[Assam] 'Born Muslim' Assamese girls and others may find this gentle touch on a misconception informative.

Fri Jan 26 15:14:00 EST 2007

no religion says that you must wear clothes then why do we all wear clothes? Even in hot and humid parts of India -esp. Eastern India and Mumbai region. where clothes are always wet with perspiration in summers.

  Umesh

Bartta Bistar <barttabistar at googlemail.com> wrote:

Does Islam require a Muslim woman to veil her face?
http://www.bangladesh-web.com/view.php?hidDate=2007-01-25&hidType=FEA&hidRecord=0000000000000000147091 

Friday January 19 2007 17:30:48 PM BDT

ABM Nurul Islam

The October 15, 2006 issue of the Daily Star, Dhaka carried a photo of a British Muslim woman, fully veiled except for her eyes, protesting in Blackburn with a placard that read: " Jack Straw: Oppressor of Muslim Women". Jack Straw, MP is in the news because he requests Muslim women to remove their face cover when they come to meet him in his surgery. Question is: " Is Jack Straw the oppressor or are the Muslim women oppressing themselves out of misconception?" Let us examine. 

1. Quranic prescription of dress for Muslim women is contained basically in two verses: 33:59 and 24:31. [Verse 24:60 deals specifically with dress concessions for elderly woman that is not our focus here]. In verse 33: 59, Allah says (translation by A. Yusuf Ali [1]): 

"O prophet! tell thy wives and daughters and the believing women that they should cast their outer garments over their persons (when abroad): that is most convenient that they should be known (as such) and not molested: and Allah is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful." 

Yusuf Ali in his commentary [2] on the above verse states: "The object was not to restrict the liberty of women, but to protect them from harm and molestation." Nor was it a must. That is, if a Muslim woman sincerely tries to observe this rule, but owing to human weakness, falls short of the ideal, then "Allah is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful"". 

The critical Arabic word in the original verse is Jilbab that has been translated by A. Yusuf Ali as an outer garment; a long gown covering the whole body; or a cloak covering the neck and bosom.

Maududi interprets the same verse as: "All the Muslim women were enjoined to cover their faces with their sheets if and when they had to go out of their houses." [3] 

Whatever may be the interpretation for the word Jilbab, it is quite obvious that the requirements are quite strict.

In verse 24:31, Allah lays down:

"And say to the believing women that they should lower their gaze and guard their modesty; 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

.." [1] 

It is seen clearly from the above verse that (1) Allah does not specifically ask for covering of the hair or face, (2) does allow display of certain parts of beauty and ornaments (that must ordinarily be exposed) and (3) specifically calls for covering of the bosoms only. Moreover, Allah has not set any details of what to be seen or not to be seen of the women possibly to allow space for different cultures, climates and environments that would ultimately come under the umbrella of Islam. 

Since the verse 33:59 is much stricter compared to verse 24:31, it is important to know their chronological order in revelation. Sura 33 (The Clans) was revealed in A.H. 5. As regards Sura 24 (Light), there is some controversy about its exact period of revelation. However, Maududi conclusively shows [3] that the majority of Islamic scholars accept that it was revealed in the latter half of 6 A.H. i.e. several months after Sura 33.

Maududi thinks that the verse 24:31 is complementary to the verse 33:59. This is open to question. If someone has already covered herself up as required in verse 33:59, with a loose outer garment or a cloak covering neck and bosom, then what need is there for covering of the bosoms additionally with a veil or sheet as required in verse 24: 31? This would be a case of modesty overkill and unseemly to look at. The more plausible explanation would be that the Beneficent had reduced the requirements in the latter verse thus abrogating the earlier requirements. This is akin to the case of drinking where first Muslims were asked not to come to mosque while in intoxicated state (verse 4:43) and later on came the order of ban on drinking alcohol. If the move from a lenient to stricter regulation is willingly accepted, why should not one accept a move from a stricter regulation to a softer one? After all it is the prerogative of the Almighty as to what He will relax and what to
 tighten. But our orthodox Maulanas have a propensity only to tighten the screw. 

