Hijaab in Islam - Answered by Dr. Zakir Naik
Dr. Zakir Naik clarifies about the concept of Hijaab in Islam.
Where there is a Veil...
Have you noticed how gradually the western women has been cheated by male dominating western society?. Yesterday it was with abortion. Now the debate over banning abortion is dead , Today the radical liberation can hit any Priest of Roman Catholic who opposes same sex marriages.
Unveiling the Hijab and Islamic Feminism.
Many women find that the equality they seek in feminism does not mean sameness. For them, it is no bother that Muslim women are urged to cover their hair, and that Muslim men are merely encouraged to grow beards and required to cover themselves from the navel to the knee. For them, equality lies in the eyes of God.
Hijab for Men
It is a misconception that hijab is only made for females. But hijab is first an obligation for males and after that it is an obligation for females. Hijab does not merely means covering body with a black cloth (known as burqa.) It includes a complete behavior and attitude apart from dressing modest.
An Advice for Non Hijabi Sisters
Shaykh Yassir Qadhi gives an advice to an honest sister who is unable to understand the concept of Hijaab in Islam
Tuesday, May 28, 2013
Why is My Hijab, Your Problem?
By: Aisha Aijaz
I am a woman, not a sexualized commodity; I am a human being just like you are.
I am a Hijabi and Hijab is my identity and my ideology.
I wasn’t a Hijabi by birth, nor did it come from an oppressing ‘Mullah’ father or brother. Oh no! No one can force me to do something which I do not want to do. It only came when I came to explore the message of God which I had been reading since childhood in Arabic and never knew what it meant as it’s not my first language. It started to make sense when I decoded it into a language which I could understand; Thanks to those scholars who made it a mission of their lives to transliterate the word of God for our convenience.
The importance of observing hijab for me gradually became connected to my belief in God and the question I asked myself often.
“I believe in God and His word, I love the Prophet (SAW) and for me the characters and dress code of Aisha and Fatima (Peace be upon them) are role models, then how come whenever I see a Hijabi, I relate it to backwardness.”
All these claims don’t fit into one frame and there began the war of ideas in me:
“You tell me Hijab is backward and you still are a proud non-apologetic Muslim, it can’t be true!”
It’s a part of my personality just like a Jewish kippah and Christian and jewish ‘hijabs’, my message of peace that I wear with pride. It’s about letting the world know, not to mess around with me as I (try to) keep my chastity and obey my Lord.
I am no slave of the corporate capitalistic industry which is bent upon publishing a naked woman to sell everything from a cigarette to a racing car.
It gives me liberation; freedom from being judged on a scale of inches, skin colour and figure details. I am free from the shackles of man, eyes of the evil world who evaluate women according to the length of her skirt and depth of her neckline; intelligence and character being secondary. (Ask a competent man who was rejected by a multimedia company in an interview and his beautiful and sexy but dumb competitor got the job).
With this piece of cloth on my head, I feel empowered as a woman. But a section of our society seems to have a problem with it. Some self-proclaimed Pakistani liberals labelled Hijab as a “dinner table napkin “or “solution of a bad hair day”.What is the world scared of, I wonder?
Think!
If you think my hijab tapered my IQ and threw me into the desert of Arabia some 1400 years behind, I seriously doubt yours. Remember how the prehistoric man lived?
What was the killer of Marwah Al Sherbini scared of? Was this 32-year old, three month pregnant pharmacist, a loving wife and a mother of a two year old, a threat to the world? Oh, mind you she was called a whore, a terrorist and stabbed 18 times in the German court and killed.
Was Shaima Alawadi a hazard? The loving mother killed and turned into a pool of blood in her house in America with a note next to her saying: “Go back to your country, you terrorist.”, was she a terrorist? No; her killers were! Racists and myopic terrorists scared of a defenceless woman with a piece of cloth on her head.
Are Hijabis the biggest threat in the French and other European societies that are banning hijab? Think!
