On the Concept of haya and hijab in Islam.

THE COAL MINE OR THE STAR STUDDED SKY:

                                                                                                                      

Every deen has an innate character. The character of islam is modesty.” Al Muwatta 47.9

The mania of emancipating the Pakistan woman from the “alleged restraints “of religion and custom seems to increase with every passing day. The solution it seems, for our liberalists is quite easy. Complete denial of everything the least bit religious, be it the most logical and correct mode of behavior but since that is what religion demands, it has to be done away with! Everything which was good and simple is now orthodox and impractical. Modesty is no more considered a virtue with most of the Pakistani gentility. Modest men and women are becoming an endangered species. This fashionable disease of abhorring all that is good, simple and virtuous is spreading at such an alarming rate that even the middle and lower classes are catching it fast. The Pakistani woman’s chaddar or duppatta which used to be an essential part of her dress is fast becoming obsolete. The fact that the protagonists of this philosophy have made women their first target of so called “enlightened moderation “and “empowerment” is not a mere coincidence.

We learn from the Quran that the first weapon the shaitaan uses to attack a believer who has strengthened himself with iman from the inside is that he is attacked from the shayateen within the humans around him, namely his society!

Same is the case with nations. The self presumed “civilized west” in order to grow has to spread its Godless ideology in a manner most attractive. Since it can’t possibly provide anything superior than the Islamic ideology, it disguises its moral weaknesses in attractive sellable packages which appeal to the human nafs. They sell us muddy water by simply labeling the bottle “Honey”!

One of the most precious of all assets and greatest of all strengths for a momin is Haya. The innate ability to distinguish wrong from right before committing any act. Haya is often translated into modesty which does not do justice to the depth and beauty of this powerful word.

The freedom and respect, the strength and grace, the recognition and realization of the truth which are all a natural consequence of haya can make a human being man or woman very strong and successful in the real sense and that is exactly why Haya is the first target of shaitan.

The present day society has reduced the modern women to a mere commodity or sales gimmick by constantly using scantily clad women to advertise and market their products. This fake freedom just like the fake honey bottle has reduced the modern woman to the most pitiable form of existence.

The modern society demands the woman to shed her clothes and rise against Haya and call it oppression. All this modern enlightenism has opened up Haya less avenues for middle class women who need to work for their living and has forced upon them a culture alien to Haya. The results obviously are devastating. This haya less culture just leads to inevitable mixing of both sexes to such an extreme that it automatically results in the increase of abuse and harassment of the women in every way possible.

Whereas the beautiful Islamic solution to this extremely grave danger is very simple and pure. That is “The HIjab”. Not merely a piece of cloth but a Symbol of Islamic Haya, a way of life!

It includes the segregation of the sexes in such a way that they get the best possible means to excel and prosper in their own spheres as ordained by nature for them. It aspires for a culture of Haya. A culture in which the society provides the best possible educational and health facilities to both the genders in their own spheres.

Hijab or segregation between the two sexes in no way hampers any kind of development for any of the two genders. In fact it provides the harmony and rhythm greatly lacking in our lives which is a prerequisite for any prospering nation.

The western perception of women empowerment or freedom or gender equality is completely devoid of simple logic and common sense. It’s extremely illogical to demand equality of any kind between two beings which are basically quite different from each other. Not only do they differ in their outward appearances but there are huge differences in their way of perceiving and then approaching any kind of task. This fact has been proven through scientific research time and time again.

Dr Paul Irving a psychologist at Manchester Business School has in his research titled "The Distance between Mars and Venus: Measuring Global Sex Differences in Personality", says:
“Segregating male and female students could lead to better results for both sexes” and that segregation should be considered because of the different approaches male and female students take to learning.”I am increasingly convinced that what may be right for a large group of males is different from what is good for the vast majority of females," he told Times Higher Education.Hijab is very natural and basic limit set by Allah for the betterment of human kind. Human nature demands the rules and regulations without which it cannot remain human. The hijab segregates men and women into their naturally ordained working spheres without any discrimination regarding their performances as human beings. Gender is not the determining factor in the sight of Allah to judge who is a better human being rather it is the submission to the will of Allah.

“Verily the Muslims(those who submit to Allah) men and women, the believers men and women(who believe in Islamic monotheism), the men and women who are obedient to (Allah), the men and women who are truthful(in their speech and deeds), the men and women who are patient( in performing all the duties which Allah has ordered and in abstaining from that all that Allah has Forbidden), the men and women who give sadaqat(zakat and alms), the men and women who observe saum(fast), the men and the women who guard their chastity(from illegal sexual acts) and the men and women who remember Allah much with their hearts and tongues. Allah has prepared for them forgiveness and a great reward (i.e.: paradise)”

The question that arises here is that why then do the people, especially the Muslims of today fail to recognize this simple solution and adhere to it. The answer lies in history. The national pride Muslims had developed through centuries of rule and conquest was shattered. They developed a slavish mentality and fear which naturally afflicts a nation that has been politically routed. They decided to imitate the ways of the western civilization. Due to this everything the westerners criticized with disfavor about the Muslim civilization and culture, the Muslims felt ashamed of it. Hijab was one such issue which came under fire from the west as oppressive and confining. So to do away with this shame Muslims searched for scholars who would allow the Muslim woman to uncover and label the hijab as a custom of ignorance. It’s still happening. Such “enlightened scholars” keep gracing our TV screens every holy month to endorse their version of Islam.

Syed Abu Ala Maoudodi in his book “Purdah” gives us hope that:

“This balanced and just view is not imaginary, it exists. But man’s faculty of judgment has become so blunted by continuously shifting his position between the two extremes for centuries now he does not even recognize it. Indeed he spurns it, speaks disparagingly of it, and tries to put to shame those who happen to possess it. He may be likened to a child who is born in a coal mine and bred and bought up there, obviously he will take the dark atmosphere of his place of birth for the real and natural world. But when he is brought out of it and confronts the bright, pure and clean world of nature, he will naturally feel ill at ease in the beginning. But man after all is man. He cannot possibly keep his eyes closed to reality and refuse to discern between a coal ceiling and the star studded sky. His lungs cannot refuse to distinguish between the pure air and impure dust for long.”