Why do I wear the Hijab?
Oct 22nd, 2009 | By Deena Khalil | Category: Deena Khalil, Featured Blogumnist, Women
Although I derive great pleasure from bemoaning the world’s obsession with – (cue sinister music) – THE VEIL, I have agreed to contribute my own two cents to this never-ending discussion. Between the “Aren’t you hot under that thingâ€, the “Babe if you took that veil off you would be soooo hot, like I would totally date youâ€, the “Do you wear the veil like all the time? Like even in the shower?â€, and the “You’re oppressed, let me save you†I have no grandiose ambitions of ending this obsession. The world will continue to marvel over women’s bodies and the various ways in which we dare to exercise our own personal autonomy over them. I do not intend to discount the fact that many women are deprived of the right to free choice when it comes to what they wear. This applies to women who are forced to cover, those who are forced to uncover, and the many other atrocities we continue to hear about around the world. I am in no way making light of these atrocities. The below piece does not intend to end this debate (although I can’t say it wouldn’t be nice if that happened), but rather it is solely to provide a personal answer to a personal question I have received many times:
Why do you choose to wear the hijab?
An Act of Pride
I was once told that the greatest women in the Christian tradition are Lady Mary (peace be upon her) and Mother Theresa. In the Islamic tradition the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) tells us that the four greatest women to have walked this earth are Mary mother of Jesus, Khadija (the Prophet’s wife), Fatima (his daughter), and Asiyah wife of Pharaoh (who took care of the Prophet Moses peace be upon him), and that Lady Mary is the best of all of them. This is consistent with what the Qur’an says about Lady Mary:
And when the angels said: O Maryum [Mary]! Surely Allah has chosen you and purified you and chosen you above the women of the world. (Qur’an 3:42).
Muslims believe that all these women covered. This is corroborated by contemporary Christian visual representations of Lady Mary. Muslims believe that everybody should strive to be as great as those women by following their example in every way. Surely, this does not mean covering, as we believe they did, while abandoning their strength, devotion, piety and intellect. But on a personal note, every time I put on the hijab I feel honoured and proud to be performing an act that these great women once did, and it is a constant reminder throughout my day to try to follow their example in everything I do. Something I wish I was more successful at.
An Act of Empowerment
I don’t need to go into a long diatribe about the ridiculous lengths that men have gone to in order to take advantage of women’s bodies – whether for their own personal satisfaction or to capitalize them for their own personal gain. These phenomena are well-known, and to anybody who denies this I officially pronounce you: “delusional and/or living under a rockâ€. My choice to wear the hijab is me taking the remote control: my body belongs to me, and I control who gets to see what.
The idea that covering is empowering may seem counter-intuitive to some people, but my historical context – Islamic history from 1400 years ago – is filled with covered women who were warriors, intellects, poets, and respected teachers among other things. For me, by wearing the hijab I can pursue my ambitions while protecting myself from having to sacrifice, devalue, or make for public consumption any of my femininity in the process.
An Act of Submission (to God, not to any man)
The reasons I stated above are strictly my own personal reasons. Although I can safely say that these reasons reflect those of many Muslim women, I am in no way stating that they reflect those of all Muslim women, for the Muslim world is anything but monolithic. In the end, each woman who covers (or uncovers) does it for her own reasons depending on various factors including religious beliefs, social context, familial upbringing, and that may or may not involve a long thought process on the merits of the hijab. These reasons aside, ultimately I wear the hijab because I believe that it pleases my Creator.
The Qur’an gives two purposes for covering:
i) Modesty: “Tell the believing men that they should lower their gaze and guard their private parts; that is purer for them; surely Allah is aware of what they do. And tell the believing women that they should lower their gaze and guard their private parts, and that they should not display their beauty except what (must ordinarily) appear thereof, and that they should draw their head-coverings over their bosoms.†(Qur’an 24:30-31)
ii) Protection: “Oh Prophet! Tell your wives and your daughters and the believing women to draw over themselves their outer garments [when in public]. This makes it more likely that they will be known and not be harmed.†(Qur’an 33:59)
The command in the Qur’an is clear. And I believe the Qur’an is the word of God. For me that is enough. What men (or women) have to say about this is really irrelevant. For me hijab embodies the essence of Islam:
Submitting to God and God alone means that you never submit to any of His creations.
BM
The beliefs and statements of all Bikya Masr blogumnists are their own and do not necessarily reflect our editorial views.
