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Shaikh (Dr) Haitham Al-Haddad

On the streets of London, Amsterdam and other big cities in Europe we witness various types of un-Islamic hijabs. Tight Jeans (also known as ‘skinny jeans’), long leather high heeled boots and tight shirts with a head scarf are all typical representations of the kind of hijab that is now being promoted by many young and middle aged Muslim women.

Living in the west, the hijab has become a potent indicator of identity with many non-Muslims viewing it as a political statement. However, it is pertinent to note that the hijab is, first and foremost, an act of worship that women engage in, and an act undertaken to seek the pleasure of one’s Lord.
The definition of a hijab is fiercely contested by many Muslims, and unfortunately most of those who engage in the topic are unaware that it is very much defined by Islamic law, the Shari’ah, and not cultural habits or one’s idea of what modesty is, or should be.

In discussing the hijab, Islamic jurists have stipulated a number of conditions for it to be a hijab in the Islamic sense. In brief, these conditions are that one’s clothing must cover the entire body in a way that the shape of the body is not apparent and the material must not be so thin that one can see through it. Clothing should not resemble that which is specific to men nor the disbelievers. It should not be attractive to men, nor should women be perfumed in public. The main aim of hijab is to stop fitnah; females who are attractive by nature attract the gaze of males which then leads to other greater sins such as fornication and adultery. Allah commanded women neither to display their adornment nor to display any form of behaviour that might attract the attention of men. Allah says,

“And tell the believing women to lower their gaze, and protect their private parts and not to show off their adornment except only that which is apparent, and to draw their veils all over Juyubihinna (i.e. their bodies, faces, necks and bosoms, etc.) and not to reveal their adornment 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 female slaves whom their right hands possess, or old male servants who lack vigour, or small children who have no sense of the shame of sex. And let them not stamp their feet so as to reveal what they hide of their adornment. And all of you beg Allah to forgive you all, O believers, that you may be successful.”[Quran 24:31]

The Shari’ah also prohibits women from speaking softly for essentially the same reason – to prevent fitnah. Allah says,

“O wives of the Prophet! You are not like any other women. If you keep your duty (to Allah), then be not soft in speech, lest he in whose heart is a disease (of hypocrisy, or evil desire for adultery, etc.) should be moved with desire, but speak in an honourable manner. And stay in your houses, and do not display yourselves like that of the times of ignorance, and perform As-Salat, and give Zakat, and obey Allah and His Messenger.”[33:32-33]

As the verse states, Allah forbids the wives of the Prophet to incite the desires of weak men, and given that this effective cause (illah) is to do with desire which is found everywhere, then this command should certainly be applied to all other women as well.

In fact, scholars from various schools of thought prohibit women from raising their voices in public, even if it be the utterance of the talbiyah during hajj or the adhan (call to prayer) between females. The Shari’ah also prohibits men to visit lonely women and to stay alone with them. It also prohibited men to look at women. Allah says,

“Tell the believing men to lower their gaze (from looking at forbidden things), and protect their private parts (from illegal sexual acts, etc.). That is purer for them. Verily, Allah is All-Aware of what they do.”[24:30]

On the streets of London, Amsterdam and other big cities in Europe we witness various types of un-Islamic hijabs. Tight Jeans (also known as ‘skinny jeans’), long leather high heeled boots and tight shirts with a head scarf are all typical representations of the kind of hijab that is now being promoted by many young and middle aged Muslim women. Fancy scarves are also a form of covering that is seen as a ‘Shari’ah compliant hijab’. Indeed, the way many Muslim women adorn the hijab defeats the whole purpose of hijab itself. Furthermore, western women are very fond of attracting the interest and attention of men. It seems that many of our Muslims sisters have been influenced by this and have started to wear clothes to attract the admiration of “brothers” in an enticing way.

