Saleem - From Veiling to Prevailing by Muslims for Progressive Values

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FROM VEILING TO PREVAILING: THE EVOLVING MUSLIM ATTIRE Saleem Ahmed, PhD.

Abstract The centuries-old lawlessness rampant in pre-Islamic Arabia, which compelled terrified women to veil themselves as protection against potential rapists, was transformed into a lawful society during the 23 years of Muhammad’s prophethood. Women could then move around freely, dressed modestly, without the need to "protect" themselves by wearing a veil. However, since the Qur’an’s non-chronological arrangement precludes the possibility of tracing this transformation, some Muslim women continue to veil themselves in the belief it is required. This suggests the need for Muslims to understand the chronology of the evolving guidance on various subjects. This might help trigger a paradigm shift in the Muslim perception of their religiously-obligated actions on several issues which are currently tearing apart the Muslim society.

Key words: Hijab, Mahram, Suckle/Suckling, Ta’arrud, Veiling

Introduction Like the ebb and flow of tide, perceptions of the Muslim veil fluctuate across cultures. In theocratic Muslim societies, for example, while many women consider veiling a religious obligation and follow it zealously, others consider it “cultural annihilation” and wear the veil grudgingly. In still other Muslim societies, a rainbow of attires – from the burqa, chador, niqab, and hijab1 (full/partial veil), to no veil – fills the landscape. With emotions running high, the controversy simmers on the back-burner, with much being written about it, emotionally, eloquently, and effectively, by veiling proponents and opponents2 .

While niqab, chador, and burqa are full tent-like coverings enshrouding the woman's body, the hijab generally leaves the face uncovered. In this article, the term hijab is being used to refer to all three. 2

Ahmed, L; Mernissi; Vanzan; and https//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hijab. 3

The Evolving Guidance on Veiling in Islam Genesis Since no Qur’anic verse asks women to wear the veil3 , the belief that Muslim women are required to do so is generally based on the following hadith: Narrated Asma (elder sister of the prophet’s wife Aisha): “I visited the prophet wearing thin clothes.” He said: “O Asma, when a woman reaches the age of menstruation, it does not suit her to display her body parts except this and this,” and he pointed to my face and hands” (Hadith: Abu Dawood 1902)4. Reflection: This hadith raises some serious questions: (i) Could Asma, a devout Muslim woman, have gone to see the revered prophet – her brother-in-law -- wearing “thin clothes”, probably revealing body contours? (ii) Wouldn’t she have violated sacred guidance on modesty, such as verse 24.30-31 asking men and women to “dress modestly”? (iii) Wouldn’t she have invited herself to ta’arrud in that revealing outfit on the way to, and back from, the prophet’s home, on the streets of Mecca, where terrified women enshrouded themselves to deter potential Romeos? (iii) Why was she not stopped by Aisha and the prophet’s other twelve wives? (iv) Did she go clandestinely? Alternative responses are: (1) We don’t care; we follow this hadith; and (2) This is a false hadith and we don’t follow it. I propose a third response: (3) This is an authentic hadith; but 3

Except for verse 33.53 asking men to speak to the prophet’s wives from “before a screen”, see below.

Muhammad’s purported sayings and actions. All hadith quoted are accessible at

www.Alim.org. 4

our assumption about its chronology is incorrect. I suggest this incident occurred in Mecca, probably even before Muhammad became a prophet (which was in 610 CE). Living next door to the prophet was Abu Bakr with family (http://islam.wikia.com/wiki/Abu_Bakr, retrieved on August 14, 2016). Around 605 CE, pubescent Asma (born around 595 CE), Abu Bakr’s daughter, may have gone next door in night clothes to play with the prophet’s daughters. Since Khadija (Muhammad’s first wife), came from a Christian background, the prophet may have had in mind the habit worn by Christian nuns in suggesting Asma’s dress to help her avoid any unpleasant incident on the streets of Mecca. It is noteworthy that Muhammad did not suggest that Asma enshroud herself inside the pre-Islamic veil. The fact that such questions about this hadith have not been raised over the past 1,400 years underscores the absolute and unquestioned devotion with which Muslims generally view the Qur’an and hadith. To them, any such questioning is blasphemy. Based on the above questions, however, I believe it would be inappropriate to use this hadith to conclude that veiling is required by all Muslim women.