Oh you thought I don’t have a choice? No! I have one and hijab is my choice just as obeying Allah and disobeying Him in rebellion is my birth right due to being a human being and I choose the former.
And in case you didn’t notice, some very successful women in the West are turning to Islam and opting for covering their bodies with modesty and have found peace.
I quote Yvonne Ridley, a journalist who reverted to Islam after she explored the Quran as a promise she made to Taliban, her captors in Afghanistan.
‘My dress tells you that I am a Muslim and that I expect to be treated respectfully, much as a Wall Street banker would say that a business suit defines him as an executive to be taken seriously. And, especially among converts to the faith like me, the attention of men who confront women with inappropriate, leering behaviour is not tolerable.’
Think rationally and decide! Why is my Hijab, a problem for the world?
I am a Hijabi and Hijab is my identity and my ideology.
I wasn’t a Hijabi by birth, nor did it come from an oppressing ‘Mullah’ father or brother. Oh no! No one can force me to do something which I do not want to do. It only came when I came to explore the message of God which I had been reading since childhood in Arabic and never knew what it meant as it’s not my first language. It started to make sense when I decoded it into a language which I could understand; Thanks to those scholars who made it a mission of their lives to transliterate the word of God for our convenience.
The importance of observing hijab for me gradually became connected to my belief in God and the question I asked myself often.
“I believe in God and His word, I love the Prophet (SAW) and for me the characters and dress code of Aisha and Fatima (Peace be upon them) are role models, then how come whenever I see a Hijabi, I relate it to backwardness.”
All these claims don’t fit into one frame and there began the war of ideas in me:
“You tell me Hijab is backward and you still are a proud non-apologetic Muslim, it can’t be true!”
It’s a part of my personality just like a Jewish kippah and Christian and jewish ‘hijabs’, my message of peace that I wear with pride. It’s about letting the world know, not to mess around with me as I (try to) keep my chastity and obey my Lord.
I am no slave of the corporate capitalistic industry which is bent upon publishing a naked woman to sell everything from a cigarette to a racing car.
It gives me liberation; freedom from being judged on a scale of inches, skin colour and figure details. I am free from the shackles of man, eyes of the evil world who evaluate women according to the length of her skirt and depth of her neckline; intelligence and character being secondary. (Ask a competent man who was rejected by a multimedia company in an interview and his beautiful and sexy but dumb competitor got the job).
With this piece of cloth on my head, I feel empowered as a woman. But a section of our society seems to have a problem with it. Some self-proclaimed Pakistani liberals labelled Hijab as a “dinner table napkin “or “solution of a bad hair day”.What is the world scared of, I wonder?
Think!
If you think my hijab tapered my IQ and threw me into the desert of Arabia some 1400 years behind, I seriously doubt yours. Remember how the prehistoric man lived?
What was the killer of Marwah Al Sherbini scared of? Was this 32-year old, three month pregnant pharmacist, a loving wife and a mother of a two year old, a threat to the world? Oh, mind you she was called a whore, a terrorist and stabbed 18 times in the German court and killed.
Was Shaima Alawadi a hazard? The loving mother killed and turned into a pool of blood in her house in America with a note next to her saying: “Go back to your country, you terrorist.”, was she a terrorist? No; her killers were! Racists and myopic terrorists scared of a defenceless woman with a piece of cloth on her head.
Are Hijabis the biggest threat in the French and other European societies that are banning hijab? Think!
Oh you thought I don’t have a choice? No! I have one and hijab is my choice just as obeying Allah and disobeying Him in rebellion is my birth right due to being a human being and I choose the former.
And in case you didn’t notice, some very successful women in the West are turning to Islam and opting for covering their bodies with modesty and have found peace.
I quote Yvonne Ridley, a journalist who reverted to Islam after she explored the Quran as a promise she made to Taliban, her captors in Afghanistan.
‘My dress tells you that I am a Muslim and that I expect to be treated respectfully, much as a Wall Street banker would say that a business suit defines him as an executive to be taken seriously. And, especially among converts to the faith like me, the attention of men who confront women with inappropriate, leering behaviour is not tolerable.’