2. During Hajj when millions of Muslims congregate at Makkah, it is forbidden for women performing Hajj to cover their faces ["As for a woman pilgrim, 

she is forbidden to use perfumed clothes, a veil that covers the face, and gloves" (Fiqh-us-Sunnah)]. If covering the face were a necessity for modesty, Hajj would have been the right time to enforce it with full rigidity. 

3. Dr. Yusuf Al-Qaradawi, currently considered to be the most authoritative spokesman on Islam, in his very popular book " The Lawful and the Prohibited in Islam" [4], infers from Allah's words, " Tell the believing men that they should lower their gazes" (24:30) that the faces of the women in Prophet's time were not veiled. Had the entire body including the face been covered, it would have made no sense to command them to lower their gaze, since there would have been nothing to be seen. 

4. In the well-known Hadith (Abu Daoud) narrated by Hz. Aisha, Prophet (pbuh) tells his sister-in-law Asma: " When a woman begins to menstruate, nothing should be seen of her except this and this" and he pointed to his face and hands. 

5. Islam as a religion is liberal enough to regard dress as not just to cover the human body, but insists on it being elegant and beautiful.

In Sura 7, verses 26 and 31, Allah says:

"O ye children of Adam! We have bestowed raiment upon you to cover your shame as well as to be an adornment to you but the raiment of righteousness that is the best. Such are among the signs of Allah that they may receive admonition!" (7: 26) 

"O children of Adam! Wear your beautiful apparel at every time and place of prayer: eat and drink: but waste not by excess for Allah loveth not the wasters." (7: 31)

Although this Sura was revealed in the last year of Prophet's (pbuh) life in Makkah i.e. the year before Hizrat, I do not think that it contradicts the rulings that came later on in A.H. 5-6. One can dress modestly, correctly and decently at the same time. One's dress should enhance one's personality and not obliterate his or her identity. 

The form of veil being worn by women in Afghanistan (shuttle cock type burqa completely covering from head to toe) or in Iran (black, oversized Chador like a billowing sail) cannot by any stretch of imagination be considered as elegant or beautiful. There is no reason why a veil, properly designed to meet Islamic tenets, cannot be elegant as well. 

Conclusion

A segment of Muslim women worldwide are in a holier-than-thou competition to cover up as much as possible. Little do they realize that if they let the Mullahs dictate then ultimately their role would be restricted to the kitchen; as providers of sexual services to their husbands and rearing of children. 

Veiling the face robs a woman of her identity and dehumanizes her and is not required either by Quranic injunctions or traditions of the Prophet (pbuh).

Religion is too important to be left to those who have taken it up as their profession. Modern Muslims should study religion and come to their own conclusion on important issues. To this end, not knowing Arabic is not a big hindrance. Plenty of good translations are available, particularly in English. 

References

1. The Holy Qurán, Text, English translation of the meanings and Commentary. Revised and edited by The Presidency of Islamic Researches, IFTA, Call and Guidance, Government of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. [A. Yusuf Ali's work modified by the Saudi Govt.] 

2.The Holy Qurán, Text, Translation and Commentary by Abdullah Yusuf Ali. Publication of Islamic Education Centre, P.O.Box 6720, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. [A. Yusuf Ali's original work]

3.A. Maududi's Sura introductions as quoted in CD "ALIM", an Islamic software. 

4." The Lawful and the Prohibited in Islam" by Yusuf Al-Qaradawy, translated into English by Kamal El-Helbawy, M. Moinuddin Siddiqui and Syed Shukry and published by Saeed International, New Delhi.

==================================================================================================================== 
A.B.M,Nurul Islam
Dhaka
E-mail: nislam4 at gmail.com

The author, a former official of the IAEA, is a nuclear engineer. His first book, TRAVEL TALES, was published by the Outskirts Press, CO, USA in 2006. 

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