Respecting Niqab

Whether one believes that the Niqab (face veil) is a requirement of Muslim women or not, the fact is that it is definitely allowed by our religion. This article is a reminder to Muslims that we should give support and encouragement to women who choose to wear the veil and that they deserve our respect and admiration for having the courage to be different in a society which tends to view the veil as a symbol of oppression.

There is a lot of debate among Muslims as to whether or not it is required for a Muslim woman to cover her face and hands in addition to the rest of her body when appearing in public or in front of non-Mahrem men. The purpose of this article is not to fall on either side of that debate, but to urge all Muslims to show respect for sisters who have chosen to wear either the khimar (full face covering) or the niqab (face covering which leaves the eyes exposed.) Some Muslims give these sisters a hard time, saying that they are doing above and beyond what has been commanded by Allah SWT, and that the "extreme" appearance of these fully-veiled women projects a bad image to the non-Muslims who already view the Muslim woman as weak and oppressed. They argue that such individuals, upon seeing fully-veiled Muslim women, will be "turned off" by Islam, and we will have forever lost potential Muslim converts, or even the understanding and sympathy of the non-Muslim community.

There are several points to address. First of all, although there are many well-known, respected scholars who have declared that a woman may leave her face and hands exposed in public, I have yet to hear of even one who has said that it is disliked for a woman to cover even more of herself by wearing a face-veil and/or gloves. In fact, what such scholars have said is that at a minimum a woman must cover all but her hands and face, and that her reward from Allah SWT will be even greater for taking extra steps to conceal herself further. (And Allah knows best.) This is the so-called "least-conservative" viewpoint, so it is difficult to see how ordinary Muslims have come to criticize pious Muslim women who are simply seeking the pleasure of Allah SWT by veiling themselves fully.

Think about it carefully: would we ever think of criticizing a Muslim who fasts extra days outside of Ramadan? Do we belittle the Muslims whose prayers exceed the prescribed daily five? Are we upset when Muslims give more zakat than required by Islamic Law? Of course not. We admire such people for their apparent dedication to Allah SWT, just as we should admire Muslim women who cover their faces for the same reason. Whether they veil because they take the so-called "most-conservative" viewpoint that covering the face is a requirement of Islamic Law, or because they simply believe that they will earn extra reward from our Lord and Creator for doing something more than they have been asked to do is of little importance.

 Praise be to Allah, veiled women are engaged inhalal, and that is the bottom line.

As for the question of non-Muslims being "turned off" by Islam upon seeing fully-veiled Muslim women, Muslims should not waste time and energy worrying about such matters. To the contrary, some non-Muslims are not critical of the face-veil at all and are so intrigued by it that they actually become interested in Islam as a direct result of seeing fully covered Muslim women.

One non-Muslim woman wrote about her impressions of the face-veil in our local newspaper after crossing paths with a veiled woman on a busy city street. The writer was struck by the confidence with which the Muslim woman walked, seeing all that was around her, but not being seen by others, secure in the knowledge that no man could make a lewd comment to her about her shapeless body and invisible face. She confessed a twinge of jealousy as she contemplated her own short skirt and tight blouse, realizing in a split second that, no matter how much she tried to convince herself otherwise, society's men were probably not judging her solely for her intellectual and professional capabilities. She now felt embarassed in front of the Muslim woman who must've, she imagined, felt somewhat sorry for a "liberated" western woman like herself who could not even make it from one end of the street to the other without fear of harassment. (Please note that these were the writer's own sentiments and my intention is not to put her down but to show that there is more to equal rights than rules and regulations: it also has to do with belief, mindset and the reality of how men and women interact with one another as opposed to how we think they should in a perfect world.)

Contrast this powerful piece of writing to an article authored by a Muslim woman in another newspaper. In it, the woman practically begged non-Muslims not to judge Islam by the face-veil, which, she claimed, is a mere cultural tradition having nothing to do with Islam. This article served to divide local Muslims into two camps, understandably upsetting veiled women and their families. Even if one wanted to take the "least-least conservative" point of view and say that the veil is nothing more than a cultural tradition, it should not be forgotten that such a tradition has sprung forth from a culture of Muslims who are seeking the reward and pleasure of Allah, Most High. We should, in fact, respect the sisters who, in spite of the intense scrutiny placed upon them by Muslims and non-Muslims alike, continue to veil, refusing to abandon a halal garment which provides them (and the community as a whole) with extra doses of security, honor and pride.