One of the main problems is limiting the hijab as being a manifestation of female Muslim identity. When France banned the hijab they looked at it as a religious symbol unable to understand the meaning of ibaadah (worship). However, it is unfortunate to see many Muslims treating it as merely a form of identity, and once the symbolic representation has been accomplished the necessity to perform it in a way that meets its conditions laid down by Allah is overlooked. This is one of subtly reprehensible values that many western Muslims have unknowingly adopted. We have to understand that Islamic practices including observing the hijab are actions of ibaadah. They are meant to please Allah, avoid being disobedient, and earn hasanaat in order to attain a high rank in paradise. Allah says,

And (remember) when it was said to them: "Dwell in this town (Jerusalem) and eat therefrom wherever you wish, and say, (O Allah) forgive our sins; and enter the gate prostrate (bowing with humility). We shall forgive you your wrong-doings. We shall increase (the reward) for the good-doers."[7:161]

In misunderstanding the fundamental aim of entering paradise, we lose in this life and the hereafter as any other aim is considered by Shari’ah as a worldly one. The reward of worldly aims is given in this life and no reward will be given after death. Allah says,

Whosoever desires the life of the world and its glitter; to them We shall pay in full (the wages of) their deeds therein, and they will have no diminution therein.[11:15]

This is a major mistake that many Muslims fall into when undertaking many Islamic practices. Having the correct aim in wearing the hijab is the first and main step towards a solution for this problem. It should be noted that projecting concerns about this non-shar’ii form of hijab does not imply discouraging Muslim women from observing a limited form of hijab which they have chosen, but instead it serves to encourage Muslim women to progress to observe the correct method of hijab. The intention of this article is driven by the desire for improvement and progress and not to incite women to withdraw from the hijab completely.

Some Muslims posit that we should not be strict in calling for the proper observance of many Islamic practices in the west, and as such, we should encourage Muslim women to do as much as they are, without criticism, even if some do not complete such observance. Undoubtedly we agree to encouraging Muslim women to do as much as they can, but correcting wrong or incomplete Islamic practices is an obligation upon those who know.

It is indeed the case that many sisters are completely ignorant about the conditions of the legally valid hijab, and hence it is incumbent upon us to raise awareness of the legal conditions and features of a correct hijab. Knowledge is the cure for many of our mistakes. Advising sisters who undoubtedly wear the hijab out of good intentions as well as educating their parents is another way towards solving this issue. It might be a good idea to print and distribute some leaflets that describe the authentic hijab in a way that goes beyond merely a head covering.

by Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyyah

If His benevolence, reward, blessing and goodness has no end when all of these are a consequence and result of His pleasure, what then of this attribute of His pleasure? It is related in a tradition, ‘If I bless, there is no end to my blessing.’ What then of the quality from where this blessing emanated? Pleasure necessitates love, benevolence, generosity, kindness, pardon, ṣafḥ, forgiveness and mercy.

Juwayriyyah, the mother of the believers, may Allāh pleased with her, related that the Prophet, may Allāh send peace and blessings upon him, left her sitting in her place of prayer one morning after having prayed Fajr. On his return during the forenoon he found her still sitting as he had left her, he asked

 ‘Are you still in the same state as when I left you?’ She replied, ‘Yes’. The Prophet said, ‘I said after leaving you four sentences three times - if you were to weigh them against what you have said today up until now, they would outweigh them: Subḥānallāh wa biḥamdihi ‘adada khalqihi wa riḍā nafsihi wa zinata ‘arshihi wa midāda kalimātihi’.”[Muslim] 

Ibn al-Qayyim, may Allah have mercy upon him, provided a commentary on these words of remembrance in one of his works, al-Manār al-Munīf fi‘l-Ṣaḥīḥ wa‘l-Ḍa’īf  He says:

In regards to the multifold excellence of, “How perfect Allāh is and I praise him by the number of His creation; by the pleasure of His self; by the weight of His throne and by the ink of His words,” over simply saying, “How perfect Allāh is,” a praiser’s knowledge of Allāh and the exaltation and veneration of Him that occurs in his heart is far greater. This is known as intensified remembrance (dhikr muḍā‘af) and is a superior form of praise than simple remembrance (dhikr mufrad), and as such the former is preferred to the latter. This really takes affect once one has awareness and understanding of these words of remembrance.

Glorifying Allāh with, ‘How perfect Allāh is and I praise him by the number of His creation’ includes both information and instruction. It comprises of information about the glorification that the Lord deserves - of the number of each of creation that has existed, exists, and will exist to which there is no end; and it informs of the exaltation, veneration and sending of praise by this enormous quantity that cannot be enumerated.

It also embodies an instruction for the slave to glorify One whose status is of this manner - it does not mean that the glorification the servant has made is of this level and number but that the servant has affirmed that the Lord subḥānahu wa ta‘ālā is deserving of glorification that reaches this number, which if could be surpassed by an even greater number would have been mentioned - the continual new creation that come into existence have no end to their number and cannot be enumerated by one wishing to put a number to them.

