Women's Special Etiquette
Proper covering
In many Quranic verses the Muslim women are ordered to abstain and keep aloof from displaying their charms and adornment, like the following:
· "... and display not your finery like the display of the ignorance of yore..." "33:33"
· "... and they display not their adornment save what is apparent of it; and to draw their veils over their bosoms..." "24:31"
· "O "Our" Prophet "Mohammed"! say thou unto thy wives and thy daughters and the women of the believers that they let down upon them their cover garments..." "33:59"
Further many traditions are there emphasising on the proper covering for women, and the Messenger of Allah"S" considers the naked women to be among Dwellers of Hell.
Fatimah daughter of Qays says: The Messenger of Allah"S" said: I never like to see the scarf taken away "removed" from your head, or the clothes be drawn aside from your legs so as men can see them. 152
This subject will be elaborated more in chapter five, to come later on.
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151. Majma' Az-Zawaa'id, vol. IX, p. 201.
152. Saheeh Muslim, vol. VIII, p. 203.
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Abstention from perfuming
It is impermissible for women to impregnate themselves with odour while attending any meeting "where men are present". The Messenger of Allah"S" has addressed the women once saying: Whenever you be present at the mosque, never perfume yourselves with fragrance.
Abstention from SpeechSoftening
The Almighty Allah said in His holy Quran:
"... and be not soft in "your" speech lest lusteth after you he in whose heart is a disease..." "33:32"
Sobriety of Demeanour
In the holy Quran Allah the Exalted says:
"... and let them not strike their feet "in walking" that what they hide of their adornment gets apparent..." "24:31"
Also the daughters of "Prophet" Shu'ayb were praised in the Quran since they walked with coyness:
"Then came unto him one of the two women walking bashfully..." "28:25"
In conclusion of this subject "of discourse" I draw the attention of readers to the following points:
1. Housekeeping and nurturing and educating the children being an essential duty to be undertaken by the women. And certainly, for maintaining stability and safety and security of the family, men and social foundations should endeavour and do their best to fulfil this goal, since we won't be able to attain to a healthy society without such efforts.
2. Essentiality of duty of housekeeping on part of women never means negation of other social or even family functions for them. Because women are in need of the society and also the society can never attain its healthiness and progress without women. Therefore
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women have duties other than education of children and keeping warm the house and family.
3. The claim of presence of a decisive and perpetual clash between function of housekeeping and other tasks is invalid and incorrect. Nevertheless, in certain special and rare cases some kind of incongruity may be seen, but it could never be found in the past history, nor nowadays.
In the present circumstances, where children spend their leisure times in educational, cultural and training centres, this nonclash is apparent more clearly. In other words, with more investigation we can discover that most of the women with the ages up to 20 have not got married, and so they got the chance to attend and be active in society, without any predicament.
After marriage, if every couple have, as is common, five children when reaching the age of forty, their last child will be at five and elder child will have reached the age of 17 years. To this meaning that after reaching the age of forty, if average age of women be 60, then they would be able to within twenty years, play an effective role in society with more freedom and devotion.
And throughout these twenty years, that having most of worries pertaining to family, the women can also, with good planning and aid of men, dedicate some time to such businesses.
By this calculation, which is made with great mitigation in behalf of supporters of theory of limiting duty of women in housekeeping, no one can claim presence of clash between duties of housekeeping & social tasks of women, in all cases.
I finish this chapter with saying that every women should regard education of children and housekeeping to be among her first and most important duties and functions, but this thing has no contradiction, whatsoever, with her presence and cooperation in society.
The issue of veil "covering" being one of selfevident truths of Islamic jurisprudence, having multifarious and extensive arenas. Before broaching it, I find it necessary to give a bright image of the matter on hand, and the terms used in these subjects of discussion.
The words that are used in this field being: Covering, veil "hijaab", sitr, chastity, limits of relations between woman and man. It is possible that what is intended by these words being keeping off and detaining the woman inside the house, or observing some of regulations in regard of social associations.
