JEANS: TO WEAR OR NOT TO WEAR?

Today, wherever we go, we can easily find there are so many Muslim women wearing tight jeans and shirt (but still wearing tudung). Such attire nowadays is no longer for men only. There are also many jeans designed for women as well. In other words, jeans are now becoming attire for both genders male as well as female. It makes me think… What is the Islamic perspective on wearing jeans, especially for Muslim women? Does religion allow Muslim women to wear jeans?

I don’t think this is permitted! Muslim women should not wear tight jeans or any kind of revealing clothes. The body of Muslim women should not be revealed at all especially to her non-mahram. So, it can be concluded that Muslim women are not allowed to wear jeans since it (most of them) is tight and figure revealing to show the shape of the leg, which is wrong. Even if the jeans are not too tight, it still should not be worn by Muslim women because it seems like the women want to imitate the men in terms of their dressing style, which is cursed by the Prophet (PBUH).

However, there is another issue that arises. People question, how if a Muslim woman wears jeans under her jubbah where it won’t be visible to others especially the non-mahram? Is it permissible for her to wear jeans at home where it will be visible only to her mahram?

After doing a lot of reading, I found this answer …
(you can refer to: http://qa.muftisays.com/?Women+wearing+jeans)

In the Name of Allah the Exalted…

If the issue is about a Muslim woman who wants to wear jeans under her jubbah where it won’t be visible to others, then it is permissible. However, the following points must first be taken into consideration:

A general directive we learn from Hadith narrated from Hadhrat Ibn Abbas (R.A) is that: “Rasulullah cursed those men who are in the similitude (assume the manners) of women and those women who are in the similitude (assume the manners) of men". (Bukhari 7.773)

Jeans were originally worn by men and in later years became a fashion accessory for both males and females. Jeans are now not exclusively for the male gender. But they are from the clothes of fashion and have the ability to attract, this is against the dignity and self respect of a Muslimah. Furthermore certain tight fitting Jeans which cling to the body reveal the shape of the legs and still have the essence of male clothing. Hence, it would be Makruh for a Muslim lady to wear jeans under her jubbah when there is a risk of exposure. Jeans are only permissible to wear with the condition that they surely do not come into view to others.

With regard to question whether it is permissible for a Muslim woman to wear jeans at home where it will be visible only to her mahram, my own humble opinion is that she should not dress that way or expose herself in jeans etc to anyone including her mahram other than her husband.

Lastly, I would wish to quote in the words of Hadhrat Mufti Mahmood Hasan Gangohi Rahmatullahi Alaihi in which he says that it is Makruh (disliked in Islam) for a Muslim(both male and female) to don the attire of the Fussaaq (Evil doer, Transgressor) and Fujjaar (grave sinner). If jeans are the garments of the transgressors and evil doers then it is desirable that they be avoided. But alas this is to the discretion of the individual.

Ibn Uthamin also indicates towards such evil when he talks about the showing of leniency in the laws of Hijaab in which he states "that it will open the door of malevolence which will not be possible to close thereafter". (Fatawa Ulamaa Baladil Haram Pg 567).

Nevertheless, it is permissible for a lady to wear jeans under her jubbah etc as long as she exercises caution that no one can see her wearing them.

And Allah S.W.T. knows best…

HIJAB INCLUDES CONDUCT AND BEHAVIOUR AMONG OTHER THINGS

Besides the six criteria of dressing, complete hijab should also include moral conduct, behaviour, attitude and intention of the individual. A person only fulfilling the criteria of hijab of the clothes is observing hijab in a limited sense. Hijab of the clothes should be accompanied by hijab of the eyes, hijab of the heart, hijab of thought and hijab of intention. It also includes the way a person walks,talks, behaves, etc.

# Hijab prevents molestation #

The reason why Hijab is prescribed for women is mentioned in the Qur’an in the following verses of Surah Al-Ahzab: “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.”[Al-Qur’an 33:59]. From this verse, we can see that the Hijab has been prescribed for the women so that they are recognized as modest women and this will also prevent them from being molested. Therefore, Muslim women should always remind themselves that wearing hijab is not only fulfilling the criteria of hijab of the clothes, but it is more than that!

SIX CRITERIA FOR MUSLIM DRESSING

According to Qur’an and Sunnah, there are basically six criteria for Muslim dressing. The first criterion is different for men and women, while the other remaining five criteria are the same for both gender men and women.

