Wednesday, October 26
7ijab; is it a must in Islam?This issue has been a matter of controversy for centuries. I tried to research it so many times before to answer these question :
1- Did Islam actually set 7ijab (covering all women’s body except for the face and the hands) as a must ( (واجب )for Moslem women?
2- What are the punishments/ rewards that a woman is getting if she refuses to wear 7ijab provided that she is dressed decently?
In my quest I only found two verses in Quran which were vaguely addressing this issue:
- "Say to the believing men that they should lower their gaze and guard their modesty; that will make for greater purity for them; and Allah is well acquainted with all that they do. And say to the believing women that they should lower their gaze and guard their modesty; and that they should not display their beauty and ornaments except what must ordinarily appear thereof; that they should draw their veils over their chests and not display their beauty except to their husbands, their fathers..." [continuing list of family members and others in front of whom women are exempt from covering] (Qur'an 24:30-31
- "O Prophet! Tell thy wives and daughters, and the believing women, that they should cast their outer garments over their persons...that they should be known and not molested." [Chapter 33, verse 59]
First; in both verses I believe God is addressing the prophet regarding his women (omahat elmo’mineen) especially in the second verse, but let’s say for the sake of argument that the quote “believing women” is an address to all Moslem women, but where does it say that the head and the entire body should be covered except for the face and hands?
Second; to me; both verses are addressing virtue in society as a whole, and specifically asking women to be virtuous and decent with their clothing. In the first verse there was a direct address to cover the bosom and I don’t see any thing about the head or any other parts of the body.
Then where did the notion of 7ijab as is worn today come from?
The only explanation I received was what mentioned in the verse “and that they should not display their beauty and ornaments except what must ordinarily appear” which, in my opinion, was left short for man to contemplate as he wishes. And that’s what most Islamic preachers used for stating a rule that was not clearly mentioned in Quran. And the fact that all 3olama were men, actually until today, that explains why so much stress was exerted on women when it comes to the issue of 7ijab.
As it came to my knowledge that these preachers took their rules from tradition (7adeath), mostly from this one:
"Ayesha (R) reported that Asmaa the daughter of Abu Bakr (R) came to the Messenger of Allah (S) while wearing thin clothing. He approached her and said: 'O Asmaa! When a girl reaches the menstrual age, it is not proper that anything should remain exposed except this and this. He pointed to the face and hands." (Abu Dawood)
And although a lot of Moslem refer to 7adeath as their base in explaining facts in Quran, I don’t see why rules should be applied as per 7adeath, especially when it’s not clearly stated in Quran, for many reasons:
First; Quran is explicit in its rules; for each and every action of all social issues was clearly explained and rules were set, moreover punishment and reward is stated for each and every action. Then why were the rules of 7ijab left to man? unless it was put by man and not by God.
Second; it is ironic that the 7adeaths that were documented in the most reliable source; AlSaheeh for example were mostly written on the tongues of people who hardly accompanied the prophet for long. For example; Abo Horayra who wrote more that 5,000 7adeaths did not accompany the prophet more than a year, while the rest like the prophet’s students (elkholafas and others) who accompanied him all his life did not write one tenth of those 7adeaths mentioned in AlSa7a7.
And let me quote Dr.Kamel AlNajar in his book “ قراءة نقدية للإسلام click here” and his logical analysis for not considering 7adeath as a credited source:
“وهناك بلا شك احاديث عديدة ملفقة ومنسوبة للنبي، باسنادٍ جيد. وحتى كتب الحديث المشهورة مثل صحيح البخاري ( توفي عام 238 هجرية)
يصعب الاعتماد عليها لانه جمعها بعد حوالي مائتين عاماً بعد وفاة الرسول ويقول المستشرق جولدزرGoldziher )
أنه لا يمكن القول ان أي حديث هو حديث صحيح قاله النبي، لان صناعة الحديث وصلت ذروتها في الدولة العباسية التي حاول خلفاؤها تبرير اغتصابهم الحكم من الامويين، فأوعزوا الى علمائهم باختراع احاديث تساندهم وتذم العلويين.[109] وقد جمع بعض رواة الحديث أكثر من ثلاثمائة ألف حديث، بعضها مناقض لبعض. وأعتمد البخاري ألفين فقط من كل هذه الاحاديث واعتبر البقية منحولة. فإذا كذب الناس في الاحاديث المنسوبة للنبي، كيف نصدق رواياتهم عن جمع القرآن؟”
My conclusion to the first question is that 7ijab is not a must (واجب) as women are lead to believe, although virtue is, God did not enforce it on women, why did man do that?