Keep advertising off Bikya Masr - donate $1 to allow this to be possible
Very thoughtful. Thank you.
[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Joseph Mayton and Bikya Masr, Bikya Masr. Bikya Masr said: Why do I wear the Hijab?: Although I derive great pleasure from bemoaning the world’s obsession with – (cue sin.. http://bit.ly/GZP9J [...]
At the start of reading this article I had a sincere hope that reading this will finally convince me that the veil is not an inherently oppressive idea. Alas:
It’s always been bizarre to me this idea that some people living hundreds of years ago can be so worthy of such total admiration that, in the case of these four women, you “try to follow their example in EVERYTHING I do.” Yet surely you are cherry picking the things you follow? I mean, these were all women who (given their historical context) had absolutely no qualms about slavery, couldn’t even possibly register the notion of sexism or the Earth going round the sun, and certainly didn’t use a modern toilet (or wear sunglasses for that matter). Yet, presumably, these are not some of the attributes you would wish to follow.
Likewise, this idea of taking the remote control to decide who sees your body; I can’t help but feel by using this remote, you are telling men that the “ridiculous lengths that they have gone to in order to take advantage of women’s bodies” has actually paid off! They won! Their continued inability to control themselves and respect women has left you submitting by saying, “It’s ok, let me take on the burden of your inability to control yourself. I’ll cover up. I’ll be the one who makes the sacrifice for this problem you are responsible for.” Yet surely it should be the men’s burden!
Finally, as for the Muslim women who were warriors, intellects, poets, and respected teachers … I certainly can’t think of one single well known one between the 800s and 1700s (though I am sure that is partly because history is written by men, and they don’t care too much to mention those).
Anyway, aside from the fact that there is much dispute about the interpretation of the Arabic term “head coverings” in that verse (and also aside from the fact that that same verse includes “one’s slaves” in the list of people you can display your beauty to), ultimately, my point is not that I think women should take their veils off. I think people should be free to follow whatever ultimately benign beliefs they have (as in this case). But personally, I believe humans should use their own sense of reason and morality, rather than a 1400 year old book, to decide how to behave and what to wear.
well said!
beautiful article.
thank you Deena
First of all, well done!
very organized and concise article.
but i wanna make it clear about the definition of Hijab, u concentrated on the veil or the head scarf, which is not too accurate , i think .
because everybody and i see girls wearing “3-D” clothes! -u know what i mean- and a head scarf and that’s it !.
The head Scarf is basic and mandatory in hijab, but as a male, let me inform u it’s the least important u have to cover!
To make a long story short, All “Mohajabat” wear head scarf, but not “head-covered” are “Mohajabat” .
Last thing, about harassment statistics in egypt, they say that bla bla % are wearing hijab, so it doesnt help and so on, but if they excluded the truly “Mohajabat” from it, i think we’ll have a different number..
Thnx..
[...] Why I wear the Hijab. This piece was originally published at BikyaMasr.com. [...]
Great article, and well done for wearing hijab sister! You are an inspiration to all.
Ditto the “well said.”
Of course, I would like to–just once–see men defending their right to wear shirts or ties or to cover their bellies at the beach.
My favorite sentence: The world will continue to marvel over women’s bodies and the various ways in which we dare to exercise our own personal autonomy over them.
Very well said, Deena. I think you’re among the people who are aware that the problem with “Islam” and “Muslims” is the misunderstanding either among Muslims themsevles or the non-Muslims.
On the other hand, I wonder when will people start going beyond the female body but apparently this will not happen because the more we advance technically, the more we loose our focus on the human side and keep on the materialistic side.
what utter crap! you dont have to either be semi nude or totally covered. you can easily wear moderate cothes that dont show off your body if you want to. And the 2 quotes from the quran that you mentioned to support ur argument are just that – 2 unclear quotes out of a whole book. you would think that if this subject mattered so much to God, he would have been a little more specific about it and a little les ambiguous.
Mary and the rest of the women you mentioned as being covered lived in a dusty hot desert environment and it was quite a savage time to too. They didnt live in twinkling air conditioned cities with the amount of choice in clothing that you have now. Why not give up your bathroom and ac and live in a mud hut and go take your dumps outside they way they used to since you really want to emulate them so badly?
so i have been researching exactly where it says head covering. only one tafsir, then translated to english (and this is the one you choose to quote) explicitly mentions the headscarf.
