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ideasandwisdomsharing · 2 years

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Veil and public nudity in pre Islamic time and now

According to Islamic tradition, the Kaaba was built by prophet Abraham (pbuh). He used to perform Hajj every year. After his death, his son Ishmael continued his religion and this practice. However, gradually with the passage of time, many new practices were introduced into the religion of Abraham . Since, no prophet or messenger was sent to Arabia after Prophet Ishmael, Arabs started to worships angels, jinn and spirits etc, almost 360 idols were placed inside and around the Kaaba. Instead of worshipping one true God, pagans Arabs started to worship idols. Pagans Arabs also introduced a new custom to circumambulate (eg Tawaf in Arabic) the Kaba nakedly, men and women both. Women used to perform Tawaf while naked usually at night. Someone has written a good blog on the rituals and practices of pagan Arabia at this site http://wathanism.blogspot.com/.../ritual-in-pre-islamic...).

Women, in pre Islamic time, were considered possession, accessories, a piece of property and objects. They were meant to be used by men. Women used to expose their adornments and private parts to entice men in public places. Adultery, fornication, slavery etc were common in arab society. It was a morally bankrupt society. This era was also known as the ‘time of ignorance’ , ‘Jahiliya’ in Arabic.After sending uninterrupted prophets and messengers to the children of Israel, the Almighty decided to change the world order of His religion. After prophet Jesus (pbuh), He has chosen prophet Mohammad (pbuh) to be His final messenger and He stopped sending prophets to the children of Israel. The Almighty revealed the Quran to guide pagans Arabs and as well as the people of the book (aka Jews and Christians) who were living in Arabia during the prophet’s time. The Quran is a very unique book because it addresses Muslims, Jews, Christians, polytheists , unbelievers and mankind in general. It’s like someone has written a long drama unfolding in 23 years with the real characters. In the same chapter , addresses could be many. There is a great introduction to the Quran at this link http://www.shehzadsaleem.com/introduction-the-quran/ .

Prophet Mohammad was asked by the Almighty to reintroduce the religion of prophet Abraham, he was also asked to abolish all the practices introduced by pagans Arabs. These verses were revealed in the response to the practices of the pagans. In the verses 7:26,27, 28, the Almighty said , “ O Children of Adam! We have sent down attire for you that hides your private parts and is also an embellishment for you. And the attire of piety, that is better than this. It is a sign from among the signs of God so that people may be reminded. Children of Adam! This should never happen that Satan lures you the way he ousted your father and mother (eg Adam & Eve) from the orchard (in which God had made them dwell), by revealing their private parts to them by making them take off this very attire. [Bear in mind that] he and his accomplices see you from where you can’t see them. In reality, We have made these devils the companions of those who do not believe . [it is precisely the consequences of this companionship O Prophet that ] when these people (eg pagans Arabs of your nation) do something vulgar (eg nakedness in the name of religion) , they say : “We found our forefathers on this way and to this God has directed us.” Do you say such things that you do not know by imputing falsehood to God?”

Few weeks ago, Taliban's Ministry for the Prevention of Vice and the Promotion of Virtue ordered that all women must wear a face veil in public, or risk punishment; orders were also enforced to female news anchors to cover their faces on air . One of the anchor Mahira told to a media she felt like she is not a human. She said , “I feel like I have committed a big crime which is why God made me a woman in Afghanistan.” (https://www.aljazeera.com/.../afghan-female-journalists... ).Was she felt dehumanized? Turning a human into an anonymous thing is also an act of dehumanization. Any time someone reduces a human being to a single characteristic, especially a negative one, or reduces a human being to statistics and labels are all an act of dehumanization. By forcing someone to wear a veil (covering from head to toe) or asking women to parade in bikini to gather waist and hip size are both an act of dehumanization. Do Muslim women have to wear veils? What does the Quran say about it? If the verses in the Quran are taken out of context then it will appear to the reader that certain verses require women to wear veil. However, that’s not how the Quran should be read to understand. Muslims extremists also take verses of God’s punishment from the chapter 9 and declare war and justify their violence on non Muslims and Muslims as well. In this way, they try to play the role of God.

