"Stripping Away Modesty"
Beyond the Removal of the Hijab

Stripping Away Modesty..

Those who want the Muslim woman to take off her hijab and step down from the awe of her dignity and the splendor of her chastity actually want, at the very core of the matter, to dilute and strip away her modesty (haya'), not just her hijab.. And they do not exert much effort in hiding this explicit and direct goal; rather, it appears clearly and plainly in their agendas and the slips of their tongues, and Allah refuses except to expose their malice in the undertones of their speech....

(1) To Begin With: Why Don’t We Call Things by Their True Names?

In the midst of all this pervasive darkness surrounding us, I have only one wish left: that we call things by their original names. It is a wish that seems small to passing eyes, yet—and Allah knows best—it is the first and greatest step on the path of uprightness:

Since the beginning of creation, the plotting of conspirators against this weak, poor human being—to make his foot slip after it was firm—has consisted of nothing other than calling things by other than their true names, so that slipping and sliding into them lures him gradually without awareness or insight, until he is stripped of every defense. For the soul, by its original innate nature (fitrah) upon which Allah created it, disdains every base blemish and abhors every sin, error, ugliness, bad character, and vileness. However, when names beautify the shamefulness of deeds, they do not appear in their manifest ugliness; instead, they sneak into the soul without colliding with the primary scale of innate nature, so it approves and lets them pass, dragging every ugliness in their wake. It is the plot of Satan through taqzih (embellishment)... And taqzih in the origin of the language comes from qazaha, which means beautifying the ugly and making the atrocious look pretty to the eyes so that one does not see it as reprehensible or hateful.

Glory be to the One Who taught Adam all the names and then presented them to the angels! Why was the first covenant of Adam (peace be upon him) to learn, and why were "the names" knowledge itself? These are luminous Quranic insights like a niche of light on the pathways of the heart so that it may understand. Let us then put everything in its proper place, call everything by its true name, and stop diluting, manipulating, embellishing, adorning, and deceiving the truth with every falsehood. In deviating from the path of the Almighty, the Praiseworthy, and His methodology, and in opposing His command and prohibition and fighting His religion, there is no good to be hoped for by any seeker, no safe path for any traveler, and no relief from confusion for any questioner..

When we call things by their true names, "liberation," "progress," "uncovering," and "wide-open mixing" that flings open the doors of temptation return to their original names: "moral decay," "unrestrained license," "the wanton display (tabarruj) of ignorance (Jahiliyyah)," and a relapse to the eras prior to humanity's elevation through concealment, refinement, discipline, and adorning oneself with modesty, chivalry, and etiquette. And the claim of the pretenders to "liberate woman from the shackle of her alleged hijab" returns to its true name: "The call to strip away modesty." Here, we do not say removing the hijab, but rather stripping away modesty, so that every Muslim woman knows that they want to strip away all her modesty before she begins uncovering a new part of her hijab each time. And because souls have been veiled from the light and darkness has penetrated them, they no longer denounce this nor feel any shame in it...

By Allah, there is no good in life — nor in this world, when modesty is gone.

(2) When There is Allah’s Methodology, There is No Methodology Beside It...

I did not want to write about this matter in the midst of these media whirlwinds whose storms blow in our faces from time to time. I used to always say: let them tamper wherever they wish, and let them wreak havoc and revel in their darkness; for every godly servant who upholds Allah's sacred limits and fears Allah regarding them scorns them with the insight of his heart and sees the deviation of their claims. Every godly nation refuses any substitute for the law of its Lord and the pleasure of its Master; its mind comprehends and its heart finds peace in the will of Allah Almighty, so it does not suffer in searching for a methodology to follow. Its comfort in that lies in its certainty—unshaken by storms—that when there is Allah’s command, there is no command alongside it; when there is Allah’s religion, there is no neutrality toward it; and when there is Allah’s methodology, there is no methodology beside it. Whoever has another methodology that looks good in his eyes and pleases him, let him follow his desires unregretted; as for us, we have no interest in it and no need for what pleases and satisfies him....

