IslamNewcastle

Late Show Articles and video – Hijab

The clips and articles that were used on the late show Wednesday 2nd September – ‘The Way I look – The Hijab!’

For a full article on Woman in Islam and conditions of Hijab Click HereWoman in Islam (2)

Baba Ali – ‘that’s not Hijab’

Azhar Usman [4mins onwards]

Khalid Yaseen – Muslim women

Khalid Yaseen – Hijab

The non-Muslim Hijabi

THE OBLIGATIONS OF THE ISLAMIC HIJAB

Covering ALL the body; On the authority of the wife of the Prophet (peace be upon him), Umm Salamah (may Allah be pleased with her) said: “When the verse was revealed that they should cast their outer garments over their bodies’, the women of the Ansar (Literally: the helpers.  The inhabitants of Medina, who helped those who migrated from Makkah to Medina, offering them shelter and food) came out as if they had crows over their heads by wearing outer garments.”

The hijab must not be a display; The hijab itself must not be a display.  Allah ordained it so as to cover the beauty of women and not for showing off.  Allah, Glorified be the Most High, says “And not show their adornment except only that which is apparent.” (24:31)

AND

“And stay in your houses and do not display yourselves like that of the times of ignorance.” (33:33)

It is in no way logical that the hijab itself be a source of display.

The hijab must not be transparent; The purpose of wearing the hijab must be achieved.  In order for the hijab to be a cover, it must not be made of transparent material making the woman covered only by name, while in reality she is naked.  The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, is quoted as saying: “In the latest part of my Ummah (nation of Muslims) there shall be women who would be naked in spite of being dressed, they have their hair high like the humps of the Bukht camel, curse them, for they are cursed.  They will not enter Al-Jannah and would not even perceive its odour, although its fragrance can be perceived from a distance of 500 years travelling by camel.”  This indicates that a woman could cause herself a grave and destructive sin if she puts on a garment that is thin and transparent and which clearly shapes her body’s features.

Hijab must be roomy, and not tight; The hijab is a safeguard against fitnah (destruction, ruin).  If it is tight, it will be descriptive of the woman’s body and this violates and defeats the whole purpose of hijab.

The hijab must not be perfumed; On the authority of Ad’Diya Al-Maqdisi, the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said: “Any woman who perfumes herself and passes by some people that they smell her scent, then she is a Zaniyah (adulteress).”

The hijab shouldn’t resemble the dress of a man; Imam Ahmed, an-Nasa’ee reported the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, to have said: “Women who assume the manners of men are not from us and also those of men who assume the manners of women.”  Abu Hurairah, may Allah be pleased with him, narrated that: “The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, CURSED the man who wears the dress of a woman and the woman who wears the dress of a man.”

The hijab must not resemble the garments of the kuffar; Abu Dawud and Ahmed have related the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said: “The one who take the similitude (manner) of a certain people, then he/she becomes one of them.”

Abdullah ibn ‘Umar, may Allah be pleased with him, said: “The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, saw me wearing two garments dyed in saffron (orange), whereupon he said: these are the clothes (usually worn) by the kuffar, so do not wear them.”

The hijab should not be for fame; Abu Dawud and ibn Maajah have related the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, to saying: “The one who wears a garment designed for a worldly fame, Allah will make them wear a garment of humility on the Day of Resurrection then he will be set ablaze.”  The garment of fame is any garment a person wears to make themselves look famous.  This applies whether the garment is highly precious and shows admiration to the life of this world or if it is chosen of a low quality to show lack of interest to this worldly life.  The person may put on clothes with distinct colours so as to draw attention, act proudly and/or arrogantly.

Concealed ways of hijab; Examining the various conditions about the hijab one can clearly recognize that many of the young Muslim women are not fulfilling these conditions.  Many just take ‘half-way’ measures, which not only mocks the community in which she lives, but also mocks the commands of Allah, the Most High.  They consider what they put on now wrongly as ‘hijab’.  So O muslimoon, be mindful to Allah, glorified be the Most High, and His Messenger, peace and blessings be upon him, and do not be deceived by those who ‘bless’ this action of yours and conceal their true intentions.  Do not be deceived and there is no excuse to follow the evil.

If you are sincere in achieving Al-Jannah, then be mindful of these things, InshaAllah.

Article on the Jilbab jilbab

The HIjab Script for the show

Introduction

• Every person has been created to worship Allah – male or female.
• Submission [rich, poor, young, old, black, white, powerful, weak] – universal message and purpose.
• Islam is complete and perfect.
• Muslim has self respect and honour.

The status of women in society is neither a new issue nor is it a fully settled one.

