Saturday, January 30, 2010

The reality of Hijaab



Assalamualaikum all,

below i paste a translated scholarly article regarding the Hijaab. Unfortunately today many sisters feel 'HIJAAB' to be: the covering of one's hair in a fashionable manner, whilst probably wearing a pair of jeans from next, and a matching fitting top from probably......H&M's or maybe Debanhams?? Sound familiar??

It is important that we as Muslims realise that the yardstick in deciding that which is acceptable and that which is not- is the instruction found in our religious sources.

After all: Islam does mean submitting to the will of Allah.

I don't mean to upset any of our precious sisters, but a Muslim was never an individual that swept matters underneath hoping to appease the masses, rather, he/she was someone that spoke that which was right, even if a select few did not approve for a short interim....

I hope not to sound apologetic, but i would love for my dear sisters to give this article a chance and use it as a stepping stone towards atleast considering the reality of Hijaab. Atleast then, even if we are unable to implement it; we are still able to teach it and explain it.

I love you all for the sake of Allah.

May Allah guide us all.

Sajid Umar
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Praise be to Allaah.

Shaykh al-Albaani (may Allaah have mercy on him) said:

The conditions of hijaab:

Firstly:

(It should cover all the body apart from whatever has been exempted).

Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):

“O Prophet! Tell your wives and your daughters and the women of the believers to draw their cloaks (veils) all over their bodies (i.e. screen themselves completely except the eyes or one eye to see the way). That will be better, that they should be known (as free respectable women) so as not to be annoyed. And Allaah is Ever Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful.”

This aayah clearly states that it is obligatory to cover all of a woman’s beauty and adornments and not to display any part of that before non-mahram men (“strangers”) except for whatever appears unintentionally, in which case there will be no sin on them if they hasten to cover it up.

Al-Haafiz ibn Katheer said in his Tafseer:

This means that they should not display any part of their adornment to non-mahrams, apart from that which it is impossible to conceal. Ibn Mas’ood said: such as the cloak and robe, i.e., what the women of the Arabs used to wear, an outer garment which covered whatever the woman was wearing, except for whatever appeared from beneath the outer garment. There is no sin on a woman with regard to this because it is impossible to conceal it.

Secondly

(it should not be an adornment in and of itself).

Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):

“… and not to show off their adornment…” [al-Noor 24:31]. The general meaning of this phrase includes the outer garment, because if it is decorated it will attract men’s attention to her. This is supported by the aayah in Soorat al-Ahzaab (interpretation of the meaning):

“And stay in your houses, and do not display yourselves like that of the times of ignorance” [al-Ahzaab 33:33]. It is also supported by the hadeeth in which the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “There are three, do not ask me about them: a man who leaves the jamaa’ah, disobeys his leader and dies disobedient; a female or male slave who runs away then dies; and a woman whose husband is absent and left her with everything she needs, and after he left she made a wanton display of herself. Do not ask about them.”

(Narrated by al-Haakim, 1/119; Ahmad, 6/19; from the hadeeth of Faddaalah bint ‘Ubayd. Its isnaad is saheeh and it is in al-Adab al-Mufrad).

Thirdly:

(It should be thick and not transparent or “see-thru”)

- because it cannot cover properly otherwise. Transparent or see-thru clothing makes a woman more tempting and beautiful. Concerning this the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “During the last days of my ummah there will be women who are clothed but naked, with something on their heads like the humps of camels. Curse them, for they are cursed.” Another hadeeth adds: “They will not enter Paradise or even smell its fragrance, although its fragrance can be detected from such and such a distance.”

(Narrated by Muslim from the report of Abu Hurayrah).

Ibn ‘Abd al-Barr said: what the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) meant was women who wear clothes made of light fabric which describes and does not cover. They are clothed in name but naked in reality.

Transmitted by al-Suyooti in Tanweer al-Hawaalik, 3/103.

Fourthly:

(It should be loose, not tight so that it describes any part of the body).

The purpose of clothing is to prevent fitnah (temptation), and this can only be achieved if clothes are wide and loose. Tight clothes, even if they conceal the colour of the skin, still describe the size and shape of the body or part of it, and create a vivid image in the minds of men. The corruption or invitation to corruption that is inherent in that is quite obvious. So the clothes must be wide. Usaamah ibn Zayd said: “The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) gave me a thick Egyptian garment that was one of the gifts given to him by Duhyat al-Kalbi, and I gave it to my wife to wear. He said, ‘Why do I not see you wearing that Egyptian garment?’ I said, ‘I gave it to my wife to wear.’ He said, ‘Tell her to wear a gown underneath it, for I am afraid that it may describe the size of her bones.’” (Narrated by al-Diyaa’ al-Maqdisi in al-Ahaadeeth al-Mukhtaarah, 1/442, and by Ahmad and al-Bayhaqi, with a hasan isnaad).

