Is it Obligatory for Women to Cover their Heads?
I have read your response to the above question, and maybe I missed something, but I'm still not certain that covering the head is obligatory. If I understand you correctly, you've said that it can be inferred from Al-Nur 24:31 that it is natural and desirable, but this is not necessarily obligatory...
To what degree must Muslim women dress in order to be recognized as pious and modest women? A woman wearing long sleeves and long skirt in the summer would obviously stand out in North America...
Also, should I (as a Muslim woman) decide to cover my head, do I have to wear the khimar or hijab or whatever (I mean generally the Arabic type of dressing)? Could I just wear a hat/tam/whatever that covers my hair? Someone once told me that the way the Arabic is worded in Al-Nur 24:31, there can be no other substitution for the khimar. As a non-Arabic speaker I am confused...why should God expect us all to dress like the Arabic people (not that I have a problem with that, but I could have sworn God liked the diversity between peoples :).
One more thing, I understand the traditional view is either that nothing but the face and hands must be visible, and the more strict one is that only one or both eyes can be visible. Is it possible to subsribe to another view? Are there any reputable scholars who disagree with these?
I have read introductory books on Islam written by people who have degrees in Islamic studies (don't know if they are Muslim or not), showing pictures of women wearing basically just a scarf wrapped around their heads and tied in the back, leaving the neck and sometimes the ears uncovered. Yet the captions say that she is Islamically correct. So I wondered.
Sorry to ramble on for so long, but I've heard so many views on this and all the answers on the Danish Sera website seem so logical to me that you've probably got a lot of good points to make :).
Thanks in advance for any reply.
Reply
It is not the dress that the Arabs wore which has been made obligatory in Islam.
The Qur’an, in Al-Nu’r 24: 27, 30 - 31, has prescribed the ettiquette for men as well as women for times when they have to interact with each other.
The directives of the Qur’an are as follows:
First of all, the Qur’an says – to men and women alike – that if you have to visit someone, you must seek permission for entrance in their house, and this permission should be sought only if you are familiar and acquainted with those that live in the house. You should enter only if you are given permission to do so.
Once you have entered, men should follow these directives:
Women (who already had their heads, arms and legs covered) should observe the following directives:
The reason for these directives is not "to be recognized as pious and modest women" but that such ettiquette contribute towards "purifying the heart". Like all other directives of the Qur’an, this directive is also for purifying the heart of all such inclinations which might stain it. Such purification is a mandatory requirement for qualifying for the everlasting bliss – the Jannah – of our Lord.
After fully understanding these points, let us now turn to your questions:
Your first question is:
The directives of the Shari`ah for women have been explained above. These directives should be observed under all circumstances, except those where the Shari`ah itself has exempted the woman (also given in the referred verses).
Whether in North America or the Saudi Arabia, the directives of the Shari`ah, as the individual understands them, must be followed. It is very tragic that revealing dresses have become a part or modern day culture. But irrespective of the acceptability or otherwise of the society an individual – man or a woman – should have the committment and courage to hold the directives of Allah dearer to himself/herself than any thing else, even if such an attitude means "standing out" in the society.
Your second question/comment is:
As a Muslim woman, one should wear the Khima’r (a piece of cloth used as head covering, which is long and wide enough to be spread on the bosom when the time so requires). The style in which such khima’r is worn may differ from that which has been adopted by the Arabs or other eastern nations. The basic theme is that wearing a "khima’r" is a part of the Shari`ah, not the Arab culture.
In view of the above I do not think (anyone may, obviously, differ with me) that a "hat/tam/whatever" can be used as a substitute for "Khima’r".
God does not expect us to dress like the Arabs. God expects all women – whether Arab or non-Arab - to cover themselves as has been prescribed by Him.
Your third question is:
I have given the related directives of the Shari`ah. There could, obviously, be individual differences in practically following these directives. But as I see it, the second point of view that you have mentioned has taken things far ahead the directive of the Shari`ah, and therefore, in my opinion, is not acceptable. A Muslim scholar, should restrict himself to teaching the directives of the Shari`ah – he must refrain from making his own Shari`ah. The first point which you have stated seems to be more in coherence with the directive of the Shari`ah.
I really do not know if there is any "reputable" scholar who has disagreed with the first point of view that you have stated. What I do know is that this opinion seems to be more in coherence with the Qur’an. Moreover, such directive has also been ascribed to the Prophet (pbuh).
Your fourth comment is:
As I have already stated, thare can be practical individual differences in following the directives of the Shari`ah. The best thing for you to do would be to carefully study the directives given in the referred verses of the Qur’an, keeping in mind that they primarily addressed women who usually kept their heads, arms and legs covered, and see what you derive from these verses. You should follow what in your opinion is the correct application of these verses. All that would be required from you after that is that you keep your mind and heart open for the arguments of those who have a different opinion than your own.
Finally, you write:
I thank you for your encouraging remarks on my work. But I assure you that my concentration is not to make a logical presentation of Islam. It is my firm belief that if Islam is truly a divine religion, nothing in its directives can be illogical.
One must always remember that all the directives of the Qur’an and the Sunnah are to purify our hearts and thereby qualify us for the Jannah of Allah. These directives are not to make this present life more comfortable, but to make the life hereafter, which is our permenant abode more comfortable.
May Allah help us in understanding His Shari`ah and live our lives accordingly.
My fondest regards to you and those around you.
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