The position of Islam on this issue has been among the subjects presented to the Western reader with the least objectivity.

The word hijab

comes from the Arabic word “hajaba” meaning to hide from view or to conceal their beauty in this society and do not give in to its oppressive system, are looked upon as invisible, without sexuality, and backward.

Misconceptions/Stereotypes

Veiled Muslim women are typically unfairly stigmatized. They are regarded on the one hand as suppressed and oppressed, and on the other, as fanatics and fundamentalists. Both depictions are grossly wrong and imprecise. Such portrayals not only misrepresent these women’s strong feelings towards hijab, but also fail to acknowledge their courage and the resulting identity hijab lends to them.

Amongst such misconceptions is also the belief that any Muslim woman who wears hijab is forced to do so. Nothing could be further from the truth. Indeed, the final determination to wear hijab is often not easily reached. Days of meditation, an inevitable fear of consequences and reactions, and ultimately, plenty of courage weigh heavily in reaching the decision. Wearing hijab is a very personal and independent decision, coming from appreciating the wisdom underlying Allah’s command and a sincere wish to please Him.

Responsibility

However, with this recognition comes tremendous responsibility as highly visible representatives of Islam and Muslims. Anywhere covered sisters go, Muslims and non-Muslims alike recognize them as followers of Islam. In a land where misinformation about Islam and Muslims abounds, Muslim sisters have the opportunity to portray Islam in its true light.

But the greatest responsibility related to hijab is the understanding that there is more to hijab than just the scarf; the internalized modesty really matters. This internal moral system gives meaning to the external scarf. This can be perceived from the overall demeanor of any Muslim woman – how she acts, dresses, speaks, and so on. Only when the internalized modesty manifests itself through the external hijab can sisters represent Muslims according to the beautiful example set by the Prophet, upon whom be peace, and followed by his companions.

For Men? & Lowering the Gaze

For many women hijab is a constant reminder that unlike other women they should not have to design their lives and bodies for men.

Furthermore, modest clothing and hijab are precautions to avoid any social violations. Contrary to popular belief, this is not limited to women only. Preceding the verse in the Qur’an about women lowering their gaze comes the following verse,

“Tell the believing men to lower their gaze and be modest. That is purer for them. Lo! Allah is Aware of what they do.”
[Al-Qur’an 24:30].

In addition, on the authority of Sahl ibn Sa’d, may Allah be pleased with him, the Prophet, peace be upon him, said, “Whoever can guarantee (the chastity of) what is between his two jaw-bones (the tongue) and what is between his two legs (the private parts), I guarantee Paradise for him.” (Bukhari).

Hijab is not worn for men, to keep their illicit desires in check. Rather, Muslim women wear it for God and their own selves. Islam is a religion of moderation, of balance between extremes. Therefore, it does not expect women alone to uphold the society’s morality and uprightness. Rather, Islam asks men and women to mutually strive to create a healthy social environment where children may grow with positive, beautiful, constructive and practical values and concepts. Men are equally required to be modest and to conduct themselves responsibly in every sphere of their lives.

Feminism

But since the heyday of feminist movement, there has been an increasing amount of scrutiny placed on the dress and status of Muslim women. According to these “liberated” women, the hijab not only covers the head, but also covers the mind, will, and intellect. They say that our dress code is outdated and oppressive, and it stops us from being productive human beings.

They speak out of ignorance when they say that our hijab does not belong in these modern times, when due to the constant decrease in moral values in the world today, circumstances make the hijab even more necessary. More than ever before, sex crimes are rampant and “liberated women” in the larder society now face increasing higher chances of being raped or sexually harassed.

Outdated & oppressive?

The Hijab, Stone-age Oppresive Outerwear?

The last distorted image that will be covered is that of the Muslim women’s dress. The western influenced media portrays our dress to be outdated and oppressive. The dress code does not hinder from doing anything productive. Muslim women maintain a variety of jobs, none of which are devalued nor hampered due to their dress code. And as for the timing of muslims women’s dress during these contemporary times, it seems most appropriate due to decreasing morals in the world today.  For those who say that Islamic dress is outdated, they speak from great ignorance. The decreasing morality and trials of this time makes Hijab even more in need. More than ever before sex crimes are rampant. Although this society tells women they can wear what they want to wear, anytime a rape occurs the woman is the one put on trial an one of the first questions is, “What were you wearing?” This concept seems as though it is a set up directed against the so called contemporary woman. Also there is a direct correlation between the respect a man has for a woman and the amount of her body her body she displays flauntingly.

