بـــــســـــم الله الـــــرحـــــمـــــن الـــــرحـــــيـــــم

In The Name of Allah The Most Gracious The Most Merciful

Hijab is an obligation on the Muslim women commanded directly by Allah (swt) in His Book, The Holy Qur'an.

Allah (swt) says: [interpretation of the meaning]

O Prophet! Tell your wives and your daughters and the women of the believers to draw their 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 Allaah is Ever Oft Forgiving, Most Merciful [al-Ahzaab 33:59] 

And tell the believing women to lower their gaze (from looking at forbidden things), and protect their private parts (from illegal sexual acts) and not to show off their adornment except only that which is apparent (like both eyes for necessity to see the way, or outer palms of hands or one eye or dress like veil, gloves, headcover, apron), and to draw their veils all over Juyoobihinna (i.e. their bodies, faces, necks and bosoms) [al-Noor 24:31] 

پgand do not display yourselves like that of the times of ignorance, and perform As Salaah (Iqamat as Salaah), and give Zakaah and obey Allaah and His Messengerپh [al-Ahzaab 33:33]

And, hopefully, I dont need to tell u that a command of Allah (swt) can never be a matter of "personal choice".

It is not for a believer, man or woman, when Allah and His Messenger have decreed a matter that they should have any option in their decision. And whoever disobeys Allah and His Messenger, he has indeed strayed in a plain error. [al-Ahzaab 33:36]

In the same mail u wrote "world peace can never prevail until we stop using these"justifications" to differentiate ourselves ... ... ... So stop using these religious symbols as a way of discrimination that we are Muslims and they are not ... ... ... Islam doesn't encourage discrimination, so now why are you, who claim to be perfect Muslims TRYING TO DO IT? ... ... ... I might feel good wearing mini-skirts, they might feel good wearing hijaab? BUT when a hijaabi women tries to determine my faith, tries to tell me I am on wrong path? Who's shhe to say that?"

I've been associated with this group from the very beginning and no one on this forum has ever claimed to be a "perfect" Muslim. Indeed, Perfectness is an attribute of Allah (swt) and Allah (swt) [Alone] is Perfect. In fact, it is not humanly possible to be perfect. We are all humans and we are all fallible. But we are all here to help each other learn, understand and implement Islam.

Help you one another in Al­Birr and At­Taqwa (virtue, righteousness and piety); ... [al Maidah 5:2]

So, if someone tells u that its better for u, as a Muslim, to discard ur minis and observe proper hijab, it doesn't mean that he/she is calling u a non-Muslim. Instead of taking it as criticism and getting hyper about it, u must try to realise the wisdom behind such advice and accept it, if the advice is backed by evidences from the Book of Allah (swt) and/or the Sunnah of His Messenger (saw). For, after all, as Muslims, we should be having just one motto: "We hear and we obey.پh

پgThe only saying of the faithful believers, when they are called to Allaah (His Words, the Qurپfaan) and His Messenger, to judge between them, is that they say: پgWe hear and we obey.پh And such are the successful (who will live forever in Paradise).

And whosoever obeys Allaah and His Messenger , fears Allaah, and keeps his duty (to Him), such are the successfulپh [al-Noor 24:51-52]

Also, ur thinking that "world peace" needs us to discard our identities as Muslims, is at best, childish. If a Muslim man keeps a beard or a Muslim woman wears hijab, he/she is only making it known to the world who he/she is. This is in no way a "discrimination" practised against non-Muslims, as u seem to suggest. If practising one's religion would put "world peace" to harm, then surely the Sikhs would have been called the most violent community. We find the overwhelming majority of their men keeping beards and wearing turbans but theres never been a single incident which would suggest that such actions of theirs has ever harmed "world peace". Then how come a Muslim man keeping a beard or a Muslim woman observing the rules of Hijab, suddenly put "world peace" at risk? Or is this a classic case of "double standards" being practised by those who always accuse others of it? And, in any case, if the cause of "world peace" is really so close to ur heart, then y do u always need to tell Muslim women to discard their hijab? Why not go and ask "an average Western woman who spends a significant part of her life in micro-minis and bikinis" to discard her "clothing" (or the lack of it) habits and observe the Hijab for a change? Lets see what answers u'll get from her.