Think rationally and decide! Why is my Hijab, a problem for the world?
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Tuesday, February 26, 2013
Hijab - Is it logical?
By: Sabiha Saifi
 |
| Your Choice!!! |
Ever wondered how beautiful a rose is… but after being used it is thrown in the dustbin!!! Ever noticed a pearl being deep inside the ocean covered in the shell, still it has got a super value and you will never see anybody even thinking of throwing down, leave about dustbin. What do u wish for yourself? A rose that is being used for pleasure for a time and then thrown in a dustbin or a pearl which has got an ever ending respect? Obviously, a pearl!
We are living in the 21st century, we believe in “logics” and we always require LOGIC before accepting anything. We need logical reasons before accepting any thing. We don’t believe in copying things blindly! We want a “logical life” and we want to live a life as per ourselves. In short, we believe in “I am what I am”!
Unfortunately… outrageously… though we don’t like to copy, but we do still copy blindly even without knowing its after-effects (or side effects). Yes! I am talking about the dressing style of my sisters which they are blindly copying from the western culture. You must be thinking “what after effects am I talking about?” According to you, you are strong and brave enough to protect yourself even in jeans and mini skirt! Ok, for the sake of argument I agree, but then what about the hereafter? When you will be standing in front of ALLAH and you will be questioned about your dressing style? You may have performed salah regularly, and you may be a good Muslima. But when it comes to dressing, you have disobeyed your Creator’s command.
"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, their fathers, their husband's fathers, their sons, their husbands' sons, their brothers or their brothers' sons, or their sisters' sons, or their women, or the slaves whom their right hands possess, or male servants free of physical needs, or small children who have no sense of the shame of sex; and that they should not strike their feet in order to draw attention to their hidden ornaments. And O ye Believers! turn ye all together towards God, that ye may attain Bliss." {Surah Noor (24):31}. Even our beloved Prophet Muhammad (s) prohibited women to dress like men.
On that day, what reply will you give on disobeying the commandment of ALLAH??
“As to those who believe and work righteousness, ALLAH will pay them (in full) their reward; but Allah loves not those who do wrong. (Al Quran ch3: v 57)”
Many of my sisters say, it is cool, it is comfortable, it is just a part of culture and everybody dresses like that. They just wear jeans and don’t get exposed. It is just normal. But I tell them, have you ever noticed Allah’s valuable creations?? He has made valuable things in the world covered and well protected. Where do you find Diamond? Deep down the ground, covered and protected. Where do you find Pearls? Deep in the bottom of the ocean, covered up in a beautiful shell. O my dear sisters, your body is sacred. You are more precious than diamonds and pearls. Don’t you think you should be covered too?
The Prophet (s) said, “The whole world is to be enjoyed, but the best thing in the world is a pious woman.” (Muslim)
In the name of modernization, many people think that it is fine in wearing any kind of dress. Whether it covers the whole body or not, it doesn’t matter. If exposure of body is modernization of women, then I think animals are more modernized than us. It is shame on us that we – being girls – do not hesitate to wear any kind of dress. We don’t even care to expose ourselves and give a chance for an eve-teaser and be a part to destroy an ethical society. It is rightly said “Every action has an equal and opposite reaction”.
Covering does NOT mean DEGRADING; it is just protecting…
If a doctor advices you to wear specs/gogs (while riding the scooty or bike) so that your eyes are protected from dust and dirt (as they are delicate) does it mean that you are degrading your eyes??? Or does it mean that your eyes are of less importance??? Of course not; because they are delicate so you need to protect them, the same goes with you, my dear sisters.
If a president of a country gets special security, does it mean he is degraded, he is out-dated? Or is he honoured? Similarly you are honoured in the house of Islam and you are protected from an evil-eye just as the president.