Most probably because we never had a woman preacher (3alimah) throughout the history of Islam, and if you can convince me otherwise, please feel free to do so.
As for the second question I personally did not find any directed punishment toward the refusal of wearing 7ijab (covering all but hands and face).
Name::AyyA
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39 Comments:
I'm not in the proper position to give you the answers. But I have wrote a post about my hijab experience that you might be interested in reading.
:)
True faith
I read your post and let me differ with you on one point; 7ijab (as worn today) is not imposed by God but by man. while I do agree with you that to each his own; I mean if it makes you feel free as you have stated in your post, then it’s a matter of personal preference. You should be free to choose to wear or not to wear 7ijab.
Mcarabian
Exactly; this is the point I want to reach as well.
why do you get in this mood only in ramadan?
and I did not read the post, I was blinded by the colors.
Purgy
This mood is all around me in Ramadan, and I can’t help it.
wi ba3dain, you never read my posts anyway; either because they’re too long or because they’re too poetic. And before changing my template you did not read because the overall color was depressing, so now you can add colors as another excuse, but you’re always welcome; damik khafeef 3ala gulbi :p
I have chosen to wear it :)
And happy to do :)
I know you just cannot get enough of me.
If the hijab is not a must, then why do women cover their hair during prayer?
If the hijab is not mentioned in the Quran and is optional, then the way we prepare for prayer (wo'6oo2) or how we go about our prayers (rokoo3, sojood..etc) are totally optional because they haven't been mentioned either.
I will wear it for 30 days and tell you about my experience
i would like to know where you got the idea that Abo Horayra lived only a year with the prophet ?
Abo Horayra was known to live in the mosque , he didn't have a trade to tend to , so he spent most of his time in the mosque and thats why he narrated most hadiths
True faith
I respect that
Purgy
:p
3baid
I will not go into wothoo, rokoo3, sojood for now, because these are out of my subject, but let’s concentrate on 7ijab, and I think you raised an interesting question here. Let’s see;
Covering your body and using the scarf in prayer was not invented by Islam. It was a tradition of the aristocratic women, in all religions, to wear a scarf when visiting holy places and during prayer. Some Christian women, of what I personally witnessed, still practice this tradition today. And it was done out of respect to those places and to the sacred moments when meeting God. Those societies preceded Islam in centuries.
Bo jaij
Uuuuuuuuz 3an siwalfic ;)
Forzaq8
check this
first thing i saw was
" The neutrality of this article is disputed.
Please see discussion on the talk page. "
for your information , some shia do not trust him ( for what ever reason )
Bravo Ayya,
Well, I'm trying to find the source where I read that Hijab wasn't (wajib) and at that time women AND men used to wear it.
الحجاب يشبه الدشداشة والغترة والعقال..لباس حقبة و رقعة جغرافية معينة ...تعميمه مفاجئة ومفارقة تاريخية غريبة
انتشاره يجعل الإنسان أمام سؤال مهم: لماذا ما أراه بديهياً يختلف عليه ملايين البشر؟
أكيد فيني شي؟
مع احترامي لكل المحجبات...وحبي لصديقة عمري المحجبة
Forsaq8
As far as I’m concerned, it was all politics after the death of the prophet. Which, unfortunately, diluted the essence of Islam and forged history. And along with it, we inherited the misconceptions. The issue of 7ijab was no exception because both sects were ruled by men preachers.