I've tried my best to prove to u the obligatory nature of Hijab with references from the Holy Qur'an. And the command of Allah (swt) should be enough for any Muslim to make him/her realise its importance. However, we also need to convince non-Muslims about Islam and Islamic rulings. For this we need to use logic and reason. Therefore, I've pasted below two articles which try to prove logically the importance of the Hijab. The first one is copied from www.irf.net and the other, is copied from www.islam-qa.com

Hope this effort has been successful in achieving its aim, insha'Allah - Aameen.

JazakumUllah Khairan Katheeran

Was-salaamu alaikum wa rahmatUllahi wa barakaatuhu.

Muhammad Zamin Ezaz

Calcutta, India.

PS: insha'Allah, hope to see a more active participation from sisters on this forum in future, especially in discussions related to women's issues.

From www.irf.net

HIJAAB FOR WOMEN

Question:

Why does Islam degrade women by keeping them behind the veil?

Answer:

The status of women in Islam is often the target of attacks in the secular media. The پehijaabپf or the Islamic dress is cited by many as an example of the پesubjugationپf of women under Islamic law. Before we analyze the reasoning behind the religiously mandated پehijaabپf, let us first study the status of women in societies before the advent of Islam

1.   In the past women were degraded and used as objects of lust

The following examples from history amply illustrate the fact that the status of women in earlier civilizations was very low to the extent that they were denied basic human dignity:

1.      Babylonian Civilization:
The women were degraded and were denied all rights under the Babylonian law. If a man murdered a woman, instead of him being punished, his wife was put to death.

2.      Greek Civilization:
Greek Civilization is considered the most glorious of all ancient civilizations. Under this very پegloriousپf system, women were deprived of all rights and were looked down upon. In Greek mythology, an پeimaginary womanپf called پePandoraپf is the root cause of misfortune of human beings. The Greeks considered women to be subhuman and inferior to men. Though chastity of women was precious, and women were held in high esteem, the Greeks were later overwhelmed by ego and sexual perversions. Prostitution became a regular practice amongst all classes of Greek society.

3.      Roman Civilization:
When Roman Civilization was at the zenith of its پegloryپf, a man even had the right to take the life of his wife. Prostitution and nudity were common amongst the Romans.

4.      Egyptian Civilization:
The Egyptian considered women evil and as a sign of a devil.

5.      Pre-Islamic Arabia:
Before Islam spread in Arabia, the Arabs looked down upon women and very often when a female child was born, she was buried alive.

2.   Islam uplifted women and gave them equality and expects them to maintain their status.

Islam uplifted the status of women and granted them their just rights 1400 years ago. Islam expects women to maintain their status.

Hijaab for men

People usually only discuss پehijaabپf in the context of women. However, in the Glorious Qurپfan, Allah (swt) first mentions پehijaabپf for men before پehijaabپf for the women. The Qurپfan mentions in Surah Noor:

"Say to the believing men that they should lower their gaze and guard their modesty: that will make for greater purity for them: and Allah is well acquainted with all that they do."
[Al-Qurپfan 24:30]

The moment a man looks at a woman and if any brazen or unashamed thought comes to his mind, he should lower his gaze.

Hijaab for women.

The next verse of Surah Noor, says:

" And say to the believing women that they should lower their gaze and guard their modesty; that they should not display their beauty and ornaments except what (must ordinarily) appear thereof; that they should draw veils over their bosoms and not display their beauty except to their husbands, their fathers, their husbandsپf fathers, their sons..."
[Al-Qurپfan 24:31]

3.   Six criteria for Hijaab.

According to Qurپfan and Sunnah there are basically six criteria for observing hijaab:

1.      Extent:

The first criterion is the extent of the body that should be covered. This is different for men and women. The extent of covering obligatory on the male is to cover the body at least from the navel to the knees. For women, the extent of covering obligatory is to cover the complete body except the face and the hands upto the wrist. If they wish to, they can cover even these parts of the body. Some scholars of Islam insist that the face and the hands are part of the obligatory extent of پehijaabپf.

All the remaining five criteria are the same for men and women.

2.      The clothes worn should be loose and should not reveal the figure.

3.      The clothes worn should not be transparent such that one can see through them.

4.      The clothes worn should not be so glamorous as to attract the opposite sex.

5.      The clothes worn should not resemble that of the opposite sex.

6.      The clothes worn should not resemble that of the unbelievers i.e. they should not wear clothes that are specifically identities or symbols of the unbelieversپf religions.