Can you ever deny an order or request that you receive from your loved one? If she wants to talk to you or meet you, would you like to deny? Then how can you deny the commandment of your Lord, who loves you the most, more than anyone else, the one who is going to reward you Paradise in the hereafter. Can you ever get a better gift than Paradise? Can you? NO!!! Then what are you waiting for? What is stopping you from wearing your hijaab? Go ahead my sisters; protect yourselves from the Hell-fire and being eve-teased by guys. Start wearing hijaab. None of us know when we are going to die! Who can save us from the hell-fire? It will be our own deeds, and our obedience to Allah – the Almighty. Decide for yourself which way you want to choose? Hell or heaven?
Last but not the least, What do we do when our Love stop listening to us… starts ignoring us… and that love starts loving someone else… starts praising somebody else… what do u do? Won’t you leave your love? And don’t you think your Lord has got the same right, when you are ignoring him, not obeying His commandment, you start loving the devils by following their footsteps, copying them blindly!!! Even then, Allah says, “But Indeed your Lord is Most Merciful, so return to Him in repentance.” And prophet (s) said, “Allah is happier with the repentance of His servant than anyone of you on finding his camel after he has lost it in a desert. (Bukhari, Muslim)”. Ask forgiveness from Him, start obeying His commandments. Convince Him, for you have to get to your final destination – the Paradise!
Hijab covers our body not our brain. It never abstain us to free and open thinking; it brings about peace and stability in the society. There are many women in the society who observes complete hijab and created astonishing career and are well respected in the society, not only by Muslims but Non-Muslims too. We don’t need to expose our beauty to show our intelligence! Alhamdulilah.
Proud to be Muslimah- A Real Pearl
Now I want to ask my sisters, what is your logic behind exposing yourself or following trend blindly???
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Tuesday, February 5, 2013
Where There is a Veil…….
By: Nisaar Y. Nadiadwala
Jim Nelson has written a book ‘ When Nations Die’. He points out an
important common rule for the fall of nations ..the abandonment of
religion…… What ever little moral lessons the western Democracies have
in their Bible they are also discarded. The two biggest examples are: 1.
Belief in one God 2.Modesty. This is the beginning of the down of
the great Western Civilization.
Can you guess how foolish are their intellectual arguments to ban the
face veil? The refutation comes from the Non Muslims themselves and
that too on street corners. Here is one of them “Why has France banned
Face veil?” .. Because they find that it is unhealthy for the Muslim
women wearing it”… Oh then they should ban even high heels shoes and
sandals too as they are more injurious to the entire women of
France….They should ban lipsticks and many other cosmetics because they
contain lead , which is harmful for the skin and it is applied by most
of the French women…. Ah they are manufactured by Multi national
companies so they cannot be banned… Ah I wish that Addidas and Reebok
should also come out with face veil and make it a brand product !!!.
When I was a young boy of 6 years, I used to accompany my maternal
grandmother to sell milk. There was this 70 years old lady who used to
buy milk. Every time I used to enter her shop, she used to draw a
“Ghungat” ( face veil of a kind) and cover her face. One day out of
curiosity I asked my grand ma “why is this lady always hiding her face
from me?” She replied “ It is very natural of a woman to be modest and
be shy in the presence of a Non Mahram”. I asked “ Grand ma, she is too
old and I am a young boy!” “So what?” My grand ma replied “She has
been covering her face for past 60 years so even when she is old she has
that natural bashfulness in her that Allah gave her…..” That was a
memorable answer. By the way that lady was a Hindu Brahmin.
The modesty of women is among those cultural similarities which
different civilizations have enjoyed except that when they tore of that
modesty, their down fall speeded up. Robert Stonebraker, from Winthrop
university writes “Among the women under twenty years of age, 70 percent
of all births are to single mothers……” Prior to the 1960’s most women
in the West refused to engage in pre marital sex without an explicit or
implicit promise of marriage in the event of pregnancy. Today they go in
premarital sex with an explicit promise of not getting married… The
mentality of western women has been changed due to the changing job
opportunities in the West. The economy has shifted from muscle power to
brain power so women are finding a lot of jobs and along with money
comes a super confident or illusion that they can bring up their
children on their own without burying themselves in the matrimonial
life.
