Banning Burqa’ From the Streets
Reading time: 20 - 32 minutes
In the Name of Allaah, the Most Beneficent, the Most Merciful
All praise be to Allaah.
The shaytaan - Sarkozy - in his recent attempts to ban the burqa’, has stated that,
“The burqa’ is not a religious sign. It is a sign of subservience, a sign of debasement… It will not be welcome on the territory of the French Republic.”
This shaytaan is telling us - the Muslims - what is and is not a part of the Deen of the Almighty Creator! May Allaah destroy his plans and plots, for Allaah is the best of plotters.
Sadly, alongside this shaytaan, there are many other shayateen who claim to be Muslims yet call for the same thing: ban of the Burqa’ from the streets of Britain. These hypocrites nowadays are not afraid to voice their opinions, and are poisoning the minds of the Muslims. Be cautious of them.
Muslim women - or Muslims in general - when asked questions about this issue either become too appologetic or they answer with something totally contrary to the essence of Islaam. If Allaah wills, the following should set an example of how to answer the haters of Islaam.
The following has been devised from the recent discussion of Shaykh Haitham al-Haddad (soon to be uploaded online insha’Allaah; keep an eye on this site), with additions by the author.
A Muslim must realise that when asked a question, the answer they give should concentrate on the “content” rather than how the audience may perceive it. We are here to please Allaah - the Creator -; not to satisfy those who oppose Him or anyone else.
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Imaam Shakeel Begg (LKIC) - Advice to Muslims Concerning Niqaab and Hijaab:
Shakeel Begg - Quwwah (right click and “save target as” to download)
Now you are prepared to move on to the next part.
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Why do Muslim women wear the Burqa’?
All human beings have been created by a Creator – that Creator is Allaah azza wa jall. This Creator is all-Knowing and all-Wise. He knows what is better for us and what is not.
He created us for a noble purpose – to worship Him alone. The best and only manner of worshipping Him is the manner which He prescribed upon us. The Creator commanded us to do certain things, to allow us to live peacefully and in tranquillity in this life and in the next life.
On the Day of Resurrection He will question all of mankind about their affairs – who submitted themselves to Him, who fulfilled His Commandments and so on; may Allaah make our scales heavy with goodness on that Day.
He will do so because He has made this life as a test. There are those who will get below 40% and fail; others will cross that 40% boundary and pass and yet others will excel and go beyond 70% – may Allaah make us amongst those who excel in His worship.
The human life is divided into two parts; life before death and life after death. The ones who fulfil the purpose of creation will attain tranquillity and peace in this life and in the next. Without a doubt, the 60-70 years of this lifetime is nothing compared to the eternal life of the Hereafter.
The Muslim women who wear the Burqa’ – may Allaah shower His blessings upon them and grant them eternal happiness – they do so to fulfil the Commandment of their Creator. They submit to the Will of their Creator by obeying what He has prescribed for them. They know that fulfilling all that their Creator has prescribed upon them will lead them to the eternal Abode.
Whatever the all-Knowing, all-Wise, Creator legislates is better for all of humanity.
“… Allâh knows and you know not.”
[Al Qur’aan – Surah al-Baqarah (002:232)]
To sum it up, Muslim women wear the Burqa’ because it is a Commandment from their Creator.
All Praise be to Allaah.
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Do you want all women – east or west, Muslimah or kaafirah – to wear the Burqa’?
We want all human beings to follow all the guidelines set by the Creator; that is better for them, if only they knew.
Once a woman submits to the Will of her Creator, she will understand the purpose of life, and she will automatically wear the Burqa’ alongside fulfilling the other requirements of the one who submits themselves to their Creator.
Muslim women – may Allaah grant them the eternal Abode – when they convert from kufr (i.e. disbelief) into Islaam – the truth, the guidance for humanity – they start wearing the Burqa’, covering their faces and bodies, without anyone telling them to do so. This is because they have understood the purpose of life and what is required for each individual to fulfil that purpose for which they have been sent – to worship the Creator as He wills.
