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Covering the
Face
Sex is divinely ordained. The obvious main purpose is propagation of the species. It also provides pleasure and companionship during the course of worldly life. But this source of pleasure has the potential to corrupt human society. Islam therefore confines it to the privacy of a society-approved marriage between a male and a female. And as one of the measures to protect society from the bad effects of unbridled sex, the Qur'aan prescribes a dress code for women. The Qur'aan repeatedly asserts that its verses are fully and variously explained for its easy understanding by people who ponder. And yet, we differ in our individual interpretation of some of the verses. In this particular subject matter, we differ whether the divine dress code for women allows for exposure of wearer's face or not. The Qur'aan informs us in verse 2.213 that we differ over the clear and well-explained verses just because of our mutual rivalry, enmity, hatred, or bias against one another. Allah tells us in the same verse that He guides those who believe, to the Truth of that wherein we differ. So let us shed these coloured glasses we are wearing, and try to find the pure Truth, behind those divine verses, as regards our subject matter here. We recognise any person by that person's face. The face, as such, acts as the divinely made 'Identity Card' of a person, male or female. Without a photo of the face, no passport or any other reliable identity card can be issued. So if anyone covers one's face, that person thus covers his/her identity. A fraud can be committed in this way. In an election, for example, it will facilitate bogus voting. The face therefore is a part of the human body that has, of necessity, to be kept exposed or uncovered. In the above perspective, let us now examine Qur'aanic verse 24.31. The portion of the said verse relevant for us here is: wa laa yubdeena zeenatahunna illaa maa zhahara minhaa. Translated, the same would be: "and not to reveal their beauty/charm/adornment except what appears thereof" The female face has no doubt its natural charm/beauty for the opposite sex. But it cannot, on that account, be banned from being seen at all in public. As we have seen herein above, Allah has so designed any human face that it serves also as the individual identity of that human being. So, Allah has allowed any human face, male or female, to be seen for its individual identity. And man cannot disallow what Allah Himself has allowed! And He has made provision for this allowance, in the above referred to verse 24.31 too! The female face squarely fits in the exception mentioned in the quote given above from the verse. The face, however, has to be without any special make-up, or adornment, done to make it more attractive. The question then arises as to why the face was not specifically mentioned in the exception under verse 24.31? The obvious answer is that the All-knowing Allah has purposely kept the scope of the exception wide enough to include any part of the female body, in exceptional circumstances as, for example, when a male doctor is called to make an emergency surgery on a part - including a private part - of the body, normally covered by a dress. However, on the basis of verse 33.53 read with verse 33.59, many Muslims seem inclined to agree with the view that a woman's face needs to be covered along with other parts of her body, in public. The background for the revelation of verse 33.53 was that the Prophet's invitees, for a meal at his house, used to linger on there, after the meal. Allah gave them a lesson in social etiquette on such occasions. One of the points of etiquette was that the guests were required to speak to the ladies of the house, if they had to, behind a huijaab (curtain, screen). This is the only place in the Qur'aan where this Arabic word has been used. Remember that the Prophet's home was the background in which the verse was revealed. Ladies at home are normally engaged in household work, when it is not practical for them to adhere to the stricter dress code prescribed under verses 33.59 24.31. They have therefore been exempted from observing the stricter dress code in the presence of their very close relatives, who may be residing in the same house. Since the ladies at home are not observing the stricter dress code, the guests in the Prophet’s house were asked to speak to them behind a screen, in verse 33.53! It would be improper, therefore, to justify a screen on the face of every woman in public places, on the basis of verse 33.53. As discussed earlier, a person's face serves as that person's identity. And nowhere in the Qur'aan is this Allah-given identity required to be concealed. And if we conceal it nevertheless, we would be acting against the divine scheme of