She is Married to a Muslim and Hijab is Putting Her off Islam
My husbad is Muslim and has talked frequently about me becoming
Muslim myself. I just have one concern... the women being covered.
Why do they need to cover themselves and only reveal what is
odinarily revealed. I am American, we reveal almost the entire body
here. I just want to get an understanding.
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 – such
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 – as the questioner
mentions – this 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 sharee’ah 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 – looking at what the houswife’s value from a
purely materialistic point of view, far removed from any emotional
criteria – a woman who stays at home is the most valuable thing the
family can have.
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.
87% said that if the clock was turned back they would consider the
demands for equality as a social conspiracy against the United States
and they would resist those who raise the banner of equality.
All it needs is for you to think about the matter a little, and look
at real life, and you will see that hijab spares women from evil,
harm and crimes. Islam has closed the door to such evils with its
laws, including the requirement for women past the age of puberty to
wear hijab.
Finally we would like to congratulate you on the fact that Allaah has
granted you a Muslim husband, so that you will be able to see Islam
in practice from him and his Muslim relatives, which may encourage
you to enter Islam and which may remove the barrier of fear about
entering this great and purely monotheistic religion. Also note that
entering this final religion, which Allaah wants for all people, is a
great honour of which you may be deprived if you delay and death then
overtakes you. So hasten to enter Islam, with submission to the will
of Allaah, with eagerness and delighting in this blessing of Allaah.
You should note that if you fall short in your observance of hijab
because your human weakness or you feel embarrassed in front of your
people, this is regarded as a sin. That should not prevent you from
doing the great good deed which will lead you to Paradise and save
you from Hell, namely embracing Islam. You should also note that the
Shaytaan (Satan) is the enemy of all the sons of Adam, and he is the
one who is stirring up these doubts in order to prevent you from
entering this religion, so that he can increase the number of those
who will follow him to Hell. So be strong and courageous in making
the decision that will lead to eternal happiness, by Allaah’s leave.
We ask Allaah to help you and to give you the will power to enter
Islam as our sister in Islam, and to share this blessing. We thank
you for your confidence in us.
And Allaah is the Guide to the Straight path.
Islam QA
In front of the Immigration Appeals Board (UNE) Norway, Mosavi claimed to have converted to Christianity and was baptized. However, UNE says it can not recognize the validity of religious status, as Mosavi was once married to a Muslim woman from Afghanistan.
