Islam for Dummies
Hijab Burka
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Today we will be talking about the Hijab worn by Muslim
women. FIRST We will examine the verse from which all Muslim scholars base the requirement of the headscarf. Quran 24:31 { And tell the believing women to lower their gaze and be modest, } This exact phrase is actually requested of MEN, in the PREVIOUS verse. So the purpose of the veil is clearly identified as observing modesty and avoiding the sexual glances of men. Quran 24:31 { and to display of their adornment only that which is apparent, } Imam Al Tabari explains: " The strongest & most accurate view is that which says that the exclusion refers to the FACE and the lower part of the HANDS up to the wrist." So to achieve modesty, Muslim women are told to cover their bodies, with the exception of the FACE and HANDS. Quran 24:31 { and to draw their veils (khumur-ihim) over their bosoms ... } Ibn Kathir explains: " Khumur (veils) ... is what IS USED TO COVER THE HEAD." In other words, Muslim women are told to wear the headscarf, and be sure that it covers the chest as well. SECOND We will examine the false claim that the Hijab is oppressive to women. As we saw from verse 24:31, the noble purpose of the Hijab was stated as upholding the value of modesty, & deterring the lustful gazes of men. Now let's listen to IQalRassooli's false claim: "This is a method to control Muslim women physically, intellectually, and spiritually, so as to have them totally subservient to the will of the men." For anyone to suggest that women dressing modestly is somehow " oppressive " is quite amusing. Especially because " sexual objectification " of women results when society pressures women to dress in a LESS modest manner. Whether worn by Muslim women, Christian nuns, or the Virgin Mary, modest dress liberates women from sexual objectification and, instead, empowers them to be treated on the basis of their intellect and personality. Now, let's listen to Ahmed Deedat's explanation (summarized). Question: Why should they have to cover themselves because of the weakness of men? Ahmed Deedat Answer: In America, in New York, NO woman is safe after dark. No woman is safe. In France, during daytime, women have been raped in the street, and people just walk by... I say you are inviting it. You know the nuns, Roman Catholic Church, nobody gives them a second look. If Mary the mother of Jesus came along, you won't give her a second look. But my dear sisters, those women on your gold coast, (beaches) and all that, with bikinis and thongs and g-strings. It's attracting ... even an old man like me. If I went there, I tell you, I'll be burning inside, I'm telling you. Look, this is the nature of man. God made us like that. ...The Quran says: Fair in the sight of men is the love of things they covet: #1 women. Ahmed Deedat: ...I'm still not in the market for a BMW, but I am forced to read this advert ... with a woman, in the skimpiest of bikinis, what you call the thong, you know the g-string, she's standing in front of the car, and it's written at the bottom " Test Drive HER Now ". Ahmed Deedat: This is your pleasure, your privilege. We have no right to force you. But we say you are playing with fire, my child, and you're going to pay the price. You're paying the price now, and you will pay the price. THIRD We will examine the false claim that Muslims only permit a woman's eyes to be seen. The vast majority of scholars from all 4 Islamic schools of thought agree that the requirement of the veil excludes the face & hands, citing verse 24:31. Now let's listen to IQ alRassooli's false claim: " ... of verse 33:53 ... followers of Muhammad deliberately misinterpreted it and/or misrepresented it to mean that the female followers should be covered from head to toe with a garment from which only their eyes can be seen. " By the STRETCH of his own IMAGINATION, it is only IQalRassooli who CONSTRUES verse 33 53 to ordain the veil. So his criticism applies only to HIMSELF: " by no stretch of the imagination can any intelligent being construe that the verse implies or means to cover the body of the female ... " While there is a minority of Muslim scholars who concluded that the face must be covered (from other verses & hadeeth, using proper Islamic legislation methods) yet, portraying the view of this group, as if it is the view of all Muslims, is clearly a disfiguration of the truth. FOURTH We will examine the false claim that the Hijab is not ordained in the Quran. As we learned from verse 24:31, KHIMAR (singular of Khumur) is the original term for headscarf, for which the contemporary term is HIJAB. Now let's listen to IQ alRassooli's false claim: " The Hijab is not in the Quran or in the Hadeeth as a total covering of the women of Islam. " The Hijab (originally called Khimar) IS in the Quran AND in the Hadeeth as a total covering of the women of Islam, except for the face & hands. For someone who supposedly studied the Quran intensely for more than 23 years in Arabic (his native language) IQ alRassooli's ignorance, of the origin of the contemporary term Hijab, is quite remarkable. Even Wikipedia.org/wiki/hijab/ entry on the hijab states that Khimar is the original term for the contemporary Muslim dictionary term of Hijab, which means: " head cover and modest dress for women " A child can simply google the words " Hijab Quran " to see all of the Muslim sites quoting mainly verse 24:31. FIFTH We will examine the false claim that Muslims are somehow forcing the Hijab on non-Muslims. Unlike Christianity, where there IS a punishment (shaving a woman's head) for not wearing a veil when she is praying or prophesying ( Cor 11:5-6 ), Islam prescribes no punishment whatsoever for a woman who chooses not to wear the veil. It's no wonder why the vast majority of Christians ignore this oppressive rule invented by Paul. In Islam, there is not one single verse or hadeeth that prescribes any method whatsoever to either force or punish any woman who does not wear a veil. As such, it is an individual's obligation to their conscience, and not to civil law. Now let's listen to IQ alRassooli's false claim: " What is being enforced upon the Europeans and other democracies today is a politicized form of Hijab ..." On the contrary, Muslim women are fighting for their personal right to wear the Hijab and the Niqab, or Burqa, in these countries. and attacking them for it is like trying to force Muslim women to discard the standards of modesty that they have chosen for themselves. IN CONCLUSION Since Islam ordains the Hijab to respect women's modesty, it is hypocritical to attack it as being disrespectful or oppressive. Muslim women view the Hijab, and especially Niqab, as the highest levels of personal dignity, where only their husbands, sons, brothers, etc, have the PRIVILEGE to see their beauty. Muslim women, nuns & the virgin Mary, wear the veil to be modest & avoid the lustful gazes of men. People like IQalRassooli would force them to
unveil to satisfy his desires. Now let's hear his distress about
their modesty: " They want to cover the female
followers of Muhammad, hundreds of millions of God's human creations
... " |
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What goes through your mind? As you sit there looking at me Well I can tell from your looks That you think I'm so oppressed But I don't need for you to liberate me My head is not bare And you cant see my covered hair So you sit there and you stare And you judge me with your glare You're sure I'm in despair But are you not aware Under this scarf that I wear I have feelings, and I do care CHORUS: So don't you see? That I'm truly free This piece of scarf on me I wear so proudly To preserve my dignity... My modesty My integrity So don't judge me Open your eyes and see... Why cant you just accept me? she says Why cant I just be me? she says Time and time again You speak of democracy Yet you rob me of my liberty All I want is equality Why cant you just let me be free? For you I sing this song My sister, may you always be strong From you I've learnt so much How you suffer so much Yet you forgive those who laugh at you You walk with no fear Through the insults you hear Your wish so sincere That they'd understand you But before you walk away This time you turn and say: But don't you see? That I'm truly free This piece of scarf on me I wear so proudly To preserve my dignity My modesty My integrity So let me be She says with a smile I'm the one who's free |
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