5 out of the 6 other translations of tafsir omit the word “headcovering”
Personally, I don’t mind higab. But I’m a dude. But I like it when people wear what they want, its freedom in my eyes.
So Deena, could you please indicate what arabic word in the quran translates into “headcovering”, because my arabic is quite weak.
And if you have time, throw in a few hadiths that you know about just off top of your head.
Sanks you and good luck with all that, seems like the heat comment maybe hackneyed, but it’s definetly reasonable to mention it, especially if you live in mid-east
Women in Arab countries are covering themselves, because men in that part of the world are WEAK toward temptation. Sexual harassment is done by psychopath individuals that uses Islam as an excuse and cover up.
Well, my translation from arabic of Qu’ran 30 says: Tell the believing men to lower the gaze and be modest. ( No mention of hiding private parts, just modesty.)
Translation of Qu’ran 31 says: And tell the believing women to lower their gaze and be modest. (Same thing that men are told – check the arabic – I presume you do read arabic! ) and to display of their adornment only that which is apparent, and to draw their veils over their bosoms (except to certain persons who are listed in the verse). The verse goes on to talk about women’s nakedness but never mentions head covering or full hijab per se.
There is a big difference between being modest and covering the whole body. Perhaps the author of this article would be willing to provide a further definition of modesty without a badly worded translation from the Qu’ran. One can very easily cover “private parts” modestly without wearing hijab, contrary to what the author of this article believes is the requirement from a badly translated English version of these 2 surah of the Qu’ran.
QUOTE comment no.3:
But personally, I believe humans should use their own sense of reason and morality, rather than a 1400 year old book, to decide how to behave and what to wear.
i so agree with everything that comment number 3 and 10 say !!
why do u have as a woman to constrain yourself just because men are like some male animals that right away when they see a female go crazy and super excited?? thats what you – covered women – make them behave like!! some men cant even look or talk normally to a un-veiled woman just because they are so horny when they see them. Be HUMAN and act reasonable!
well, i agree with comment no. 10
virgin mary lived in this dusty desert society… and the debate over Hijab is caused by Islamists themselves, it`s a symbol of discrimination. it makes others who believe fanatically in Hijab, think that unveiled women are not modest and inferior. and at the end , everyone is free to wear whatever he likes, which civilization allows one to judge others clothes? it spread like cancer, sorry! but i disagree , you are free to wear hijab.. but we are also free to reject its presence. and the discussion on women as an object were supported by islamism , as those sheikhs concentrate on the issue of hijab rather than addressing politics , corruption and any other critical issues, because they know that they would be given hard time by the government,,. so in order to maintain their presence and fame, they address such trivial things , to stay in the limelight.. and never mind the ignorance that would prevail amongst their fans!
Deena,
Nice post, well articulated
I gave it to my daughter … maybe she follows your steps.
Regards
Mohajer Masry
Deena, a wonderful post! I do think the English transalation weakens the understanding of the Kora’an which is why so many people misunderstand the meaning of “kheimar”. As we know the term “khamr” is meant as something which covers the head- hence the term “khamra” for alcoholic beverages, as when drunk they act as cover over ones “head”- as regards alcohol it is a negative head covering which results in the inability of one to “think” properly. The Khimar is a physical head covering- the koran tells women to cover their head and their chest. The rest women cover by an understanding of what a “a’awra” is, or a woman’s private part. In contemporary times a private bodily part refers only to the “farajj” or the sexual reproductive area, while the Islamic understanding for both men and women far surpasses this area.
As regards to commentator who said that the four women you mentioned did not use toilets (huh?) and supported slavery (when it is a known fact that all four women worked to free slaves although they could not end slavery at their time)…I find that quite surprising. These were revolutionary women- and modern day nuns, mother Teresa, and anyone in the Catholic church who wishes to meet the pope all acknowledge the sanctity of a woman’s hair and the need to cover it. Women shave their heads in an attempt to free themselves of their sexuality. We are women, we are beautiful- we don’t need to strip ourselves of that, but we should control who we want to see what WE consider OUR private parts….Deena makes a very valid point in a poignant and powerful article!! Excellently written!!! The latter was meant to reply to the comments not to Deena….
Great article Deena, dotting the “i”s on hijab, using quotations to prove your point.
As a reply, to comments 3 and 10, stop reading about Martin Luther King, Marie Curie, Darwin, Stiglitz, Benjamin Franklin, etc. litteraly anyone who has made history! It is pitiful not to have role models and strive to be a better someone. Having a role model doesn’t mean to go back in time and live with their circumstances, it means imitating their spirit, belief and ambitions.