Once the woman wears the Burqa’, she gets her dignity. For a person to understand that, they must study Islaam and submit to the Will of their Creator.
To sum it up, according to a Muslim, all kuffaar (i.e. disbelievers) should submit to the Will of the Creator and then they will understand the purpose of life and what is required of them to fulfil that purpose.
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Does the Qur’aan speak about Burqa’?
In the Qur’aan – the direct, undistorted Speech of Allaah – the Creator commands us to offer the Salaat (i.e. daily prayers). However He does not tell us how many times or how. He commands us to pay the Zakaat (i.e. charity), but He does not tell us about the exact amount to pay.
There are likewise many issues mentioned, but not discussed in detail in the Qur’aan. The Creator’s apostle – Muhammad (pbuh) - was sent for the purpose of explaining those matters and to set the example. This is why we pray five times a day, and pay 2.5% Zakaat every year. This is how we understand what the dress code for men and women are.
Other than that, the Creator has proclaimed in His Qur’aan:
“O Prophet! Tell your wives and your daughters and the women of the believers to draw their (Jalabeeb) cloaks (veils) all over their bodies (i.e. screen themselves completely except the eyes or one eye to see the way). That will be better, that they should be known (as free respectable women) so as not to be annoyed. And Allâh is Ever Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful.”
[Al Qur’aan – Surah an-Ahzaab (033:059)]
Ibn Katheer (a fourteenth century scholar) (r) said about this particular Verse in his commentary of the Qur’aan, which is held highly by the Muslim population:
“Here Allaah tells His Messenger to command the believing women - especially his wives and daughters, because of their position of honor - to draw their Jilbaabs over their bodies, so that they will be distinct in their appearance from the women of the Jahiliyyah (pre-Islaamic era of ignorance) and from slave women. The Jilbaab is a Rida’, worn over the Khimaar. This was the view of Ibn Mas`ood, `Ubaydah, Qatadah, Al-Hasan Al-Basri, Sa`id bin Jubayr, Ibrahim An-Nakha`i, `Ata’ Al-Khurasani and others (collection of companions of Muhammad (pbuh) and righteous scholars of the next generation). It is like the Izar used today (Ibn Katheer is speaking of his own time). Al-Jawhari said: “The Jilbaab is the outer wrapper. `Ali bin Abi Talhah reported that Ibn `Abbaas said that Allaah commanded the believing women, when they went out of their houses for some need, to cover their faces from above their heads with the Jilbaab, leaving only one eye showing. Muhammad bin Sirin said, “I asked `Ubaydah As-Salmani about the Ayah: {… to draw their Jalabeeb over their bodies…} He covered his face and head, with just his left eye showing.”
{That will be better, that they should be known (as free respectable women) so as not to be annoyed} means, if they do that, it will be known that they are free, and that they are not servants or whores.
{And Allâh is Ever Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful} means with regard to what happened previously during the days of Jahiliyyah (pre-Islaamic era of ignorance), when they did not have any knowledge about this.
[Tafseer ibn Katheer]
The scholars give various explanations. Some scholars say that the Muslim woman should cover all of her body, her hands and face. Other scholars say that she should cover all of her body but she may uncover the face and hands. Many people try to use this as an excuse to rip the Muslim women off their rights. The scholars who allow for the uncovering of the faces and hands do not disapprove of covering the face; rather they encourage it as a better alternative.
If one takes the Qur’aan in a very literal way, then they will find it does not talk about a lot of things. If however one understands the Qur’aan in the way it should be understood, then it explains everything. All praise be to Allaah.
So to sum it up, the Qur’aan does talk about the Burqa’, and for a person to understand that they must look at the interpretations of the Verses of how the Muslims of the early generations understood and practiced it; even then it is clear about what is required from the aforementioned Verse. The person must first submit to the Will of their Creator and then they will understand the purpose of life and its requirements.
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Is the Burqa’ obligatory?
This question is irrelevant. If we prove to you that it is obligatory, will you accept it and let us live our lives in peace?
