Beautification and AdornmentThe Qur'an lays down the code of conduct for women
in the following words:
And play your role by being in your houses and do not keep exhibiting your
beauty and decorations like what used to happen in the Jahiliyyah period
(before Islam). (33:33)Abu Bakr al-Jassas says in explaining this verse,
"This verse points out the fact that women are ordered to play their role in
the house and are forbidden from loitering outside of their houses."It was
revealed when the Muslim ummah was being formed in Madina as an example for the
coming generations of Muslims. It sought to put an end to the Jahiliyyah
practices of the pagan Arabs. The khalif 'Umar remarked:
"By Allah, we did not give any position to women in the Jahiliyyah period until
such time that Allah sent His command in respect of them and apportioned for
them the role that was to be theirs." (Muslim)Under this apportionment women
were given the role of making their own homes the centers of their attention
rather than going about exhibiting their physical charms and worldly
possessions. The Prophet (peace be upon him) said that the following type of
women constitute one of the categories of the dwellers of Hell:
"Those women who seem naked even when dressed and those who walk flirtingly and
those who plait their heads like the humps of camels, thus inviting people's
attention, will not enter Paradise nor will they smell its fragrance even
though its fragrance can be smelt from a very long distance." (Muslim). Islam,
however, does not prohibit beautification (zinat) on the part of women as long
as it is not done in a way that injuriously interferes with the limbs or the
body. In ancient times there were many kinds of defacement practiced on the
bodies of men and animals, partly on account of superstition or pagan custom
and partly on account of the craze for fashion and display. Examples of this
were tattooing, sharpening or spacing the teeth, shaving or plucking the hair,
wearing hair pieces, etc. Many of these practices still survive and are, in
fact, getting more and more refined.
Since all these practices change or seriously interfere with the natural
creation of Allah, the Prophet (peace be upon him) cursed those who indulged in
them for the purpose of mere beautification. One report says,
"The Messenger of Allah cursed women who tattooed, and those who got themselves
tattooed, those who engaged in sharpening the teeth (as a mark of beauty) and
those who had their teeth sharpened." (Bukhari and Muslim)The Messenger of
Allah cursed women who had spaces made between their teeth in order to increase
their beauty, thus changing the creation of Allah. A third report says,
"The Messenger of Allah cursed the women who plucked hair and those who were
employed to pluck the eyebrows." (Abu Dawud) This method of beautification
would include the modern practice of shaving the eyebrows and then painting on
new ones, or shaving certain hair and leaving the eyebrows to look like two
inverted crescents.
However, if a woman has some obtrusive hairs on her face which are a problem
and embarrassment for her, she may remove them. When 'A'ishah was approached by
the young wife of Abu Is'haq who wished to remove her facial hairs in order to
look beautiful for her husband, she advised her to do so. (Reported by
atTabarani) On this basis some Hanafi jurists are of the opinion that there is
no harm in removing the hairs from a woman's face and applying cosmetics if it
is done with the permission of the husband, in order to please him and with a
good intention. But Imam alNawawi opposes even removing the hairs on a woman's
face because he considers the practice similar to plucking hair.
A fourth report says:
''A'ishah reported that the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) cursed women
who wore hair pieces and the women who aided in this practice." (Bukhari)This
method of beautification would include the modern practice of wearing wigs. It
consists of using a plait of one woman's hair or artificial hair and joining it
to another woman's hair with the object of making the woman's hair appear very
long and beautiful. Mu'awiyah, while holding a plait of such hair in his hands
during his address to the Muslims, castigated the 'ulama:
"Where are your learned men gone? (meaning why did they not stop women from
using such hair) I heard the Messenger of Allah stop them from using this." He
also said, "Undoubtedly the Israelites destroyed themselves when their women
adopted such things." (Bukhari)The Shari'ah also requires women to abstain from
displaying their "decorations" except to a restricted circle of people. The
Qur'an says:
And say to the believing women that they should lower their gaze and guard
their modesty; and that they should not display their beauty and ornaments
except what (must ordinarily) appear thereof; that they should draw their veils
over their bosoms and not display their beauty save to their husbands, or their
fathers, or their husbands' fathers, or their sons, or their husbands' sons, or
their brothers or their brothers' sons, or their sisters' sons, or their women,
or the slaves whom their right hands possess, or male servants free of physical
desire, or small children who have no sense of sex; and that they should not
stamp their feet in order to draw attention to their hidden ornaments. And O
believers! Turn all together towards Allah, that you may attain bliss.
(24:31)Thus, the following people fall in the exceptional category to whom
decorations can be displayed by a woman:
Her husband.
Her father, including maternal and paternal grandfathers.
Her husband's father. He is also like her own father.
Her son, including grandsons from her son's side or her daughter's side.
Her husband's son by another woman, provided that he is staying with her,
and she is looking after him as her son.
Her brother, whether full, consanguine, or uterine (that is to say, real or
step).
Her brother's son.
Her sister's son.
Muslim women and other women of good character.
Her female slaves or servants. However, some 'ulama even include male slaves
or servants in the excepted category.
Children who have not yet developed sexual feelings.
Her uncle, whether paternal or maternal.
