Sayyida Zaynab M., on 30 December 2011 - 07:05 AM, said:
Brother ^ Allah is All Knowing.
Allah has placed responsibilities and duties for both male and females in this world. A women has the maternal position therefore tends to have a more feeble physic. In return for this dependable woman’s role, men are given the responsibility of providing for the woman and family-- food, clothes and shelter. Therefore, their physical built must be bulkier in order to accomplish this duty. Our differences only reflect our position in society, and are not the result of an unjust system.
Sayyida Zaynab M., on 30 December 2011 - 07:05 AM, said:
On the concept of hijab, a woman’s feeble physic also allows them to have a more physically appealing appearance. Allah has granted women this beauty firstly as a test, in order to test both genders in their ability to control their worldly desires. Both genders as stated in the Quran 24:31 must lower their gazes. Because women are given this beauty, their major test is to cover themselves and not put herself on display for strange men to view.
When women do not cover themselves, they are causing haraam for both themselves and for men who lay eyes on them. Men do not have this beauty however their test is more difficult, they must protect themselves from gazing at non-mahraam women. Men tend to have different emotional responses to certain things then women do, therefore guarding themselves from their heightened senses is part of this test women do not have to face. In a way, women should be grateful. Compared to men, a woman’s test is more simple.
Remember, I speak of modesty from the perspective that all the necessary parts are all covered properly but the hair can still be seen. Men are attracted to pretty faces, which are on display even with the hijab, and also the hair, but this doesn't ignite the carnal desires of every mature individual. The attraction would be pure, not lustful, and it wouldn't act as a cause for disrespect of the woman. Considering women can dress modestly and even act modestly without the headscarf, all men need to do is to simply lower their gaze. If the man looks, he is at fault, not the women who is dressed in modest attire.
Sayyida Zaynab M., on 30 December 2011 - 07:05 AM, said:
You must understand that none of our judgment calls can even compare to the reasoning behind Allah's commands. Allah never makes anything Haraam or Halal on us with out a reason, because Allah is just. Hijab is one of Allah's commands, if we do not fully understand the purpose for Hijab; we should wait and educate ourselves before making broad and general claims that can be unintentionally a misguidance that leads to a divergence in the faith.
I've read books and articles about Hijab so i'm pretty up to date with my understanding of the philosophy that encompasses wearing it, but it's really all so subjective in nature. The issue lies in the fact that covering the body is not modest enough if the hair isn't covered too and this pertains to a fallacy in deductive reasoning. Is it actually believable that societies will disintegrate and collapse if women dress fully without covering their hair? It's this mentality of 'it's my way or the high way' which hardly seems to add up when you truly contemplate on it with an unbiased outlook.
Sayyida Zaynab M., on 30 December 2011 - 07:05 AM, said:
We must have a solid background and foundation before we are able to make certain claims of whether issues in Islam are necessary or unnecessary. Before we can even utter a word, we must make sure every basis and even the implications of our claims are according to Islamic law.
One misguidance can lead to a completely diverged sect of Islam. See the Ismaili Shias for example; they diverged on the sixth imam. If even the basis of the false idea were halted at its origin, we wouldn't have this completely different sect.
So be careful when you say:
“This is why I strongly believe that Hijab can be practiced in numerous ways and that they are all legitimate avenues of practising modesty.”
I don't think it's consistent to compare Ismaili Shia in context of Hijab. The basis of their idea stemmed from a difference in political judgment, they can't really offer a rational explanation on it. As for Hijab, as in the headscarf, the basis on my reasoning is logical so it's a moot point really.
Sayyida Zaynab M., on 30 December 2011 - 07:05 AM, said:
Moreover, Hijab isn’t only modesty.
Hijab is protection. It acts as a protective barrier against those who don’t necessarily see the world through specifically your eyes. You must understand that just because you may not find a woman’s hair to be attractive, it does not mean other men have the same emotional triggers as you do.
Yet, the hair doesn't stand on its own, the face is also another imperative factor related to it. I know for a fact that emotional triggers happen even if only the woman's charmingly charismatic face is showing and her hair is covered. It's all to do with relativity; you can't substantiate a specific conclusion that hair is the
only rationale. No, in fact men do not deem all girls who show their hair to be a source of attraction.
Sayyida Zaynab M., on 30 December 2011 - 07:05 AM, said:
Your statement that ‘every man living in the west, will have the same social interactions with a hijabi and non-hijabi” is a broad and generalized assumption. The west, regardless of how open-minded and educated they may be, will always have their animalistic emotions.
Your statement assumes that every western man is the same, and there is no man looking at a non-hijabi with evil intentions. Regardless of how educated a society may be, there will always be evildoers.
Sayyida Zaynab M., on 30 December 2011 - 07:05 AM, said:
Islam protects us from all forms of evil and sets up the perfect societal system for us to follow. Only recently has this “advanced western society” learned to give women the equal rights to males, while Islam had implemented this equality from day one.
With this simple piece of cloth, Allah not only protects both women and men with the hijab, but also empowers women, and gives them an equal position in society to males. This so-called “advanced western society” degrades the value of women with their over objectification of the female body.
Muslims have a proclivity to correlating 'showing hair' with 'less value, being deemed as an object, not a person'. These attributes are in no way associated with hair, but body. If the body is not decently covered then these attributes are aligned. If the body is decently covered, even with the hair showing, then this doesn't exemplify those negative epithets.
Islam gave many rights to women, but it wasn't exactly the 'headscarf' which propelled these rights into existence. It was gradual reform. I don't even know if the headscarf is legislated in this religion. Pre-islamic arabian women covered their hair, yet they didn't have rights. Doesn't this tell you something? Its oxymoronic.