(1) The extent of the body that should be covered.

This is different for men and women. The extent of covering obligatory on the male is to cover the body at least from the navel to the knees. For women, the extent of covering obligatory is to cover the complete body except the face and the hands up to the wrist. However, if they choose to cover themselves further by means of a face veil and gloves, this is perfectly fine.

(2) The clothes worn should be loose and should not reveal the figure.

(3) The clothes worn shouldn't be transparent such that one can see through them.

(4) The clothes worn shouldn't be so glamorous as to attract the opposite sex.

With regards to this, colors and styles should be as plain as possible so that unnecessary attention is not drawn to the person. In addition, the clothing should not be excessively rich and fancy in order to gain admiration nor excessively poor and ragged in order to gain sympathy. Modesty is the main goal.

(5) The clothes worn should not resemble that of the opposite sex.

(6) The clothes worn should not resemble that of the unbelievers i.e. they should not wear clothes that are specifically identities or symbols of the unbelievers’ religions.

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Some other criteria on dressing with regards to Muslim women:

>> Jewelry must not be displayed, and it is especially important that it does not make noise as a woman walks (an ankle-bracelet with bells, for example). Women in pre-Islamic Arabia used to wear such bracelets and stamp their feet in the markets in order to entice and attract men.

>> Make-up (unless it is completely covered by a face-veil) and perfume are strictly prohibited for Muslim women when outdoors or in the presence of non-mahrem men.

>> A Muslim woman who wears hijab should also strive to make her actions consistent with her dress with regards to Islamic guidelines for speech, manners and behavior.

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To all Muslims, men as well as women... please make sure you dress properly according to the Islamic teachings... May Allah bless you...

JOB ATTIRE FOR MUSLIM WOMEN

Tension?

Don’t know how to dress for work?

Don’t worry...

Take a look at these for a while…

Stylish and fashionable but still cover the aurah!

In this modern life, you can easily find job attires for Muslim women designed by many clothes designers. With long and loose dresses together with variety styles of tudung/hijab, it will suit your appearance as a Muslim woman and make you feel more confident to go to the office.


For those interested in buying Muslim women’s job attire, you can visit these websites:

http://fizanstore.com/beborak/index.php?topic=165.0

http://www.fesyenmuslim.com/index.php?p=productsList&iCategory=7&sName=Fesyen-Kasual-Muslimah

http://www.tanah-abang.com/koleksi_busana.php?id=muslim

MAINTAIN COVERING AURAT PROPERLY!

To Muslim women, you don’t have to be sexy to attract guys coz the true one will accept you for who you are, and you should always believe what the God said in the Qur’an… “Good guys are meant for good women..”

BODY BECOMES SLIMMER, CLOTHES BECOME SHORTER

Besides the issue of not wearing hijab while going outside even though the person recites Quranic verses as well as performs prayers, there is another issue that I always think a lot, which is regarding the reason/s for Muslim women changing their image and personal appearance in terms of clothes when their physical look (especially their body) becomes slimmer than before.

In testimonials of slimming products, we can easily see such thing. Before, they are quite fat or obesity I could say, but later on after using the slimming product, not only their physical appearance change, but also in terms of their attire. From loose, long, and decent attire, it becomes shorter, smaller in size and tight whereby others can see the shape of their “new” body.

What makes them change their style of wearing cloth? It is because they actually really want to wear like that but before they can’t wear such clothes because there is a barrier due to the size of their body?

Let’s think, what actually lead them to use the slim product? If the reason is for the health since obesity is not good for one’s health, then why should they also change their appearance in terms of dressing?

Hmm… I don’t know… but whatever the reasons are, we should always come back to the Islamic teachings whereby in Islam, we should know that we should always perform ourselves today better than yesterday. There are three categories of people with regard to their everyday behavior:

1) Blessed (if today is better than yesterday)
2) Deceived (if today is just the same like yesterday)
3) Condemned (if today is worse than yesterday)

Now, let’s muhasabah ourselves…which category we are belong to? If the answer is the third one, then it indicates that the person might loss his/her sound mind for putting his/herself at the disdainful place.