Similarly, verses which are only applicable for prophet Mohammad ‘s wives and family members are taken out of context by Taliban gov and few other Muslim’s government to enforce strict veil ruling. Most Muslims scholars pick and choose verses which results in losing the sight of what is said, where, and in which context. The chapter Ahzab #33 is mostly sited by Muslims scholars who derive their ruling about veil or burka or full coverage. This whole chapter is concerned with the events that occurred with the prophet’s personal life. Unbelievers of the time wanted to cause strife in the households of the prophet. The verse 33:28 sets the context . God said to the prophet that if your wives want to lead a life of common person then they can choose separation or divorce. Because certain restrictions will be placed upon his wives . The restriction is mentioned in verses 33:30-33. These restrictions were placed so that unbelievers who were planning to create a scandal should be defeated. God wanted to secure prophet’s household from such scandal mongers. Hence, the first restriction was placed that Prophets wives would not speak softly (verse 33:32) with unbelievers and hypocrites because they are not like any other women, they are wives of the prophet . Some scholars derived the notion of ‘veil of voice’ from this place without understanding the background to this verse. In certain Muslims culture, this practice is very much prevalent today. The second restriction is mentioned in the verse 33:33 , prophets wives were asked to stay at home, which also indicates that other women has to go out, work in the fields, graze cattle and bring firewood. Scholars understood that the domain for Muslim women is there home alone. Basically, Scholars picked out these verses and take them as general laws. These restrictions are not being said to general Muslim women. It starts from the fact that their stature is different from other Muslim women. The verse 33:33 makes it very clear that these restrictions are being placed on the wives of the prophet because hypocrites were planning to vilify them using a scandal. God wants to purify them from those filth. The restrictions that Talibans had placed on Afghani women is unlawful because they are playing the role of Prophet Mohammad. When the international community talks about liberation of afghani women, in the minds of Talibans, the liberation of women is translated as the dehumanization of women by objectification; which further translates that this is how women were treated by pagans Arabs. They will fight back and will not allow sending their women to the ignorance period of Arabia or even to the period before the invasion by the USSR when afghani women were allowed to wear western’s attire. The international community must need to have this perspective in their mind while dealing with Talibans. In my view, to change Talibans attitude, we need to change their mindset by giving them the right information from the Quran. We need to change their consciousness without attacking their egos. In the next post, I will write the attires that men and women need to wear while going in public places or in offices. This is discussed in an another chapter # 24 in the Quran. This chapter explains how much body parts need to be mandatory covered and what is preferably. The context of chapter 24 is very different from chapter 33. Here, the context is how to save a society from adultery and fornication.

As I wrote above that the restrictions for the wives of the prophet was imposed because of an emergency like situation. Hypocrites were looking for opportunities to create scandals. If we continue reading the chapter 33 then at verse 53, another restriction was imposed. This restriction was that when people come to visit the prophet, and if they want to speak to wives of the prophet then the wives should speak to them from behind a curtain (eg Hijab in Arabic). This is where the word ‘Hijab’ is used. Then further in the verse 55, it is stated that only relatives of the prophet can visit them. Finally, in the verse 59, the instructions were also given to common women because not only the prophet’s family was targeted for scandal but other common Muslims women as well. In this kind of circumstances, the command was given that since , prophets wives and other common women need to go out to attend nature’s call (in those time there were no washroom inside houses ) or go to any other vulnerable place, then they should cover themselves with a Jilbab (eg a blanket or long cloth ) so that they can easily be identified from other non Muslim women, and no one can torment them. So , for common women, this order was given to maintain their identity not to maintain a veil or even modesty or chastity. When Muslim scholars encountered these words ‘hijab’ or ‘jilbab’, their minds shift to the veil. Because the notion of veil already exists in people’s mind and in the culture. When a wrong interpretation is made then that wrong interpretation over time gradually becomes accepted in the society. And once it’s accepted then a culture , a civilization or a new religion or a new sect come into being on that same wrong interpretation. When we open our eyes in that civilization, where we found our growth, then breaking or canceling that culture is not an easy task. Because like those pagans Arabs who found their forefather doing circumambulate the Kaaba nakedly, they were repeating the same rituals. Similarly, the wrong interpretation was made by some Christian scholars about Jesus to be the son of God, and slowly this interpretation was accepted and a new religion ‘Christianity’ (or shall we say a new sect from Judaism) was born. In India, many people also worship dead saints. If you ask a western women on a beach , why she is in bikini, she will also say this is what my mother and grand mother were doing, wearing bikini on beaches has become the part of the western culture . The command was given to the wives of the prophet and common women to maintain their identity under an emergency like situation, but instead of applying these commands to an emergency like situation, it has become a norm and part of the Muslim culture. Imagine, the instruction of social distancing and mask wearing of the Covid Pandemic is enforced in normal situation to all of us! The Quran is a very different kind of book, it itself describes the background and context of a particular subject or situation. We don’t have to read any historical books to know the context. When we read the chapter as a whole, then the whole thing becomes clear, but if we pick a verse in isolation then we make mistakes. If someone is interested in understanding the structure and organization of the Quran, then they should read this book ‘Structure and Quranic interpretation’ by an American author Raymond Farrinhttps://www.amazon.com/Struc.../dp/B00PJ2JWT4/ref=mp_s_a_1_8

