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The Matter that concerns
women is that of physical exposure of their bodies. It is a very
sensitive issue as most of people are quite emotional about this
subject. The Muslim clergy feels that women should stay inside
(the walls of the house); and if they go out, then they should
look like walking tents! This has been taken for granted so much
so that the clergy does not even feel that it has to quote any
authority in this regard! Allah, when talking about Jews and
Christians, had described that they have made their priests and
mystics God short of the real God. Exactly the same situation
has prevailed in our society for generations. Whatever the
Clergy says, becomes the word of God. Allah had asked Prophet
Mohammed peace be upon him in the verse
(66:1) : Why have you forbidden for yourself what is made
permissible by Allah Almighty.
But, most of the Muslim
priests and mystics consider themselves as if they have the
license to declare whatever they think is permissible, even
though it may not be allowed by Allah, and forbid what He may
have allowed. In this regard their first target is the woman.
They want to tie her down and confiscate her God given freedom.
The VEIL is one of
the most drastic of these restrictions. The veil and the
associated restrictions put on the women on this pretext,
restrains them from participating fully in all walks of life;
whereas Allah Almighty has not made any such restrictions. To
understand the background for Quranic Rules, it is important to
see the social and civil level of the society which Rasool-Allah
(Messenger) addressed at the time of the revelation of the
Holy Quran. The Holy Quran tells us that they had to be
told:
- To subdue the voice (not to
shout) when talking - (31:19)
- And do not treat people
with contempt - (31:18)
- In a gathering one should
sit in a way to make room for others and when (gathering is
finished) one should move away.
- When entering any one's
house, one must take permission - (24:27)
- If you want to take
anything from others, you must ask for it from outside -
(33:53)
- If Rasool-Allah invites
you for a meal, do not go to His house while the food is still
being prepared nor keep sitting talking after eating for
long periods.This embarrasses the host -
(33:53)
Such statements indicate the
social and cultural crudeness of the society. This was the
society that had to be educated and trained, elevating it to a
civilized level. On the other hand, in Medina, there was a big
population of non-Muslims. These were trouble makers and used to
tease women. When questioned they used to claim that had they
known that these were Muslim women, they would not have teased
them. Therefore, in Soora Al-Ahzab
(Surah 33 Verse 59) Allah asked Rasool-Allah
to tell your wives, daughters and other Momin women to wear
their Jalbab (over-all, apron upon a loose cloth over your
clothes), so that they could be recognized and not be
disturbed The next verse says that if they still continue to
tease the women, treat them like criminals (33:60). It is clear,
therefore, that the reason of wearing Jalbab is so that they
could be recognized and nothing more. The explicit nature of the
verse (33:59) indicates that the
injunctions of the Holy Quran regarding the precautions required
of Muslim women while they go out were only applicable in those
peculiar circumstances of that society. They were not forever
nor unchangeable. The prime importance should be given to the
spirit of the Quranic Injunctions. They are not changeable, but
how to apply them will vary from time to time, place to place.
For example, the reasons for going to war, in principle, are
permanent and unchangeable, but how will it be fought including
methods, tools, etc. will change from time to time. Once this
concept is understood, the need for these apparent restrictions
can be understood. In other words, the Jalbab is more of a
uniform for identification rather the anything else. In a
predominantly Muslim Society, this will not be necessary as most
of the women will be Muslim and everyone would know that. The
Holy Quran has not required anyone to cover the face nor the
head/ hair. However, it has required decent clothing and the
covering of the bosoms
(Surah Al-Noor, 24:31) and has asked the women not to show
themselves off (33:33). Similarly, confining women to their
homes is only allowed as a punishment for obscenity and
abomination
(4:15). Thus, to expect half of the humanity to be punished
by confining them to their homes for no crime is an injustice
which has no parallel. |