And I find it odd that the shee3at who despised 3aisha, prophet’s wife, since the battle of Aljamal when she fought Ali, and who did not accept a lot of 7adeaths said by her would still comply to the only 7adeath that addresses face and hands through her and which was mentioned only in one reference ( Dawood)
It all boils down to politics.
Papillona
You might find this site interesting as a start.
Princess
Ta3meem el7ijab laisat mofaraga wala mofajah if we think of religion as a political issue. Yes short dishdasha and long beards as well as wearing 7ijab is a political issue, it was imposed on us through men who used Quran verses to create the Islamic identity. But I think they have gone too far by imposing what God did not enforce on us. And although the ones complying with it do not know this fact and they do it in an effort to be closer to God and I respect that, but I think it was all created for political reasons.
Btw; I was myself mo7ajaba for three years before I was convinced that it was not an order from God and I was not molzama to wear it.
I am not a one to preach because the wrong 'fatwa' is extremely haram. I am sure if you speak to sheikhs who have been studying the Quran thoroughly ALL of their lives, they'd try to answer your questions. The Quran is full of hidden things that are not so easy to interpret.
Wearing a hijab is not just covering yourself with garments so no one can see parts of your body, but respecting yourself and others around you, acting in a such a way where you dont drive men into temptation, portraying purity etc.
I am not sure how u interpreted Verse 30-31 but to me it definitely means that women should cover beauty. Hair can attract, showing parts of your body can attract, its simple. We are human beings and it is natural for a man to get tempted when he sees a woman revealing parts of her body. This would only mean wearing the hijab in the PROPER way will make a woman avoid men looking at her as a sexual product. We can't fight that, its biological.
Take religion aside and try to make sense of it without thinking that Islam has imposed it on Muslim women.
I think I talked too much. Take carez.
Interesting & controversial post. I won’t go to whether 7ejab is wajeb or not, Ayya you did a good job.
What I don’t understand are the explanations given by supporters of 7ijab. For example:
If 7ijab was imposed to protect woman’s virtue and to spare her man’s sexual advances; then why do women (even mu7ajabat) are harassed in our streets more than in non-muslim countries? Even in Mecca and during the 6awaf women are not spared!!
A man will see a woman as a potential mate all the time. You can’t fight human impulses with a piece of cloth, what we need are open minds not closed heads!
Covered or otherwise
hope:
I agree with the beholder, covered or not, women are subject to harassments any where.And why does it always concerns men's feelings? What about us women? Haven't you ever got attracted by a good looking man or a guy with a nice body? Or you find a guy with a bit of a long hair and beautiful eyes somehow attractive and your hormones go up and down? Or we're not human beings too? Don't you see it's all about self control?
i love my hijab ^_^ and i agree fully with hope, if you put religion aside and use your head you'll know why hijab is wajib.
What most of us tend to forget is "7ijab" is NOT a physical cloth that covers your hair, its more then that. hijab is attitude, modesty and much more..it's beyond physical and its a whole package. We have a lot of girls that cover their hair, but arent m7jabat.
Though i see where your argument is coming from, and the questions you pose are quite valid. If you'd like direct answers to your questions, contact me and i'll try to help
Hope
You are right about “the wrong 'fatwa' is extremely haram”, then don’t you think that what shiyookhs are doing when forbidding something that God did not forbid is 7aram?
I have asked shiyookhs before and debated with some, they did not have any logical explanation except” it is agreed unanimously that 7ijab is a must” or (wajib bil ijma3). Which means that it is ijtihad and not a direct order.
If you read the link I provided for Papillona, you will find a very interesting debate between law consultant Mr. Alashmawi and Mofti Egypt Dr. Tantawi. It’s a bit long but it clears many aspects of the tafseer that might help you understand the meaning of the verse from two different sides, then you decide for yourself which one makes more sense.
Let’s analyze God orders in the order it appeared in the verse:
1- Believing Men should lower their gaze and guard their modesty.
2- Believing women that they should lower their gaze and guard their modesty.