The scholars have a consensus that the niqaab (face veil) is part of the Islaamic dress for Muslim women. Those scholars who say that the face may be uncovered recommend the women to wear the niqaab and none of the scholars say that “the niqaab is not obligatory”.
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Does this mean that all disbelieving women are immodest?
The Burqa’ is raising the level of modesty of a woman.
The woman walking around in a mini-skirt is not the same as the woman who covers her legs. Likewise the one who covers her body such that her clothing is loose and not revealing, and covers her face is not the same as the former two. Each one is on a different level of modesty, with the latter being the most modest. The one who wears the niqaab should thus be praised for raising her level of modesty.
The one who gives £1000 in charity and the one who gives £100 are not the same. We would say that the former is more generous, likewise the one who wears niqaab is more modest.
As stressed earlier, the obligation is more important than modesty and Muslim women wear the Burqa’ primarily to fulfil the Commandment of their Creator.
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The Qur’aan only speaks of modesty, shouldn’t simple modesty be enough?
The Creator in His undistorted, uncreated, Speech – the Qur’aan – mentioned the requirement of what the women should wear. The Creator mentions the Jilbaab (i.e. “cloak”) by word [in 033:059 – “jalabeeb”]. Moreover the companions of the Creator’s Apostle (pbuh) and the generation after them understood that to mean covering all of the body including the face.
The Qur’aan is not speaking about modesty only and it most certainly did not leave the definition of what modesty is to us. Qur’aan says that once the women adopt the Jilbaab modesty is achieved.
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Why do men not cover their faces?
The Creator did not tell the men to cover their faces and thus the early generations of Muslims did not cover their faces as part of a religious obligation. This is why men do not cover their faces.
One must ask, is there a difference between the body of a man and the body of a woman? Any person with a little bit of intellect will reply with a yes. If one is still adamant then realise that on the beach where everyone in the civilized societies strip off and go for a swim, a man covers what is below his navel and above his knees, whereas a woman covers her chest as well alongside that. So there is a difference in their bodies.
The face of a man is not as attractive to a woman, as a face of a woman is attractive to a man. A man after being shown a photograph of a woman or a pretty woman may be “interested” in her, whereas a woman seeing a picture of a “pretty” man may not feel the same way as the other man was feeling towards the woman. Generally the desire of a woman is not provoked when she just sees a man’s face; instead she would be interested in the man’s characteristics first.
The Creator is all-Knowing and all-Wise and in His Wisdom of understanding the nature of men and the nature of women, He commanded the women to cover their faces and not the men.
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If women’s desires are not provoked by looking at a man’s face, then why does the Qur’aan order them to lower their gazes as well?
True, but the Creator did not say that a woman is not allowed to look at the face of a man. He commanded her to lower her gaze not to see the man’s private parts, if such situation were to arise, or not to look when she may feel attracted towards that man.
Allaah, the Creator, knows that the face of the woman is attractive - as He created it - and the face of the man is not as attractive to a woman (compared to a man looking at a woman). Thus He commanded the women to cover their faces.
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Are women forced to wear the Burqa’?
The word “force” is often used in this scenario in a negative manner – this is done to add oil to the flame.
If your son is hanging around with drug dealers around the corner, would you not “force” him to leave their company?
When a person is working for someone and the employer comes and tells the employee, “Do this task or leave”, and the employee is compelled to do that task, isn’t that “force”?
Aren’t people in this civilized country “forced” to park their cars in certain places, and “forced” to pay insurance on their vehicles?
Muslim women wear their Burqa’ and their parents, brothers, sisters, husbands tell them to wear their Islaamic dress, as Muslims are commanded to protect their families from the Hellfire – which results from disobedience to the Creator. Often times, non-practicing parents “force” their daughters not to wear the Burqa’, but the Muslim woman – may Allaah protect her – fulfils the Commandment of her Creator instead. All praise be to Allaah.
Isn’t a student “forced” to wear the uniform of their school? Likewise in Islaam there are uniforms for the worshippers of the Creator. The uniform for the Muslim women is the Burqa’.