things. Allah won't forgive us then, mind you! The Qur'aan, on the other hand, requires a woman to be able to be identified while she covers herself properly with her outer garments [verse 33.59]. This is the first verse revealed prescribing a dress code for women. Verse 24.31 came later by way of an explanatory note to this first verse. In this first verse, the ladies were asked to draw their jalaabeeb over their bodies. A brother had written to me that jalaabeeb are veils - akin to those worn now by women in Afghanistan - covering all parts of their bodies except one eye, palms, and feet below the ankles. These were certainly not the jalaabeeb worn by women in Arabia at the time of the revelation of verse 33.59; for, if they were, then there wouldn't be any need for asking them to cover their bodies properly. The fact of the matter is that jilbaab (singular of jalaabeeb) is only a woman's outer garment in which she normally goes out as per the custom prevailing. It could be a veil; or it could be even a saree worn by Indian women. The jilbaab of an Arab woman at the time of the revelation of the verse inter alia consisted of a khimaar, a kind of cloth headgear which covered the head, with its remaining portion hanging loosely at the back. And as per the fashion or custom of those days, a woman's tunic used to be open at the front, baring the breasts. That is why, in verse 24.31, women were instructed to cover their bosoms with their khumur (plural of khimaar). So, what verse 33.59 asked the women to do was simply to cover their bodies properly with outer garments, which they were already wearing. It didn't ask them to put on an additional all-covering veil over and above their normal dress. Verse 33.59, moreover, makes it clear that the dress should so cover the body that the woman is (1) identified and (2) not molested. Now, how can a woman be identified with her face covered!? Some of our religious leaders explain: what Allah means is 'identified as a chaste woman'. As if the leaders are wiser than Allah! They are interpolating what Allah had (nauzubillah) forgotten to mention. If indeed Allah meant what they say He meant, there wouldn't be any need for the word yurafna (identified) in the verse at all. Laa toozayna (not molested) would suffice. The trouble with us is that we try to interpret Allah's words with our own fault-prone opinions. We are yet to learn that Allah's words are faultless and measured, and leave no room for any ambiguity/doubt. We are yet to learn that the divine words stand in no need of man-inserted interpolations. The Truth is what the verse 33.59 plainly says: that the dress coverage should be such that it does not conceal the woman's identity, i.e. her face. And verse 24.31 makes adequate exemption provision for exposure of the face. To say, therefore, that covering a woman's face in public is a divinely laid mandatory law, is to invent a lie against Allah. And the Qur'aan says, in verse 4.50, "See how they forge the lie against Allah, and this is sufficient as a manifest sin." Mohammad Shafi *************************************************************************** {Invite (mankind, O Muhammad ) to the Way of your Lord (i.e. Islam) with wisdom (i.e. with the Divine Inspiration and the Qur'an) and fair preaching, and argue with them in a way that is better. Truly, your Lord knows best who has gone astray from His Path, and He is the Best Aware of those who are guided.} (Holy Quran-16:125) {And who is better in speech than he who [says: "My Lord is Allah (believes in His Oneness)," and then stands straight (acts upon His Order), and] invites (men) to Allah's (Islamic Monotheism), and does righteous deeds, and says: "I am one of the Muslims."} (Holy Quran-41:33) The prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: "By Allah, if Allah guides one person by you, it is better for you than the best types of camels." [al-Bukhaaree, Muslim] The prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) also said, "Whoever calls to guidance will have a reward similar to the reward of the one who follows him, without the reward of either of them being lessened at all." [Muslim, Ahmad, Aboo Daawood, an-Nasaa'ee, at-Tirmidhee, Ibn Maajah] -------------------------------------------------------------------------- All views expressed herein belong to the individuals concerned and do not in any way reflect the official views of IslamCity unless sanctioned or approved otherwise. If your mailbox clogged with mails from IslamCity, you may wish to get a daily digest of emails by logging-on to http://www.yahoogroups.com to change your mail delivery settings or email the moderators at [EMAIL PROTECTED] with the title "change to daily digest".
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- [IslamCity] Covering the Face Mohammad Shafi