There is a difference between original imitation and servile imitation. Originally imitating Mary or Khadija (may Allah be pleased with them) means adapting their creativity, their efforts into our world today.
A servile imitation is like those teens who dress up like Britney Spears, Brad Pitt, Tony Hawks, etc.: they have no personality. They want to hide behind these people.
Which is not the case in this article.
Wow, thanks to everybody who commented (both positively and negatively) for taking such an interest in my piece and in the hijab
Let me try to respond to some of the comments:
@Ahmad Ali, Sara, Nadeem, Mohajer Masry: Thank you for your comment, I’m humbled by your kind words!
@I disagree and dude: You’re so passionately hating on my beliefs so it would seem pointless to engage you in a debate, so for the most part I’ll just respond using the Qur’an “to you your religion and to me mine”. I really have no problem agreeing to disagree. Seriously, it’s ok
Some of the other points you made have already been responded to by other commentators (thanks Farida and Darcy!).
@I disagree: As for your question about Muslim women who were warriors, intellects, poets, and respected teachers, I think you’ve just been reading the wrong history books (which as you pointed out have mostly been written by men, and by men from the west in particular). If you would like to get some more information about this I highly recommend this book http://www.amazon.com/Scimitar-Veil-Extraordinary-Women-Islam/dp/1587680203, but off the top of my head I can cite to you Aisha bint Abi Bakr (one of the prophet’s wives) who taught countless male students and is regarded one of the foremost experts on the Prophetic tradition, she also led the army in the Battle of the Camel. Other warriors include Nusaybah bint Ka’ab who fought in all the major Muslim battles, and of course one of the most well-known muslim warriors Khawla bin al-Azwar. As for poets, the most well-known is Rabi’a al-Adaweya, one of the greatest poets of all time, regarded as a saint by many Muslims and she’s also known to have been a teacher with many male students. Muslim men and women worldwide have so much respect and admiration for their intellect, strength and devotion to God.
As for your point that men should carry the burden, if that were truly the case then women would be able to walk around naked, or to go to work in bikinis. The idea of a dress code is not new. The idea that, for example, when you’re at work there’s a certain level of professionalism in the way you dress is not a discriminatory idea, it applies to both men and women. So conceptually this isn’t a purely Islamic idea. The only difference is in the application. The dress code is different, and I apply this dress code wherever I am among strangers. But you can’t argue to me that it’s an inherently oppressive concept.
@abdelrahman: Thank you for your kind comment and I agree that the hair is the least important thing to cover. I should have been more accurate. But I’m going to have to disagree with you regarding the point you made about sexual harassment. Many of the girls who were harassed during eid were wearing abayat. How you dress makes NO DIFFERENCE in the probability of being cat-called or harassed on the street. The problem does not lie in the way women dress, the problem is that men are so severely disempowered and humiliated in their own everyday lives that they have to find a way to assert their manhood. It’s like when the nerdy kid at schools gets beat up by bullies and takes out his frustration on his cat or something. Add to this the fact that most women don’t speak up to this harassment, and then add the fact that there is no rule of law in this country. So men can easily take us as the outlet for all their frustration. The only way to stop it is to SPEAK UP not cover up. Covering should be for God and God alone, not to avoid sexual harassment!
@M: Thanks a lot and I agree about men not having to defend their right to dress how they wish. But let me make it clear that in this article I am not defending my right to wear hijab. I already have that right and nobody can take it away, they can talk and complain but I’m still going to dress the way I want to regardless of who that bothers. This article was merely to give some insight for those who are genuinely interested to know why I dress the way I do – in the hopes that we can stop viewing each other as the alien other
@Hicham: Thanks for your comment and I too wish people would move beyond the female body. You want to empower women? How about giving them some money so they can be economically independent? How about giving them an education? How about not banning them from universities? But no, it’s so much easier to talk about “the veil”. I’m sure once they all uncover their heads all their problems will magically be solved.
@Muhammad: As Darcy explained the word “khomorihenn” used in the verse is usually translated into veil. But English translations of the Qur’an are horrible, I highly recommend you stick to the original text as much as possible. If you pick up an Arabic dictionary and look up the root word “kha ma ra” you will find that it means covering the head. The hadith related to this issue came after this verse was revealed when the Prophet (peace be upon him) was asked what parts of a woman’s beauty are necessarily apparent as stated in the verse and interpreted this to be the hands and the face (and many include the feet). Sahih Muslim and Bukhari are now available in English in many bookstores I believe, so you can find their versions of the hadith there inshallah.