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Is the Burqa’ a security threat?
Muslims have been living in the UK for a long time. Muslims did not have any problems with national security resulting from a woman wearing a Burqa’. If there is a specific case, bring it on and it will be discussed.
If you tell the Muslim woman that she cannot wear her Burqa’ in your country, where you have welcomed her to come from another country to practice what you call “freedom”, then will she ever grow in respect for your land? Will she feel attached to this land, and appreciate this land?
Rather her children will grow up hating the system and the country because you ripped their mother off her rights and subjugated her to the double standards oppression of your regime.
Thus this banning will only be counter-productive and not produce the desired effect. All praise be to Allaah.
If you speak of cohesion between societies, then you can never achieve this by forcing a minority to not practice their way of life, provided that the practice does not harm the society in general.
Who does the Burqa’ harm?
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The Niqaab is a barrier to communication.
So are the internet and the telephone. Ban them too and make everything face-to-face.
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The Niqaab is a symbol of subjugation.
Who says? What is your evidence other than your own whims?
I believe having to wear revealing clothes is subjugation to the perverted society.
What is the criterion to judge “subjugation”?
In the Netherlands, red light district, you have naked women standing inside shop windows, just to draw the passer by in, just to please men. Isn’t this perverted sexual slavery or do you call it “freedom of choice”?
Women’s rights in the West are being violated, they are being dishonoured and ill-treated. This is not human rights and this is what you want to impose on the rest of the World!? We seek refuge with Allaah from this wickedness.
Amongst the women who migrate from the subcontinents and so on, often times they do not wear the Burqa’; whereas the Muslim academic woman, born in the West, brought up in Western society, educated in the Western universities, wears the Burqa’. Doesn’t that tell you something?
Get over your hatred of the Truth and submit to the Creator.
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A final piece of advice…
Islaam is flourishing whether you like it or not. Islaam will take over every corner of the Earth. It is better that you learn to live with the Muslims now than at a time when Allaah will remove you from your position.
Western civilization is coming to an end. Is it because of Muslims? No.
You are doing it to yourselves. Your motives in this World are different than the motives of the Muslims in this World. You busy yourselves with the dollar and dime, and neglect family life, and the raising of children.
Statistically by 2050, there will be no single pure Danish person left in Denmark. Are Muslims the cause of that? No. You do not have enough children to carry on your blood and heritage. You have a problem with your fertility rate. It is your fault.
You have a distorted view towards the purpose of life; you do not like to get married and have children, then what else do you expect? Help yourselves.
Islaam is the fastest growing religion in the World, no matter what you do. Islaam is the truth; it fits in to human nature.
You try to follow a version of “Christian values” that you yourselves have distorted through time. Go back to the original Christianity and we Muslims will cheer you along. Since going back to the true way of Eesaa (Jesus) (pbuh) is nothing but Islaam – pure monotheism towards the God of Abraham (pbuh).
Do not blame the Muslims by claiming that we are taking over. It’s not our fault; it’s your fault.
Why is Islaam flourishing in secular countries? Simply because secularism is not fulfilling people’s needs.
The number of disbelieving women leaving their lives of ignorance and embracing Islaam is greater in number than the number of men! Is that our fault? Is it because Islaam doesn’t give “women’s rights”? Or is it because those women - may Allaah shower His blessings upon them - have realised the truth and are submitting themselves to their Creator?
Hatred of Islaam should not stop you from finding out about the reality.
[The video for the above content from "A Final Piece of Advice" up until this line has not been uploaded online for some reason. Allaah knows best.]
The Creator of the Heavens and the Earth said:
“And who does more wrong than the one who invents a lie against Allâh, while he is being invited to Islâm? And Allâh guides not the people who are Zâlimûn (polytheists, wrong-doers and disbelievers) folk.
They intend to put out the Light of Allâh (i.e. the religion of Islâm, this Qur’ân, and Prophet Muhammad SAW) with their mouths. But Allâh will complete His Light even though the disbelievers hate (it).”
