On the Islamic Hijab (Modest Dress)

Description

Women living in Western Liberal Societies continue to suffer because of the lack of proper dress code in their societies. There are no laws related to proper female dress to protect females from being sexually assaulted by males. On the basis of ideology of Islam, covering ("hijab") for women is considered one of the basic and important principles. Islam's view regarding women is quite different from what the West thinks about women. Islam considers women as half of the body of the society and holds that women, like men, should live with human standards and values. Western society looks at woman merely through the windows of sexual passion and regards woman as a little being who just satisfies sexual desires. Before everything else the question of sexual passions is set forth even in marriage. Therefore, such a way of thinking results in nothing other than the woman becoming a propaganda and commercial commodity in all aspects of Western life, ranging from those in the mass media to streets and shops. This is the ultimate degree of woman's slavery and fall in Western societies which has no consequence other than corruption and misery. While Islam with the permissibility and opening vast and extensive fields for social activities for women, has restricted sexual activities and liberties. With exact and all-round laws it has established a reasonable and just balance in the context of woman's individuality and social life. The first practical issue in this connection is hijab. The women are duty-bound to observe this degree in order to prevent corruption and deviation. In this book, this subject has been surveyed in a number of lectures which give the reader, particularly the women, a knowledge of the Islamic view regarding hijab. We wish for the dominance of human value for women in human societies, particularly Islamic societies. TRANSLATOR'S NOTE i EDITOR'S NOTE ii INTRODUCTION THE WORD ‘HIJAB’ (MODEST DRESS) 1 THE REAL VISAGE OF THE HIJAB 5 PSYCHOLOGICAL TRANQUILITY 7 SOLIDIFYING THE ROOTS OF THE FAMILY 11 THE PERSEVERANCE OF SOCIETY 15 LESSON ONE REASONS GIVEN FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE HIJAB - PART I 17 THE PHILOSOPHICAL REASON 18 THE SOCIAL REASON 26 LESSON TWO REASONS GIVEN FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF HIJAB - PART II 31 THE ECONOMIC REASON 32 THE ETHICAL REASON 36 THE PSYCHOLOGICAL REASON 39 LESSON THREE THE ISLAMIC HIJAB - PART I 49 THE COMMAND TO ANNOUNCE YOUR ENTRANCE TO SOMEONE'S HOUSE 52 THE COMMAND TO 'CAST DOWN THEIR GLANCE' 58 ON THE COMMAND TO GUARD THEIR PRIVATE PARTS 60 LESSON FOUR THE ISLAMIC HIJAB - PART II 63 THE EXCEPTIONS 64 IS 'LOOKING’ PERMISSIBLE FOR MEN? 66 LESSON FIVE THE ISLAMIC HIJAB - PART III 75 FROM THE VIEW POINT OF TRADITIONS 76 CONCERNING 'WHAT THEIR RIGHT HANDS OWN' 77 HEARING THE VOICE OF A NON-MAHRAM WOMAN 80 SHAKING HANDS 80 THESE ARE ISSUES OF RELIGIOUS EDICTS 81 MUSLIM CUSTOM 81 THE RELIGIOUS EDICTS ON THESE ISSUES 87 LESSON SIX THE ISLAMIC HIJAB - PART IV 95 ALLOWABLE EXPEDIENCES AND NON-EXPEDIENCES 95 TRADITIONS AND NARRATIONS 100 THE EXCEPTION OF A SUITOR 102 OTHER EXCEPTIONS REFERRED TO IN THE HOLY QUR’AN 103 THE CONCLUSION OF VERSE 24:31 107 LESSON SEVEN THE ISLAMIC HIJAB - PART V 109 SEEK PERMISSION TO ENTER ON THREE OCCASIONS 109 "SUCH WOMEN AS ARE MENOPAUSIC..." 113 A PARTICULAR REFERENCE TO THE WIVES OF THE HOLY PROPHET 114 THE VERSE ON THE OUTER GARMENT (JILBAB) 115 EPILOGUE THE PARTICIPATION OF WOMEN IN MEETINGS AND GATHERINGS 119 GLOSSARY 127