Islamic criticism turned positive: Why do women have to cover up and wear the hijab? I think that is oppressive. In the name of Allah, the Entirely Merciful, the Especially Merciful. This question is asked so many times and unfortunately many Muslims themselves dont know how to answer it, but in sha Allah you will be satisfied with this answer. Before entering Islams view, lets take a look at the Bible. What does it say regarding this? In the Bible, it says if a woman doesnt cover her head, shave her hair off! It says, But every woman who prayeth or prophesieth with her head uncovered dishonoreth her head, for that is one and the same as if she were shaven. For if the woman be not covered, let her also be shorn. But if it be a shame for a woman to be shorn or shaven, let her be covered. (1 Corinthians 11:5). So what does it say in the Quran regarding the covering of women? It says, And tell the believing women to reduce [some] of their vision and guard their private parts and not expose their adornment except that which [necessarily] appears thereof and to wrap [a portion of] their headcovers over their chests and not expose their adornment except to their. (24:31) After this, it lists the people who are allowed to see a women uncovered. For example, the father, the brother, etc... Having said that, the verse before this actually tells men to cover up and lower their gaze as well so it is an equal responsibility for men and women to cover up, but man and woman are different so each must cover up differently. For the man, he must cover the part of the body from his naval to his knees. As for the woman, she must cover herself from the neck to the ankles (including the hair) and of course, both must be wearing loose clothing.so as not to expose the body or else the whole cover is pointless. So why do people cover up themselves? Its simple. Man and woman were created with multiple desires, of which one is each other. Covering up is protection for ourselves. This is an obvious thing. No one checks out the nuns when they walk by, but all the men check out the girls in bikinis and short shorts. What is the main reason guys walk up to girls and ask for dates? Is it because they know she is smart or has a good character? No, it is because she catches their eyes. You see, the Quran gives a list of the desires of man and the number one desire of man is actually women. It says in the Quran, Beautified for people is the love of that which they desire - of women and sons, heaped-up sums of gold and silver, fine branded horses, and cattle and tilled land. That is the enjoyment of worldly life, but Allah has with Him the best return. (3:14) I dont have to prove this to you, but I will. Women today are being used as a shiny object for men to get their attention. You dont believe me? Ill give you three examples. 1. There was an advertisement for BMW in a newspaper. It showed a car with a woman next to it wearing only a bikini. Underneath the advertisement is said, Test drive her now! with the her underlined! What does the girl have anything to do with BMW? Its to get mans attention. 2. There is right now a tv advertisement that I recently saw. It included a girl in a bikini on a car eating a burger. After about 10 seconds, another girl in a bikini enters the room and gets on the car as well. Do you know what the advertisement is for? The burger. What do 2 girls in bikinis on a car having anything to do with the burger? 3. Last but not least, every year there is the Superbowl and with that come the Superbowl commercials. If youve watched the Superbowl you have seen GoDaddy commercials. Alone, the name is very unique to say the least, but what are the commercials like? GoDaddy commercials are the most seductive commercials, showing women in bikinis washing cars and doing multiple things. Do you know what GoDaddy is about? What the company is? It is a web-hosting service. It simply gives you a web address for a site. What do such commercials have anything to do with that service? You see, women are being dangled in front of men to get their attention. Recently there has been advertisements on tv that are all about cheating on your spouse and keeping it a secret. This is the type of society that becomes when men and women dont guard themselves. In conclusion, Islam protects our women form this disgusting status and frees them from this oppression. Instead of running after physicality, it forces man to respect the woman and judge her based on her brain, not beauty. It also guards the men by telling them to guard themselves and lower their gaze, keeping their hearts clean of such indecency. In sha Allah I have given a satisfying answer.
Posted on: Thu, 07 Aug 2014 05:47:15 +0000