[Al Qur'aan - Surah as-Saff (061:007-008)]
We encourage all the Muslim sisters to fulfill their obligation in their religion, and support your other sisters by raising your own level of modesty in their footsteps. May Allaah guide us all.
Anything that is good is solely from Allaah and anything that is bad is from me and shaytaan the accursed.
All praise be to Allaah.
If you answer “yes”, then state why …
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Bismillahir Rahmaanir Raheem
“Get over your hatred of the Truth and submit to the Creator.”
I’ve not finished reading the article just yet; but as for the above quote, then I’d like to know; are these the words of Shaikh Haitham, or the - for lack of a better word - sentiments of the author?
Jazak’Allahu khairan
Salaamu’alaikum
wa ‘alaykumus salaam wa rahmatullaah,
A kind gesture from the author.
When the video of Sheikh Haitham comes, we will have it uploaded as well insha’Allaah.
(new contents have been added at the top - mp3)
JazakAllaahu khayran
Bismillahir Rahmaanir Raheem
The questions throughout the article; were they posed to Sheikh Haitham by a non-Muslim or did the above come by way of general discussion?
Jazak’Allahu khairan
Salaamu’alaikum
wa ‘alaykumus salaam wa rahmatullaah,
Sheikh Haitham collected these questions, which he felt were most common from his research of Muslim interviews on TV and radio shows, where they were asked about these particular issues (with the exception of the one about communication, that was posed by a Muslim).
They say that which emanates from the heart reaches the heart. Maybe there’s something here that from my heart, and maybe it’ll reach yours bi’ithnillah.
————————
Bismillahir Rahmaanir Raheem
All praise belongs to Allah [swt], for I have managed to read the article in its entirety. “Go back to the original Christianity and we Muslims will cheer you along.” Priceless! Masha’Allah!!
I’d like to point out however, that maybe at times the phraseology needs to be a bit more sensitive, if you will, to the fact these are non-Muslims that are being answered to, and thus too much of a stern and sometimes fierce approach may not necessarily be the best thing. But since I cannot distinguish between the Sheikhs answers and the author’s additions, I shan’t comment further. May Allah [swt] reward Sheikh Haitham, as well as the author, for their hard work and effort in conveying His message. And Allah knows best.
What I will comment on, with the permission and help of Allah, is the wider - and somewhat bitter -picture that this hot debated topic takes root from. The topic of women’s rights in Islaam, or rather, lack of, is not a new argument for critics of the religion of Allah. Rather, it is something that has gone on for many years, possibly even decades; in this perversely ‘free’ society that we’re unfortunately part of. It is something that they, be it Nicolas Sarkozy, Jack Straw or any other free-thinking ‘liberated’ individual or group, have used to make Muslims feel small, trapped, backward, primitive, and most importantly, unwelcome in today’s ever-progressive society . Essentially, it is a means of poking fun at and mocking the religion of Allah, by ridiculing those who stand steadfast in the face of adversity; who practice their religion openly, and worship Allah as He [swt] deserves to be worshipped. May Allah [swt] elevate them, Ameen.
But see, although we can become angry and fed-up of constantly being put down by them - the disbelievers whose hearts Allah has sealed from the truth – we still fail to recognise, or rather acknowledge, the greater problem on our hands. The greater, in fact, the greatest problem on our hands, is not what some French, Russian, English or American dithering idiot has to say about our women and our religion; our greatest problem is what OUR women, OUR men, OUR brothers, and OUR sisters have to say about their own religion. Those who profess laa ilaaha ill Allah, and yet we fail to understand and enact the obligations of our belief. Our problems stem from our own weaknesses; the weakness of the Ummah of Muhammad [saw].
