"An Ungendered State of Being": Part I

Disclaimer: The phrase, "an ungendered state of being," has been borrowed from Taqee Khalid without permission.

Hijāb, as an Islamic concept, is perhaps the most used, and being that, the most misunderstood of all. Several misconceptions have found roots in the current Muslim society (I am talking more specifically about the American Muslim society) and its practice. More important of them being that Hijāb is only prescribed for women; that it is the name given to a piece of cloth; and that it has something to do with the hair.

Before I start off, I would like to say that I truly and deeply respect and honor all my sisters in Islam, who against all societal odds, put on this piece of clothing in accordance with the command of Allāh (Subhānahū Wa Ta’ālā). This alone, I strongly believe, is a complete struggle, or Jihād. I also understand that many sisters are still trying to perfect their hijāb, and in no way do I intend to undermine their efforts. Moreover, I perfectly am aware of my shortcomings in this area and hope that this acts more as a reminder to myself than to anyone else.

Hijāb, as the term is used nowadays, refers to the piece of clothing used by women to cover themselves up according to the commands of Allāh (SWT). I would like to argue here, that this hijāb is just a practical implementation of the Islamic quality of hayā, best described as shyness. The Apostle (Sallallāhu ‘Alayhi Wasallam) of Allāh (SWT) placed great importance on it when he described it as being a part from the 70 parts of Imān. Thus, when we talk about hijāb here, not only do we talk about this particular implementation of it, but the concept of hayā on the whole. I am, therefore, going to use these two terms interchangeably.

Having that said, let’s take dissect these misconceptions one by one.

Women do not have a monopoly over hayā, although it is one of the things that they are better at. It is as equally required of men as it is of women, just the means differ and the apparent results vary. It is said in the Glorious Qur’ān:

Tell the believing men to lower their gaze, and protect their private parts. That is purer for them. Verily, Allāh is All-Aware of what they do.
[al-Nur - 24: 30].

Thus the hijāb for men is simple: protect your eyes from seeing evil and protect your body from committing it. The Rasūlallāh (SAW) was the person with the most hayā amongst the people, and so were his companions after him. The emphasis that has been placed on this quality can by no means be overstressed. The narrations regarding this issue are countless and well-known, and therefore I am not going to go into a lot of detail about it.

To be continued insha'Allah...

The Culture of Islam

Such an interesting idea: a set of values and limits acting as an umbrella for many cultures that can subscribe to it and be part of it, allowing all these cultures to be bonded together under the principles of Islam and yet be unique in their own ways. The model that a Muslim is supposed to follow is: his/her connection to his local culture through the global culture of Islam so that if the local culture starts losing its connection with the global one, the individual is supposed to either fix it or break ties with it.

Islam does not suppress culture, it only put limits to it, for cultures are born out of human experiences and Islam is the divine wisdom that channels these experiences so that they don't waste their time destroying themselves in experimentation. Allah (SWT) says:

وَعَلَى اللَّهِ قَصْدُ السَّبِيلِ وَمِنْهَا جَآئِرٌ وَلَوْ شَآءَ لَهَدَاكُمْ أَجْمَعِينَ

And it is up to Allah to show the right way. But there are ways that stray. And had He willed, He would have guided you all.
[al-Nahl 16:9].

It is interesting to see how Muslims have this guidance, while people are still experimenting with their cultures.

Look at the financial systems. They cure feudalism, capitalism is created. They try to fix capitalism, communism is born. They try to put an end to communism, and end up getting stuck with capitalism again. It is an endless cycle of bad experimentation.

Look at gender relation models. They grant freedom to consenting adults, they're stuck with unwanted babies, teenage pregnancies, STD's, and all sorts of things. They create a bunch of preventive measures, and contraceptive devices; end up destroying their family systems. Way off the mark every time.

What are the Muslims doing? They're watching all these experiments fail, and repeating them just to be sure (or at least wanting to repeat). What's more, they claim to be holding on to the directions to a path that is guaranteed to be straight.

Here's how many Muslims seem to work, whether they like to acknowledge it or not:

I don't care if this book here likens it to declaring war on Allah and His Messenger, but why can we not have an interest-based economy?
Or...
I think it would be really cool if women could show-off their adornments and physical characteristics although they have been clearly asked not to in the Qur'an.
Or...
I am going to have a girlfriend/boyfriend although I know that Allah has put very tight limits around fornication.
Or...
What's the deal with this book anyway telling me what to do and what not to do?
Or...
At least I am definitely not following Hadith because I don't like they way it sounds.

Why do we have to do what we've seen other people fail at? The Prophet (SAW) said, and I paraphrase here, that a time will come when you will do everything that the nations before you did, to the extent that if they entered a lizard-hole, you will enter it too.

We have definitely entered a lot of lizard-holes. And one of them is of cultures -- such as are supposed to subscribe to the Islamic culture -- exceeding their bounds. Muslims have over time started loosing their direct connection with the global culture of Islam and giving more importance to their local cultures, such that a person from a certain culture will, in the good name of culture, engage in activities that are totally unacceptable by the culture of Islam. In doing so, they will have practically given preference to their place of birth or descent over their Creator and His commands.

In light of the above discussion, I think there is very little benefit that can be extracted from Muslim regional or ethnic cultural organizations. I have very specific reasons for saying this. I will just point this out: In a way of life that prohibits women from showing off their physical attributes and adornments in front of non-Mahaarim (a strictly defined subset of close relatives), I see no room for a fashion show involving women showing off their beauty and fashion in front of an open audience; In a religion that asks women to talk to strangers in a business-like manner, there is little appreciation for women singing to a body composed mainly of strangers.

We have chosen Islam, or at least we should have, because we do not wish to enter these lizard-holes. We have chosen it for its superior values and culture. We have chosen it because it is guaranteed to be the right Path and the gateway to Guidance. We have chosen it so that we do not have to engage in the endless cycle of experimentation. Why make it useless? We should prefer the culture of Islam over all cultures that we may subscribe to and not vice versa.