If the hijab in their eyes is a "black tent," we say to them: this black tent has been enjoined upon us by Allah Almighty; in our hearts it is white lights, and in obeying our Lord lies the comfort of our conscience and the tranquility of our souls—so what is it to you?...

Would not one of them readily dress entirely in black without hesitation if it happened to be a fashion trend, following the ways of designers of indecency color by color, sleeve by sleeve, and shirt by shirt, his soul not refusing it even if eyes are repulsed by its design, neither denouncing it nor finding anything objectionable in it?

Does not every nation wear its traditional attire that highlights its belonging to its heritage and its pride in its people's culture, without you seeing anyone denouncing them for that? Indeed, people might even revere their authenticity, their refusal to imitate others, and their refusal to shed their own skin to blend in like a chameleon with every passing color without having an identity that distinguishes them from those around them. Is there anyone who denounces that in all of those people?

For us, it is the Law of our Lord and His command that He enjoined upon us. That "black tent" is dearer to us, higher to us, and more precious and honorable to us than those people's pride in the heritage inherited from their forefathers upon which their souls were molded and their customs conditioned...

In complying with the command of Allah Almighty, being pleased with His will, submitting to His sublime wisdom, and accepting His judgment—in this sublime guidance that elevates the spirit through the ascents of the heavens and light, returning the soul reassured, balanced, mature, and insightful—there is nothing that erases the features of the Muslim woman or obliterates her unique personality. She knows with full awareness the path she walks upon with insight, realizes the meaning of her existence, grasps the true value of her life and her higher goals, and sees clearly before her eyes the grand mission and the primary covenant she must fulfill in this life. Noise does not distract her, confusion does not get the better of her, and the mob does not muddle her mind to turn her away from what Allah the Exalted willed for her toward what every wretched and humiliated person wants from her....

If the hijab obliterates a woman's personality—as they claim—then where is the personality of the "commodity woman" whom we see at every glance on the streets of our afflicted cities, and on every shelf of the stores, starting from floor cleaner packages to promotional posters for cinema shows where nudity and vulgarity have become their unified currency and dubbed language... This is an explicit call to strip woman of her humanity, to use her in a cheap consumerist format. Any free, honorable, aware, and rational woman refuses to be displayed in such an insulting, vulgar manner. Yet—may Allah have mercy on the servants, lift the affliction from us, and pardon us from prior misery—feelings have grown numb, the understanding of the discerning has rusted, and the honor of modesty has been ripped away; so there is no modesty, no sense of honor, and no chivalry.. Rather, the scale has been overturned—yes, by the Lord of the heavens and the earth, the scale of right guidance has been overturned in their rotten, decayed consciences! Vileness has become temptations, calamities have become arts, and trivial, empty, extinguished women have become shining stars toward whom young girls and maidens gaze with eyes of fascination, admiration, emulation, and imitation. Their compounded disappointment has entered the night of dreams and the underground passages of wishful thinking. Thus, every naive young girl abandoned by her guardian shepherd, who failed to tend to her with correction, refinement, and discipline—every cheated, naive girl wishes to enter the alleged circle of light, with no one explaining to her that they are moths of the Fire rushing headlong into the abyss of the wicked...

I said that I did not want to write about this matter in the midst of the sandstorm that has blinded eyes and spirits, except that I found these corrupt and corrupting claims attracting a scum of foolish people like the foam of a torrent. Suddenly, they sprout wings of hatred and tongues of evil with which they hover around the sanctuary of sacred limits. Every fool among them steps to the forefront, relishing speaking about matters the likes of him have no right to utter. They parrot the principles of the enemies of Allah in opposing the religion of Allah, mocking the ladies of chastity, modesty, purity, preservation, and hijab—harming them and attacking them whenever an opportunity arises to take a bite at the caravan of light. The strike of Allah is assured upon them if they do not desist from what they have plunged into and return and repent. You see every eloquent fool among them boasting with adorned speech out of arrogance, denouncing the modesty of believing women, pained by their chastity, and attacking their adherence to the hijab and the etiquette of hijab. And so it always is: when hearts turn black and go blind, and souls relapse and become wretched, purity hurts them and they find the clarity of light repulsive:

So what do they resent in our daughters? Did you believe that they resent their being "imprisoned" from alleged liberation? No, by Allah..