Pay attention here that God treated men and women the same when it comes to gazing because both men and women are subject to be attracted to one another and it’s not solely a man thing. So all this gibberish about women being 3ora and fitnah are nonsense created by men. And here God is asking both genders to practice control.
3- Women should not display their beauty and ornaments except what must ordinarily appear.
4- Women should draw their veils over their chests and not display their beauty except to their husbands, their fathers …
Number three and four is directed to women only because it’s a natural propensity of women to use make-up and revealing clothes to attract men. Here also comes the question of control and virtue. Now where does it say cover all your body except your head and hands? If God wanted that he would have mentioned it instead of mentioning only bosom.
“I”
Thank you dear and I do agree with you.
Faith
Let me tell you first that in this post I’m not trying to degrade women with 7ijab, as I said earlier I was once one of them myself and a lot of my dear friends still are. Actually this whole argument started with a friend who’s very religious and God fearing but she does not wear 7ijab although she feels guilty about it. And I don’t see why she should because in her deeds she had shown a character close to saint if I may say. I have given her some sites to see for herself and promised her that I will post it and make my opinion public so that if anyone has any say then it would be clear for her to decide, at least not to feel guilty. And if I did not believe in what I had mentioned above, or if I had any doubts, I wouldn’t have posted it. So if you have anything to say, you are welcome to take any space you like. After all, this will be a healthy discussion and each has his own mind to judge.
You said
” What most of us tend to forget is "7ijab" is NOT a physical cloth that covers your hair, its more then that. hijab is attitude, modesty and much more..it's beyond physical and its a whole package. We have a lot of girls that cover their hair, but arent m7jabat”
By God this is the truth and this is exactly what Quran verses are addressing ;VIRTUE.
very interesting topic. I've always heard similar debates among friends, most agreeing that in Islam, the Quran is not the only source of reference; that you have to depend on 'ijtihadat' of certain religious people, with that, of course, you would expect a margin of error. People are not perfect. No matter how well-read a religious figure is, he (and yes it is always a he) is fallible. I guess it's a matter of trusting one who has more knowledge than you do, to make that decision for you.
I'm in no way advocating 7ijab. lol. no way at all. just posing the argument here
ECLECTIC
This is exactly our dilemma, not only in the issue of 7ijab, but also on many issues concerning our conduct in life; the ambiguousness and the need for clarification. Religion is supposed to be extensive since it contains rules and orders from the supreme, yet we see it left to man to decide what God had intended. And in this case no tow would agree on the same subject unless there is an agenda behind it.
Hanan
“I guess it's a matter of trusting one who has more knowledge than you do, to make that decision for you”
Very interesting insight and the very logic that most abide to in every little details such as; should I remove my nail polish when I perform wothoo or not?. Yet the trust does not come voluntarily, meaning:
When you are born you do not choose your religion nor even the sect that you want to follow, therefore; you are lead to follow whom you were inherited to trust. And most of them are organized politicians that are disguised in religious outfits. Some even go as far as saying that I won’t be sinning if I do that since he who is releasing such fatwa will bare the punishment and it’s only safer to abide, and not realizing that by their resignation they are only contributing to such organizations.
meh...Happy Eid y'all :D
Badoor
Ok, since you and Bo jaij insist; then I have a better deal for you. How about wearing dishdasha/guitar and 3igal as long as you are out in the company of strange women. You have to perform all your activities whether in sports or otherwise while wearing your dishdashas and covering your heads, try to manage that for a month and let me know how the experience is :)
Hope
Same to you sweetie
Hi Ayya :)
Due to some (not all) of the same arguments that have been brought up in this discussion... I have not yet been able to enbrace the Hijab...
I can tell you how worried my mom gets about the state of my faith when I try to discuss my p.o.v. regarding this matter :P hehehe
In any case, I do believe the Hijab is encouraged, if not 100% essential. Because of this, such arguments against the Hijab should be used to excuse those who can't or just don't wish to wear it, instead of to discourage or criticize those who want to.