@Mena: The word “farj” in Arabic linguistically means genitals or sexually reproductive organs. As I said previously, English translations of the Qur’an are ridiculous. Please stick to the Arabic text. The Arabic word for modesty is “hayaa2″. The translators who used the word modesty instead of private parts did this based on their own interpretation of the spirit of the verse, which is not incorrect, but the original Arabic verse uses the word “farj” which does not mean modesty but rather refers specifically to genitals or more generally to the private areas of the body.
You’re aboslutely right that there is a big difference between covering one’s private parts and covering the body and hair. I’m not saying it’s an either/or situation. I like to believe I dressed modestly long before I decided to put on the hijab and I know plenty of non-hijabis who are a lot more modest than hijabis. So that’s not what I’m saying. But the verse does use the word “khomorehen” which linguistically means something that covers the head, and tells women to cast their “khomor” over their bosoms. This coupled with the Prophetic interpretation of ‘necessarily apparent beauty’ as face and hands is enough proof for me. If it’s not for you that’s your perogative. I’m not trying to preach to anyone in this article, I’m just explaining my point of view and my understanding (which is the mainstream understanding) of the verse.
@mohammed: I agree that politicians use these peripheral issues to distract the population away from more pressing issues like corruption, torture, poverty, inequality etc. Politicians in any tyrannical regime will use any means possible to keep the populace busy. There’s nothing new there. Those who think that unveiled women are “inferior” are grossly mistaken. The only superiority or inferiority in human beings is in the eyes of God, as we’re told in the Qur’an “O mankind! We created you from a single (pair) of a male and a female, and made you into nations and tribes, that you may know one another. Verily the most honoured of you in the sight of Allah [God] is the most righteous of you. And Allah has full knowledge and is well acquainted (with all things).” However, I reserve the right to explain my point of view about the hijab to those who genuinely want to know, after all, how else can we get to “know one another” if we don’t understand each other’s point of view?
@Darcy: Thank you for explaining about Khimar and Farj. The translations really are pitiful, I really wish translators would just translate the text and put their own interpretation between brackets, rather than just omiitting the original wording and replacing it with their own interpretation. This is a great article about manipulations in Qur’anic translations http://www.readingislam.com/servlet/Satellite?c=Article_C&cid=1254573639134&pagename=Zone-English-Discover_Islam%2FDIELayout&ref=body.
@Farida: Excellent point about original verses servile imitation!
Also check out this article written by a a researcher at Oxford University.
http://www.readingislam.com/servlet/Satellite?c=Article_C&cid=1189959192008&pagename=Zone-English-Discover_Islam%2FDIELayout
It provides the names of a large number of famous female Islamic scholars and teachers during the time of the Prophet and the subsequent generations. Very fascinating.
Deena,
Allow me to commend you on your flawless writing skills. I am not a fan of either wearing the hijab and I do not acknowledge the usage of the niqab or burqua, but again that leads to my own personal affiliation of how I lead my Islamic life. ” Pleasing our Creator” just having you type that, elated me with so much joy, as you unlike most mohajababes.. or every revealing sexy veiled women , fails to comprehend… Anything that leads you to believe that you are one step closer to God’s divinity is in itself an amicable trait of your religious sovereignty and piety whether you are a Jew or a Christian or Muslim (Sunni/Shite)
Sadly, I have said this a million times… I might not be a fan of headscarves.. especially since the majority behind why women tend to apply it , tend to miss the deeper celestial meaning behind it, but allow me to ask you this, what is your opinion of the ‘niqab’ that seems to be overshadowing the ‘hijab’ issue. You see I also cover my hair and wear loose fitting garments while kneeling and praying to my Creator. However it is mentioned in the Holy Quran that we must show our face and palms to Him. That being said, how it vexes me to see women of all creeds, IQ’s employ that wearing the niqab is as if a gateway to Paradise…. If you cover your whole face and body for Man, I think that in turn leads to empowerment of men.. and sorry but Allah is the omnipotent Supremacy that I only believe in.. The order of men has sought it plausible to suppress women and abuse us for many centuries.. hence welcome to the 21st century where we have regained a lot of our rights back.. and I can not stand still and watch our world of misogynist men take our rights again.. using Islam the same way terrorists do for their own political agendas.