The issue that I intend to manifest and expound by this article being the meaning antithetical to unrestrain, sexual liberalism which is called by the Quran tabarruj "displaying the charms".
In other words, we are in search of an answer to this question: Can femininity and masculinity of women and men be displayed on scene of society? Or is this quality confined inside the realm of family, and the woman and man should appear in arena of society and act as two human beings? AlOstaz Mutahhari is quoted to have said:
"In fact concerning the issue of covering and according to term used recently Hijaab, we don't intend to talk about whether is it good for the woman to appear within society with a covering or naked? The essence of speech is that: can the woman and man's enjoyments "seeking content by marriage" be free of charge? Has the man any right to enjoy himself as much as he
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can of any woman, other than fornication or not? So the core of matter, being confining all the successes to the sphere of family and legal spouses, or setting free the successes and extending them to environment of society." 153
On this basis, my intention, in this article is neither to prove the seclusion of woman nor talking about a special issue. i.e. covering of the woman as Sitr, but what I intend is a more distant subject within the framework of which many Islamic legislated rules can be propounded through a harmonious thought structure, like obligation of Hijaab "cover", prohibition of gazing at a foreigner, and abominations such as adultery and homosexuality and alike.
The following pages are determined to give answers to questions such as:
1. What is intended by Islam from veil and covering?
2. What criteria Islam depended upon in regard of limits of relations between women and men?
3. What is philosophy of covering?
4. Have various religious precepts like necessity of covering, prohibition of gazing at women, and forbiddance of "committing" abominations and alike, been enacted for the sake of diminishing any contact or touching between women and men or is there any other purpose behind them?
5. What thing can withstand the sexual liberalism, unrestrainment "tahallul" and displaying "woman's" charms? Beside other questions.
Also it should be known that in the recent century many writings in forms of books and articles, in Persian and Arabic, 154 have been composed analysing and investigating into so many of
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153. Mas'alah Hijaab, pp. 82-83.
154. Masaadir An-Nizam Al-Islami, Al-Mar'ah Wal-Usrah, by Abd Al-JAbbar Ar-Rifa'i, pp. 149-150 & pp. 178- 185 & pp. 284 - 288.
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dimensions of this subject, among which valuable researches can be seen. Despite all these, still many centres of investigation and searching in this field are found everywhere, and investigation file is still open.
Making researches and studies in connection to veil "hijaab", can pursue different objectives each needing a particular method:
1. The purpose and motive of investigation may be rational manifestation of fiqhi beliefs and judgements, in a way that it can be propounded in secular societies.
2. Sometimes the target of investigation may be to solve the mental problems of the issue of veil inside religious communities, in a way that all mental and theoretical unrestrained obstacles should be lifted from this way.
3. Also it is possible that the aim of investigation be mere Fiqhi fathoming and studying profoundly, to the extent that can only be proper for "teaching in" the Islamic theological centres.
4. Further it is possible that the goal be guiding the society toward the required "ideal" covering... and others.
It is explicit that every goal has its own method and tendency to follow, so it is infeasible to cover and discuss all of them in one book.
In fact, other than the practical leniency witnessed in case of covering, and production of desire and hope of human beings, some ideological questions and ambiguities inside religious societies, with viewpoints and visions of secular societies, and a number of Fiqhi opinions and verdicts on carelessness and unrestrainment, can be influential in the matter of covering.
Hence reason and reflection necessitate from us to choose proper ways for confronting practical leniency, desire and inclination, like advice and counsel, and making impunible and allowable amusements and exercise to replace exciting and seductive manifestations. And also in opposite to mental
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obstacles we should resort to scientific searches and circulation of their thought fruits.
In this chapter, I am going to select and elaborate some subjects from among those related to veil "hijaab" as follows:
1. Chastity and philosophy of covering.
2. General conditions for mantle of women.
3. Adornment.
4. Intermingling "between men and women".