4.   Hijaab includes conduct and behaviour among other things

Complete پehijaabپf, besides the six criteria of clothing, also includes the moral conduct, behaviour, attitude and intention of the individual. A person only fulfilling the criteria of پehijaabپf of the clothes is observing پehijaabپf in a limited sense. پeHijaabپf of the clothes should be accompanied by پehijaabپf of the eyes, پehijaabپf of the heart, پehijaabپf of thought and پehijaabپf of intention. It also includes the way a person walks, the way a person talks, the way he behaves, etc.

5.   Hijaab prevents molestation

The reason why Hijaab is prescribed for women is mentioned in the Qurپfan in the following verses of Surah Al-Ahzab:

"O Prophet! Tell thy wives and daughters, and the believing women that they should cast their outer garments over their persons (when abroad); that is most convenient, that they should be known (as such) and not molested. And Allah is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful."
[Al-Qurپfan 33:59]

The Qurپfan says that Hijaab has been prescribed for the women so that they are recognized as modest women and this will also prevent them from being molested.

6.   Example of twin sisters

Suppose two sisters who are twins, and who are equally beautiful, walk down the street. One of them is attired in the Islamic hijaab i.e. the complete body is covered, except for the face and the hands up to the wrists. The other sister is wearing western clothes, a mini skirt or shorts. Just around the corner there is a hooligan or ruffian who is waiting for a catch, to tease a girl. Whom will he tease? The girl wearing the Islamic Hijaab or the girl wearing the skirt or the mini? Naturally he will tease the girl wearing the skirt or the mini. Such dresses are an indirect invitation to the opposite sex for teasing and molestation. The Qurپfan rightly says that hijaab prevents women from being molested.

7.   Capital punishment for the rapists

Under the Islamic shariah, a man convicted of having raped a woman, is given capital punishment. Many are astonished at this پeharshپf sentence. Some even say that Islam is a ruthless, barbaric religion! I have asked a simple question to hundreds of non-Muslim men. Suppose, God forbid, someone rapes your wife, your mother or your sister. You are made the judge and the rapist is brought in front of you. What punishment would you give him? All of them said they would put him to death. Some went to the extent of saying they would torture him to death. To them I ask, if someone rapes your wife or your mother you want to put him to death. But if the same crime is committed on somebody elseپfs wife or daughter you say capital punishment is barbaric. Why should there be double standards?

8.   Western society falsely claims to have uplifted women

Western talk of womenپfs liberalization is nothing but a disguised form of exploitation of her body, degradation of her soul, and deprivation of her honour. Western society claims to have پeupliftedپf women. On the contrary it has actually degraded them to the status of concubines, mistresses and society butterflies who are mere tools in the hands of pleasure seekers and sex marketeers, hidden behind the colourful screen of پeartپf and پecultureپf.

9.   USA has one of the highest rates of rape

United States of America is supposed to be one of the most advanced countries of the world. It also has one of the highest rates of rape in any country in the world. According to a FBI report, in the year 1990, every day on an average 1756 cases of rape were committed in U.S.A alone. Later another report said that on an average everyday 1900 cases of rapes are committed in USA. The year was not mentioned. May be it was 1992 or 1993. May be the Americans got پebolderپf in the following years.

Consider a scenario where the Islamic hijaab is followed in America. Whenever a man looks at a woman and any brazen or unashamed thought comes to his mind, he lowers his gaze. Every woman wears the Islamic hijaab, that is the complete body is covered except the face and the hands upto the wrist. After this if any man commits rape he is given capital punishment. I ask you, in such a scenario, will the rate of rape in America increase, will it remain the same, or will it decrease?

10.   Implementation of Islamic Shariah will reduce the rate of rapes

Naturally as soon as Islamic Shariah is implemented positive results will be inevitable. If Islamic Shariah is implemented in any part of the world, whether it is America or Europe, society will breathe easier. Hijaab does not degrade a woman but uplifts a woman and protects her modesty and chastity.

From www.islam-qa.com

Praise be to Allaah.  

There can be no doubt that Allaah only enjoins that in which there is wisdom, but in some cases the wisdom behind some rulings may be hidden from people, and in some cases it may be quite obvious پEsuch as the prohibition on alcohol which clouds the mind and hinders people from the remembrance of Allaah and from prayer [cf. al-Maa'idah 5:91]. 