Thank you again for a flawless read, I have shared your article with my class at the Aarhus University, Denmark during our globalization modules. From a Western point of view, they felt that your opinion was genuine and real, hardly a radical notion, but a true sense of heart and integrity.
Thank you for your kind words, I am sure Deena will appreciate them despite the disagreement. This is how we can have a conversation about the issues at hand.
Well thought, well put, hats off
:):)
Deena,
Your article is certainly timely, if nothing else. Two weeks ago after having been bombarded with anti-niqab, anti-burqa news from every medium, I also decided to put my cents in by creating and uploading my first Youtube video explaining my view (the most extreme view) of the veil in Islam. I was neither expecting to persuade anyone that my position should be implemented, nor was I hoping to be the one to bring in new understanding on this hot topic. Islam is over 1400 years old, and the women of Islam have been veiling since Allah made it a compulsory act of worship; I strongly doubt that our say in the matter will make any difference to anyone on either side of the discussion.
I went from not wearing hijab at all, to wearing the head scarf (khimar); now, I wear niqab, too. It took me thirteen years to transition to the full veil. You list several reasons for your choice to wear hijab which I applaud. I made the decision solely as an act of worship. I was not forced by anyone; in fact, others have chastised me for my decision, Muslims included. Many say that I have gone to the extreme, and others say that I’m committing bid’ah (bringing in a new practice to the religion). They say the full veil is cultural and has no place in Islam itself but is an old Arab practice. Sometimes, I entertain them a little by engaging in brief discussions. Other times, I don’t have the desire nor the patience to debate over an issue that is so divisive as well as decisive. The truth is each individual is going to do what is written for her. A group of Muslim women will wear the khimar. Another group will wear the khimar and the niqab, and there’ll also be some who wear neither. Like Sarah Al-Mojaddidi mentions in comment 22, what you wear is not THE defining factor in where you end up in next life. Everyone will be judged according to her deeds, and every deed will be judged by its intention. Allah knows best which of our deeds are worthy of being rewarded and which ones are not.
I really appreciate the way you present your views here. You bring many verses from Qur’an and make a compelling case for the Muslim veil. I did not notice much evidence from the Ahadith, but I understand some people prefer to use the Qur’an only as a source. It is from the ways of the contemporary women of the time of the Prophet (may peace and blessings be upon him) to cover the entire body. This practice was well established and accepted way before we came along. It is not up to us to have any more opinions on a practice that Allah has already made compulsory, so I pray that He will forgive us our views, whatever they may be. I pray that He will accept our good intentions in this matter and not take us to task over what we say and of which we have limited knowledge. Please, Allah make us from those with whom you are pleased. Ameen.
Thank you so much Bikya. I have never read such a thoughtful narrative that is so clear.
Thank you for taking time to explain something that is so refreshing. You make it clear that this is your choice and why and not speaking for everyone.
So often this subject is so controversial and so misunderstood. You have made it very comprehensible and ultimately up to each individual and their context, circumstance and beliefs.
Beautifully written and presented.
You have created a window for increased understanding.
Thank you.
@Sarah: Thank you so much for your kind words, I’m humbled! “Anything that leads you to believe that you are one step closer to God’s divinity is in itself an amicable trait of your religious sovereignty and piety whether you are a Jew or a Christian or Muslim (Sunni/Shite)” I love that comment.
As for your question about niqab, my opinion is based on my understanding of Islamic jurisprudence which says that if there is a difference of opinion among scholars about a certain thing, then nobody (scholars or otherwise) has the right to declare that thing as definitely obligatory or definitely forbidden. Rather one must say “there is a difference of opinion and my personal belief is so & so”.
That being said, my personal belief is that the niqab is neither obligatory nor forbidden, I follow those scholars’ opinions (al-Qaradawi being one of them) that the niqab is at least permissible and at most encouraged.
I disagree with those who mount campaigns against women who wear niqab and I am completely against banning it as I view the niqab as a matter of personal choice.
My evidence is based on the fact that the Prophet (peace be upon him) during the time of performing the pilgrimage to the Kaaba in Mecca ordered those women who were covering their faces to expose their faces during the pilgrimage (which is similar to what you said about showing your face while praying). Since he did not order them to remove their face veils all the time, that to me indicates that it is not forbidden, but since he told them to remove the face veils during pilgrimage, that to me indicates that it is not obligatory. Thus, I believe that the Prophet viewed it as a matter of personal choice.
