first Part al hijab... Amrkhaled

In the name of Allah[1], the All-Merciful, the Ever-merciful. All Prayers and Blessings of Allah be upon our master, the most noble Prophet Muhammad. We praise Allah, thank Him, and seek His help, guidance and forgiveness. We seek refuge in Allah from the evil in our souls and the sinfulness of our deeds. “Whomever Allah guides, then he is right-guided, and whomever He leads away into error, then you will never find for him a right-minded patron” (TMQ[2], 18:17).



When we dealt with ‘bashfulness’, we mentioned that the best manifestation of it is ‘being bashful with Allah (SWT[3])’. For women, the first and foremost manifestation of bashfulness is putting on the veil.


I will start with women’s bashfulness, as the morals and virtues prevailing in any society depend upon the modesty of its women. I am not here darting any offences or accusations at our sisters (Allah forbid). I am only stressing on the importance of women’s bashfulness due to its great significance. When the enemies of Islam try to wreak havoc in society, they seek to deprive women of their bashfulness. Hence, the youths can easily be led astray.



This issue is crucial. If we say that bashfulness is an obligation on men, it is a set of obligations for Muslim women. Hence, many duties are enjoined upon women in relation to modesty. This is because it is the nature of women to be modest. It is thus easier for them to follow this virtue. Women prove their abidance by the greatest manifestation of this modesty when they cover their body according to the Islamic code of dressing.



If I ask you sister a question: If you have something precious, will you protect it? If a woman has a pearl, for instance, will she put it in a safe place away from danger? I do believe every woman will. The more this pearl is precious, the more the woman will keep it aloof of others. She will keep it away from any treacherous eyesight. A pearl is preserved in an oyster, which is not beautiful at all. Nevertheless, the oyster is badly needed for the protection of the pearl. The same applies to hijab[4], which is indispensable for women’s protection. What is the most precious possession of a woman? Isn’t it her modesty? Doesn’t that deserve even higher protection?



In this respect, some people might broach a question: “Why were women ordered to put on the veil, and not men? Was this a restriction imposed just upon women?”



Our answer is that a hundred men cannot make one woman infatuated with them unless she allows it intentionally, but one woman can make a hundred men infatuated with her. For that reason, the veil has been imposed as an obligation (or ordinance) enjoined upon women because they are the source (springhead) of stimulation.



We notice something wondrous in this respect. In the Pre-Islamic era, people used to oppressively regard women as carnal beauty and the Arabs considered her value by the level of beauty (and charm) lurked in her body, and so did the Romans. Their concept of beauty meant the beauty of the woman’s body, and not her inner beauty. Then, Islam came to alter this concept and refine human feelings. Islam teaches men to look at the beauty of women’s feelings and emotions instead of stopping at the external materialistic beauty. Islam tells the men of humanity: “Purify and cleanse yourselves!”