In the chapter 33, the context begins with the Muslim’s relationship with the prophet and his family . The chapter 24 (eg Surah Noor), begins with a completely different context . In this chapter, ordinary people are addressed. Here the introduction began in reference to adultery, with the accusations of adultery, and with publicizing about lewdness (eg from verse 24:2-26). The context is how to eradicate adultery and fornication from a society. The main objective of religion is to purify ourselves in morality, character, knowledge, food , and body to achieve success in the next life. Hence, this chapter addresses how to stop a path that leads to adultery and indecency. The opposite to adultery and indecency would naturally be modesty, chastity and physical distancing, which is the topic of this chapter. The manners of meeting between men and women are discussed from the verse 24:27-31. In the chapter 33, the context was to guard wives of the prophet and common Muslims women from the hypocrites conspiracies, in this chapter, the purpose is to create purity in the society and root out adultery. The Quran is very clear that in a Muslim society, adultery and fornication can’t be tolerated. It’s not only considered a sin but also a crime. This does not mean that Muslims countries don’t have such problems. The verses from 24:2 to 24:26 narrates about the punishments for fornication. The Quran highlights that in this world, the wickedness in morals and characters and a pure disposition of human beings , can’t be possibly separated. It is possible that a very virtuous women is married to a wicked men , and it is possible that opposite could also happen, but in the next life a wicked men will be with a wicked women and pure women shall be with pure men. Here the word ‘wickedness’ refers to those who choose a life of fornication and obscenity in this world. The Almighty said that in the worldly life these decisions are not made , at most if someone commits a crime, they will be punished. But the heavens that is being created , this order will be reversed. These verses 24:2-26 paints a picture of heaven and those crimes which happen in a society. The Almighty can’t tolerate adultery in any condition, hence He has given instruction to close the path of adultery by uprooting the root cause of adultery and fornication. Here, some guidance are given to maintain chastity and modesty. The manners of interaction between men and women are given. What etiquettes they need to be mindful of while visiting others’ houses or meeting in workplace or other social gathering.The first instruction was given in the verse 24:27-29 to common Muslims, to not enter in any one house until they have introduced themselves and a permission is given (in those days , we did not have houses with doors) and they greet everyone. This way, people in the house will know who is the person, what he wants, and whether it is appropriate for him to enter inside or not.

Further, the instructions are given that in the places which are not house Ie. Workplace, hotels etc , a permission is not needed. The second instruction is given to Muslim men in the verse 24:30. Muslims men are first asked to bring modesty in their gaze when they are interacting with women. This is actually an instruction of prohibition on the way one look to a women, basically ogling is prohibited. Men are asked to have humility and modesty in their sight. If instructions were given for veil in the other chapter #33, then what’s the need for this instruction of averting our gaze? If women are locked up in houses then what’s the need for this instruction? If you can’t go inside a house to interact then also there is no need for this instruction. The second instruction in the same verse 24:30, was given to men that they need to guard their private parts. Which mean protecting private parts from other’s gaze, not only covering them. The word ‘protection’ implies that one should be cautious about one’s attire too. Because there should not be any exposure. Since, the purpose is to protect those parts of the body which can incite sexual desires, inclinations or passions, in this context, all those body parts which would lead you down that road, must be covered. So, every individual has to decide which body parts need to be covered so that sexual desires and temptation in others can be avoided. When we will apply this principle with our reasoning, then it becomes essential to protect adjoining parts of our body that connects to the private part; for men, since their private part is below the abdomen, they should conceal the part above it till the stomach and conceal the thighs till the knees. This way they cover the parts around it. So this is protection for men.

