MY BODY IS NOT FOR YOUR EYES TO HOLD

TO VEIL OR NOT TO VEIL?

To answer that question, we should look at the differences between veiling and unveiling… what are the advantages of veiling? And what are the disadvantages of unveiling? Does it have any relation with social problems such as rape, sexual molestation and disrespect of woman?

The Advantages of Veiling

1. It is a protection for Muslim woman against the behaviour of the wicked;

2. It is an identify of the Muslim that distinguishes her;

3. It gives her an honoured position in the society;

4. It acts as a barrier between men & women to keep them away from sins;

5. It is a means for observing chastity of woman;

6. It awakens the fear of Allah in the heart of man and woman and saves them from falling in the abyss of evil;

7. It teaches man to respect the veiled woman, provide her protection from the curious persons and ensure the uplift of the high morals and social values in the society.

The Disadvantages of Unveiling

1. It is a violation of the Qur’aan and Hadith;

2. It shows woman’s weakness in belief;

3. It is a cause of temptation for men and women;

4. It strips off her modesty that is an integral part of Faith as the Prophet [Sallallaahu Alayhi Wasallam] said, ‘Modesty is part of Faith.’ (al-Bukhari)

5. It subjects her to sexual harassment;

6. It hurts her dignity and feelings and it stains her chastity;

7. It prompts woman to take part in commercial advertisements and films as a showpiece and a source of enjoyment for the viewers.

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From the above list of advantages of veiling as well as disadvantages of unveiling, you can make your own judgment whether veiling or unveiling has impacts and implications for society or not.

In my opinion, women’s dressing more or less also contributes to social problems that happen nowadays. By covering aurat properly, InsyaAllah women will be prevented from such problems.

Hopefully now you are able to make a good decision for what you are supposed to do… To veil or not to veil?? Answer it by yourselves…

DON’T BE SUBJUGATED BY “MAN”-KIND!

"Object of Despair" (by Fahim Firifiray - Abu Omar)

Emma is a lawyer, and Aisha is too
Colleagues going into court at circa half past two
Its 1 o'clock right now, they grab a bite before the trial
They chat about this and that, conversing with a smile

Aisha's in full hijab with a loose all over suit
Emma's in her business wear with accessories to boot
Emma's really quite bemused at Aisha's godly ways
She looks Aisha in the eyes and very firmly says:

"You're a smart girl Aisha, why do you wear that across your hair?
Subjugated by 'man'-kind, an object of despair
Take it off my sister, let your banner be unfurled
Don't blindly follow all around, DECLARE YOUR FREEDOM TO THE WORLD!"

Aisha is amazed, but not the least bit shy
She bravely puts her milk shake down and gives Emma the reply
"My dear sister Emma, why do you dress the way you do?
The skirt you're wearing round your waist, is it really you?"

"Now that we've sat down, I see you tug it across your thighs
Do you feel ashamed, aware of prying eyes?
I see the way you're sitting, both legs joined at the knees
Who forces you to sit like that? Do you feel at ease?"

"I'll tell you who obliges you to dress the way you do
Gucci, Klein and St. Laurent all have designs on you!
In the main, it's men my friend who dictate the whims of fashion
Generating all the garb to incite the basest passion"

"'Sex Sells' - there is no doubt, but who buys with such great haste
The answer is the likes of you because they want to be embraced
They want to be accepted on a level playing field
Sure, with brain and intellect, but with body parts revealed"

"Why do you douse yourself with creams, to make your skin so milky?
Why do rip off all your hair to keep your body silky?
A simple shower's all you need to stay respectable and clean
The time and money that you spend is really quite obscene"

"Why do you wake up at dawn to apply a firm foundation,
Topped with make up and the like in one chaotic combination?
And if you should have to leave the house devoid of this routine
Why do you feel so insecure that you should not be seen?"

"Be free my sister Emma, escape from your deep mire
Don hijab today my friend, and all Islam's attire
Avoid all those sickly stares, or whistles from afar
Walk down the street with dignity, take pride in who you are"

"Strength lies in anonymity, be a shadow in the crowd
Until you speak and interact when your voice will carry loud
You're a smart girl Emma, wear this across your hair
Don't be subjugated by "man"-kind, an object of despair"

"To use your very words my friend, Let your banner be unfurled
Don't blindly follow all around - DECLARE YOUR FREEDOM TO THE WORLD!

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...