Imam Fadel Soliman (an Egyptian-American Islamic speaker) said it best “I don’t encourage the niqab, I don’t wish to see my wife wear it or my daughter wear it, but if either of them insist upon wearing it, it is my duty as a Muslim to support their choice and I will fight for their freedom to choose”.
It’s kind of surreal to think that there are students at a university in Denmark reading my article! Thank you and I’m glad they liked it
@Laila: Thank you so much
@Magda: I really appreciate your comment and I agree with the points you made. I absolutely agree that how you dress is not THE sole defining factor in how you end up in the next life. I view the hijab as a “fardh” (an obligatory deed) among other “fardh” deeds. Just because I wear hijab doesn’t mean that there are other areas that I have failed in or am lacking in. Nobody is perfect and everybody makes mistakes, it is up to God and God alone to decide which mistakes He will forgive and which He will not.
We all know the hadith where the Prophet tells us that a prostitute was forgiven by God and He will enter her into paradise because she took pity on a dog that was dying of thirst and gave it some of her water. That hadith, to me speaks volumes about not abandoning the spirit of the law when following the letter of the law.
“I did not notice much evidence from the Ahadith, but I understand some people prefer to use the Qur’an only as a source”.
Actually the intention of this article was not to provide evidence for hijab in Islam. The intention is to explain to people my own personal point of view, it was not meant to be a legalistic article in any way. A debate about the hukm and daleel of Islamic practices is a subject for another time and place, not here.
Thank you so much and JAK for your kind prayer
. Thank you for that reminder sister.
@Carole: Thank you for your kind comment! You summed up exactly what my intention was from this piece. I am so glad you enjoyed it.
Just wondering what Deena thinks re:
1. Arguments that the verse with khimar came in a time when the culture of Arabia covered their heads – men and women.
2. That all the 4 schools scholarship pertaining to “covering” are mainly discussed in books of awra regarding to prayer, and they specifically divide how free women and slave women should dress. Some jurists even accepted slave women to pray without a head covering and allow to show their calves and forearms, because of their lifestyle, whereas noble women had to stay covered from head to toe to show their social status. There is also a tradition that has Umar (r) threatening to beat a slave woman if she covered her head this copying noble woman. How does this translate into a world where slavery doesn’t exist the way it did back during the 4 schools?
3. The hadith pertaining covering everything but the face and hands (when the Prophet walked in on Asmaa and pointed to his face and hands) is actually mursal _ ie, missing a link and thus considered extremely weak.
i could go on…
thanks
@Wondering: I’ve tried to respond to all the comments so far but I feel they’re getting more and more into the legalistic aspect of the hijab which is NOT the subject of this post and it is definitely not a debate I want to get into here. However I find your points interesting and I will do my best inshaallah to respond to them by email. If you have any other similar points please feel free to email me at deenakhalil@gmail.com.
Please if anybody else has any other comments related to the hukm (legal status) of the hijab or niqab in Islamic law please send them to my email and I will do my best to respond.
Thank you.
you said “An Act of Pride”, is not that what the devil good at?, bride.
Sister, there is no bride in religion, but humility…but that is my religion.
peace
@Wondering: I was planning on responding to you privately through email, but I decided to respond here just in case anybody else is interested in responses to your quesitons:
So Bismillah,
1) “The verse with khimar came in a time when the culture of Arabia covered their heads – men and women.” I’m not sure what your point is. Sure, men and women covered their heads, but the verse is addressed to women only, so I’m not sure what your argument is. How exactly does the cultural practice during the time a verse was revealed affect the legal ruling from a methodological perspective? All rulings in fiqh are derived from the 4 sources (qur’an, sunnah, consensus and analogy), Arabian culture at the time does not fit into the scientific methodology used to derive the law. For example Arabian culture at the time prohibited murder, and yet a verse was revealed to prohibit murder. You cannot say that the verse was only reiterating the cultural practice at the time and thus does not apply to current circumstances, and thus murder should be allowed. Furthermore, the verse makes it clear that the point is to cover. You don’t have to wear the same style of khimar or jilbab, because style of dress is cultural. As long as you abide by the spirit of the verse (which is covering).