Proposed evolution of guidance on veiling I suggest guidance on people’s attire in Islam went through three stages during the period 623 CE to 627 CE, before the final revelation (verses 24.30-31) asking men and women to “dress modestly” was decreed in 630 CE. It is interesting that, in all four cases presented below, a Qur’anic revelation came to the prophet’s rescue when he was apparently at a loss regarding how to respond to the situation on hand. (1) Around 623 CE: When Umar (later, the second caliph) suggested to the prophet to ask his wives to veil themselves, and since the prophet was apparently against veiling, the

following Qur’anic verse was revealed (Hadith Bukhari 1.148): (Verse 33.59). O Prophet! Tell your wives, daughters, and believing women, that they should cast their outer garment over their persons (when abroad). Comment: Since this verse asks women to wear an “outer garment”; it seems to “veto” Umar’s suggestion of veiling. (2) Around 626 CE: When Sahla, a Muslim woman, asked the prophet how should she be dressed when her pubescent adopted son, Salim, visits her at home while she is “uncovered” (not wearing her outer garment), the prophet probably received Qur’anic verse 4.23 clarifying relationships which are considered mahram (incestuous or illegal), in which the woman does not have to wear a veil in the presence of a mahram person. This includes mother-son relationship. So, the prophet suggested to Sahla to give the young boy Salim 10 drops of her milk to make him her son5 (Hadith Al-Muwatta 30.12). Compliance: (i). Later, when Aisha learned of this hadith (after the prophet had died), she took it as precedent and would ask her sister and nieces to give their milk to men Aisha desired to see unveiled; so also did Hafsa, another widow of the prophet (hadith AlMuwatta 30.12). Since both had no children, they would get milk from their close relatives. (ii) Following upon this hadith, on June 9, 2010, a Saudi cleric advised Saudi women who wished to see their male friends while unveiled, to feed them their milk (http://disinfo.com/2010/06/saudi-clerics-tell-women-to-feed-their-breast-milk-to-malefriends/). As a follow-up, on June 29, 2010, some Saudi women threatened to breast-feed 5

I believe Salim, whom Sahla adopted after the Battle of Badr, might have been in his early teens when this incident took place. 6

their drivers if they were continued to be disallowed to drive (http:// latimesblogs.latimes.com/babylonbeyond/2010/06/saudi-women-use-fatwa-in-drivingbid.html)6. (3) 627 CE: On the day the prophet married Zaynab bint Jhash, some guests lingered on. Since Muhammad did not know how to ask them to leave, God revealed verse 33.53 advising men to speak to the prophet’s wives from “before a screen”. So, he hung a curtain between Zaynab and his lingering guests (Hadith Bukhari 7.375). Comment: While verse 33.53 specifies veiling was for the prophet’s wives only, some conservative Muslims apply it to other Muslim women as well. (4) 630 CE. After the prophet conquered Mecca, Hind, a pagan woman, came to him wearing a veil (the normal pagan custom) and desired to convert to Islam. After conversion, she unveiled herself and informed the prophet who she was. Perhaps verses 24.30-31, asking men and women to “dress modestly”, were then revealed. So, the prophet welcomed her as a Muslim. Compliance: Later, Aisha led her army, unveiled, against caliph Ali in the Battle of the Camel, (656 CE, www. Alim.com: Ali bin Talib). That was the first Muslim civil war. Dismayed at caliph Uthman’s assassination and caliph Ali’s apparent delay in pursuing the case, Aisha fought against him. She was defeated and subsequently led a life of seclusion.

I am not sure how the issue was resolved – except that some women were jailed for a day and had their passports confiscated.

And here are two cases of Muslims women with hair exposed: (i) Laila, a Muslim woman, whose “breath-taking beauty and long glossy hair” impassioned Khalid bin Walid (an army general) so much that he killed her husband and married her (632 CE, www.Alim.org: Biography of ‘Umar); and (ii) Qataum, a Kharajite Muslim woman, whose “outstanding beauty and flowing jet black tresses” captivated Abdur Rahman bin Muljam al Sarimi, Ali’s designated assassin (661 CE, www.Alim.org, Khalifa Ali bin Talib). Conservative Kharajites assassinated caliph Ali for apparently not following “their” version of Islam.