Gone are the days of Hamza, ‘Umar and Khalid [radhi’Allahu anhum], when not only did they profess laa ilaaha ill Allah, but rather they challenged those who disbelieved to cross paths with them, to step up with their criticisms, mocking and accusations. No-one dared. And today? Today, it’s the disbelievers who challenge the Muslims. And instead of stepping up to the mark, the Muslims cower away, shy and trying to conceal themselves. So much so that today one cannot distinguish between Ben, Ranjit and Ahmad, because they all look, speak and act the same! You cannot decipher between Janet and a sister whose mother very beautifully named her Jannat, because she feels a need to conceal her identity. Inna lillahi wa inna ilayhi raji’oon!
If you skim through the initial article, you will see that it recurrently resounds with the same point, coming back, again and again, to obeying Allah [swt], obedience to Him Alone, and submission to His Commands. Many of us profess laa ilaaha ill Allah, and I guess to some lesser or greater degree we act upon it too. Walhamdulillah. But we have a long way to go. As an Ummah, we have a very long way to go. What we profess with our tongues and what our heart [and thus our bodily actions], profess, are two very different things. Before we retort to the ridicule of the disbelievers, we need to realise that we have brought on our own state of affairs. We have watered down our Tawheed, and thus we have watered down all aspects of our religion. Cast your minds away from the veil for a second, and think to another obligation. Think to the obligation of salaah [prayer]. How common a belief has it become, amongst us, the Ummah of Muhammad [saw], that ‘hey, since I’ve got work 9-5, I can just make my Dhuhr and ‘Asr qadhaa’. How many Muslims think it’s perfectly fine to miss the salaah in its fixed, stated time, and to just go home and pray them all one time, just before bed? How many parents, and yes it’s pitiful, but how many parents don’t let children fast in the blessed month of Ramadhaan, because ‘the day is long, and they have school, and then there’s football after school, and he’ll get tired.’ Why don’t they ever say, hey, forget school, forget football, and just fast today? Why don’t we ever say, ‘hey, let’s cut lunch by 10 mins and pray instead?’
Take it a step back. “Non-practicing” Muslims popping each other off. Gang fighting, rivalry, drive by shootings. You killed my brother so I’ll kill yours. Why? Drugs. Money. If they really believed in the laa ilaaha ill Allah that they profess to, then wouldn’t they fear the fact that one Day they’ll be standing before that very Creator? Wouldn’t they fear that Allah is Just, and by killing someone, not only have they taken rights from one Muslim, but his entire family, his widowed wife, his orphaned son? Wouldn’t they think about that?
Take it a step further. “Practicing” Muslims. Someone prays, they cover, they fast; fulfil all the pillars masha’Allah. Outwardly, they’re doing it all. Then Allah, out of His Mercy, afflicts them with a trial. Maybe they lose their job. Maybe they have problems with their family. Maybe they become ill. What do you hear from them? 9/10 times, you wont get someone saying, ‘Alhamdulillah. All praise is for Allah that He granted me health and wealth and stability for so long, and now He’s testing me by way of His love and mercy towards me.’ No. Rather, you’ll get a ‘Hai hai! Why me?! What did I do? Don’t I pray? Don’t I cover? Don’t I fast? I’m a good Muslim. Why me?!’ You won’t get someone trying to observe patience within themselves, someone trying to remain calm and putting their trust in Allah [swt] Alone, and leaving their affair in His care. Rather you’ll get them screaming down the phone at you, whinging for England and pitying themselves. Again, does this not stem from an inward weakness in belief?
The problems, my dearest brothers and sisters, the problems, in my humble opinion, stem from us. We have become lax in our worship of Allah, and as a result we have made way for cracks to appear within us as an Ummah, and it is because of this very weakness, because of this disease within us as one body, it is because of this that we’ve become prey to the predators. You see brothers and sisters coming in and out of the religion, one day all bearded or covered, and the next clean shaven or uncovered. As Muslims, we have disunity and disharmony on so many levels that if I began getting into the depths of it we’d be here till Ramadhaan! Subhan’Allah! The point is, we have a lot to rectify within ourselves, first and foremost, and then as a community, locally, nationally, and globally, as the Ummah of Muhammad [saw] the, greatest man to have ever walked the earth. You see, professing to Laa ilaaha ill Allah; whether you know it yet or not, whether you have that firm, sure conviction within you yet or not, mark my words, testifying that ‘There is no God worthy of worship but Allah’ has already made you a cut above the rest. You ARE the elite. The crème de la crème, the hottest kid on the block. Not in your school, college, university or local community, but in the whole wide world! Why? Because Islaam and Muslims rock! And more importantly, because victory is with Allah Alone.
