*From the Book, An IDEAL MUSLIMAH! * (*The True Islamic Personality of the Muslim Woman as Defined in the Qur'an and Sunnah) *
* - Dr. Muhammad Ali Al-Hashimi.* ** *Chapter:1 - A Muslim Woman with her Lord (Allah)!...* *continuation - 9...* ** *She wears correct hijab* The Muslim woman wears correct *hijab* when she goes out of her house. * Hijab* is the distinctive Islamic dress whose features have been clearly defined by the Qur'an and Sunnah. She does not go out of the house, or appear before non- *mahram* men, wearing perfume, make-up or other fineries, because she knows that this is *haram* according to the Qur'an: ( *And say to the believing women that they should lower their gaze and guard their modesty; that they should not display their beauty and ornaments except what [must ordinarily] appear thereof; that they should draw their veils over their bosoms 84 and not display their beauty except to their husbands, their fathers, their husbands' fathers, their sons, their husbands' sons, their brothers or their brothers' sons, or their sisters' sons, or their women, or the slaves whom their right hands possess, or male servants free of physical needs, or small children who have no sense of the shame of sex; and that they should not strike their feet in order to draw attention to their hidden ornaments. And O you Believers! Turn all together towards Allah, that you may attain Bliss. ) * (Qur'an 24:31) The Muslim woman, therefore, is not one of those dressed-but-naked women who abound in societies which have deviated from the guidance of Allah (SWT). She would tremble with fear at the terrifying picture which the Prophet (PBUH) draw of those painted and adorned temptresses who have gone astray: "There are two types of the people of Hell that I have not seen: people with whips like the tails of oxen, with which they beat the people, and women who are dressed yet still appear naked, who are inclined to evil and make their husbands incline towards it also. Their heads are like the humps of camels, leaning to one side. They will not enter Paradise, or even smell its scent, although its scent can be discerned from such-and-such a distance." 85 The Muslim woman who has been truly guided by her faith and has received a sound Islamic education does not wear *hijab* just because it is a custom or tradition inherited from her mother or grandmother, as some foolish men and women try to describe it with no evidence or logic whatsoever. The Muslim woman wears *hijab* on the basis of her belief that it is a command from Allah (SWT), revealed to protect the Muslim woman, to make her character distinct, and to keep her away from the slippery slope of immorality and error. So she accepts it willingly and with strong conviction, as the women of the *Muhajirin* and *Ansar* accepted it on the day when Allah (SWT) revealed His clear and wise command. According to a report narrated by Bukhari, `A'ishah (May Allah be pleased with her) said: "May Allah have mercy on the *Muhajir* women. When Allah (SWT) revealed ( *. . . that they should draw their veils over their bosoms . . .) *(Qur'an 24:31), they tore their wrappers and covered their heads and faces with them." According to another report given by Bukhari, `A'ishah said: "They took their wrappers and tore them at the edges, then covered their heads and faces with them."86 Safiyyah bint Shaybah said: "When we were with `A'ishah (May Allah be pleased with her), we mentioned the women of Quraysh and their virtues. `A'ishah (May Allah be pleased with her) said, `The women of Quraysh are good, but by Allah (SWT) I have never seen any better or more strict in their adherence to the Book of Allah (SWT) than the women of the *Ansar*. When *Surat al-Nur *was revealed - ( *. . . that they should draw their veils over their bosoms . . .) *- their menfolk went to them and recited to them the words that Allah (SWT) had revealed. Each man recited it to his wife, his daughter, his sister and other female relatives. Every woman among them got up, took her wrapper, and wrapped herself up in it out of faith and belief in what Allah (SWT) had revealed. They appeared behind the Messenger of Allah (PBUH), wrapped up, as if there were crows on their heads." 87 May Allah (SWT) have mercy on the women of the *Muhajirin* and the *Ansar*: how strong their faith was, and how sincere their Islam! How beautiful was their obedience to the truth when it was revealed! Every woman who truly believes in Allah (SWT) and His Messenger cannot but follow the example of these virtuous women, so she herself must wear the distinctive Islamic dress with no regard to the nakedness and wanton display that surrounds her. I remember a young university student who wore *hijab*, whose attitude was no less admirable than that of the women of the *Muhajirin* and *Ansar*, may Allah (SWT) be pleased with them: when a journalist who was visiting the University of Damascus asked her about her *hijab* and whether it was not too hot for her in the extreme heat of summer, she responded by quoting: ( *Say: `The fire of Hell is fiercer in heat.) *(Qur'an* *9:81). It is Muslim girls such as this who will build Muslim homes and families, and raise a virtuous generation which will fill society with constructive and noble elements. Today there are many such young women, *al-hamdu lillah *. Proper dress for women was not something novel introduced by Islam; it existed in all the laws of Allah (SWT) revealed before