Have you noticed how gradually the western women has been cheated by
male dominating western society?. Yesterday it was with abortion. Now
the debate over banning abortion is dead , Today the radical
liberation can hit any Priest of Roman Catholic who opposes same sex
marriages. He will be disowned by the so called vanguards of freedom of
speech. Marriage life has stiff competition from gay marriages, lesbian
marriages, live in relations……And this is nicely wrapped like a gift
and awarded to the women with the label of ‘women’s liberation’
Author: Nisaar Nadiadwala speaks and writes on Islam and Muslims. He can be reached at nisaar_yusuf@yahoo.com | www.nisaaryusuf.wordpress.com
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Monday, February 4, 2013
Hijab for men
Author: Sabiha Saifi
“Hijaab”
being a hot topic these days, media is trying its best to malign Islam
by providing misinformation to the public regarding hijab by raising
allegations like:Islam degrades women in the name of hijab, why in Islam
only women should do Hijaab, etc.
It
is a misconception that hijab is only made for females. But hijab is
first an obligation for males and after that it is an obligation for
females. Hijab does not merely means covering body with a black cloth
(known as burqa.) It includes a complete behavior and attitude apart
from dressing modest. In short, Hijaab is Mandatory for both males and
as well as females.
Allah
says in the Quran in Surah Noor (24):30, “Tell the believing men to
lower their gaze (from looking at forbidden things), and protect their
private parts (from illegal sexual acts, etc.). That is purer for them.
Verily, Allah is All-Aware of what they do.” First Allah commands men to
observe hijab and then in the next verse it is commanded for females.
It
is also mentioned in a hadith where Jareeribn ‘Abdullaah said:"I asked
the Messenger of Allaah (pbuh) about an accidental glance at a woman. He
commanded me to turn my gaze away." (Reported by al-Tirmidhi, who said:
This is a saheehhasanhadeeth. See al-Sunan, 2700).
The
Messenger of Allaah (pbuh) also said: "O Ali, do not follow a glance
with another, for you will be forgiven for the first, but not for the
second." (Reported by al-Tirmidhi, 2701; see Saheeh al-Jaami’, 7953)
My
dear brothers, next time onwards when you see a girl (even) without
Hijaab (might be a model; or actress in TV; or in magazine, ads,
newspapers, posters etc.; or even your girlfriend without hijab before
marriage!), before giving a comment “She is hot" or "you are looking HOT
dear” Remember the commandment of Allah and punishment in the Aakhirah
for disobeying your Lord!
Brothers
also find it "cool" to shake hands with girls (including their cousin
sisters, sister-in-law, friends, etc.) They find nothing wrong in ‘just’
shaking hands, might be here it is “okay” but what about the
hereafter???
It
was narrated that Ma’qilibnYassaar said: The Messenger of Allaah (pbuh)
said: “For one of you to be stabbed in the head with an iron needle is
better for him than that he should touch a woman who is not permissible
for him.” Can you really bear this pain? Think practically… how much
painful it is even if a small needle pricks in our finger. O’ Allah!
What a torture and severe punishment it would be!!! Even my sisters
don’t care and shake hands with non-mahram and didn’t even realize the
punishment is same even for females, for Allah is just and wise.
Don’t
be a fool thinking what you follow is cool!!! Be a muslim by your deeds
by following the Quran and Authentic Hadith not just by name as it
won’t help you to earn Jannah (if you are a muslim just by name!).
Hijab
for men is obligatory (lowering gaze and guarding modesty) even if a
female is not in hijab. The harder is the test, the greater will be the
reward.And whoever disobeys Allah, will be punishable for their deeds.
Hijab
generate respect for each other and help in creating peaceful society,
which is the need of the hour. Be a Muslim by choice not by chance!