(3) The Relapse of the Innate Nature (Fitrah) of Nations Throughout History..

One who passes through the wide-open gates of history—for whoever has an understanding, contemplative heart—sees and realizes that the modesty of nations is snatched away gradually. Every small stone that falls from the dam leaves a gap followed by another, until the dam is about to collapse, and nothing can stop the surge of the torrent after that. Rather, souls change, pure innate nature is obliterated, and hearts turn black like an overturned pitcher—neither recognizing good, nor denouncing evil, nor affirming truth...

In the 1860s, the French novelist Gustave Flaubert stood before the court accused of offending public decency, morals, and religion, and of violating the modesty of French society, which at that time did not accept that vulgar image of woman he presented in his novel Madame Bovary. However, the court swallowed the bait of the defense, which turned him into an "honorable" writer pointing out society's ills to reform them, and a "refined man of letters" defending literature and morals... And thus the pickaxe began demolishing the dam....

Now let one of you tell us: where are they now?.. Picking up a passing piece of news translates what the observer perceives: in its annual literature report, the French magazine Lire prepares a list of the 20 best books of the past year, and one of the categories in which the best book is chosen is the field of erotic/pornographic literature. In 2007, for example, Memoirs of an Adulterous Woman by the American Curt Leviant was chosen as the best book in erotic literature, telling the story of a female violinist living through infidelities from a different perspective.. Pardon me, but it is the bitter reality...

In a similar incident, the first exhibition swimmer stood before the court because her shows included entering the sea in scandalous attire that conservative English society at the time did not accept. She kept scheming—with the trumpeters of temptation behind her—until she invented a new outfit covering the whole body, resembling diving suits, so the jury allowed her to appear in it during her shows. Thereafter, the stones of the dam rolled down, until today not a shawl nor a wrap remains on the shoulders of young women on the beaches...

We must remember this well and have insight as we read our present—loud as a headache and painful as a thorn in the heart. A few days ago, the Sudanese "trousers" journalist—whom Western news agencies made a heroine in the caravan of defending freedom—published a book!! In it, she recounts her pioneering experience in defying "public opinion," defying "the extremism and backwardness of the people and the fanaticism of the judge," and defying "prevailing outdated customs" that criminalized her appearance in trousers—a touching struggle heralding dire consequences! Heroes of wretched, false, accursed liberation.. opposing the Law of Allah and defying with brazen faces whatever modesty remains in our daughters. Where are they heading, and where do they want to reach so as to lead others astray...

Nudity, vulgarity, and indecency are no longer things that souls generally denounce. Rather, the ongoing debate has shifted—not to discuss the prohibition or permissibility of indecency, but to demand the rights of homosexuals to marry with the blessing of the church and the recognition of the sanctity of the covenant, cohabitation, and inheritance!! The debate is no longer about the ugliness of fornication, but about the right of fornicating women to abort what Allah created in their wombs so they may enjoy their lives like cattle and be freed from the responsibility of a child! And even if children come, they are children "outside the framework of marriage," not "illegitimate children of fornication"! Do you see how civilized, embellished, and palatable these names are, such that souls do not spit them out?...

These become the moral dilemmas and controversies topping the agendas of presidential candidates in America and the Western nations rolling—with a giant leap—backward. Look, for example, at Jimmy Carter’s book Our Endangered Values; the overall vision of those values that the remaining moral people amidst the mob fight to preserve no longer has any connection to purity, cleanliness, chastity, or authentic human honor... The alleged civilization is no longer even searching for a fig leaf with which to cover its sin and shame....