Having said all that, it’s upon us to live up to Laa ilaaha ill Allah. We need to be proud of our religion, our Lord and His Noble Messenger [saw], and openly practice our religion and not shy away from our obligations as Muslims. We need to educate ourselves in our deen, because the disbelievers, the friends of shaytaan, their tactics of harming the Deen of Allah get smarter every day. They educate themselves in YOUR religion, and then they smite at YOU because they know we’re too busy trying to fit in with contemporary Western society and values. And the attack on Islam’s “oppression” of women is an easy target for them, because they know it strikes a raw nerve every time. Sometime back I read an argument about how Islam oppresses women and makes them deficient by not letting them pray while they’re menstruating [since they are impure]. They depicted Islaam as labelling women as impure! Subhan’Allah! Now, if one of us was posed a question about why this is the case, we’d probably choke right? We wouldn’t think to say, well actually, no, that’s not exactly the case. Yes women are forbidden salaah and fasting when menstruating, but it’s not because they are impure, full stop, but rather because they are in a state of impurity. Just like a man/woman who suffers from incontinence would take a special ruling where s/he necessarily performs ablution [wudhu] with every prayer. In a similar vein, women not praying whilst menstruating doesn’t mean Islaam sees women as filth, audhoobillah!
However, we cannot make such comebacks unless we educate ourselves in the fundamentals of our religion. If they are so adamant to make women equal to men in every sense of the word, then ask them to make a man start menstruating! Ask them to make men give birth! Failing that, just ask them, that after over half a century of so called liberation, why is it that women and men can be equally qualified, trained and experienced, and yet a woman gets approximately 10% less wages than a man in exactly the same role?! Or better still; ask them why, if they form such a liberal, equal, non-oppressive society, why don’t women and men perform sport together? Why is it that everyone is glued to England’s games during Twenty20 [men’s version], and yet the WOMEN WON THE FINAL and we didn’t even here an encouraging cheer!
When you counter them as such, you will see them shrink into nothingness, smiling meekly and offering pathetic excuses. The fact is, Islam DOES NOT OPPRESS WOMEN, rather it liberates them! Men and women are different; physically, mentally, and psychologically. This does not mean one is distinguished over the other, rather that they have different roles to play in life. As I said before, if you really wanna be equal, get a man to give birth! [A real man that is, not a woman who had a sex-change and became a “man” and then decided to take on the ‘manly’ role of giving birth!]
Finally, I’d like to wrap this up by going back to the original point of discussion; the Muslim woman’s veil. The unfortunate truth is that the questions posed in the original article do not reflect the sentiments of non-Muslims alone, but Muslims too. Muslim women also ask the same questions, although not as openly, but many of them don’t see the need for any form of veil, considering ‘normal’ clothing to be sufficient in maintaining their modesty.