Afterall, I think it's commendable and quite respectable if a young lady wishes to forsake her vanity for the sake of a more chaste appearance... And I think nobody has the right to call them sheep for doing something they believe in.
Gigi, neutrally
i have alot to say here
but for personal reasons i would prefer to not tell , mn bab " 3adam tagleb elmwaj3 " :p
And thanks for the link Ayya dear .
" Ashkara fe kalam egarg3 eb gaLBe oo shakle bared again :p"
q8leo76
I totally agree with you :)
Gigi
I totally agree with your neutral thoughts :)
Eva
You can say whatever you want dear so long that you don’t offend others, and I don’t believe that you are the type :)
Be my guest, the space is all yours.
it has nothing to do with others 3zeztee , it's totally about me ..." Lebs el7jab or 3dma 6ol 3umra shay shakh9ee akeed " and how i see 7jab something related with " Mar7aLa Mo3ayanna" i got over it now but am still stuck with it
the thing is i didn't look for the a7adeeth / ayaat ..when i did wear it .
i attended droos deneya 3 years ago / y3nee 17 lil girl that goes with everything eb t6arrof:p , i was like am perfect mo nag9ne ella el7jaB:P .. hmmm !
do i need to speak more ?
LOL
Go ahead, it might be a great help for others who have gone through the same experience. And I emphasize here that wearing it should be a personal preference, and I do not blame the ones who wear excessive make-up and tight clothes with 7ijab since this act is forced on them and they had to abide. And I don’t understand why people put them under microscope with any behavior they conduct. This reminds me of an incident I encountered in Malaysia when I caught my mom preaching the proper Islamic dress code to a Malaysian mo7ajaba whose shirt had a sleeve that covered only half of her arm. It astounded me how she never interfered with my clothing and my sister’s clothing which were much more reveling than the poor Malaysian girl, which was an irony, and I asked my mother about it and she said” since she made a decision to wear 7ijab, she has to either wear it properly or don’t” which is nonsense, bas shitgooleen laha?
Magool ella elshai6aan sha6er :p
when n e one asks me " Shlon t7jbtay ? " , i get this Q alot coz my mom is not met7jba
i go like " ga9 3alay elshai6an :p "
o lama astawb3 ena wyohom tghayaret , 3ala 6ool " LOL AM JOKING HERE "
awal ma t7jbt kint waid metshadeda bil lebs , mostly tanora 6wela with a top ... now hal shay tghayyar i can't remember the last time lebast tanora 6wela .. you know " BADNA N3eesh " .. i still respect el7jab elle 7a6eta i don't go over with my lebs o hatha elle mt3wda 3aleh mn gabl el7jab.. gabel kint a3alleq 3ala elmt7jbat elle lebs'hum ghala6..ok i still do etha ellebs kan over ghala6 :p
el7jab kan ekhteyar oo eqtena3 thateee o akeed fe ashia2 athert 3alay y3nee dah i was a teenager ;p
but i remember before that a friend " she's too dayna " gave me shre6 3amro khaled about 7jaab .. Le yoomch ma sm3ta coz i was like " ana mqtn3a khalas ma a7taj asm3 more " .. i through it away days ago : )
shelle ghayyar afkaree.. shelle ghayyarnee.. ashiaa2 waida.. i see it shay 6bee3ee
كل خطوة اخطوها.. تتطلب التخلي عن اليقين
can't remember where did i read this , but i agree " Qna3at tro7 . Qna3at T'TheL .. " this is Life and we learn something new everyday.
i know am not the only girl who "changed her mind " in this .. but i know we r few who just talk about it with others .
I was just the same as you dear and I wore 7ijab for more than three years after returning from 7aj, although neither my mom nor my sister wore 7ijab, not even my half sister or my friends. And my ideologies changed as well when I started digging more into religion. But the decision to take it off was the hardest. Although none of my acquaintance, at that time, wore it, they all shamed me for taking it off. And I was working at that time and you can imagine the attitudes of the ones who surrounded me LOL.