The Evolving Debate on Veiling During the prophet’s time: Following the Qur’anic command asking men to speak to the prophet’s wives from “before a screen” (verse 33.53, revealed in 627 CE), veiling was then apparently observed by his wives only, and the phrase ‘she took the veil’ is used in some hadith to mean that a woman became Muhammad’s wife (Ahmed, Leila: 55). Leila explains that “for some time after Muhammad’s death, veiling and seclusion were considered as being peculiar to Muhammad’s wives. It is not known how the custom spread to the rest of the community. The Muslim conquest of areas in which veiling was commonplace among the upper classes (see the earlier section on the history of veiling), the influence of wealth, the resultant changed status of Arabs, and the prophet’s wives being taken as models, probably combined to bring about their general adoption” (Ahmed, Laila: 55-56). (ii) After the prophet’s death: With an emotional following of the Qur’an and hadith becoming popular, Abu Dawood’s hadith No.1902 – with which we started this article – became sine qua non; the unquestionable point of reference supporting veiling. Some conservative Muslims even consider veiling to be a “commandment of Allah”. Thus, the debate thus far has been more on different interpretations and implications of the status quo than on questioning the status quo itself. Ibn Ishaq, who wrote on the prophet’s life within 100 years of his death, effectively presents the evolving political and socio-cultural context of the prophet’s actions. This can serve as an effective backdrop to a meaningful discussion of veiling among Muslims. Here are some other recent and thoughtful insights on this issue: 1. Arlene MacLeod challenges the stereotypical Western view of the meaning of the veil and veiling and attempts to disentangle the confusion existing between languages regarding 9

the veil. Her analysis illustrates the layers of meanings attached to veiling, in Muslim and non-Muslim countries. 2. In discussing the practice of veiling in Algeria, Malek Alloula displays postcards of supposedly Algerian women that were sent by the French in Algeria to their relatives in France during the French colonization period of Algeria (early twentieth century). We get to experience the French "colonial gaze" of Algerian women. 3. Faeghehi Shirazi’s provocative book underscores the diversity of views on veiling that go beyond current clichés and homogenous representations. She emphasizes that, whether seen as erotic or romantic; or as symbol of oppression, or sign of piety, modesty, or purity, the veil carries thousands of years of religious, sexual, social, and political significance. 4. Entekhabi-Fard emphasizes that, while many westerners see veiling as a symbol of repression, many Iranian women feel they have gained through the wearing of the hijab. 5. Alvi elucidates the importance of veiling in Islamic contexts and the reasons for its persistence. Veiling, she argues, is a value held by both genders and may be located in diverse contexts, such as death, marriage, gift-exchange, Sufi-poetry, asceticism, mysticism, and sacredness. The word sharam, so often invoked in regard to the Muslim veil, is commonly translated in English as shame, and is associated with modesty, morality, piety, and female sexuality. Alvi, however, points out many more meanings of the term, including: nakedness of humans and sacred items, virginity, honor in responsibility and as embodied self-control, reverence for the other, self-sufficiency, vulnerability, security and protection, embarrassment, an obligation to be humble, and humiliation. All this shows that the veil is much more than a female garment, and Alvi argues that concealment is a way of life, not merely a fashion or a religious obligation, and it reflects a culturally specific relation of a 10

person to the world. 6. Emphasizing the need to understand the context of Qur’anic revelations, Fatima Mernissi (93) clarifies: “It is impossible to understand a verse without the qissa (story/context) and the causes that led to its revelation.” And arguing against a blind following of the Qur’an and hadith, Leila Ahmed (62) underscores: “From the beginning, there were those who emphasized the ethical and spiritual message (of Islam) as fundamental and agreed that the regulations that Muhammad put into effect, were merely the ephemeral aspects of the religion, relating only to that particular society at that historical point. They were never intended to be normative or permanent”. She concludes that the current view (requiring women to be veiled) stems from a manipulation of hadith, misinterpretation of the Qur'an, and male elitist authority as opposed to the actual tenets of Islam. Thus, Mernissi and Leila Ahmed seem to be among the few researchers who have questioned the status quo. I do not think that veiling is due to a “misinterpretation” of the Qur’an and hadith; I believe it is due to a misplacement of the chronology of revelations. In the absence of information on the chronology of events, debate between veil supporters and opponents has often focused on semantics and meanings of words rather than on chronology of revelations. This is exemplified by the following opposing views of the following two Qur’anic verses: Verse 33.59: O prophet! Tell your wives, daughters, and (other) believing women that they should cast their jilabib (outer garments) over their persons: that is most convenient, that they should be known (as such) and not molested. “Conservative” interpretation: Al-Hilali and Khan (536) add the following extrapolation (in bold) to their translation of this verse: 11