People might say that they will never put themselves at such low-down place, but in the reality, they already placed themselves in it whether it is done consciously or not. It is not to say that they are bad women, but perhaps their faith is too weak to fight with their lust and the whisper from Satan. We shouldn’t easily blame our close friends for influencing us, because remember that there is no one who can change ourselves as well as our behavior and dressing style if we ourselves don’t want to do so!

Therefore, for those Muslim women…please maintaining covering your aurah properly and always try to put yourself in the blessed group of people…May God bless you…

RECITING QUR’AN, BUT NOT WEARING HIJAB OUTSIDE

Salam to all of you… sorry for not posting for quite long time… I’m too busy with so many assignments and examinations as well as presentation... And to release my tension doing all that things for continuously two weeks, I have read a magazine... (sorry, I can’t tell the name of the magazine) and it is about a celebrity with his wife who gave birth last month.. (For your information, the wife is free hair, not wearing hijab/tudung).

In the story, it mentions that the couple hopes that their baby boy will become a good man in the future. According to the celebrity, he and his wife always recite Quranic verses especially Surah Yaasin in Friday night, and put the baby just besides them so that the baby can also listen to what his parents recite…

From that story… I start to think…

To recite Quranic verses which is also including Surah Yaasin, a woman should cover her aurah properly whereby she should wear hijab to cover her hair and the head. Similarly, when a woman wants to perform prayer, she should well-covered herself before facing the God in the prayer. There is no situation whereby it is allowed for women to perform prayer without covering her aurah properly.

Then, I’m now wondering…

If a woman knows that she should not expose any part of her self while performing prayer because she is facing the God at that time, then what makes her feels not guilty for not wearing hijab outside in the public area? If facing the God, Who is the Creator, she has to cover herself properly, then why it is not being applied also to the life while facing and being around with so many people including those of opposite sex?

Is it the matter of hidayah? Those free hair people always say, when exclamation (hidayah) comes, they will wear hijab at that time. But do they know the date of their death? Exactly no! Then why they just easily say so? How if they die tomorrow or at the night at that day? Hidayah is totally out of our control. It is the God’s matter. Only the God can give hidayah to whoever He wants. And we should always remind ourselves that hidayah is something which people have to ask for, not just waiting without any effort to seek for it.

So, what are the other reasons for Muslim women for not wearing hijab outside while at the same time, they still reciting the Qur’an as well as performing prayers? Is it because they themselves don’t want to wear the hijab? Or is it they are forced to do so? If they are forced to do so, why don’t they fight for it? Isn’t the God’s commands should be given priority? Think about it!

Some people argue that it is not about how they dress up, but the most important thing is behavior. What is inside their heart will only known by the God. We always hear people say, “Don’t judge a book by its cover”. Do you agree with the statement? I personally don’t agree with it. For me, it is normal for us to judge something based on what we can see with our naked eyes. The truth is, rather than saying “Don’t judge a book by its cover”, the proper way to say it, is by saying, “Don’t judge a book ONLY by its cover”.

WALLAHU ‘ALAM…

MUSLIM WOMAN WON THE GOLD MEDAL IN 200M SPRINT WHILE WEARING HIJAB

Beginning the race ...

During the race ...

Near the end ...

At the end ...

Thank God ...

Asean Games 2006 in Doha proved something to the world. It was a day of victory when a Muslim woman from Bahrain, Ruqaya Al-Ghasara won the well-deserved gold medal in 200m sprint while maintaining her Muslim’s attire complete with hijab.

Participating in the games, the Bahrain sprinter wore a traditional Muslim hijab (headscarf or tudung) featuring a Nike logo when she won the 200-meter event. It made people confuse and start questioning whether Nike provides the hijab because what people already knew is that Nike provides footwear and apparel to Bahraini athletes but does not include the hijab.

Responding to the issue, Nike spokesperson Brian Tacchini said, “I’m not sure if it’s something that she requested to have made, or if we offered it, but she chose to wear it”. On the other hand, BOF General Secretary Abdulrahman Askar said in a statement, “Al-Ghasara added the Nike logo as a sign of respect for the corporate sponsors of the Federation. As Nike does not make the hijab, Al-Ghasara took it upon herself to have her hijab embroidered with the Nike logo. There was no political or religious motivation”.

No matter what, it was the big won over other none wearing hijab sprinters. Even this was a three years ago story, but I think it is a good story to put in here, about the excellency of Muslim Women. Hail to Muslim Women who are wearing hijab! We are respecting you!