Rape

The Federal Government conducted research in which they found that in America, a rape is committed every six minutes.
The women, who uncover their beauty and show off their bodies and made-up faces for all to enjoy, expose themselves to be harmed by wolves in human clothing.

Allah enjoined hijab on the Muslim woman to protect her from harm. He knows his creation, and knows that when women make a dazzling display of themselves, with immodest clothes, perfumed bodies and made-up faces, it serves to increase the sexual deviance of the overall society. Many of those who are misguided would have us think though that the hijab is a portable prison that restricts our minds, lives, and hearts. It is none of these things, and in order not to fall victim to their plots, we must begin to understand what the hijab truly is.

Judged

By covering, it makes it virtually impossible for people to judge according to looks.

Compare this to life in today’s society: We are constantly sizing one another up on the basis of our clothing, jewelry, hair and makeup.  What kind of depth can there be in a world like this?  Yes, I have a body, a physical manifestation upon this Earth.  But it is the vessel of an intelligent mind and a strong spirit.  It is not for the beholder to leer at or to use in advertisements to sell everything from beer to cars!

Because of the superficiality of the world in which we live, external appearances are so stressed that the value of the individual counts for almost nothing.  It is a myth that women in today’s society are liberated!  What kind of freedom can there be when a woman can not walk down the street without every aspect of her physical self being “checked out”?

When the hijab is worn there is safety from all of this.  No one is looking at me and making assumptions about my character from the length of skirt.  There is a barrier to stop expoitation.

One of the saddest truths of our time is the question of the beauty myth and female self-image.  Reading popular teenage magazines, you can instantly find out what kind of body image is “in” or “out.”  and if you have the “wrong” body type, well, then, you’re just going to have to change it, aren’t you?  After all, there is no way that you can be overweight and still be beautiful.

Look at any advertisement.  Is a woman being used to sell the product?  How old is she?  How attractive is she?  What is she wearing?  More often than not, that woman will be no older than her early 20s, taller, slimmer and more attractive than average, dressed in skimpy clothing.  Why do we allow ourselves to be manipulated like this?

Whether the 90s woman wishes to believe it or not, she is being forced into a mold.  She is being coerced into selling herself, into compromising herself.  This is why we have 13-year-old girls sticking their fingers down their throats and overweight adolescents hanging themselves.

Unfortunately due to culture, many have lost this true, real message and confused culture with Islam and made our attire something of a symbol of oppression, this and unjustified and often false propaganda, but throughout the world now, women’s bodies are used to sell everything, yet we are still in a male based world, where even in Britain, the place that propagates the rights of women, men are paid substantially larger salaries in higher professions than women, women sexually harassed in the work place, which is why now most companies have a dress code which prohibits certain revealing garments, and their reason for this is to prevent sexual harassment, but in islam, women are not to be covered and modest when our men gawp and stare, flirt and chase women. Even though unfortunately that is what can be seen today from a vaste majority of Muslim men, but like any other religion, Christianity or Judaism, many people are born a religion, but sadly far fewer practice that religion, in true islam, the Muslim man has to wear loose garments that cover him from the navel to below the knee, he is not to mix freely with women, not to touch women, so much as to shake her hand unless that women is his wife, mother, daughter, sister or aunty, and when he sees a women he should lower his gaze to the ground, the hijab applies to both the man and the woman, fornication and adultery are exactly the same sin with the same punishment for the man and the woman in islam, and in islam al – Hijab, the covering of adornment and the modesty apply to both the man and the woman in islam.

Conclusion

Islam asks men and women to mutually strive to create a healthy social environment where children may grow with positive, beautiful, constructive, and practical values and concepts.
The concept of modesty and hijab in Islam is holistic, and encompasses both men and women. The ultimate goal is to maintain societal stability and to please God.

Since Muslim women are more conspicuous because of their appearance, it is easier for people to associate them with the warped images they see in the print and broadcast media. Hence, stereotypes are perpetuated and often sisters seem “mysterious” to those not acquainted with Muslim women who dress according to Divine instructions. This aura of “mystery” cannot be removed until their lifestyles, beliefs and thought-systems are genuinely explored. And, frankly, this cannot be achieved until one is not afraid to respectfully approach Muslim women – or any Muslim for that matter. So, the next time you see a Muslim, stop and talk to him or her – you’ll feel, God-Willing, as if you’re entering a different world, the world of Islam: full of humility, piety, and of course, modesty!

Women in Islam are respected and held in high regard. We will never find success and/or solutions to our problems until we realise that Allaah knows best and that this disbelieving society will ruin itself.

September 3, 2009 - Posted by Abu-Tayeb Khairdeen | hijab | hijab, islam, jilbab, Muslim Women, niqab, women