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Yours,
Art & Culture Editor
Answer
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Name
muslimah
- United Kingdom
Profession
Question
Salam. Under Islamic law, can a woman be forced to wear the hijab?
Answer
Wa alaikum as salam
There is a passage in the Qur'an reading that "la iqraha fil deen" - (there is no compulsion in religion). Islam is not a forced religion as the Western media has portrayed it. As Muslims we believe that women who have reached puberty must cover in loose clothing only showing the face, hands, and feet.
But every women chooses to wear hijab at different stages in her life, even though the Muslim woman knows this is obligatory in Islam. We believe that Allah is merciful and will judge everyone according to their intentions.
Forcing a woman to wear hijab might make her dislike this practice even more. she, however, when entering a mosque should at least respect the premises and cover herself.
Name
Safa
-
Profession
Question
Is it ok to take off your headscarve because of islamophobia and discrimination?
Answer
Actually Safa, I was in New York City after 9/11 and there was much hatred towards Muslims at that time.
A few Imams and Sheikhs said that it would be OK to wear a hat or baseball cap and a high collared shirt instead of hijab so as not to be the victim of any hate crimes at this time.
Rather than taking off the hijab completely, I think this is a reasonable solution when times are hard on Muslims.
If we are the target of hate crimes at a certain point, we don't want to stick out like a sore thumb. When things calmed down after 9/11 Muslim women in the States went back to wearing the hijab normally.
It was just done a short period of time when the situation was unsafe at times for Muslim women...
Name
ahlam
-
Profession
Question
Salaam,
is it ok to swim with just women in a regular swimming suit?
Answer
Assalamu Alaikum, Ahlam
Women can swim with the swimming pool for women only, but must remember that the she should be well covered her body, from from the navel to the knee, in front of women.
So this concept of Muslim women beaches where all the women wear bikinis in front of each other...in reality is not allowed in Islam as I perceive.
It is good that we accommodate the needs of Muslim women to swim in a private area without men, but as Muslim women we must understand the Islamic laws behind how we can dress in front of each other and not just blindly imitate how the non-Muslims dress when they go to the beaches.
Name
Shana
- Pakistan
Profession
Accountant
Question
My friends and I have had several arguments about hijab. They believe that the hijab is not mandatory and are very adamant about their position. Many times our talks about hijab get out of hand and so this is a topic that we refuse to touch. However, I feel that it is my responsibility to tell them in a good way. How do I show them with hikmat that the hijab is mandatory without having it lead to arguments?
Answer
Assalamu Alaykum, Shana
Sometimes it is better with these topics to approach these topics in a calm, reserved manner. If you find that this topic is continuously bringing on arguments, just drop it.
You have already told them about your belief, if you push it too much on your friends...you will be in essence pushing them away from hijab.
A very simple argument is why do Muslim women all over the world, dress in hijab, if it is not commanded by Allah? It can not be a cultural practice if 50 different countries who have different cultures all practice the same belief that a woman must cover..that is Islam!
You can maybe show them some nice books by Dr. Jamal Badawi on this topic, Dr. Badawi is very moderate in his approach on this topic.
Name
A.
-
Profession
Question
Salaam,
It's good that you tackle this issue of Islamic attire. In the Netherlands the discussion about the hijab is spinning out of control. There is a real psychological pressure to take it off. Quite depressing. How should a woman deal with this?
Thanks!
Answer
Assalamu Alaykum,
I grew up in the United Stated and started wearing hijab in high school where I was the only Muslim student in my whole school. I was teased and ridiculed by many of my classmates, but I stood patient and endured all the hardship for at the end I know Allah will reward me for following His commands.
Allah says in the Holy Qur'an a verse which means (Verily, with every difficulty there is relief.) And surely, by the middle of the year when the students saw that despite their ridiculing I was kind to everyone and stood steady in my religion and did not take off my hijab because of the peer pressure...
They respected me and started asking me questions about Islam. Even the teachers in my school asked me more about my religion and learned so much about Islam during this time from me.
Alhamdulilah Allah sent me as a tool of dawah during this time and that was a real blessing.
Stand strong to what you believe and Allah will not leave you standing alone, for He is always with you.