These were some of the news regarding on her success:

No bother at all: Bahrain sprinter Al Ghasara says Muslim dress only makes her faster http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2006/12/11/sports/ME_SPT_ATH_Asian_Games_Muslim_Sprinter.php
Veil no bar to glory for Muslim women says Doha champion
http://www.rediff.com/sports/2006/dec/12veil.htm
Veil no barrier, says Al Ghasara
http://archive.gulfnews.com/indepth/doha2006/more_stories/10089009.html
Bahrainian sprinter Ruqaya Al Ghasara in first high-tech top
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/beijing_olympics/story/0,27313,24201257-5017489,00.html
Bahrain's Ruqaya Al Ghasara wins Asian Games 200, dedicates victory dedicated to all Muslim women
http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2006/12/11/sports/ME_SPT_ATH_Asian_Games_Athletics.php
Muslim sprinter wins Olympic sprint dressed head to toe in hijab
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/worldnews/article-1046912/Muslim-sprinter-wins-Olympic-sprint-dressed-head-toe-hijab.html

Make a comparison:

JUST LOOK AT IT:

Al-Ghasara wore the Muslim woman attire and style. Still covering her aurat, she participated in the game in relax, but still speedy and won the game. Compared to the other sprinters with sexy and exposed attire, we can prove that Muslim Women dressing style is not a barrier toward speed type sport!

ATTIRE FOR MUSLIM WOMEN ATHLETES

It cannot be denied that sport is important and needed in our lives because it can make people healthy. When it is said that it benefits “people”, then it includes both genders; male as well as female.

However, Muslim women participation in sports always becomes an issue whereby people question the sports attire for Muslim women. Is there any proper attire can be worn by Muslim women when they involve in sports?

Islam allows women to compete in sports, but the condition is that they must follow the Muslim dress code to keep their aurat (parts of body that need to be covered). When Islam commands people to do things in such a way, it is believed that it is for the goodness of the ummah. The reasons why Islam encourages women to practice sport under certain rules are to preserve their dignity and honor, safeguard them against immoralities and indecency and also to preserve their chastity while preserving their right in practicing sports. Therefore, there is no barrier for Muslim women to involve in sports activities as long as they can still cover their aurat.

INVOLVEMENT OF MUSLIM WOMEN IN SPORT

The benefits derived from sport can not be denied. Not only do they have physical and social benefits, but also essential psychological consequences. Since sport is also a compulsory part of the curriculum in all schools, it is important to address the many Islamic conflicts that our sisters may face.

The Need for Sport

Men and women alike are in need of sport and exercise. Physical fitness is certainly encouraged, just as a balanced diet is endorsed, and harmful substances are prohibited. Exercise is also conducive to a more balanced emotional state, as it aids in the release of harmful free radicals and excess hormones. Mundane routines must also be broken otherwise it could affect a women's input into society, as well as her relationship with her husband and family.

The Sahaabah were aware of these issues, and would exhort others for the same. 'Ali bin Abi Talib (r.a.a) said: "Refresh your minds from time to time, for a tired mind becomes blind." Abu Darda` (r.a.a) also commented: "I entertain my heart with something trivial in order to make it stronger in the service of the Truth."

The Prophet (s.a.w) advised his followers to engage in many forms of sport, which even today are considered of the best form of exercise. The Prophet (s.a.w) himself would engage in wrestling, racing, archery and horse races.

While Aisha (r.a.a) was on a journey along with the Apostle of Allah (s.a.w), she had a race with him and outpaced him. As time passed, the Prophet (s.a.w) wished to avenge for his loss, so he raced her again, in which case he outpaced her, and remarked: "This is for that outpacing."

The Etiquette's of Sport

The restrictions on women participating in sport or physical activity are more than that of men. All Islamic observances must be followed, regardless of any school policies or social stigmas. Our obedience to our Creator cannot be given preference to a creature of Allah.

When participating in sports, the clothing must be Islamically acceptable. This would therefore exclude shorts, t-shirts, leotards, swimming costumes etc.

It is very important to ensure that there are no males watching. Mixing of sexes is forbidden in normal situations, except in special situations under certain conditions, let alone in a sporting arena or exercise facility. It also restricts your activities, and modesty would not allow this in any case.