Parades of naked people march under the name of "naturists," and in Israel another march goes out led by its Prime Minister to commemorate a homosexual who was assassinated by some extremists, all of them raising the slogan "We continue with pride"! Pride in what? May Allah pardon us! And they say, "Every human being has the right to be different"!! Is the issue a matter of "difference" now? Those brute herds no longer have a sense that feels disgust at being smeared with filth, nor a spirit whose eyes look up to the light of purity... Sensation has died in them, and we are on the way to that—except by the mercy of the Almighty, the All-Wise, the All-Knowing, the Forbearing—and even if they entered a lizard's hole, you would enter it too...

(4) The Impact of Attire and General Appearance on Human Personality

Those people have been burned and continue to burn from the fire of temptations they ignited. When a rational person among them wakes up, you find him calling for some modesty and restraint before persisting further in this open debauchery. Parents declare this more than others, as they see their daughters disfigured by a life of open license that strips them of all beautiful values so that passersby may amuse themselves with them and then walk away indifferent. Over there, you hear of people organizing campaigns to change that prevailing culture, starting from the immodest clothes of dolls and puppets to the short and revealing outfits of little girls... Quoted from America In Arabic:

• Experts in education and psychology pointed out that the way girls dress in childhood can have harmful consequences for them in the future.

• The American network ABC News said that some believe young girls in America are now heavily trending toward wearing revealing clothes, and that their role models in this are cartoon characters and children's dolls like Barbie, Pussycat, and Bratz Dolls!!

• The American mother Ziva Bivens authored a book to address the issue of the fashion of short clothes for young girls. The book is titled Stop Dressing Your Six-Year-Old Like a Skank.

• She said: "Mothers buy the short clothes and fathers buy them, and perhaps on some level parents think, saying: 'How cute, this is harmless, this is innocent,' but I believe it is not so."

• The American psychologist Dr. Jeff Gardere also warned that the way they dress at the age of three can have serious consequences later on: "You can cause real harm to your child; they form their tastes at a very young age, and it can cause harm to their future, and harm their reputation, success, and opportunities."

This is a rational perspective confirming the impact of attire and general appearance on human personality. Whoever grows up on modesty and good manners follows the same course in his life: respecting his word and covenant, respecting the value of work and the value of the human being, bearing responsibility, adhering to honesty and nobility, rising above the defects of moral license, and elevating oneself above a life of debauchery...

They have begun to realize—too late—that moral decay does not make successful human beings, nor does it nourish the values of righteousness, nobility, and uprightness, and that a human being without morals is a human being without value who has nothing to invite your appreciation and respect. Yet everyone continues to turn in the millstone of psychological and innate conflict between upright humanity and the culture of self-gratification through license, which bequeaths the bitter lashing of conscience...

Examples are countless, and reality is an open page containing a lesson for whoever has a heart or lends an ear while being present in mind. We only need not to look at the present moment without understanding and seeing what lies behind it and where it stands in the context of history and the future. We must realize that every step is part of a path, and every path requires adhering to a certain trajectory: either it is the path of good, truth, purity, and light, or it is anything other than that—and every path other than that is fragmentation, wandering, misguidance, suffering, darkness, and rot.

(5) Missing Fundamentals (ABCs)

There remain words that must be said or pointed out, even if in passing, for they are indispensable. Although they are among the primary axioms and self-evident truths, you are truly grieved when you see these primary axioms—which are taken for granted like the alphabet—absent and missing; and their absence and loss render all speech after them meaningless confusion.

Among those primary fundamentals is that Islam and the Quran are a religion, a law (Shari'ah), and a comprehensive way of life, and that Allah Almighty, Who created human beings and dispersed them Across the earth, is alone the Almighty, the All-Wise, the Majestic, the Everlasting, to Whom all affairs and all judgment return. He—Glory be to Him—is the Possessor of Legislation. It is inconceivable to the mind that a Great, Perfect Creator, unique in creation, origination, might, and sublimity, would leave His creation neglected without legislating for them and clarifying for them what they should guard against. It is truly a shameful relapse that masses of humanity, acting arrogantly on earth without right, deviate toward an innovated secularism in which they cast behind their backs everything that came to them from their Lord Who brought them into existence, stepping forward to legislate, plan, delete, and endorse with a foolishness akin to madness... And then the Nation of the Justly Balanced Message comes along to deviate into every deviation on earth and relapse behind every relapser, abandoning what Allah prescribed for it and relinquishing the honor with which Allah Almighty honored it! Ambitions have failed, resolves have weakened, and minds have become wretched...

