An American
woman enters her doctors’ office. She is
an elegant woman, tall in stature. She is beautifully clad in a long green
silk dress. She wears a beautiful green print head covering that cascades
from her head to her knees. Her face too is covered in a green silk fabric
from the nose down. She looks straight ahead with unwavering big brown eyes.
Ignoring the stares of others, she gracefully walks across the room to a
vacant seat.
A woman in the United Kingdom pushes her shopping cart through the market.
She is a young woman dressed in a long plain black dress. She wears a black
head covering that is pinned at the neck and drapes over her chest. She takes
her stand at the check out counter, despite the inquisitive eyes of the child
in the cart in front of her.
The Queen of an Arab Muslim country appears on American television. She
is elegantly dressed in a silk blouse that buttons down the front. She wears
a knee length short skirt and occasionally tosses her long hair about as
she answers questions posed to her about women in Islam.
Three scenarios depicting three women who all profess to belong to the same
faith. Yet each differently attired. Which one is truly dressing in accordance
to the rules of their religion of Islam, and even still, why do they dress
like that???
Islam is the second largest religion of the world. It is said that one out
of every five people is Muslim. However despite attracting so many people
to its way of life, Islam is the most misunderstood of all the major faiths
of the world. Worst still is the perception many have in regards to the Muslim
woman. Many view the Muslim woman as being inhibited and oppressed, and mainly
they attribute this to her way of dress.
Does she have to dress in clothing from head to toe or is it a choice? Why
do some cover their faces and others not? Is this cultural or religious?
To answer these questions we must look to the Muslims Holy Book, which is
named the Holy Quran.
The Holy Quran is written in Arabic but has been transliterated into many
languages of which English is one. In regards to how a Muslim woman is to
dress, the Quran states,
“And tell the believing women to lower their gaze and to be mindful
of their chastity, and not to display their charms in public beyond what
may decently be apparent thereof; hence let them draw their head-coverings
over their bosoms. And let them not display more of their charms to any but
their husbands, or their fathers, or their husbands fathers, or their sons,
or their husbands sons, or their brothers, or their brothers sons, or their
sisters sons, or their womenfolk, or those whom they rightfully possess,
or such male attendants who are beyond sexual desire, or children that are
as of yet unaware of women’s nakedness; and let them not swing their
legs in walking so as to draw attention to their hidden charms. And always
you believers, turn to Allah (God) in repentance so that you may attain a
happy state.” [Quran Chapter 24, verse 31]
As anyone can see, the Muslim woman is commanded to dress covering her hair
and not displaying her body to any male outside of her immediate family.
So for those people who say a woman has a choice to cover they are wrong.
If the woman is a believing, practicing Muslim she will follow the commands
of her religion and abide by its laws. If she is not a believing Muslim
then she will disobey the commands of her religion and thus suffer the
consequences later when she goes before her Lord.
Why would a woman be commanded to cover up her body many ask? Is this to
oppress her or degrade her? To answer that question we again turn the Muslim
Holy Book. The Quran states:
“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 so that they be not known as such and not molested; and
Allah (God) is most forgiving, most merciful..” [Quran Chapter 33 verse
59]
As one can see, the laws of dress for woman were not made to oppress or degrade
her. Instead those laws were made to protect her from the harm of others.
One such story involved one of the wives of Muhammad who is the prophet
of Islam. The doings and sayings of Muhammad who was the son of Abdullah,
were recorded and Islam bases its rulings on his sayings and doings in
addition to the Quran:
“The wives of the Prophet used to go to Al-Manasi, a vast open place
(near Baqia at Medina) to answer the call of nature at night. ‘Umar
used to say to the Prophet “Let your wives be veiled,” but Allah’s
Apostle did not do so. One night Sauda bint Zam’a the wife of the Prophet
went out at ‘Isha’ time and she was a tall lady. ‘Umar
addressed her and said, “I have recognized you, O Sauda.” He
said so, as he desired eagerly that the verses of Al-Hijab (the observing
of veils by the Muslim women) may be revealed. So Allah revealed the verses
of “Al-Hijab” (A complete body cover excluding the eyes).” [Bukhari
148]
Now that we have answered the question of how are Muslim women instructed
to dress in accordance to their religion, we now have the issue of the covering
of the face. Why are the women of countries such as Saudi, Iran and Afghanistan
made to cover their faces? Why are there some Muslim women seen in the West
who cover their face and others do not? What does Islam say about this and
why?
To answer these questions
we again go to the scriptures of Islam. As already shown, the Quran orders
that a woman must cover her head and body, yet it
makes no mention of her face or hands. It states, “Except what may
decently be apparent thereof.” However as can be seen from the story
of the prophet’s wife Sauda, his wives covered their faces as an added
protection. So thus this is an area whereby a woman may choose to decide
whether she wants to cover her face or not. The countries of Saudi Arabia,
Iran and Afghanistan choose to have women cover completely as a protection
for them and have thus made it the law of the land there for them. However
again that is man’s law not Gods.
Now that we understand
Islam’s laws in regards to a woman’s
dress, we again ask the question, why do Muslim women dress as they do? The
answer is simple. For the woman who truly believes in and understands the
principles of her religion of Islam, who loves and fears God, and who believes
in and is striving for Paradise, she proudly dresses the dress of dignity
realizing that the opinions or views of others mean nothing to her. She understands
that she is loved and cherished by a supreme being who has commanded her
to dress this way as a protection and safeguard for herself. And pleasing
him takes precedence over anyone else.
On the other hand, for the woman who lives for the life of this world and
all its glory, she will overlook the laws of her religion and use the opinion
of others to justify her disobedience not thinking or caring about the consequences
she may face in the long run for this.
Now we end with a question
for you….which woman would you rather be?
About The Author
Laila Nasheeba is a freelance writer and the owner and a teacher of AlQuran
Wa Sunnah Islamic VoiceChat site of learning which is an Islamic website
that teaches the basics of Islam using the technology of voice. Her website
is open 24 hours and anyone interested in learning about Islam can join it
by going to http://sunnahfollowers.net |