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…

THE DRESS OF A MUSLIMAH AMONG OTHER WOMEN

From a Lecture by Saalih as-Saalih
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Question:

Our Shaykh Muhammad ibn Uthaymeen, rahimahullaah, was asked that there is a phenomena with some women and it is them wearing short dresses and tight dresses which exposes their features and some dresses without sleeves exposing the chest and the back and appearing almost naked and that when we advice them they say that they don't put such clothes except in the presence of other woman. And that the 'awrah of the woman with the women is from the navel to the knee. So what is the ruling regarding this and what is the ruling regarding these types of clothes with wearing them in the presence of Mahrams? May Allaah subhaanahu wa Ta'ala reward you abundantly on the behalf of the Muslims and Muslimaat.
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Answer:

The answer for this is to say that it is authentically related from the Prophet (PBUH) to have said, 'Of the people of Hell there are two types whom I have never seen: The one possessing whips like the tail of an ox and they flog people with them. The second one the women who would be naked in spite of their being dressed, who are seduced to wrong paths and seduce others with their hair high like humps. These women would not get into Paradise and they would not perceive its odour, although its fragrance can be perceived from such and such distance.' [ Saheeh Muslim Volume 4, hadeeth number 6840].

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The people of knowledge interpreted the term "dressed but naked" as those women who put on tight clothes or light clothes which does not shield what is underneath or short clothes. And Shaykh al-Islaam ibn Taymiyyah, rahimahullaah, mentioned that the dress of woman in their homes at the time of the Prophet (PBUH) was from the ankle (--) up all the way to the palm. All of this covered while in their homes. And that when they leave to the market it is known that the women of the Companions used to put on dresses that flow over their ends dragging on the earth and the Prophet (PBUH) made it permissible for them to lower or to make permissible for the lower end to extend to an arm span, not to exceed that. However as to what became unclear to some woman from the saying of the Prophet (PBUH) a woman should not look to the 'awrah of another woman nor man to look the 'awrah of men. And their understanding that the 'awrah of a respected woman is the part between her navel and her knees. So they understood from this that this hadeeth indicates that it is ok to have short to wear or put on short clothes.

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However, this misunderstanding is refuted by the fact that the Prophet Muhammad did not say 'the dress of a woman is between the navel and the knee'. However, he said "the woman should not look to the private parts of the woman, the 'awrah of the women". He forbade the one who looks. Why? Because the one who puts on flowing over clothes sometimes may uncover her private parts or for any other reason. So the Prophet forbade the woman looks at the 'awrah of the other woman. Do you understand the difference between the two? The Prophet (PBUH) did not say that 'the dress of a woman is between the navel and the knee'.
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And when the Prophet said: 'The man should not look to the other man's private parts" so did the Companions, wear 'izaar, the waist-garment, from navel to knee? Or did they put on pants from the navel to the knee? And is it now sound for a woman to go out and meet other women having on her nothing except that which shields from the area from the navel to the knee? No one says this. And this is not the case except with the woman of the kaafirs, the kaafir woman.

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So this is the thing which was understood by some women from this hadeeth, is incorrect. And the hadeeth's meaning is obvious and appearant. If the Prophet (PBUH) did not say that the dress of the woman should be between her navel and her knee so the woman should fear Allaah, subhaanahu wa Ta'ala, and should assume shyness and bashfulness which is from the characteristic of the woman and this is from faith, as the Prophet said, 'Bashfulness is a branch of faith.' Similarly also we know the parable which says, 'More bashful than a woman kept in her private quarter'. This is a parable because of the shyness that the woman should assume. And we did not know, not even concerning the woman in the pre-Islamic era, the woman of jaahiliyyah, that they used to shield that which is between the navel and the knee only. This was not the case with the women nor it was the case with the men. So do these women then, do they want that the Muslim Woman be in a worse situation than the woman of jaahiliyyah?

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In summary, the dress is something and looking at the 'awrah is something else. The dress of a woman when she is with another woman, the legal dress is to cover that which between the palms and to the ankles. This is the legal. However, if the woman needs to tuck up her dress because of work or something else then she may tuck it all the way to the knee. And similarly if she needs to tuck up the sleeves, if she needs to tuck up the sleeves all the way to the shoulder then she may do so as it is a need, whenever there's a need. However, to have this to be the normal dress which she puts on, then no. And the hadeeth does not indicate this under any circumstances. And that's why if the address was to the one looking, not to the one being looked at. And the Prophet (PBUH) did not mention anything about the dress. And he did not say that 'the dress of the woman is between the navel and the knee'. So that's what keeps women from having this kind of misunderstanding.
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With respect to their mahrams, then the same in terms of looking, like the looking of a woman to a woman. Meaning: that it is permissible for the woman to uncover in the presence of her mahrams that which she uncovers in the presence of other women. She may uncover the head, the neck, the feet, the hands, the arm and the shin. But she should not make her dress short.
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This is a quick drawing over on the answer of our Shaykh, rahimahullaah, concerning this question which often comes or is often presented by many of our sisters. So I ask Allaah, subhaanahu wa Ta'ala, to make it a benefit for them and for all of us.