O prophet! Tell your wives and your daughters and women of the believers to draw their cloaks (veils) all over their bodies (i.e. screen themselves completely except the eyes or one eye to see the way). . . .” “Moderate” rebuttal: Isa rebuts as follows: “If the intention of the Creator was to impose the veil, there was nothing stopping Him from mentioning the face and the veil in this verse. But the verse does not use the Arabic word for face (wajh, wujah, qubul), head (raas) or hair (shaar), nor uses the word veil (hijab). . . The word jalabib means shirt, covering, or cloak. . . . Can the meaning be extended to mean covering the face or being veiled? Clearly not. Women are told to cover their bodies so that they should not be molested and that they should be known. If a woman’s face is veiled, she cannot be known. In fact, the verse may be interpreted to even mean that a veil may not be used, because . . . women must be apparent and known; and if their faces are concealed by veils, they are neither apparent nor known.” Verse 24.30-31: Say to the believing men that they should lower their gaze and guard their modesty: that will make for greater purity for them. . . . And say to the believing women . . . that they should draw their veils over their bosoms. . . “Conservative” interpretation: Al-Hilali and M. Khan (p 446) extrapolate the translation (in bold) as follows: “And tell the believing women to lower their gaze (from looking at forbidden things) and protect their private parts (from illegal sexual acts) and not show off their adornment except only that which is apparent (like both eyes for necessity to see the way, or outer palms of hands or one eye or dress-like veil, gloves, head cover, apron), and to draw their veils (khomoorehenna) all over juyubihinna (i.e., their bodies, faces, 12

necks and bosoms) . . .” “Moderate” rebuttal: The word khomoorehenna is derived from the word khumar (plural khimar) and could be a shirt, shawl, blouse or any other covering. The word juyubihinna is derived from the word jayb (plural juyub), meaning bosom. God the Omnipotent directs believing men to lower their gaze. If women were veiled there would be no need for men to lower their gaze.”

Summary Breaking away from the pre-Islamic practice of veiling by women 7, Islam emphasizes modest dressing by both men and women, thereby underscoring that spiritual and internal contemplations are more important than material and external manifestations.

Also breaking away from Judaism and Christianity. 14

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English Language. Riyadh: Dar-Us-Salam Publications.

Alloula, Malek. 1986. The Colonial Harem. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press. Alvi, Anjum. 2013. “Concealment and Revealment: The Muslim Veil in Context.” Current Anthropology 54:2. April 2013. El Guindi, Fadwa. 1999. Veil: Modesty, Privacy, and Resistance. Oxford, New York: Berg. Entekhabi-Fard, Camelia. 2001. Behind the Veil. Mother Jones. Hasan, Irfan. 2016. “Hijab: How it protects and benefits women and society” http://www.islamic-world.net/sister/how_it_protects.htm, retrieved on August 14. Isa, Qazi Faez. 2003. “Is wearing the veil Islamic?” Daily Dawn, Karachi. May 19. Interne edition, Features. Ibn Ishaq ~ 750. Seerat Rasul Allah. Translated into English as The Life of Muhammad by A. Guillaume. Karachi: Oxford University Press. MacLeod, Arelene Elowe. 1991. Accommodating Protest: Working Women, the New Veiling, and Change in Cairo. New York: Columbia University Press, p. xiv. Mernissi, Fatima. 1992. The Veil and the Male Elite. New York: Basic Books. Morgan, J.H. 2014. “Islam and Assimilation in the West: Religious and Cultural Ingredients in American Muslim Experience.” Journal of Religion and Society. Volume 16.

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