Fifthly:

(It should not be perfumed with bakhoor or fragrance)

There are many ahaadeeth which forbid women to wear perfume when they go out of their houses. We will quote here some of those which have saheeh isnaads:

Abu Moosa al-Ash’ari said: the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Any woman who puts on perfume then passes by people so that they can smell her fragrance, is an adulteress.”

Zaynab al-Thaqafiyyah reported that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “If any one of you (women) goes out to the mosque, let her not touch any perfume.”

Abu Hurayrah said: the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Any woman who has scented herself with bakhoor (incense), let her not attend ‘Ishaa’ prayers with us.”

Moosa ibn Yassaar said that a woman passed by Abu Hurayrah and her scent was overpowering. He said, “O female slave of al-Jabbaar, are you going to the mosque?” She said, “Yes,” He said, “And have you put on perfume because of that?” She said, “Yes.” He said, “Go back and wash yourself, for I heard the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) say: ‘If a woman comes out to the mosque and her fragrance is overpowering, Allaah will not accept any prayer from her until she goes home and washes herself.’”

These ahaadeeth are general in implication. Just as the prohibition covers perfume applied to the body, it also covers perfume applied to the clothes, especially in the third hadeeth, where bakhoor (incense) is mentioned, because incense is used specifically to perfume the clothes.

The reason for this prohibition is quite clear, which is that women’s fragrance may cause undue provocation of desires. The scholars also included other things under this heading of things to be avoided by women who want to go to the mosque, such as beautiful clothes, jewellery that can be seen, excessive adornments and mingling with men. See Fath al-Baari, 2/279.

Ibn Daqeeq al-‘Eed said:

This indicates that it is forbidden for a woman who wants to go to the mosque to wear perfume, because this causes provocation of men’s desires. This was reported by al-Manaawi in Fayd al-Qadeer, in the commentary on the first hadeeth of Abu Hurayrah quoted above.

Sixthly:

(It should not resemble the clothing of men)

It was reported in the saheeh ahaadeeth that a woman who imitates men in dress or in other ways is cursed. There follow some of the ahaadeeth that we know:

Abu Hurayrah said: “The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) cursed the man who wears women’s clothes, and the woman who wears men’s clothes.”

‘Abd-Allaah ibn ‘Amr said: I heard the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) say: ‘They are not part of us, the women who imitate men and the men who imitate women.’”

Ibn ‘Abbaas said: “The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) cursed effeminate men and masculine women. He said, ‘Throw them out of your houses.’” He said: “The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) expelled So and so, and ‘Umar expelled So and so.” According to another version: “The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) cursed men who imitate women and women who imitate men.”

‘Abd-Allaah ibn ‘Amr said: “The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: ‘There are three who will not enter Paradise and Allaah will not even look at them on the Day of Resurrection: one who disobeys his parents, a woman who imitates men, and the duyooth (cuckold, weak man who feels no jealousy over his womenfolk).”

Ibn Abi Maleekah – whose name was ‘Abd-Allaah ibn ‘Ubayd-Allaah – said: “It was said to ‘Aa’ishah (may Allaah be pleased with her), ‘What if a woman wears (men’s) sandals?’ She said: ‘The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) cursed women who act like men.’”

These ahaadeeth clearly indicate that it is forbidden for women to imitate men and vice versa, This usually includes dress and other matters, apart from the first hadeeth quoted above, which refers to dress only.

Abu Dawood said, in Masaa’il al-Imaam Ahmad (p. 261): “I heard Ahmad being asked about a man who dresses his slave woman in a tunic. He said, ‘Do not clothe her in men’s garments, do not make her look like a man.” Abu Dawood said: “I said to Ahmad, Can he give her bachelor sandals to wear? He said, No, unless she wears them to do wudoo’. I said, What about for beauty? He said, No. I said, Can he cut her hair short? He said, No.”

Seventhly:

(It should not resemble the dress of kaafir women).

It is stated in sharee’ah that Muslims, men and women alike, should not resemble or imitate the kuffaar with regard to worship, festivals or clothing that is specific to them. This is an important Islamic principle which nowadays, unfortunately, is neglected by many Muslims, even those who care about religion and calling others to Islam. This is due either to ignorance of their religion, or because they are following their own whims and desires, or because of deviation, combined with modern customs and imitation of kaafir Europe. This was one of the causes of the Muslims’ decline and weakness, which enabled the foreigners to overwhelm and colonize them. “…Verily, Allaah will not change the condition of a people as long as they do not change their state themselves …” [al-Ra’d 13:11 – interpretation of the meaning]. If only they knew.

It should be known that there is a great deal of saheeh evidence for these important rules in the Qur’aan and Sunnah, and that the evidence in the Qur’aan is elaborated upon in the Sunnah, as is always the case.

Eighthly:

(It should not be a garment of fame and vanity).

Ibn ‘Umar (may Allaah be pleased with him) said: “The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: ‘Whoever wears a garment of fame and vanity in this world, Allaah will clothe him in a garment of humiliation on the Day of Resurrection, then He will cause Fire to flame up around him.’”