It is not possible to accept part of the religion of Allah Almighty and leave part—

—rather, complete submission is the first condition in fulfilling the testimony of Islam; whoever replaces anything from the religion of Allah has exchanged faith for disbelief...

Among those fundamentals that get lost amidst the discussion and debate over whether a woman uncovering her face or covering it is obligatory (fard), recommended (nadab), or to ward off temptation (fitnah), one of those missing axioms is the spirit of legislation in the rulings of hijab. This spirit is marginalized in the midst of the dispute raging in the arena of debaters, into which an unidentified group infiltrates and sneaks to exploit it, igniting its fire with argumentation, confusion, and deception upon the servants of Allah. Consequently, the result of this disorientation is forgetting the spirit of Islam in the concept of hijab...

Whoever examines the words of those who differ over it would think that uncovering or covering the face is the only obstacle to unifying perspectives, assuming that she who adopts the view of uncovering the face will be covering the rest of her body except the face and hands while adhering to the exact same parameters of the lawful hijab: her outer garment (jilbab) is wide and concealing, neither outlining nor transparent, nor attracting the eyes of onlookers to her, while her decency and modesty cut off the audacity of the covetous toward her. Yet whoever looks at the reality of our condition and the condition of our daughters and women feels regret and sorrow at what they have reached... Meanwhile, the people of debate do not turn around or cast a glance at the foot of the mountain to see what state our daughters have reached; had their hearts seen, they would have ceased their verbal outbidding and turned instead to mending the rift in the very foundation of the structure.

There is no disagreement in any school of jurisprudence (madhhab) that the lawful hijab of a Muslim woman must be loose and concealing, not a garment of fame/vanity (libas shuhrah), not an adornment in itself, and not revealing her body and its contours. Yet what is witnessed is that the vast majority of our daughters have become ingenious in decorating their abayas with clusters of beads, shiny pearl studs, and embroidered designs, while the abaya is tight and transparent, hiding no features of adornment beneath it nor repelling an eye from a chaste woman—the abaya is no longer an abaya... That is for those who wear the abaya. As for the calamity that has become widespread in most of our lands, it is taking off the abaya—indeed, taking off the headscarf (khimar) and outer garment (jilbab)—and going down into the streets of cities in tight skirts and trousers pressed tightly against the body, with hips, waists, breasts, and chests protruding, forearms and calves uncovered, and the head covering receding from the forelock of hair. Thus, her dyed forelock appears, styled with the care of one who calculates everything, while the recession reaches it from the back to reveal necks bared with every passing breeze. Then follow necklaces, chains, bracelets, rings, dyes, and colors of everything that eyes gaze upon and souls crave—from canary yellow to shy pink to deep green and fiery red... So who is talking about the permissibility of uncovering the face or the obligation of covering it amidst all this absence?... Where is the spirit of hijab in everything the eye witnesses here or there?

Perhaps no one is unaware that the majority of our righteous daughters can barely find in all our sprawling markets a head covering or outer garment suitable for their lawful hijab. Every abaya is fashionable, and the fingers of "modern art" have reached every jilbab with glittery embroidery and discordant patchwork, along with slits and movements that make it suitable for women displaying and showing off themselves—as if it were a garment of fame and wanton display (tabarruj), not a garment of concealment, decency, and chastity. And all head coverings are thin, gaudily colored, and trimmed at the edges and sides.. Even our abayas and hijab garments are designed for us by designers from Italy and France, and China floods the markets with them without shortcoming or scarcity.. Is there room to ask ourselves how we reached this point and how they knew this about us? Had we rejected them, they would have gone unsold, perished, and their merchandise would have been returned to them; however... they met from us approving eyes, eager hands, weak and defeated souls, and submissive consciences—so they prevailed and corruption spread through them...