The qualm here is with the fact that those Muslim women living in the West who feel the need to succumb to the pressures of this ill society; they’ve lost themselves to such a degree that maybe they don’t even understand what modesty is anymore. They’re caught up in a paradigm of two extremes: freedom; which translates to “normal” clothing, and oppression; which translates to any sort of veiling. On the one hand you have a bunch of fools such as Sarkozy trying to explain a woman’s liberation to her, and on the other you have Muslim scholars going on about the preservation of the woman, as part of her honour and status in Islaam. So what does a woman do? Well let me tell you ladies, no man can ever explain a woman’s modesty to her. Don’t get me wrong, they can explain it with words, and there is no doubt that our scholars [rahimahumullah] have, over the centuries, eloquently outlined and detailed what it entails to be a modest Muslimah, but what I mean is, no man can ever feel it, emotionally, spiritually and even physically. A man, even your husband, can never ever truly understand what makes [and breaks] a woman’s modesty and honour, because her honour is part of her soul, it’s precious and personal. It’s hers and only hers and she knows it and embraces it and protects it. Maybe even I don’t understand it fully yet, so the best I can do is convey my sentiments by way of a little anecdote insha’Allah…
When I was little, I used to have this thing about always looking at the jewellery pages of catalogues. I dunno why, coz I was never a girly chick alhumdulillah [!], but I was always taken in by all the sparkle and dazzle of bright, brilliant colours. I especially liked looking at a type of gem called sapphire. I dunno, I think it was just the rich, royal shade of blue, it kind of screamed elegance to me before I even understood what elegance was. Sapphire [should you Google it], had such a powerful quality about it, and I guess I loved that. But over the years, sapphire has now become common as a stone, and so you get it in lots of jewellery; mainly a knock-off fake imitation, but they do a damn good job replicating the colour! Point is, it’s common. Everyone’s wearing it, and as with all things common, it’s lost its sparkle. So, as it goes, sapphire doesn’t make me gasp anymore =(
Nonetheless, in precisely the same way, women in Islaam are also precious sapphires masha’Allah, and by preserving their modesty and covering themselves appropriately, they preserve their sparkle. If you liken a woman to a diamond, and you liken a man to all the hungry shoppers that ooh and aah at the sight of this beautifully rich, royal, dazzling creation, then you’ll see how a diamond can lose its appeal when it’s done one too many shows. Similarly, a woman on display [i.e. without veil] preserves nothing for herself and then her husband, nothing that makes her sparkle and stand out, because when she looks in the mirror, she only see an ordinary woman, common like all the other women walking down the street. If she hasn’t preserved her secrets [i.e. her beauty, intellect, humour, good nature], illuminated further by her modesty, then she can hardly expect to sparkle now can she?
All that is incorrect and false is from myself and the accursed iblees. And all that is worthy and correct is from Allah, the Most Merciful, Most Generous. We ask Allah [swt] to have mercy on the Muslims, to unite us and bring us back to the Straight Path, to grant us strength and patience to bear what they allege against us and to endow us with victory in this world and the next. Ameen ya Rabb.
Jazak’Allahu khairan for your time and patience.
Allah is a witness over us, and Allah knows best.
In the care of Allah [swt],
Wassalaamu’alaikum wa rahmatullah
I think this question may have been answered in the comments but maybe i have missed it, but who are the answers written by? Is it Shaykh Haitham?
Sheikh Haitham stated the questions and answers in his class, and it was written from there.
Additions include: the explanation of the Aayat from Tafseer ibn Katheer, the last Aayat of the article etc…
@ “Abdul-Qahhar”
wa ‘alaykis salaam wa rahmatullaah,
MashaaAllaah, may Allaah reward you for every second and every effort you made to write this eye-opening message for the Muslims and specifically the Muslim women.
We pray that it reaches the hearts of the Muslims.
Jazakillaahu khayran.
[...] video has been put online and we have edited the “Banning Burqa’ From the Streets” post and put the clips in the relevant sections. Some of the video content from the class are [...]
[...] Banning Burqa' From the Streets [...]
So much controversy over a simple peice of cloth, when all it really is to the believing woman is one more deed she hopes to present to her Lord on the day of account.
Sister Amatul Qahhar - your analogy of the muslim woman and diamonds was exceptionally beautiful. Jazaakillahu khayran.
Bismillahir Rahmaanir Raheem
Jazak’Allahu khairan to all for their generous sentiments, but praise is due to Allah [swt] Alone. As for the pseudonym that I choose to work under, then it is the name of someone quite dear to me, so although I hate to be pedantic, I can’t help but point out that it’s Abdul-Qahhaar with a double ‘a’ preceding the ‘r’.
And Allah knows best.
Jazak’Allahu khairan
Salaamu’alaikum