2) i) The issue of umar saying a bondwoman should not cover her hair does not mean that the rationale behind covering is to distinguish the free woman from the bondwoman, it merely goes with the spirit that bondwomen have less responsibility than free women. A Sheikh once told me that one of the key philosophical underpinnings of Fiqh in Islam is that freedom and responsibility are directly related. Thus, the less freedom you have, the less responsibility. This is consistent with the mainstream Fiqh opinion regarding the punishments in Islam where bondmen and bondwomen are perscribed lesser punishment for breaking the law than a free man or woman. ii) Most Islamic scholars actually came to the conclusion that the “awra” of the bondwoman is the same as that of the freewoman. iii) Even if we take all your points into consideration, the verse does not say ‘Oh Prophet, tell the free women…’ it says “tell the BELIEVING women”. So whether you are free or not, as long as you are a believing woman then this verse is referring to you.
3) al-hadith al-mursal is a huge category and actually does not necessarily indicate the weakness of a hadith. You can’t just repeat things you hear about hadith authenticity without being a scholar because the scientific method is so rigorous there are details you and I may not know about. Mursal just means that someone in the chain between the speaker and the Prophet (PBUH) is not mentioned. In this case, if the one who did the irsal is known to have lived with the sahaba (companions) and is known for his trustworthiness and accuracy, then it is reasonable to believe that he did not lie in what he said and that he heard it from a companion of the Prophet. But regardless of all that, this hadith is not actually the basis of the legal ruling on hijab. The basis is the Qur’anic verses along with the practice of the Prophet’s wives and female companions and scholarly consensus.
If you still have any remaining contentions with the legal ruling on covering the hair, please direct it to a trusted scholar or IslamOnline.net.
@Salah: Thank you for your comment brother. However, I believe you are speaking about vanity. There is a difference between pride and vanity. When I say pride I mean “3izza”. It means practicing your beliefs with love and confidence, and not being apologetic. Practicing your beliefs with 3izza.
“يا أَيّÙهَا الَّذينَ آمَنوا Ù…ÙŽÙ† يَرتَدَّ Ù…ÙنكÙÙ… عَن دينÙÙ‡Ù ÙَسَوÙÙŽ يَأتÙÙŠ اللَّه٠بÙقَوم٠يÙØÙبّÙÙ‡ÙÙ… ÙˆÙŽÙŠÙØÙبّونَه٠أَذÙلَّة٠عَلَى المÙؤمÙنينَ أَعÙزَّة٠عَلَى الكاÙÙرينَ ÙŠÙجاهÙدونَ ÙÙŠ سَبيل٠اللَّه٠وَلا يَخاÙونَ لَومَةَ لائÙÙ…Ù”
That, brother, is what I mean by pride.
May God protect us all from vanity.
see Khaled Abou El Fadl’s “And God Knows The Soldiers”
Chapter “Lecherous Suspicions: DO YOU DARE QUESTION THE HIJAB?”
For a great discussion on the varying opinions in regards to covering the hair
Peace be upon you, and may it lie gently by your side always and forever.
To one of my best friends,
I just wanna express my admiration and respect to the way you expressed your opinion through 4 different angles. I can see how those classes you are taking are enriching your knowledge and solidifying your beliefs. If you don’t mind, I’ll quote your arguments when I have a discussion about Hijab.
Peace be upon you, and may it lie gently by your side always and forever. “Michael Keane”
@Hijabman: Thanks for the references.
And I would be honoured if you ever use something I said to spread more knowledge about and understanding towards the hijab and Islam in general. JAK for repeating that beautiful duaa and come back home soon!
@Michael: That’s a really lovely duaa. JAK brother.
@Kholy: Thanks so much for your comment
thanks Deena.
Obviously culture does play a HUGE role in how any ruling is made up because that’s what scholars at the time were surrounded by and how they saw life, and many rulings in fact state, “According to what is known at this time” meaning culturally acceptable.
If the ruling was made to Believing women, then why weren’t bondwomen included at that time too?
Also there are arguments about what consensus really entails and how ijma is made _ who is to say who is acceptable in ijma or not. Who is to say that scholars who are qualified but have contrversial opinions were denied “entry” into the ijma. Al-Ghazali (contemp) himself refused to say that hijab was from al-Usool as opposed to al-Furoo’ because he said that if anyone who denies the obligation of hijab would be a kaffir.. Incidentally, al-Ghazali is kept out of modern day ijma in some circles.
But I would be interested to see what you have to say after reading Khaled Abou el Fadl’s Speaking in God’s Name, Chapter 7 and listening to his audio on Hijab.
Hi Deena, did you get to keep your clitoris or was it excised?