It is noteworthy that the above verse of the Noble Qur'an does not mention
uncle, but uncle is included in the exceptional category on the basis of a
tradition of the Prophet (peace be upon him). The Prophet said, "The uncle
(maternal or paternal) is of the same degree as one's father." (Muslim)
Let us here give a little more consideration to the women to whom another woman
is permitted to display her finery. These are the women with whom she has blood
or family relations. It should be borne in mind that the foregoing Qur'anic
verse implies only women of good character. Other women who may not be well
known to her or who are notorious for their evil ways or who may be of doubtful
character are excluded from this permission, because contact with them might
easily lead to disastrous results. That is why the khalif 'Umar wrote to Abu
'Ubaidah ibn al-Jarrah, the Governor of Syria, to prohibit the Muslim women
from going to the baths with the women of the Ahl al-Kitab (the People of the
Book). (At-Tabari, Ibn Jazir) According to Ibn 'Abbas too:
"...a Muslim woman is not allowed to display herself before the women of the
unbelievers and non-Muslim poll-tax payers (Ahl al- Dhimmah) any more than she
can display herself before other men." (At-Tabari).This distinction between
women on grounds of character and religion is intended to safeguard Muslim
women against the influence of women whose moral and cultural background is
either not known or is objectionable from the Islamic point of view. However,
the Shari'ah allows Muslim women to mix freely with non- Muslim women who are
of good character. It is important to note that permission to display zinat
does not include permission to display those parts of the body which fall
within the female satr. Thus zinat covers decorations, ornaments, clothing,
hair- dos, etc. that women are by nature fond of showing in their houses. But
tight jeans, short blouses, sleeveless dresses are not counted as zinat for
they also reveal that satr.
The Shari'ah further requires a woman not to stamp on the ground while walking,
lest her hidden decorations should be revealed by their jingle, and thus
attract the attention of passers-by. Writing about these restrictions, Maulana
Maududi says:
"It cannot, however, be claimed that a display of fineries will turn every
woman into a prostitute, nor that every man who sees her will become an
adulterer. But, at the same time, nobody can deny that if women go about in
full make-up and mix freely with men, it is likely to result in countless open
and secret, moral and material disadvantages for society." As against this
view, the Egyptian scholars, notably 'Abbas Mahmud al-'Aqqad, are of the view
that these restrictions were only imposed on the wives of the Prophet (peace be
upon him) and other Muslim women are not bound by them. 'Aqqad says, "We should
discuss this point in the light of the fact that the command to stay at home
was merely addressed to the wives of the Prophet (peace be upon him) with
particular reference to them without referring it to Muslim women in general.
It is for this reason that the verse begins with the statement of Allah: O
women of the Prophet, you are not like other women. (33:32)
It is respectfully submitted that this view of Al-'Aqqad needs reconsideration.
There are a number of verses in the Qur'an which, though apparently laying down
"dos" and "don'ts" for our Prophet and for the other Prophets (peace be upon
all of them) preceding him, contain clear messages for Muslims in general, nay
for all mankind. And Al-'Aqqad contradicts himself when he quotes the following
verse of the Holy Qur'an:
O you who believe! Do not enter the Prophet's house until leave is given you
for a meal, (and then) not (so early as) to wait for its preparation; but when
you are invited, enter; and when you have taken your meal, disperse, without
seeking familiar talk. Such (behaviour) annoys the Prophet. He is ashamed to
dismiss you, but Allah is not ashamed (to tell you) the truth. And when you ask
his womenfolk for anything you want, ask them from behind a screen; that makes
for greater purity for your hearts and for theirs. Nor is it right for you that
you should annoy Allah's Apostle, or that you should marry his widows after him
at any time. Truly such a thing is an enormity in Allah's sight. (33:53) This
verse apparently lays down a code of manners for the believers when entering
the house of the Prophet (peace be upon him) and taking food there. After
quoting this verse, Al-'Aqqad says:
"And this is part of the etiquette of visiting people with which all visitors
should be well disciplined.' In other words, he agrees that this ayat, which is
specific to the house of the Prophet (peace be upon him) and taking food there,
in reality contains rules applicable to all believers who want to enter
somebody else's house. If from this special case a rule of general application
can be deduced by Al- 'Aqqad, there seems no reason why he should refuse to
deduce a rule of general application for Muslim women from the verse addressed
to the wives of the Prophet.
Moreover, this view seems to get support from a tradition of the Prophet in
which he said: "...a woman who freely mixes with other people and shows off her
decorations is without light and virtue " (At-Tirmidhi)
Hence we may conclude that no Muslim woman should display her zinat
(decoration) before others intentionally, but she is not held responsible for
something which cannot be helped e.g. her stature, physical build, gait. etc.
nor for uncovering her hand or face when there is a genuine need to do so and
without any intention of attracting men. In such cases it is the responsibility
of Muslim men not to cast evil glances at women with the intention of drawing
pleasure from them. The Qur'an ordains:
Say to believing men to lower their eyes. (24:30)
Verily my happiness is my iman & verily my iman inside my heart and verily my
heart is not belong to anyone but Allah(Asma bint Abu Bakr)
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{Invite (mankind, O Muhammad ) to the Way of your Lord (i.e. Islam) with wisdom
(i.e. with the Divine Inspiration and the Qur'an) and fair preaching, and argue
with them in a way that is better. Truly, your Lord knows best who has gone
astray from His Path, and He is the Best Aware of those who are guided.}
(Holy Quran-16:125)
{And who is better in speech than he who [says: "My Lord is Allah (believes in
His Oneness)," and then stands straight (acts upon His Order), and] invites
(men) to Allah's (Islamic Monotheism), and does righteous deeds, and says: "I
am one of the Muslims."} (Holy Quran-41:33)
The prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: "By Allah, if
Allah guides one person by you, it is better for you than the best types of
camels." [al-Bukhaaree, Muslim]
The prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) also said, "Whoever
calls to guidance will have a reward similar to the reward of the one who
follows him, without the reward of either of them being lessened at all."
[Muslim, Ahmad, Aboo Daawood, an-Nasaa'ee, at-Tirmidhee, Ibn Maajah]
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