2015. 21:05:10]
March (1)
February (1)
January (2)
"If you think the difference between heaven and hell is 45 inches of material, boy will you be surprised..."
[Amina Wadud]
times throughout the Qur'an, but there is no use of the word 'hijab' in
terms of women's dress code or head scarf.One may only begin to wonder
what other teachings have been made a part of our deenwhich have no
basis in Islam or that which was revealed unto Prophet Muhammad
(pbuh).
CULTURAL CONFUSION
How many other cultural practices and
norms that were not originally a part of
Islam have now been made Islamic today?
The face veil is just one example.This is
noted by historians and scholars alike:
http://muslim-brothah.blogspot.com/2012/11/hijab-is-not-islamic-part-ii.html[20.5.2015. 21:05:10]
"And do not speak lies for what your tongues describe: "This is HALAL and
that is HARAM, to forge a lie against Allah." [Quran 16:116]
Is this not interesting? How many imams and conservatives do you hear
yelling haramand halal? By telling people lawful things are haram, they
are stating that God says so, and since it is not true, this is
(unintentionally) forging a lie against Allah. Yusuf Alisimilarlytranslates
the last part as "ascribe false things to Allah", because one is making
people believe God said something when He (in fact) did not. This is a
perfect example for those who forbid the headof women, making their
exposed hair strands seem haram.It is as though Allah knew future
Muslims would fall into this very thinking that the "righteous" Jews of Jesus'
time did, when really it is they who were inventing what was haramand
http://muslim-brothah.blogspot.com/2012/11/hijab-is-not-islamic-part-ii.html[20.5.2015. 21:05:10]
what was halal (and not God). Furthermore, in response to our hijab
debates today, our Lord instructs us about dress code:
O ye Children of Adam! We have bestowed garment upon you to cover your
shame, as well as to be an adornment to you. But the garment of
righteousness - that is the best. Such are among the Signs of Allah,
that they may receive admonition(7:26)
Another instance where Allah could have chose to mention the garment
covering of the head as a religious requirement, but He did not.
WHAT ABOUT THE HIJAB HADITH?
http://muslim-brothah.blogspot.com/2012/11/hijab-is-not-islamic-part-ii.html[20.5.2015. 21:05:10]
would be useful for the devout Muslim. That hadith which you read was
compiled by Abu Dawud, more than 200 yearsafterthe Prophet's
departure. Here is a short biography of him:
"Imam Abu Dawud heard hadith from 300 persons who were histeachers.
Some were: ImamAhmad ibn Hanbal, Ishaq ibn Rahawaiy, Abu Thaur,
Yahya ibn Ma'in. For one to grasp his elevated status, he narrated hadith to
the teachers ofImam Ahmad.He completed its compilation at Bagdad in
241 A.H. He presented the completed compilationto his beloved teacher
Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal,who was greatly pleased at this collection."
It's interesting how many times you hear the mention of Imam Ahmad. It
sounds very similar to how the Gospels were written. Here is one example
from the writer of Luke, presenting hishadithwork to his beloved leader:
"...it seemed good to me also, having followed all things closely for some
time past, to write an orderly account for you,most excellent The-oph'ilus".
An example of how people can use ahadith to mislead the masses:
Abu Yala narrated in his Musnad from Ibn Abbaas that the Prophet said:
The bonds of Islam and the bases of religion are three, on which Islam
was founded. Whoever gives up one of them becomes a kaafir thereby
and it is permissible to shed his blood: the testimony that there is no
god but Allah, the prescribed prayers and fasting Ramadan.
http://muslim-brothah.blogspot.com/2012/11/hijab-is-not-islamic-part-ii.html[20.5.2015. 21:05:10]
and even the grey hair on our headswhen we become old (19:4 and
30:54). But none of these verses mention the covering of a woman's head.
If a head cover was so mandatory for a woman, why would Allah not have
mentioned covering her head? If our Lord could mention eating birds off
one's head, why not simply for a woman to cover her head? It is simple
logic--simply because Allah does not require a headscarf for women. It is a
shame there are those who try to place words in God's mouth. If covering
a woman's head was mandatory, our Lord would have said so, just as He
instructs her to wash her head before prayer (5:6). Hair is not forbidden in
the Qur'an, and women need not be bashed for refusing tocensortheir
hair. A woman can still have faith and practice Islam without a head scarf.
Furthermore, Allah does speak about hair in the Qur'an, and there is no
mention of banning women's hair.
Related Articles:
Is Hijab Mandatory in Islam: Part I
Hijab & Niqab in the Qur'an
Posted by Al-Mumin at 14:06
Labels: 24:31, abayah, adultery, beauty, bosom, hadith, hair, halal, haram, hijab, hijab in
islam, Islam, islamic dress, khimar, modesty, muhammad, Quran, sunnah, women
No comments:
Post a Comment
Comment as:
Publish
Preview
http://muslim-brothah.blogspot.com/2012/11/hijab-is-not-islamic-part-ii.html[20.5.2015. 21:05:10]
Notify me
Home
Older Post
http://muslim-brothah.blogspot.com/2012/11/hijab-is-not-islamic-part-ii.html[20.5.2015. 21:05:10]