ISLAM AND POLITICS

Hijab in Islam (Part 2)

While two scholarly feminists, Fatima Mernissi and Leila Ahmed, discuss the historical context of veiling, the first Quranic verse on the veil and the argument of Amin on the veil which allows Muslim women to uncover their bodies because the veil is not part of the Sharia, Afzalur Rahman, another scholarly feminist, examines other Quranic verses on the obligation of wearing the veil and scholars? interpretation on the verses. The Quran says:

Say to the believing men that they should lower their gaze and guard their modesty; that will make for greater purity for them, and Allah is well acquainted with all that they do. (QS 24:30)

And say to the believing women that they should lower their gaze and guard their modesty, that they should not display their beauty and ornaments except what (must ordinarily) appear, there of that they should draw their veils over their bosoms and not display their beauty except to their husbands, their fathers, their sons, their husband?s sons... (QS 24:31)

Observance of modesty, according to Rahman, is as much obligatory for men as it is for the women. While the Sura 24 verse 30 of the Quran makes it obligatory on men to keep modesty, the verse 31 says that women should not display their adornment except that which ?must ordinarily appear". However, the words "must ordinarily appear" in the verse have always generated a lot of controversy and difference of opinion among the Muslim scholars and Jurists.

According to Abdullah bin Abbas, a Quranic commentator, the words "must ordinarily appear" mean all those parts of the body which normally remain exposed, like hands and faces. So, in his view, the hand and face can be kept exposed and need not be covered. On the other hand, Abdullah bin Masud holds that hands and face and the adornment of these parts cannot be exposed. The first view is more familiar among the Quranic commentators such as Al-Razi and Ibnu Jarir. Ibnu Jarir after reproducing the conflicting views in his commentary on the Quran adopts the liberal view that the exception to the injunction of concealment of adornments is of the hands and face. Moreover, Al-Razi says that the entire body of women should be covered before a stranger except her face and hands since she is obliged to open her face and hands at the time of entering transactions of sales and purchase.

As a scholarly feminist, it seems that Rahman agrees with the contemporary Quranic commentator's opinion which says that the exception to the injunction to conceal adornments is even wider than that of the hands and face. To reinforce this opinion, Rahman quotes the explanation of a contemporary Quranic commentator, namely Muhammad Asad, on this issue. In his commentary on the Quran, Muhammad Asad explains his point of view that "what ordinarily appear" (as used in Sura 24 verse 31) means: "Although the traditional exponents of Islamic Law have for centuries been inclined to restrict the definition of "what ordinarily appear" to a women's face, hands and feet -- and sometimes even less than that -- we may safely assume that the meaning of "what ordinarily appear? is much wider, and that the deliberate vagueness of this phrase is meant to allow for all the time-bound changes that are necessary for man's moral and social growth. The pivotal clause in the above injunction is the demand, addressed in identical terms to men as well as to women, to lower their gaze and be mindful of their chastity; and this determines the extent of what, at any given time, may legitimately in consonance with the Quranic principles of social morality -- be considered decent or indecent in a person outward appearance.

Moreover, in explaining his argument, Muhammad Asad correlates verse 31 above with the verse on the hijab which is first revealed to the Prophet, namely the Sura 33 verse 59. He says the specific time bound formulation of the verse 59 (evident in the reference to the wives and daughters of the Prophet), as well as the deliberate vagueness of the recommendation that women should draw upon themselves some of their outer garments when in public, makes it clear that this verse was not meant to be an injunction (hukm) in the general, timeless sense of this term, but, rather, moral guidance to be observed against the overhanging background of time and social environment. Commenting on verse 59, Abdullah Yusuf Ali -- another contemporary Quranic commentator-- says: ?they were asked to cover themselves with outer garments when walking abroad. It was never contemplated that they should be confined to their house like prisoners.

From the above examples of the scholarly feminists' opinions about the veil, it is clear that they try to remove the misconception about the veil in Islam. Fatima Mernissi argues that the term hijab in Islam relates not only to a scarf that men have imposed on women, but also has a wider meaning including the ethical dimension. Leila Ahmad even promotes the liberal opinion of Amin which states that the veil is not part of the Sharia. Furthermore, Afzalur Rahman agrees with the modern Quranic commentators? opinion on the veil which argues against the opinion that the hijab should cover all the body including the hands, face and the adornment of these parts.

posted by Alin at 10:44 PM