(From the book- Hijaab al-Mar’ah al-Muslimah, p. 54-67).

And Allaah knows best.

Sajid Ahmed Umar

Wednesday, January 20, 2010

10 things void of any benefit



10 things you will never find benefit in:

In the name of Allah, the All-Merciful, the Most Merciful

Ibn ul Qayyim writes (this is a translated version):

There are ten things void of benefit:

The First: Knowledge which is not practiced upon.

The Second: Actions which are void of sincerity to Allah, and void of exemplification of the Sunnah. (Note: These two conditions constitute the act being accepted by Allah i.e. Ikhlaas and Ittiba`a)

The Third: Wealth which is not spent in the way of Allah, so the one who exhausted all of his energy amassing it will not benefit from it in this life, nor will he see the fruits of it in the hereafter.

The Fourth: A heart which is void of the love of Allah and the ardent desire to meet him.

The Fifth: A body which is void of obedience to Allah.


The Sixth: A love for other than Allah which is void of any boundaries. (i.e. unconditional)

The Seventh: Time which is void of benefit and the individual does not take advantage of it to do actions which would bring him closer to Allah.

The Eighth: A thought which goes through the individuals mind and will bring him no benefit.

The Ninth: Doing a favor for someone that does not bring him closer to Allah nor will it benefit him in the affairs of his livelihood.

The Tenth: Fear and hope of someone whose forelock is in the hands of Allah, like a captive in the company of his master, who can bring no benefit or harm to himself or others, nor can he give life to the dead nor does he have any power over resurrection.

The worse and most detrimental of these ten is two:

1) The Heart

2) Time

Firstly the heart, because it`s corruption stems from giving precedence to this transient life over the hereafter, and time because it makes the individual feel like he will live forever (which enables him to be even more negligent about his obligation to Allah)

The most amazing thing is when someone is presented with a situation and he turns all of his attention towards Allah to fulfill his needs, and never takes the time to ask Allah for the remedy he is need of to bring his heart back to life from the death of ignorance and negligence, and the cure he is in dire need of for his disease of Shahawaat (following his lowly desires) and Shubuhaat (doubts and misconceptions). Indeed if the heart dies, he will never be conscious of the sins which he commits and his disobedience to Allah.

Marriage part 4:



Alhamdulillah over the first few posts of our marriage series, we managed to discuss issues pertinent to the introduction of the topic. Given my long absence, i hope to jot down briefly further points pertinent to our introduction, so we can start over the next few weeks dealing with spouse selection, and how the Shari'ah has guided us in this regard...
As for our remaining points in our reduction in brief:
On an individual level marriage plays a role in:

1. Preserving one's faith!

Anas (RA) reports that our Prophet (SAW) said: "When Allah grants one a righteous wife, He has helped him to preserve half of his religion. Let him then fear and revere Allah in regards to the other half" (atTabaraani- and said to be 'hasan' (acceptable) by alAlbaani)


2. Preserving chastity:


Mankind has a natural desire for the opposite gender. This is from the completeness of one's natural disposition. In turn Shaitaan recognising this, uses this natural inclination to his advantage, by causing us to fall prey to this desire, causing us to act outside the boundaries set by our Creator, Allah Almighty.

Usama b. Zayd reports that Rasoolullah (SAW) said: "I have not left after me a trial more harmful to men than women" (Bukhari and Muslim)
Consequently from the way of our beloved Prophet (SAW) is a means that one can use to protect himself/herself from the evil of Shaitaan, and in the same breath earn great rewards from their Creator! That way is MARRIAGE!

3. Creating Love, Mercy and Security!

Love and mercy are important aspects that brightens one's life and give them a sense of reassurance, security and happiness. One of Allah Almighty's great favours amongst married couples is the love and mercy He instills between them.

Verse 21: ,Almighty says in the Chapter of arRoom Allah
"And amongst His signs is that He created for you from yourselves, spouses that you may dwell unto them, and He set between you love and mercy; surely in that are signs for those who reflect"

Increasing one's good deeds: 4.

For those who contemplate, a realisation would be reached that marriage is indeed also a means for one to earn valuable rewards for the hereafter! YES! How?
Well a married person worships Allah in a way a single person cannot! And this is a fact!
In a long hadith our Prophet (SAW) taught us that in fulfilling our desires with our spouses are rewards for us. Subhanallah, our shari'ah has taught us everything and not left out anything!
Also in the feeding of our spouses are rewards! And in our smiling in their presence are rewards! As well as in our loving, caring, supporting and guiding are rewards. In the children we have as a result are rewards! In upbringing our children correctly are rewards....and i can go on..
Does a single non-married individual have this luxury??

5. In marriage is an adherence to the way of the Prophets.

Last but not least . This point was discussed at the beginning of our series.

May Allah Almighty make our marriages the coolness of our eyes, and for those not married out there, may your special day arrive sooner, rather than later. Ameen.

And Allah knows best.

Until my next post,

Wasalam,

Sajid Ahmed Umar