Some of my friends who were not mo7ajabat started wearing 7ijab much later, and others took it off more than one time. I had to be sure before I take it off that I won’t decide to wear it again. Ya3ni; I did not take it off because it bothered me, as a matter of fact it drew more attention to my face, which was always covered with long hair, I even had more compliments from guys. Yet, I did it because I was convinced that virtue does not come from a cloth on my head, it comes from proper upbringing. It comes from my intentions, but. Nevertheless, I was terrified to take it off. My fears came from the notion that I had with elda3iyat who brainwashed me by saying that on resurrection day I will be pulled from my hair straight to hell; which is pure terrorism of the mind. And that’s how I started my own research and stopped listening to fairytales.
Thank you dear for sharing your experience.
Ayya, I really liked the way you presented the subject (and dealt with comments)! As a Western girl, I always wonder why some Muslim girls choose (or are required) to wear hijab, and some others do not, and at the same time I find it wrong to say that the "covered" ones are more devoted than others. Thank you for this discussion and for making the origins of hijab tradition clearer to me.
Qatar girl
Welcome aboard dear and I’m glad that you found this information useful.
raf
LOL
Actually there was a women preacher in islam and she preached islam to other women in her time and that women is Sayeda Zeinab, granddaughter of the prophet Muhammad (SAWS)
Thank You
Anony
Where there any women preacher preaching to both genders in Islamic history? none that I know of.
Hi Aya,
I found this entry at the time when I am thinking about taking my 7ijab off. I have been wearing it for 10 years now and never read about it or researched it except two months ago. When my study started, my life turned upside down. Religious rules I had taken for granted turned out to be 'questionable'. Hijab was only one issue and it's driving me crazy.
Quraan can be interpreted differently. So why do I trust those who say it was a must and not believe the others? If there is ijma3 of (male) scholars, don't they use the same life long resources? What about the 7adith between Prohphet Mohamed (pbuh) and Asmaa bint Abi Bakr? Isn't it a weak hadith after all?
I know that 'sound heart' is what matters and that hijb is an outer thing. But I have to admit that I know very good hijabis and non-hijabis as well as terrible examples of both.
So you must be asking why I won't take it off.
I am not sure I'll be right. I am scared this is all Shaitan. I want to be 120 % convinced it's not obligatory before I face the 'social and family' music. I don't want to be scared all the time I'll be punished in this life and the afterlife for being stubborn when truth has been revealed to me.
What I wish you could share with me is:
- How did u come to the conclusion it wasn't must?
- What happens to other issues that scholars interpret differently? (e.g. killing whoever leaves Islam!!)
Hi Khulkhal
Actually you are posting on my old blog. I have moved to www.3asal.wordpress for better organization. All my old posts are transferred there. And under Atheism or Islam contradictories categories, you may fine many articles touching on the issues of that you enquired and more. And I would love to have you as my reader.
As for “How did I come to the conclusion it wasn't must?”, I have been a Mu7ajaba myself once. I wore 7ijab because like you I believed it was a must. It was also the time when I decided to get closer to God through understanding him more. Through finding answers to many questions that bothered me before and may be caused my inadequacy as a Muslim. I tried asking Ahl El3ilm, and was disappointed on how much they belittled my brains with their long-exhausted, ready-made answers that said everything but indirectly avoided the main subject. One question, for instance: When Islam tells me that it granted me all my rights as a woman and I do not feel it, then there must be something wrong, either with Islam or with its interpreters. I blamed it on the latter, and distrusted them, and conducted the search on my own. As soon as I found out about the 7ijab, I took it off, not regretting the act, nor fearing the society. I do not like to have 7ijab imposed on me. When I wore it, it was my decision, and when I took it off, it was my belief. But that was not the only thing I did. As you said, the more you search, the more disappointed you get. And the more disappointed I got, the less I trusted my religion. I also searched other religions and found out that basically they’re all the same. I have no doubt in my mind that religion(s) is man-made. It wasn’t easy to reach this conclusion though, it was painful; it cost me a lifetime.
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