Yet... perhaps the root of the confusion is that for many people, nothing of Islam remains in them; they did not take off the hijab, rather they took off the religion. This upright religion no longer has a share in their souls. What good would it do them if they draped themselves in every hijab? Their reform does not begin from right here, but from where faith disappeared from them among all else that disappeared.. Nor does it avail us if they recover the hijab without recovering the light of the Book.. When branches dry up, watering them does no good no matter how much you tend to their repair; there is no way except to tend to their roots struck deep in the earth, repairing and watering them until the greenness of life extends from them little by little to the dead branches and boughs, so they grow and blossom.. Every attempt otherwise is pure futility that the wind will soon scatter..

Women from Banu Tamim entered upon her wearing thin garments, so Aishah said: "If you are believers, this is not the clothing of believing women; and if you are not believers, then enjoy it." And a bride was brought in to Aishah (may Allah be pleased with her) wearing a yellow-dyed Coptic headscarf (khimar), and when she saw her, she said: "A woman who wears this has not believed in Surat al-Nur...."

In the religion of Allah Almighty, there is no room for compromise, and no one can remain in between... Whoever believes must adhere, and whoever does not believe should not claim it, nor strive to strip away our daughters' modesty by stirring up every temptation thereafter; and our daughters should not follow him or be seduced by his claims if they truly believe in what Allah the Exalted revealed to His Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him)...

In truth, we have reached an indescribable state—a miserable, shameful, suspicious, disgraceful state—and the breaths of words have been cut short in our lines. Temptations have spread and moral license has become pervasive, a condition that grants the ruler (Imam) the right to oblige people with what is not ordinarily obligatory in order to block this door that has heralded ruin for the people.

(6) "The Etiquette of Hijab (Adab al-Hijab)"

As for the last thing remaining for me that I wish to say—and it is perhaps more important than everything that preceded because in it lies the key to pure hearts, Allah willing—it is that among what has disappeared from us as affliction pervaded our arena is "The Etiquette of Hijab" (Adab al-Hijab). It is this etiquette without which no hijab is valid. When it disappeared from our hearts, along with piety and self-monitoring before Allah, the coverings of hijab were torn away cover after cover. Even if the coverings remain while the etiquette is absent, no good can be hoped for in it from us. It is an etiquette that men must observe with women just as women must observe it with them—this beautiful, wonderful etiquette in which the river of modesty flows, watering and reviving the heart and awakening guidance, piety, and radiance within it...

Modesty (haya') in its reality is none other than modesty before Allah Almighty. If modesty is not before the All-Hearing, the All-Seeing, the Modest, the Forbearing, the Knower of the treacherous gaze of the eyes and the One Acquainted with what is in the breasts—if modesty is not before Allah, the Almighty, the Near, the Beautiful, then before whom would it be?...

Part of the etiquette of hijab is for modesty to settle in the heart so that it feels ashamed to look toward what Allah has forbidden it, lest Allah look upon its hidden secret and detest what issued from it and what revolved within it; thus the heart abstains from what its Master does not approve of. Nothing is closer to the hearts of the believers than the Noble Quran; it is an uninterrupted gift that refines them, teaches them, takes them by their hands, disciplines them, nurtures them, and guides them. Nothing is easier than adhering to the straight path with it, and nothing is smoother than the soul's compliance to it when it humbles itself and turns in repentance. Thus the Quran teaches the believing women this great, majestic etiquette:

There will always remain among people those whose hearts crane toward immorality even if they do not show it. Whenever such a person finds coquetry, pampering, softness in speech, and languidness in voice from females, his longing springs forth to obtain from her what she hinted at to him. That is an image that does not sit right in the souls of believers nor stand upright in their hearts, so their actions and words refuse to incline toward it. Therefore, honor and excellence in the noble verse were made conditional upon piety (taqwa). Whoever fears Allah and is mindful of Him, her fear of Allah and her modesty before Him—Glory be to Him—prevent her from vulgarity and from preying upon the weakness of hearts and their slips. The desire to appear beautiful and sweet, and taking pleasure in pleasing souls and eyes, is an innate inclination (fitrah) upon which females have been molded since eternity. Islam does not deny this innate nature; rather, it purifies it so that it becomes good, and protects it with piety so that it becomes pure and increases in honor and virtue. It makes for her a lawful, permissible, good pathway, blessed by the word of Allah Almighty, so that she may be as beautiful as she was created to be with her husband and among her unmarriageable kin (mahrams), while protecting her from looking beyond that lest she be harmed and become wretched, and lest she harm others and distract them from what is right. And He does not want her to affect harshness and rude roughness; rather, He guides her to speak honorable speech (qawlan ma'rufan), and ma'ruf is that which is right and recognized by both the Law and sound souls.

Therefore, part of the etiquette of hijab is lowering the gaze. The commands are not restricted to women, but apply to all believers. We read in Surat al-Nur:

Women should not converse with men and men should not converse with women with their eyes locked onto each other's eyes. Yet this is a scene you can barely walk among people without seeing in every classroom, every workplace or fellowship, and every market and street, after the bearing of the Shari'ah disappeared from them and modesty was stripped from the faces of our women—until even the ladies of the private chambers (may Allah pardon them) came out arguing with this man and disputing with that one without concealment, lowering the gaze, or sobriety in speech. Indeed, you now see the one who lowers his gaze among them treated as a stranger whose action eyes find odd and whom others feel too embarrassed to emulate. And no wonder: when informality and uncovering become rampant, what is right (ma'ruf) is no longer recognized as custom...

Part of the etiquette of hijab is lowering the gaze from looking without a legitimate, honorable need, just like lowering the voice from speaking with coquetry, softness, and inclination, except when speaking for a need with concealment, dignity, and honor.

Part of the etiquette of hijab is that women do not appear before men without need. This is from the perfection of concealment that Allah Almighty commanded. Even though the wording in the verse addresses the Mothers of the Believers (peace be upon them), all women enter into that by meaning and by what is encompassed in the principles of the Shari'ah. Thus, if there is no need for a woman to appear and an incidental request can be met by asking from behind a screen/partition, that is preferable.. Notice that the address here is to the men.. They must take this etiquette as a way of life for themselves in dealing with women, step by step. Had our women today seen decency from men in dealing with them, their souls would have been refined, their aspirations for wanton display would have been broken, and they would have returned to modesty—for they are more worthy of it, and it is more worthy of them...

Rulings in the Divine Law are not restrictions devoid of wisdom—far from it, and never! Rather, the explanation of this wisdom comes in an address close to humble hearts, bringing them closer to good and distancing them from distraction: "That is purer for your hearts and for their hearts."

(7) A New Type of Tabarruj (Wanton Display) from Behind a Veil!...

Whoever contemplates the spirit of the Shari'ah regarding the matter of hijab can read reality anew with insightful vision. We see among us women who have not removed the hijab outwardly, yet they have stripped themselves of its etiquette inwardly, as their hearts have not been disciplined by its manners. And others have an even larger share in this loss: you no longer see—except those upon whom my Lord has mercy—anyone whose countenance and bearing are crowned by modesty before Allah the Exalted in all their movements and actions. There is no remaining in the home, no lowering of the gaze, and no seriousness in speech—rather, languidness, pampering, and lightness; no sincerity in concealment—rather, striking with feet and glances here and there; no seriousness in personality and no dignity—rather, fluidity, outbidding in the love of showing off, seeking praise, commendation, and approval from eyes and souls, and seeking the inclination of hearts toward hearts...

Perhaps one of the tangible applications among us in the present era—with the existence of the Internet and the entry of women and men together into literary or even religious discussions in discussion forums—is that a passerby can barely find a place where slips do not occur successively. Right here, a new type of tabarruj (wanton display) from behind a veil has emerged.. You find good sisters—may Allah pardon them—engaging in tabarruj, perhaps without realizing it, in their written steps and read comments.