After giving instructions to men, God in the next verse 24:31, gave the similar instructions to women. They are also told to guard their gaze and protect their private parts. In both cases, the Quran does not say to cover the private parts, it’s not like with few leaves or under garments or bikini one should cover. The Arabic word ‘Hifz -e- furooz’ is used in both the verses 24:30&31. Which means protecting private parts. Protecting private parts implies a collective understanding of entire culture which is born through it. Again, these instructions are given because the temptation for adultery must be rooted in the society. So for women, in this context, all those body parts which would lead men down that road, must be covered. Every individual has to decide which body parts need to be covered so that sexual desires and temptation in others can be avoided. It is left upto the individual what attire they need to wear. For women, their torso is also a private part. One is what we know as genitalia, and then there are those body parts and areas which connects to genitalia. To fulfill this requirement, we need to understand it through stages. If we want to stop someone’s gaze , then women also need to hide the areas around their private parts. The principle is that the private parts and the adjoining areas around the private parts need to be covered. Covering the private parts alone does not fulfill the requirements of protection. This is how this instruction connects with attire now. If you apply your reason, you can start to see how this instruction connects with what kind of attire you need to wear to protect your private parts. The word ‘protection’ urges that our attire can’t be bawdy. It should be respectable, civilized, and one that covers our limbs too. Now, we need to determine what are those adjoining areas that need to be covered. The areas of men will obviously be for women too, ie women will also cover below the abdomen till the knees, but for the chest, they then need to cover from their neck to the abdomen. If we notice, the upper arms also connects to the upper private part of women and also the upper back part connects to the upper private parts. So women have to cover from the neck, till below the knees, and in the sides, the arms and the back too . Another aspect need to be considered is that what kind of attire is used to cover the body. If the body is covered with a tight fitting clothes or with a thin sheer fabrics, these kind of clothes will not fulfill the requirements for the ‘protection’ of the private parts. In summary, both men and women have to conceal the adjoining areas of private parts with such clothes which are neither tight nor made up of very thin fabric that reveal the body. This is at bare minimum requirements for the ‘protection’ of the private parts. When we meet someone, our attire also demands a civility , dignity, and elegance. So women can extend coverage area from elbows to forearms too, and cover the shin of the legs. This is how we go into the domain of civility, meaning wearing the pleasing attire , and the next stage is to wear a full attire . Even in the western culture, just over 60 years ago, the full attire included covering the head too. When we see Muslims women wearing hijab (head scarf plus full body cove) , they are fulfilling the requirement of excellent modesty, not only the obligatory modesty. We should start with obligatory attire and encourage people to adopt to the excellent attire. Here we are not covering our faces with a veil or burka. It’s a wrong notion that Muslims women who wear hijab are oppressed. They are simply following these instructions.

When a Muslim , who is familiar with these instructions, look around the westernized culture driven by fashion industry, in their mind it reminds them back 1500 years to the pre Islamic ignorance period. If you closely analyze the kind of revealing clothing, the fashion industry is promoting, is in a direct conflict of the ‘protection’ ruling of the Quran. This journal highlights how sexualization is manipulated through the amount of skin versus clothing that is visible, with sexualized targets associated with clothing that reveals a large amount of skin https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/2158244019828230 . During a red carpet event in 2014, Cate Blanchett, the Australian actor, as she was being interviewed by another women, a cameraman panned slowly from the hem of her gown to the top of her head, Blanchett leaned down, pointed at the camera and asked, “Do you do that to the guys?” , https://youtu.be/k6hz7WoO6Bo . A morally conscious Muslim with the knowledge of these instructions (eg modesty in gaze and protection of private parts ) can’t go to attend a Pageant show or red carpet events where women and men are publicly objectified. In their mind this westernized culture reminds them back of the culture of pagans Arabs. A report of the American Psychological Association (APA) found evidence that the proliferation of sexualized images of girls and young women in advertising, merchandising, and media is harmful to girls' self-image and healthy development. Psychologists call for replacing sexualized images of girls in media and advertising with positive ones. (https://www.apa.org/.../press/releases/2007/02/sexualization). This research indicates the objectification is becoming a health problem. Is Fashion an art or it’s being replaced with objectification? Should we continue to redefine good and evil for the sake of our own ‘rights’ and preferences? Are we confusing people by redefining what is right and wrong? Talibans are definitely wrong in imposing veil upon Afghani’s women, it is the job of some good scholars to guide them.

#veil #hijab #taliban #freedom of expression #womenempower

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