The wisdom behind the prescription of hijab is one of the most clear, because it is a covering for woman and guards their chastity, and it prevents the foolish from making approaches and harassing them. How often has a woman's hijab prevented the devils among mankind from harrassing her? How often have unveiled women made a display of their beauty and charms, which has led to their being harrassed by the foolish? Concerning this, Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning): 

O Prophet! Tell your wives and your daughters and the women of the believers to draw their 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 Allaah is Ever Oft Forgiving, Most Merciful

[al-Ahzaab 33:59] 

This verse gives the complete answer to your question, because Allaah mentions here the command to His Messenger (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) to tell his wives and daughters and the believing women to wear hijab, and it mentions the wisdom behind that, which is so that they may be protected and not exposed to annoyance. 

When women go out showing most of their bodies پEas the questioner mentions پEthis is one of the greatest causes of crime and corruption of men's morals, and of the spread of immorality. It is also degrading for woman, as we see women becoming cheap products for business-owners and advertisers, who show woman half-naked and devoid of modesty in order to attract customers and market their products. 

A woman's body belongs to her and is not to be shared with people. When she gets married it belongs to her husband and she should not let anyone else have a share in it. What does a woman want when she shows her body and exposes her charms to onlookers? Does she just want them to look and stare, and what is the affect of that on rapists and the foolish? How are you going to stop them from getting what they want by attacking you and trying to rape you. Are you going to show some meat to the hungry and then try to stop them from eating it? 

In a modern study it was shown that: 

65% of female workers are exposed to sexual harassment in their place of work in some European countries. 

18% of women in America have been raped or been subjected to attempted rape at some stage in their lives. 

More than half of victims were under the age of 17. 

Kitaab Ihsaa’aat, Diraasaat, Arqaam (p. 140). 

Islamic shareeah brought that which is best for men and for women, and for the family and society. It does not impose restrictions on women as some enemies of Islam claim. Islam allows women to work, seek knowledge, engage in business, testify in court, uphold the ties of kinship, visit the sick, and so on, but it has set limits regarding her going out in order to protect her and to prevent the foolish from harassing her. 

We say to the questioner: 

Many western women, when they think about it and come to know the reality of Allaah's laws concerning women, do not hesitate to declare their Islam and enter into the religion of the Prophets and the righteous. 

In Islam, women are protected and looked after. That is not in return for her staying in the home only, rather that is because she plays a great role, which is taking care of her husband and raising and caring for children. This is an important role, because the soundness or corruption of society depends on the extent to which mothers are successful in their raising and teaching of their children. 

One of the largest British insurance companies carried out a study on one million housewives, which produced amazing results. This study showed that the average full-time housewife spends 19 hours per day meeting the needs of her family, because she is the one who is raising the children, teaching them, looking after family members when they fall sick, and is responsible for the household budget. 

In addition to that پElooking at what the houswife's value from a purely materialistic point of view, far removed from any emotional criteria پEa woman who stays at home is the most valuable thing the family can have. 

Op. cit., p. 118, 119 

It has become clear to many wise women the serious danger posed by the false freedom that they are enjoying and they have finally realized where this path will lead them. It is stated in another study that: 

80% of American women think that the freedom that women have gained in the last 30 years is the reason for the promiscuity and violence that are prevalent nowadays.  

75% feel worried about the loss of values and the disintegration of the family. 

80% have great difficulty in combining their responsibilities at work with their responsibilities towards their husbands and children."

Additional Reading:

Why is hijaab so important when it is not one of the pillars of Islam?

http://63.175.194.25/index.php?cs=prn&ln=eng&QR=9515&dgn=4&dgn=2 

Will a woman who does not wear hijaab go to Hell? 

http://63.175.194.25/index.php?cs=prn&ln=eng&QR=7436&dgn=4&dgn=2

Difficulties encountered by a woman who wears hijaab 

http://63.175.194.25/index.php?cs=prn&ln=eng&QR=11967&dgn=4&dgn=2

Ruling on making fun of the hijab 

http://63.175.194.25/index.php?cs=prn&ln=eng&QR=13245&dgn=4&dgn=2

Ruling Concerning Ridiculing a Woman who Wears the Proper Hijab and Covers Her Face 

http://63.175.194.25/index.php?cs=prn&ln=eng&QR=7844&dgn=4&dgn=2