"An Ungendered State of Being": Part II

...Continued from previous

This might be a bit harsh. I personally might have been in violation of many of these, but this is more to help me than anyone else.

Let us now turn to the more lengthy part of our discussion: the question of hijāb for women themselves. Is hijāb the name given to a piece of clothing? I don't believe so.

Just as salāh is not a mere sequence of movements, hijāb is not a mere piece of clothing. Just as the salāh of a person should transcend the apparent movements and enter a person's heart, in the same way, hijāb should exceed the piece of cloth and enter a person's heart and manifest itself in their actions. It is an attitude that is hijāb, not a mere scarf.

Often times while observing hijāb, many people tend to forget its purpose: which is to bring out their hayā. To the obvious result that their heads are covered by scarves, but their actions are as bare as their hands. They flirt, play, and tease; they attract men and are attracted to them (haphazardly): hijābs remain as fashion statements, in reality they're wearing mini-skirts and worse.

Allāh (SWT) expects certain qualities from each of us. And glory be to Him, not only has He specified which ones, but has also created amazing mechanisms to help us develop them. These mechanisms definitely work, as long as we do not lose sight of the ultimate purpose behind them. Moreover, He has made both the end and the means obligatory on us such that the means is not useful if it does not achieve the end, and the end is not acceptable if it is not achieved through the means specified.

Taking the example of salāh again, it is a means to show His ultimate obedience (among many other things). As much as a person would like to express his obedience to Allāh, it would not be complete without salāh; and as much as a person would observe salāh, it would be a waste if the person is not obedient to Allāh otherwise.

Among these expected qualities is hayā or hijāb; and the mechanism for having us develop it has been placed by Allāh in the severe punishment for fornication, the command to protect one's gaze and body from it, and for women, in addition to that: the covering of body.

Covering of body, thus, is a mere restrain if hayā is not developed through it, and hayā is a mere good quality (that might not necessarily stop other diseased people from being attracted) if bodies are not covered in accordance with the Will of the Almighty. You would have definitely come across women that observe hijāb and yet display the worst characteristics of un-hijābiness (forgive me for making up that word); and many others that are without it and yet display the best manners of hayā. And don't get me wrong, I am neither shunning the first type, nor praising the second; I am merely pointing out the fact that the scarf in itself is not the complete hijāb. Just as a person with good hayā cannot get away without putting on the outwardly hijāb, in a similar manner a person who observes apparent hijāb has no excuse for not developing good hayā to back it up.

Let's see what the Qur'ān has to say about this:

O wives of the Prophet! You are not like any other women. If you keep your duty (to Allāh), then be not soft in speech, lest he in whose heart has a disease should be moved with desire, but speak in an honorable manner. And stay in your houses, and do not display yourselves like that of the times of ignorance, and perform Salāt, and give Zakāt and obey Allāh and His Messenger. Allāh wishes only to remove evil deeds (and sins) from you, O members of the family (of the Prophet), and to purify you with a thorough purification.
[al-Ahzāb - 33: 32-33].

Let not the simplicity of the opening address to the wives of the Prophet (SAW) distract us. It is just like saying, "Ahmad, you're not like any other kid, you should respect your elders." Which of the believing women would not like to take the Ummahāt al-Mu'mininīn (mothers of the believers: wives of the Prophet) as their role-models, especially in commands that Allāh (SWT) has given them with a guarantee for purification? Also, let not the command for staying indoors detract us from our discussion, for provisions have been made in Ahādith and Sunnah of the Prophet (SAW) that we must already be aware of.

The āyah asks women not to talk to men in manners that are enticing and seducing; but in manners that are graceful and dignified. And not to display themselves, when they are outdoors for business, in manners that are enticing and seducing to men around them. And this is so that they be pure through the Divine process of purification. That is the model of hayā that we ought to follow: pure action complementing pure appearance giving rise to pure hayā, and eventually a pure culture.

To be continued insha'Allah...