NO FACE COVERING FOR WOMEN IN ISLAM . Imam Muhammad Abduh (Egypt 1849-1905) the top official edict & head of Islamic verdict body (Mufti )for Egypt & the entire Islamic countries in his time issued a verdict that women face covering is not from Islam sharia (legislation) but only a harmful non Islamic social habit & should be changed , see verdict reasons below . • 1) NO TEXT IN QURAN OR AN ACT IN SUNNAH THAT MANDATES WOMEN TO COVER THEIR FACE , but it is a mere cultural habit taken from other ancient non muslim nations (ultra orthodox Jews living in Arabian peninsula) & was unjustly imitated by some muslims as many other harmful habits that people falsely attribute to Islam unjustly distorting religion . .2) PROPHET BANNED FACE COVERING for women going to pilgrimage Haj /Omra in Makkah & ordered them to reveal and NOT cover their face or hands & this command is strictly adopted until today .Haram Makkah is the holiest place & Haj or Omra is the highest spiritual/religious status for muslims , thus if face covering was a virtue by any means ,then the Prophet who calls for piety would have instructed women going to Haj & Omra to cover their faces & not the opposite, moreover men & women are not segregated in this holiest place & perform their highest spiritual religious rituals without segregation . 3)QURAN DOES NOT MENTION ANY FACE COVER ; looking at Quran verses talking about women wear , we find that ALLAH told his prophet to first tell the believing MEN NOT TO GAZE AT WOMEN & to lower their gaze before mentioning dress decency to women only telling them to cover their bosoms & not expose their adornment except which thereof appears Q 24;31 قُل لِّلْمُؤْمِنِينَ يَغُضُّوا مِنْ أَبْصَارِهِمْ وَيَحْفَظُوا فُرُوجَهُمْ ۚ ذَٰلِكَ أَزْكَىٰ لَهُمْ ۗ إِنَّ اللَّـهَ خَبِيرٌ بِمَا يَصْنَعُونَ ﴿٣٠﴾ وَقُل لِّلْمُؤْمِنَاتِ يَغْضُضْنَ مِنْ أَبْصَارِهِنَّ وَيَحْفَظْنَ فُرُوجَهُنَّ وَلَا يُبْدِينَ زِينَتَهُنَّ إِلَّا مَا ظَهَرَ مِنْهَا ۖ وَلْيَضْرِبْنَ بِخُمُرِهِنَّ عَلَىٰ جُيُوبِهِنَّ , translation “ TELL THE BELIEVING MEN TO REDUCE [SOME] OF THEIR VISION AND GUARD THEIR GENITAL PARTS. THAT IS PURER FOR THEM. INDEED, ALLAH IS ACQUAINTED WITH WHAT THEY DO. AND TELL THE BELIEVING WOMEN TO REDUCE [SOME] OF THEIR VISION AND GUARD THEIR GENITAL PARTS AND NOT EXPOSE THEIR ADORNMENT EXCEPT THAT THEREOF APPEARS AND TO BRING THEIR COVERS OVER THEIR BOSOMS “--- Note that the word خمار “ “Khimar” in Arabic means “COVER” & NOT A HEAD SCARF as mistranslated in several translations that bias to women repression & this cover can be the garment itself (blouse or dress to cover bosoms) or a head or neck or shoulder cover / scarf to cover the bosom if the dress does not cover it Also note that the VERSE ALLOWED WOMAN TO EXPOSE PARTS OF THEIR BODY in front of illegal partners or relatives , but did not name these parts , this means that ALLAH HAS ASSIGNED THE NAMING OF THESE PARTS TO WHAT IS DEEMED DECENT AS PER THE TIME & PLACE . The old time scholars in their times agreed that the face & hands are included in the exposed parts & disagreed if the foot & arms to be also included in the exposure . •4) ABOUT PROPHET WIVES ON THAT MATTER ; Re some claimed narrations that Prophet (pbuh) wives & daughters covered their face is a non proven matter & other narrations prove that they did not cover their faces , especially that they were identified when seen outdoors , this mean they had uncovered face , moreover the hadith narrators who themselves narrate that Prophet wives were veiled also narrate a hadith saying مشيرا الى عائشة …. خذوا شطر دينكم من تلك الحميراء translation is take half your religion from this red cheeked..pointing at his wife Aisha,----- this means her face was revealed & known