Islam. This can be seen in what remains of those laws in the altered books ( i.e. the Bible). We also see it in the modest dress of the Christian nuns who live in the Islamic world and also in the West, and in the fact that the women of the people of the Book cover their heads when they enter their churches. The modern rejection of the idea that women should be covered and modest goes against all divine laws, from the time of Ibrahim, Musa and `Isa (PBUH), until the *hanifi* way brought by Islam. This attitude is an attempt to escape the decree of Allah (SWT), which Allah (SWT) has sent to mankind throughout the ages, brought time after time by His Messengers to guide mankind to truth and righteousness, so that they would become one nation, worshipping and obeying one Lord: ( *Mankind was but one nation, but differed [later]. Had it not been for a Word that went forth before from your Lord, their differences would have been settled between them. ) *(Qur'an 10:19) ( *O messengers! Enjoy [all] things good and pure, and work righteousness; for I am well-acquainted with [all] that you do. And verily this Brotherhood of yours is a single Brotherhood. And I am your Lord and Cherisher: therefore fear Me [and no other]. ) *(Qur'an 23:51-52) ( *And [remember her who guarded her chastity: We breathed into her of Our Spirit, and We made her and her son a Sign for all peoples. Verily, this Brotherhood of yours is a single Brotherhood, and I am your Lord and Cherisher: therefore serve Me [and no other]. ) *(Qur'an 21:91-92) The determination of many modern societies that women should be uncovered, living naked and immoral lives, is an indication of how far they have deviated from the guidance of Allah (SWT), not only in the Muslim lands, but in all countries of the world. The Westerners may not care about this, and may go ahead and invent more means of immorality without finding any deterrent in their corrupted books, but the Muslims who worship Allah (SWT) by reciting His perfectly preserved Book night and day will never accept such deviance, no matter how negligent and weak they are in their practice of Islam, because they constantly hear the definitive words of the Qur'an and Sunnah warning those who disobey Allah (SWT) and His Messenger of the test in this life and the severe punishment to come in the Hereafter: ( *. . . Let those beware who withstand the Messenger's order, lest some trial befall them, or a grievous Penalty be inflicted on them.) *(Qur'an 24:63) So those men and women who have sold out to the West and called for women to uncover themselves and take off *hijab*, have failed miserably in the face of the determination of the men and women of the Islamic revival which is taking place throughout the world. Rightly-guided, educated Muslim women have gone back to their distinctive Islamic dress and correct, decent *hijab *, in many Muslim countries which had previously witnessed the call for Westernization and the abolishing of *hijab* and decency. For example, the followers of Ataturk in Turkey, Reza Pahlevi in Iran, Muhammad Aman in Afghanistan, Ahmed Zogo and Enver Hoxha in Albania, Marcus Fahmi, Qasim Amin and Hoda Shaarawi in Egypt. Some of those who supported women's "liberation" from *hijab* and modesty have now renounced their former opinions about women's showing off and mixing freely with men. Dr Nawal al-Saadawi, who for a long time attacked *hijab* and those who wear it, vehemently calling for women to take off *hijab*, now condemns the vulgarity and scandalous nakedness of women in the West. She says: "In the streets of London . . . I see women who are nearly naked, showing off their bodies like merchandise. Clothing has a function, which is to protect the body from the natural environment, not to transmit messages of temptation. If a woman saw herself as a human being, and not as merchandise, she would not need to show her nakedness." 88 It became clear to Nawal al-Saadawi after a while, that the veil should be removed from the mind, not the body, especially in the case of those men and women who are educated. Those women of lesser education, but with intelligence and openness of mind, who wear *hijab*, are worth tens of those foolish educated women who make a wanton display of themselves, uncovering their faces, heads and bodies whilst veiling their minds and instincts! This is why she describes her future plans as "lifting the veil from the minds of educated men and women." 89 She adds: "I know many female professors, doctors and engineers who are politically, socially and culturally illiterate."90 The famous novelist Ihsan `Abd al-Quddus, who flooded the literary marketplace with his stories that called for women to go out of the house and mingle with men, dancing with them at parties and night-clubs, said in an interview with the Kuwaiti newspaper *al-Anba'* (18 January 1989): "I think that the basic responsibility of any woman is her house and children. This applies to me above all. If it were not for my wife, I would not have been able to enjoy success, stability and family life, because she is devoted to the house and children . . ." In the same interview, he said: "I never in all my life envisaged marrying a woman who works, and I am well-known for this, because I knew from the beginning that the house is a heavy burden or responsibility for women." *will be continued Insha Allaah!...* *Pls forward to all...very useful to everyone...* *regards,* *Fayaz Ahmed.* *India.*
