Hijab (Veil) of the Muslims of Today (1/2)

 The Muslim was the one who could save the world from the evil of extremes, because he alone possesses the correct solution of all the problems of man’s community life. But the tragedy of man’s misfortune has been that the one possessing the beacon of Light has himself gone night-blind. Not to speak of guiding others to the Right Path, he himself has got lost and is running after the other blind people in search of light and truth.

The word “Purdah” (Hijab) is used as a title for the set of injunctions which constitute the most important part of the Islamic system of community life. If these injunctions are viewed in their right perspective against the structure of this system, every person who has not wholly lost his powers of discernment will readily admit this to be the only balanced and just view in regard to man’s social life. Then if this system is shown to work practically in its true spirit, the whole woe-stricken world will rush towards this fountainhead of peace and security and seek its help in curing its social maladies. But the question is: Who will undertake such a demonstration? The one who could do this has himself been taken ill for a long time. Therefore, before proceeding further let us have a look at him and try to diagnose his ailment.

Historical Background

It was the end of the 18th and beginning of the 19th century when Western nations’ hunger for the territorial expansion assumed the proportions of a deluge on the horizons of the Muslim countries and before the people could fully wake up to the impending disaster, it took the whole world of Islam, from the east to the west, by storm. Consequently, by the middle of the 19th century most of the Muslim nations had been subdued by Europe. Even those nations which apparently held their own had in fact been subdued mentally and spiritually. When this subjugation was complete, the Muslims began to cast off slumber. The national pride that they had developed through centuries of rule and conquest was shattered and like a drunken one who is brought to sense by continuous strokes of a powerful enemy, they began to examine the causes of their humiliation and defeat and those of European domination. Though the state of intoxication was over, they had not yet fully regained their senses and balance. On the one hand, their feeling of extreme humiliation was impelling them for the change. On the other, their love of ease and comfort which they had developed during the past centuries forced them to choose the path of the least resistance to bring about this change. Then their intellectual powers which they had not cared to exercise for decades had also grown rusty. Besides, they soon developed a slavish mentality and fear which naturally afflict a nation that has been politically routed. All these various factors combined to mislead the Muslims into grave pitfalls. Most of them were indeed at a loss to understand the real causes of their downfall vis-à-vis Europe’s rise to power. But even those who understood these causes lacked the necessary courage and muscle as well as the spirit to fight for their freedom. On top of that mental subjugation afflicted both the classes. Being degenerate the way they choose to climb the ladder of progress was the one offering the least resistance. They decided to imitate the ways and manners of the Western civilization in their lives and develop the quality of a mirror that faithfully reflects a garden in full bloom but in reality is without it.

Mental Slavery

It was during this state of crisis that the Western dress, Western ways of living, Western etiquette, even Western manners of moving about, were imitated and all-out efforts made to mould the Muslim society after the Western patterns. Heresy, atheism and materialism were accepted as a fashion. Any idea, good or bad, that came from the West was accepted without question and favored publicly to show broad-mindedness. Drinking, gambling, lottery system, horseracing, theatre, music, dancing and other evils of the Western civilization were adopted most eagerly. All the Western theories and practices pertaining to culture, morality, social life, economics, politics, law, even religious beliefs and worships, were accepted blindly without ascertaining their validity, like a Divine Revelation, which has to be believed and obeyed. Even the events of Islamic History, injunctions of the Islamic Sharia, and the Commandments of the Qur’an and Hadith, that were objected to in the spirit of faultfinding by the enemies of Islam, began to shame the Muslims into apologizing. The Europeans objected to Jihad and Muslims readily expressed their indignation against it; they found fault with slavery and the Muslims averred that it was absolutely unlawful in Islam; they objected to polygamy and the Muslims at once closed their eyes to a clear verse of Qur’an; they said that man and woman should enjoy perfect equality between them, the Muslims said that was their faith; they objected to the Islamic laws governing marriage and divorce, the Muslims were bent on mending and modifying them; they said that Islam disfavored art, the Muslims stated that Islam has always been patronizing music and dancing, painting and sculpture; so on and so forth.

How the Problem Arose

At this most shameful period of Muslim history, Purdah (Hijab) system also came under fire. If the question had been; how much freedom had woman been allowed in Islam? It was not difficult to tackle. The most one could differ in the matter was whether the hands and the face were to be a covered or left uncovered; and this was in no way a basic difference. This question however, was a different one. This question arose among the Muslims because Europe regarded “harem”, Purdah and veil with disfavor. The European writers portrayed these in loathsome and ugly colors and, while enumerating the demerits of Islam, they mentioned the “confinement” of women prominently. As usual the Muslims felt ashamed, and, they reacted and behaved in the matter of Purdah (Hijab) exactly as they had done in the matters of Jihad, slavery, polygamy, etc. They turned over the pages of the Qur’an, Collections of Hadith and religious opinions and verdicts of the early doctors merely with a view to collecting some material with which they could wash off the “ugly blot” of shame. They found that certain scholars had allowed uncovering of the hands and the face, and also that a woman could go out as and when required under necessity. Again they found that a woman was permitted to go to the battlefield to look after the wounded and thirsty soldiers. She could also visit mosques for offering prayers and for learning or imparting knowledge. With this material in hand, they came out with the claim that Islam had granted full liberty to woman. Purdah (Hijab) was a custom of ignorance which had been adopted by the narrow-minded Muslims long after the glorious period of Islam. They also averred that the Qur’an and Hadith were devoid of the Purdah injunctions; they only inculcated moral teachings of modesty and chastity; and Islam did not recognize any discipline restricting the movements of women.