by her red cheek which is contradicting to what they narrate that their faces were veiled . And since our ultimate reference is Quran , QURAN NEVER INSTRUCTED PROPHET WIVES TO COVER THEIR FACE, BUT ONLY ORDERED MEN WHEN THEY ARE IN PROPHET HOUSE TO ASK THE PROPHET WIVES FROM BEHIND A PARTITION which can be a curtain or screen or door or so , this is sura 33;53 وَإِذَا سَأَلْتُمُوهُنَّ مَتَاعًا فَاسْأَلُوهُنَّ مِن وَرَاءِ حِجَابٍ. translation is And when you ask [his wives] for something, ask them from behind a partition ------• Nevertheless , if we assume -for the sake of argument just to appease hardliners- that Prophet wives covered their faces, then this practice in particular should not be applied in analogy to any other muslim women because THERE ARE CERTAIN RESTRICTIONS APPLIED TO PROPHET WIVES THAT SHOULD NOT BE APPLICABLE TO OTHER MUSLIM WOMEN . ALLAH SAYS THAT PROPHET WOMEN ARE NOT LIKE OTHER WOMEN, sura 33;32 يَا نِسَاءَ النَّبِيِّ لَسْتُنَّ كَأَحَدٍ مِّنَ النِّسَاءِ.. translation is O wives of the Prophet, you are not like anyone among women. ------Prophet wives are double punished for their sins & double rewarded for their good deeds . Also they are not allowed to marry anyone after Prophet death & these restrictive rules are not to be applied to other muslim women , thus even if we assume -for sake of argument to appease hardliners - that Prophet wives covered their faces as an exclusive rule then this is to be applied to them only & not to other women • . 5) FACE COVERING CAN BE A GOOD MEANS FOR SIN & fornication because women who want to have illegal relation with strange men can go out undercover & do any sin without their husbands or relatives or anyone identifying them • . 6) FACE COVER & WOMEN SEGREGATION OBSTRUCTS WOMEN FROM RUNNING & MANAGING THEIR OWN WEALTH & trade business & many men who were proxies for veiled women has misused the proxies & robbed the money of women • . 7) GANGS & CRIMINALS CAN DO THEIR CRIMES IN WOMEN FULL VEIL & remain hiding under the face cover •. 8) FACE COVERING IS HAZARDOUS TO SOCIETY & REPRESSIVE& OPPRESSIVE & UNJUST TO WOMEN thus contradictory to Islamic shariah(legislation) which aims to society welfare & just for man & woman .. 9)QURAN INSTRUCTS MEN TO LOWER THEIR GAZE ;Re what is said about fearing of temptation ”fitnah “ to some men, the answer is that there can be also very handsome men , so why their faces are not covered , nevertheless for those men fearing temptation, Quran instructed them to lower their gaze & if there are still some sick minded men , then these men need to get a mental or psychological therappy not enforcing face cover over women . 10) Moreover, there are more than 6000 verses in Quran talking about many issues as justice , charity , foregiveness , patience , good manners , moderation, modesty, honesty .. etc & unfortunately most Islamic conversation is about women clothes & neglecting the other issues of ethics & manner while there are only two verses in Quran that talked about women clothes decency , this makes the ratio of women clothes verses to other verses less than 1 to 3000 , so let us give this issue its own real weight , only 1 to 3000 of our Islamic conversation & give other issues their own weights •. FINALLY ,THE VERDICT BRIEF IS”FACE COVER FOR WOMEN IS NOT FROM ISLAM BUT A HARMFUL WRONG HABIT & PRACTICE CONTRADICTORY TO ISLAM SHARIA (LEGISLATION) & SHOULD BE CHANGED” Lastly I invite you to kindly like &share my newly born page https://facebook/sheikh.muhammad.abduh About Muhammad Abduh , plz go to arabnews/node/341054 & britannica/EBchecked/topic/892/Muhammad-Abduh
Posted on: Tue, 21 Jan 2014 17:47:34 +0000
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