This new reality confirms to us once again that the hijab is not merely outward fabrics and garments, but high etiquette and firm values in the souls of the truthful.. Their general behaviors are regulated by it, stemming in their primary origin from the value system of the upright religion—the pure, godly innate nature (fitrah) upon which Allah Almighty created mankind.. Included within this innate nature is outward guidance in behavior, attire, and inward conscience; neither substitutes for the other, and whoever abandons either of them is disobedient to the command of his Lord.

(8) Veiled Women Hide Their Bad Morals Behind Their Hijab!

Then someone comes to you saying: "Morals and the heart are more important... Purity is in the heart... And veiled women hide their bad morals behind their hijab..."

By Allah, I do not know how one responds to them, because the exterior of their speech contradicts the interior of their intent in whole and in detail, and their disdain for adhering to the hijab indicates nothing but their contradiction and ignorance of the reality of a pure heart and its light, and the reality of good character and its virtue...

Why do people not salute the pure truth when it is brighter than the sun as proof of the break of day? Why do they not strip themselves of the hesitation and inclination of souls so that they may read and acknowledge? Why do they justify the polytheism/hypocrisy of their hearts by pointing to people's mistakes in order to excuse their own deviation from the straight path and their lack of sincerity?.. This has nothing to do with faith whatsoever.. True faith means that the creed of Monotheism (Tawhid) is firmly rooted in the depths of your heart as an unbreakable, trustworthy handhold, regarding which there is no debate and no compromise; it is the truth against which things are measured, while it is not measured against the conditions of people.. Have you ever seen a building without a foundation?...

(9) The Hijab is Merely a Stumbling Block in the Dam, and Analogy Follows Thereafter....

The actual consequences of removing the hijab do not only affect the people of indecency, but impact the general public as well.. Laxity in mixing—I mean the informality arising from getting used to mingling, which seeps into souls gradually after a short time of habituation, in the absence of self-accountability and in the absence of the authentic Islamic value system that regulates the lives of Muslims, refines their inclinations, and elevates them—deviating from these values, with the resulting release from the parameters of Divine Law, leads to breaking free from the parameters of social custom as well...

When we set religion aside, who is it that says what a woman should cover and what she should uncover, when she should veil and when she should display herself, when she should be informal with strangers and when she should be modest with them, and what the limits and restrictions of all this are? Societies that fell victim to stripping away belonging to the commands of the Shari'ah fell victim at the exact same time to abandoning their identity and weeping over the loss of their good values and customs: at first, women uncovered their faces, then their hair, then their shoulders, then... nothing remained.

Reading reality takes precedence over theorizing.. Boys and girls no longer have any concern worth telling except stories of infatuation, attachment, admiration, flirting, and "hooking up". Passing headlines in youth magazines tell the tragedy, and a few short steps down a university walkway show you the extent of confusion, moral license, and disorientation taking hold of our children—a sad, heartbreaking state...

To provide an atmosphere of balance, neutrality, and objectivity in many areas of life, we must eliminate certain distractions so that souls are not preoccupied by them and they do not disrupt the common goal we seek to achieve.

When we think in this conscious, disciplined way, we realize on a new horizon how the hijab solves many dilemmas and cuts off the distraction resulting from women appearing before men and their potential inclination toward them. Blocking the path of temptations alone is what saves the energy of both parties for the journey of a successful, fruitful, and constructive life.. That immunity we want for the Muslim society is not an accusation against its members of triviality or malicious intent; rather, it is a greater proof of the soundness of souls from any doubt and a protection for them against temptations and suspicions...

The balanced Muslim woman presents to this society a civilized, concise message whose substance is: "Do not look at my adornment and my bracelets, nor at the manifestations of my femininity; rather, deal with me as a refined human being, with objectivity and decency, so that together we may achieve the hoped-for seriousness from this interaction according to need.. Let us turn away together from whatever hinders either of us or distracts us from our serious tasks and mission."