Islam is a light that Allah SWT puts into one's heart, and He will undoubtedly help those sincere individuals who are seeking the Straight Path to get there one way or another. It really has nothing to do with what people "think about Islam." One of the best things we can do as Muslims is to behave well, dealing with people kindly and fairly, remembering that it is ultimately up to the will of Allah, Most Glorious if a particular individual is to become a Muslim or not. We should never think that we have to change the good things about ourselves in order to attract new converts to Islam. This strategy is not only demoralizing to one's iman, but it also does not work.

In conclusion, I would like to note that I do not wear the face-veil myself (only the basic hijab) but that I do have enormous respect for the women who cover their faces. I was prompted to write this article after hearing from many of my fully-veiled sisters in faith that some of the harshest criticisms they receive are from within the American Muslim community itself and not from non-Muslims as they had anticipated before adopting the veil. I really think that all Muslims should realize how much courage and confidence it takes to veil one's self in modern-day America and that we should be their best supporters in the struggle for the Muslim woman's right to veil.

Originally published at Suite101.com. Reprinted with permission.

Source: http://www.islamicgarden.com/article1020.html

Niqab revolves between only two (Obligation and Desirability)

 The ruling on Niqab (Face veil) is controversial, thus, we should not judge on the invalidation of a certain ruling rather than the other, it is also impermissible to fanaticize about one�s own opinion, since the freedom of choice is a right for everyone.

However, this dispute disappears if a woman�s face is so beautiful that it might cause Fitnah (sedition), for in this case covering the face becomes obligatory. It is claimed that Niqab is irrelevant to our religion If we look into this issue, we will discover that the object of dispute between scholars revolve around its being either Wajib (obligatory) or Mustahab (desirable). 

The most important thing to be noticed with respect to the Madh-hab (School of Jurisprudence) adopted by those who opine that it is Mustahab is that their view includes two important things:

First: They deem veiling (the face) as Mustahab, which means that they consider it more preferable than unveiling, since Desirability is paramount over Permissibility.With respect to permissibility, doing the act or quitting it is neutral, but regarding desirability: it is preferable to do that which is Mustahab.

Second: They stipulate a condition to permit revealing which is the safety from Fitnah, and Fitnah herein denotes the beauty of a woman, her age (i.e., to be young), and the appearance of obscene persons in multitude.Accordingly, it becomes known that their permissibility is restricted not absolute; it is restricted to the assurance of safety from Fitnah, and the preference of veiling (the face).Those who hold the opinion adopting the desirability had abided by this condition which was reflected on their attitudes:Regarding the condition, their abidance by it led them to approve those who deem it obligatory in some cases, thus they rendered covering obligatory in case of Fitnah.Consequently, there had been a consensus on the obligation of covering in case of Fitnah, those advocating the obligation deemed it obligatory in all cases, while others who opined the desirability deemed it obligatory in case of Fitnah as well. Hence their consensus on its being as Wajib in case of Fitnah became veritable, since they all agreed on this ruling in that case; one with respect to the origin and the other with respect to the condition. As for desirability, their abidance by it prevented them from inviting to, spreading and urging women to adopt their Madh-hab, thus, they did not write separate compilations to advocate their opinion passing unveiling. For they weren�t to replace what is lower with that which is better!!

This had resulted in a very important consequent; a practical consensus represented in prohibiting women to go out unveiled, therefore, their scholarly theoretical disagreement had not influenced the reality, but unfortunately, this was not realized by those who call nowadays for unveiling basing their claims on the opinion of such scholars...!!

The summary of their views:

Three consensuses: One regarding covering with respect to spouses, another with respect to covering in case of Fitnah, and a third practical consensus on prohibiting women to go out unveiled. These are the Madh-habs mentioned in this issue�And that was the case all over the past centuries: a theoretical disagreement wiped out by a practical agreementThis was reflected on the condition of women, for throughout thirteen centuries, the time of the Islamic Reign, they never went out unveiling their faces, and this was narrated and proved by a group of scholars including:Abu-Hamid Al-Ghazaly, who lived within the fifth century (died in 505 a.h) in Levant and Iraq, he mentioned in his book (Ihyaa� `Ulum Al-Din): �And men throughout the age continued to go out unveiling their faces, while women used to go out wearing Niqab�Al-Imam Al-Nawawy, who lived in the seventh century and transcribed in his book (Rawdat Al-Talibeen) the agreement on this by saying on the ruling regarding looking to a woman: �and the second: it is prohibited, mentioned by Al-Astakhary and Abu Ya`la Al-Tabary, and this opinion was chosen by Shaykh Abu Muhammad, and Al-Imam, and declared asserted by the owner of �Al-Muhadhab� and Al-Ruyany, and Al-Imam directed to it by the agreement of all Muslims on prohibiting women to go out unveiled (from the face), and that looking is a reason for causing Fitnah, as it steers one�s desire, thus what befits the good morals of Shari`ah (Islamic Law) is to block this mean and refrain from the details of  such conditions such as staying alone with an Ajnabiyyah )non-Mahram [not a spouse or an unmarriageable relative](�Ibn Hayyan Al-Andalusy the linguistic exegete, who lived in the eighth century, he mentioned in his Tafsir (explanation/exegesis of the meanings of the Qur'an) �Al-Bahr Al-Muheet�: �and this is accustomed here in Andalus, that a woman cannot reveal but only one eye�Ibn Hajar Al-`Asqalany, who lived in the ninth century, he mentioned in �Al-Fath�: �The persistence of permitting women to go out to the Masjids (mosques) and markets, and in traveling wearing Niqab so that men cannot see them�

 This was the case in the beginning of the last century, as painting appeared before about one hundred and fifty years, and painters had portrayed many situations in the Islamic countries from more than almost a hundred years.They included some of the conditions of women in Muslim countries: Turkistan, India, Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq, Turkey, Levant, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Egypt, Morocco, Tunisia, and Algeria.All veiled women were wearing full Hijab (veil), even in remote Islamic territories such as the island of Zanzibar in south Africa in the Indian Ocean, and I visited it on 1420 a.h and we entered its old museum and saw the pictures of their Turkish Sultans and their women and they were all veiled in the previously mentioned way.We also have evidence in this age: it is the Afghani woman, whose full veil covers all over her body even her face, which is so much similar to the way these women were like in other countries.

This is the most explicit evidence, for pictures are certain evidence, woman kept abiding by this full Hijab (veil) until recently and this Sufur (unveiling the face) did not appear except after the emergence of colonialism and westernization, for among the priorities of the colonist was: The removal of women�s Hijab, and the deactivation of acting upon the Shari`ah.

Gladstone said in his famous speech: �The Eastern countries cannot move forward except by two things: removing Hijab of Muslim women, and covering the Qur�an therewith�. Based on this, two ways were taken in order to achieve these two objectives: Strength and Shubhah (doubtful matter), and the most serious of which is the way of Shubhah..!!

The venoms of Shubhah around unveiling

Those who called and invited to unveiling through pulpits, newspapers, and books on the grounds that this is a controversial issue, as they looked into the heritage of Islam, traced the disputable matters, and quoted therefrom in support of their claims, thus they became similar to the orientalists, however the difference between both is that orientalists searched and investigated to refute Islam itself, while those searched and investigated to doubt established applied rulings such as:Women�s Hijab, especially unveiling the face.They found that some scholars permit it but on the condition of being safe from Fitnah.

Thus, they took their opinions disregarding their conditions..!! They also took their opinion adopting permissibility and abandoned their opinion adopting desirability�!!Moreover, they attributed their new innovated saying on the absolute permissibility of revealing the face -without restricting or conditioning it to the desirability- to these scholars!! For they did not keep the trust, or adjust the attribution of their saying, rather, they claimed that this was the opinion of Al-Jumhur (dominant majority of Scholars)�!!!And they surely were not to belong or be attributed to those scholars by dint of their innovated saying!!

Sufur (unveiling the face) and development:

They also linked Sufur with development claiming that this was the reason behind the deterioration of the nation, by virtue of women�s Hijab and her keeping away from the fields of men. Many people listened to them and followed their ideas, due to the absence of chasteness, the feebleness of conviction. Therefore, they patterned after these thoughts, and applied them leading to the evolvement of an unprecedented and queer event that is totally alien to the morals of Muslims, for she went out unveiled resembling Kuffar (Disbeliever) women in their clothing!!Women became just as those liberals wanted them to be like, and many centuries lapsed. Further, another century is about to lapse and these liberal countries are still among the third world countries, where on earth is the development attained for women after unveiling the face, assuming Tabarruj (women dressed immodestly in violation of the Islamic dress code), intermingling with men, and getting out from their houses??!!!