Sayyida Zaynab M., on 30 December 2011 - 07:05 AM, said:
In this society, women are seen and used more as objects rather then beings, thus the reason why it has become a norm for men to see exposed women. This norm doesn’t show the western male’s equal perception of covered and uncovered women, in reality it’s a portrayal of the western society’s destruction and debauchery of moral values. Seeing naked women has become so common, that men don’t even need to give any effort to quench their sinful desires.
I've elaborated on this already.
It’s interesting to note, though, that the process of desensitization goes to the extent that previous realities of taboos become ordinariness in society. I ponder on this, and weigh the positive and negative outcomes. It depends on the type of taboo in society and the scope of its effect.
If hair is perceived as a taboo in a certain situation, then through gradual exposure of it through media and environment, people will definitely become desensitized to it and this is an empirical fact. Does the exposure of hair have a profoundly negative effect on society? Not at all, and this is fact is verified just by looking at secular nations. On the other hand, revealing the body in a way that is incongruous to modest attire, acts as the catalyst which accentuates decadence in society. It’s not the hair alone.
Sayyida Zaynab M., on 30 December 2011 - 07:05 AM, said:
Brother, to clear your misconception, hijab is not something women wear only for equal treatment. There is much more to the hijab then that.
We wear it firstly and most importantly, to please Allah(swt) because it is his command. Secondly, to protect others and ourselves from committing sin. Hijab acts as a preventative reminder to keep away from haram acts.
I'm yet to affirm whether it really is the command of Allah(swt) for every woman in the world, in every culture and in every environment, to wear the headscarf.
In a way, the hijab does act as extra modesty which would consequently direct you to observe equal amount of modesty when it comes to social interactions and avoiding situations which would demean that extra modesty. I agree. Then again, who's to say that a woman who dresses modestly without a headscarf also can't avoid haram acts? It's not really true.
Sayyida Zaynab M., on 30 December 2011 - 07:05 AM, said:
Hijab also gives women a more elevated and respected value in society. A woman’s body is her own private concern, not a cheap object to put on display for any man to gawk at.
Yes, it gives you elevated value in certain environments but not all. As i mentioned previously, different cultures and evironments perceive hijab in a disparate cognition. There are places, such as europe in my opinion, where you will not be given a more elevated status just because you're wearing the hijab and respect is a given, no matter what.
Sayyida Zaynab M., on 30 December 2011 - 07:05 AM, said:
Hijab also protects women from physical danger. Hijab detracts men from se*ually harassing women. According to the US RapeTrauma Services, ‘78 women (ages 18 and over) in the United States are forcibly raped every hour.’ Hijab completely removes this fear of physical abuse.
You know, there's a saying: "
Statistics are like loose women. Once you get them, they let you do what you want with them".
You see, the problem with a statistic like this is that it is highly ambiguous and lacks the extra details that are necessary in the context of your argument. For example, how do would I know if those women who are raped lead themselves into trouble in the first place, how can I ascertain whether these women are dressed provocatively or not, how do I know if the rapist is a serial rapist who rapes anyone and kills his victim etc?
Personally speaking, it's logical to say that a rapist doesn't really fit into the framework of this discussion as such due to the fact that a rapist obviously has psychological issues. A rapist would even rape a hijabi woman if he came in contact with such a person. Generally, normal guys are attracted to women but that doesn't lead them to raping a woman.
Another conundrum, how can I verify this bold claim that a rape happens every hour in the US alone? Is it really that ubiquitous? Or is this another case of the availability heuristic?
http://en.wikipedia....ility_heuristic
As you can see, many factors have to be taken into account before even using this statistic as a tool to further your argument; otherwise such a statistic is futile to put forth in this context.
Sayyida Zaynab M., on 30 December 2011 - 07:05 AM, said:
The more we sacrifice ourselves and our desires for the way of Islam and Allah, the more Hasanat we will be gaining for our afterlife. Allah never forgets the criticism and difficulties us Muslim women face on a day-to-day basis as the flag bearers of Islam. Hijab should be taken as an opportunity we have at Allah’s infinite mercy and vast rewards, that the male gender is not able to have.
Overall, us women are more blessed then we may perceive. Truly, Allah is All-knowing.
I honestly don't have a qualm if a woman chooses to wear the headscarf, I treat everyone case by case as an individual, but it's just that I hate to see women who don't wear it being viewed in a negative light, even when the clothes they wear are not at all immodest.
Sayyida Zaynab M., on 30 December 2011 - 07:18 AM, said:
@brother Emirates:
Brother Haydar is right, you need to be careful of what you say. Your questions fall along the borderline of blasphemy. Please be more considerate of your comments especially when they are directed toward Islam, and Allahسبحانه وتعالى. If you dont understand something, you are more then welcome to ask, though maintain your respect because going too far astray can make your comments come off as blasphemous. And as stated in the Holy Quran, blasphemy is a sin Allah will never forgive.
Is it blasphemous to ask questions? Maybe my question came off as 'blasphemous' because it's questions like this that are never asked. You deemed the question as disrespect because you've already confirmed the concept of Hijab in your mind and perhaps thinking out of the box is dangerous to you. I don't know. I structured my question appropriately and there is nothing inherently wrong with the question itself.
Normally, it's just culture which dictates that it is blasphemous to question different aspects of Islam. It's wrong. If the enquiry is rational, then there is nothing sacrilegious about it. I polemically questioned alot of things until i realized the truth of this faith. Did i confirm this faith in my heart through blasphemous means?
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used to wear a faceveil, as did Fatima 
, her daughters, and grandaughters.