Name
tanya
-
Profession
Question
is the burkini allowed in Islam? It completely shows the figure of a woman and does seem like a tight fitted dress.I'm confused
Answer
Assalamu Alaykum Tanya,
It depends which type of burqini you are talking about, there are so many on the markets these days (alhamdulilah!). I agree with you that any of the tight fitting burqinis that resemble diving suits are a little too revealing for a woman who wants to be modestly covered according to Islam. But many companies now make loose fitting burkinis, I know the Australian company provides this type of burqinis. This case is acceptable and very modest.
The burqini will consist of a one piece with loose fitting pants and then a long loose tank top to cover the chest and rear area (so that you are not showing too much in that respect). Just like with regular clothing, some articles of clothing are more modest to wear, as hijab, than others.These burqinis are the same.
Use your best judgment for what is the loosest and Insha Allah you should be fine.
Name
nadia
- United Kingdom
Profession
Question
Assalamu alaikum. Can a girl wear just a head covering, and wear tight clothing underneath? Does the headscarf constitute for her meeting the requirements of hijab?
Answer
Assalamu Alaykum Nadia,
That's a great question and I feel like this is the challenge of Muslim women these days. Many girls just simply put on the hijab and continue to wear tight jeans and tight shirts. This is not what hijab is all about.
Hijab is LOOSELY covering yourself from head to toe, only revealing your face, hands, and feet. And we must remember hijab is also "hijab al nafs". In this sense it means modesty of your soul, modesty of your mannerisms. Having shyness, being decent in your talk, not flirting with men, and so forth. So hijab is not only a modest dress, it is also modest actions. It is a shape that reminds you to be conscious of Allah at all times.
Name
Makki
- United States
Profession
Financial Analyst
Question
I just want to applaud all the Muslimahs who wear hijab and especially those in Western countries.
As one reader from Netherlands said, there is massive pressure on women and this can be very tiring for women.
Why do the non-Muslims do it - because the way to change a culture is to change the women.
The local imams can advise on how to proceed in countries where we are not allowed to practice our religion... but one strive and insha'Allah things will become easier
Answer
Wa alaykum as salam Makki,
I agree with you, we must remain patient and remain steadfast in our deen (faith) and Insha Allah Allah will reward us and make things easier for us as Muslim women in the West.
Allah will make us victorious Insha Allah one day, but we must not compromise our deen and we must stay close to Allah and His teachings.
If we don't respect our own deen, then others won't have any respect for us either. We must stand strong and not get discouraged from practicing our deen to the fullest.
We must remember what the earliest Muslims endured in order to bring this great deen to us, let us not forget how our beloved messenger Muhammed (SAW) endured lashes and stone-throwing by those who were against Islam.
Name
Mokhtar
-
Profession
Question
Ramadan Kareem, sister
What is your story? what happens to you o you fight for your right of Islamic dressing?
Answer
Wa alaikum as salam, Mokhtar
I was in Hurghada, Egypt this past August, in a resort called Movenpick El Gouna. I was watching my two young children, who are 4 and 2 years old, near the pool area. My youngest son was struggling in the water, so I went in to see if he was OK.
Immediately three life guards came to me and said I must get out of the water because I am wearing hijab and that dress is not allowed in the pool area.
I can wear hijab and dress in a burqini only in the lagoon and beach areas is what he explained. I was very outraged by his explanation, so I decided to stay in the pool and not get out in protest of such nonsense.
So then the lifeguards went and got the supervisor and then the head manager and I just sat in the pool explaining to them that this is a violation of my religious freedom as a Muslim women and a violation of my human rights.
They couldn't really physically drag me out of the pool or anything..so I stayed in. The next day I went and met with the British head manager and protested this ridiculous dress policy and he said these are orders from above (the owner of El Gouns) and he can't do anything to change it.
I am still in the process of trying to fight this dress code by informing CNN, NBC, MSNBC and other human rights organizations of this incident in hopes of getting some exposure to this issue.
Name
Editor
-
Profession
Question
Finally, we would like to thank Sr. Omayma for speaking to Islam Online viewers today, and we also thank all those who participated in this dialogue.
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