Likewise, the phrase, ‘by the pleasure of His self’ carries two considerable points, the first is that the intended meaning is a glorification that in terms of magnificence and majesty is equivalent to the pleasure of His own self, similar to the first phrase showing the glorification equivalent to the number of creation. No doubt that the pleasure of Allāh’s self is a matter that has no end in terms of magnificence and description. Glorification is a praise of Him subḥānahu embodying veneration and exaltation. If the descriptions of his perfection and the qualities of his greatness have no end or limitation but are instead far superior and imposing, praising Him in this manner would be likewise (superior) as it is follows suit both in an informative and instructive manner. This meaning is harmonious to the first part without any disagreement.

If His benevolence, reward, blessing and goodness has no end when all of these are a consequence and result of His pleasure, what then of this attribute of His pleasure? It is related in a tradition, ‘If I bless, there is no end to my blessing.’ What then of the quality from where this blessing emanated? Pleasure necessitates love, benevolence, generosity, kindness, pardon, ṣafḥ, forgiveness and mercy. Creation necessitates knowledge, ability, intention, life and wisdom. All of these are encompassed by the pleasure of His self and the quality of Him being a creator.

His saying, ‘by the weight of His throne’ affirms the establishment of the throne (al-‘Arsh) and it being associated to the Lord subḥānahu wa ta‘ālā and that it is the heaviest of creation outright, since if there were a creation heavier than the throne, glorification would have been measured against it. This is a direct refutation against those who claim the throne is neither heavy nor light; such a person has no idea about the throne nor has he given it its due estimation. So the first multiplication is that of number and quantity, the second of description and reality, and the third is that of enormity, weight and great scale.

As for the phrase, ‘by the ink of His words’ this encompasses all three types; the ink of His words have no end to their measure, description or number. Allāh says, ‘Say: If the sea were ink for (writing) the words of my Lord, the sea would be exhausted before the words of my Lord were exhausted, even if We brought the like of it as a supplement"[al-Kahf, 18:109]

Allāh also says, "and if whatever trees upon the earth were pens and the sea (was ink), replenished thereafter by seven (more) seas, the words of Allāh would not be exhausted. Indeed, Allāh is Exalted in Might and Wise"[Luqmān, 31:27] 

The meaning of the verse is that if we were to imagine the seas to be ink and add a further seven seas to extend it, all of them representing ink and then all the plants of the earth were pens - this includes any plant or vegetation that stands on a stem - and the pens draw from that ink, the seas and the pens would be exhausted whereas the words of the Lord would not expire. How does this compare to one who describes Him as He who has not spoken, does not speak and that no speech occurs from Him at all? Or one who describes His speech as being a single meaning that is not distinct nor in parts; that it is not described as being part or whole; nor is it sūrahs and āyāt or letters and words?

The point is that this glorification includes descriptions of perfection and attributes of grandeur that necessitate it to be better than other forms of remembrance and that if other words were to be weighed against it would measure against them and outweigh them. This is a portion of what these words contain in relation to the understanding of Allāh; praise of Him through exaltation and veneration, along with the link to praising (ḥamd) that comprises of three fundamentals. The first is the affirmation of perfect attributes for Him subḥānahu, and praise of Him. The second is love of Him and contentment with Him. When this praise (ḥamd) is added to this glorification (tasbīḥ) and exaltation in the best possible manner; with the greatest level, greatest quantity and greatest description, and the servant recalls all of this when glorifying (Allāh) and such understanding dwells in his heart; these words of remembrance will contain such merit and excellence that outstrip others forms, and with Allāh lies all success.

by Muhammad Ibn Ibrahim

Shaykh Muhammad Bin Ibrahim Aal-Al Sheikh [1311-1389 H (1893-1969 AD)], the former Grand Mufti of Saudi Arabia, said:

Introduction:

Free mixing between men and women can be of three types:

1. Mixing of women with men who are their Mahram (husband and men whom she may never marry, e.g. father, brother, son etc). There is no doubt that this is permissible in Islam.
2. Mixing of women with non-Mahram men for evil and depraved purposes. There is no doubt that this type is not allowed (haram) in Islam.
3. Mixing of women with non-Mahram men in educational institutes, shops, offices, hospitals, get-togethers, parties etc. At first a questioner (asking fatwa) really might think that this does not lead to one gender tempting the other. To expose the reality of this type, we will reply (to the questioner) both briefly and in detail.