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Mr. M. Ahsan Khan has quoted the news
item in his post #107 regarding the unfortunate incident of 9 year
old girl being married to a physically handicapped man. Right away,
I see the violation of three Quranic principles: Marrying off some
one without her consent, Gambling and selling a person to settle a
debt similar to selling an animal. I assume, Mr. Khan has quoted
this example to make the point that due to illiteracy and so many
other socio-economic problems, people keep behaving in all sorts of
odds ways. The fact that they are part of a Muslim society, does not
mean that Islam supports such behavior.
What prompted me to write this essay
is Mr. Ahsan Khan’s statement, copied below in blue:
“This notion
of Hijab
is indeed present in the Holy Book”
The
word hijab
is indeed present in Quran, but certainly not to be taken as some
have perceived for centuries.
Hijab
in Quran
Let me discuss the word
hijab
as it appears in Quran. The Quran does not have any command that can
be translated to mean a special head gear, often referred to a
hijab
as some of us (wrongly) understand it today that covers the
head, the neck and half of the face as was the custom for Catholic
nuns. This custom is an unfortunate derivative of poor understanding
and false interpretation of Quran coupled with cultural values and
ancient thinking that the man is the Master of the women.
The word
hijab
appears several times in Quran to mean different things: a cover
with outer garments, physical separation, isolation, seclusion,
barrier and a curtain to separate the space. The word veil is not
used in the sense of wrapping a piece of cloth around woman’s head
and face making her look like an Egyptian mummy or a Catholic nun.
Here are the verses which include the word
hijab
in Quran. (I have used M. Farooq Malik’s translation). Please note
that verse (24:30) does not have the word
hijab in it, but I have
included this verse in this discussion as it appears relevant and
applicable to the topic under discussion. The translation words for
hijab or cover are
shown as underlined in bold font:
33.53
O believers! Do not enter the houses
of the Prophet without permission, nor stay waiting for meal time:
but if you are invited to a meal, enter, and when you have eaten
disperse and do not seek long conversation. Such behavior annoys the
Prophet, he feels shy in asking you to leave, but Allah does not
feel shy in telling the truth. If you have to ask his wives for
anything, speak to them from behind a
curtain. This is more
chaste for your hearts and for theirs. It is not proper for you to
annoy the Rasool of Allah, nor ever to marry his wives after him;
this would be a grievous offence in the sight of Allah.
41.5
They say: "Our hearts are concealed
in veils from
the faith to which you call us, the deafness in ours ears and there
is a barrier between you and us: you work your way and we keep on
working our way."
42.51
It is not vouchsafed to any human
being that Allah should speak to him face to face, He speaks either
through inspiration, or from behind a
veil, or through
sending a messenger (angel Gabriel) authorized by Him to reveal His
will; surely He is most High, most Wise.
83.14
Of course not! In fact their misdeeds have caused a
covering on their hearts.
Indeed on that Day, they shall be debarred from the vision of
their Rabb.
19.17
She chose to be
secluded from them.
We sent to her Our angel and he appeared before her as a grown up
man.
17.45
When you recite the Qur'an, We put a
hidden barrier
between you and those who do not believe in the hereafter.
24.30
Enjoin the believing men to lower their gaze and guard their
modesty; that is chaste for them. Surely Allah is well aware of
their actions.
24.31
Likewise enjoin the believing women
to lower their gaze and guard their modesty; not to display their
beauty and ornaments except what normally appears thereof; let them
draw their veils
over their bosoms and not display their charms except to their
husbands, their fathers, their fathers-in-law, their own sons, their
stepsons, their own brothers, their nephews on either brothers' or
sisters' sides
33.59
O Prophet! Enjoin your wives,
daughters and the believing women that they should draw their
outer garments over
their persons. That is more proper, so that they may be recognized
and not bothered. Allah is Forgiving, Merciful.
These are the guidelines and in some
cases, historical description of the situation (ref 19.17, about
Maryam) that we find in Quran. Unfortunately, our semi-literate
Mullahs have turned it into what we experience as
purdah, veil,
niqab, burqa or hijab. None of this is part of
Quranic teachings, let alone imposing them on any one by force or
through violence.
As always, my sincere suggestion to my
friends is: let there be light through Quranic teachings to open our
minds. Instead of arguing about the variances in belief systems, the
Muslims should be working on the most recent technological
advancements in various fields of science and engineering. The
Muslim states should be finding ways to achieve self sufficiency in
technology and come up with the answer to F22-Raptor, the recent and
the most advanced American fighter aircraft. They should be working
on new and efficient methods to enrich uranium for reactors to
generate electricity, they should be working on metallurgical
problems to come up with stronger and lighter metals to enhance
their defense capabilities, they should be researching into the
fusion; tomorrow’s technology to convert mass into energy.
Regards,
Javed I. Chaudry
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