Modesty, Clothing and Adornment Offshoot « Inner Reflections Transcribed

Modesty, Clothing and Adornment Offshoot

April 18, 2007 at 8:01 pm | In Gender Issues, Islam, Women | 18 Comments

In addition to the discussion on Adornments = Fitnah? please do contribute to the discussions springing up in blogsphere on the topic of modesty, clothing, adornment and Muslim women with

Suroor, who’s asking you Are you modest?

PeacefulMuslimah with Muslimah’s and Modesty

18 Comments »

RSS feed for comments on this post. TrackBack URI

Salaam,

Thanks for compiling all of that, interesting discussions.

And this comment doesn’t relate specifically to any of those posts because I understand there is the larger question of modesty, etc, and not just clothing that is being discussed.

But my general question is, why is there such a preoccupation with the dress of Muslim women? Whether it’s non-Muslims focusing on the hijab, niqab whatever, whether it’s Muslim men talking about it, whether it’s Muslim women judging and prejudging one another about what they wear (oooh, no hijab=bad Muslim and you lack morals, or oooh wearing hijab, niqab means you automatically are super judgemental of others, or you’re too strict and self righteous, etc.)

Why is it such a topic of discussion, everywhere, above and beyond any other Islamic topic? That is amazing to me, and I know I am as guilty as anyone of getting wrapped up in it.

Comment by Safia — April 18, 2007 #

Reply
WalaykumAsalaam Safia

There does seem like a huge preoccupation with clothing of Muslim women, but I agree with Sonia’s comment here on the issue. The entire focus on women’s clothing very much surrounds what people perceive to be the correct attire or the way the clothing should be worn.

It largely is a result of being judgemental and making judgements based on whats physically apparent. This problem of judging is prevalent not only within and between Muslims, but also outsiders who judge an entire way of life based on its followers attitudes, beliefs and clothing falls under these categories.

The issue of clothing is not just limited to the clothing items, but the reasons attached to these various items – such as to detract attention, to fulfill a set of ideals. Its this obsession with adhering to an ideal image of what, most often than not, Muslims think a Muslim woman should look and dress like.

By raising awareness that modesty is not linked to clothing, and hijaab is not restricted to what and how you cover your head, this is our method of addressing these misconceptions.

Thank you for your pertinent points though Safia!

Comment by Sumera — April 19, 2007 #

Reply
Salaams

Clothing is an obsession (or at least, a focal point of discussion) in all communities and cultures. Clothes have always been used to make a statement. You can identify a person’s origins, personality, social status, occupation, and much, much more – all from the kind of clothes they wear. At least, that’s the theory.

So, if i swan around in Gucci and Dior, i’m giving the image of being rich, cool and with the ‘in’ crowd. Yes, you should want to be seen with me, darlink… if you’re hip enough to swing it.

Comment by iMuslim — April 19, 2007 #

Reply
P.S., this new template is rather dashing, but me likes the older one more… it was rather cutesy and feminine, just like you, Sumi… hehe

Comment by iMuslim — April 19, 2007 #

Reply
I got bored of the old template…it got too girly for me

Aww…thank you for thinking im cute and feminine :p

Comment by Sumera — April 19, 2007 #

Reply
I agree that the main, underlying reason behind the concept of “hijaab” is modesty. However, this modesty is something concrete. I.e. it should be both outward and inward. Outwards modesty is
clearly established from the qur’aan and noble sunnah of our nabi (sal Allahu alayhi wassalam).

Another issue we must bear in mind. A person could be modest without *covering* what consists of her ‘awrah (i.e. hair, bossom etc). However, it is not at par with islamically prescribed precepts of modesty.

So, keeping this in mind. I have a question. Do you think that islamically speaking, not covering the head can ever be shar3an (legally) modest? Or, you think it is acceptable to not cover the hair?

Comment by nuqtah — April 23, 2007 #

Reply
I dont believe modesty is restricted to and can be instilled via covering of the head alone. Nor is it restricted to clothing. But clothing itself can be a means of communicating and/or expressing modesty. As we all know very well, its about intention.

Hijaab, as i’ve mentioned, is not limited to covering the hair and awrah only, it involves a whole set of behaviours, attitudes and actions.

Both of which need to be adhered to and believed in inwardly and outwardly.

As a result, you cannot deem someone not covering their hair as immodest. Legally however, from most people’s understanding, its prescribed to cover.

That doesnt mean I dont know women who dont cover. I do and I dont see them as immodest, loose or morally bankrupt.

Comment by Sumera — April 24, 2007 #

Reply
I see. A woman not covering doesn’t have to be morally bankrupt. But the question is, should she cover her head?

(bear in mind if she isn’t immodest and is an upright person, then what’s stopping her?)

Comment by nuqtah — April 25, 2007 #

Reply
There’s a plethora of reasons why some women don’t cover their heads. Some, believe it or not, may not be aware of the command to cover their heads. Or don’t believe covering the head applies to them.

Particularly in some cultures where covering the head is synymous with religious events only (see Indian culture), there isn’t that awareness of its proper use.

Some of its due to societal pressures, family issues or they simply haven’t made the transition to adopting the khimaar.

What do you think is stopping someone in your example from adopting it? Should she be beaten into wearing hijaab?

Comment by Sumera — April 25, 2007 #

Reply
Although your reasoning may have some wieght, what I don’t understand is whether you’re candidly discussing hijaab, or discouraging others not to wear it.

(and btw indian ‘cultural’ is not monolithic, there are plenty of indian muslim women who have been wearing hijaab for generations, and they realize it’s a religious duty)

Comment by nuqtah — April 25, 2007 #

Reply
The discussion is based on modesty, which is not limited to the headscarf.

Comment by Sumera — April 25, 2007 #

Reply
No one said it’s limited to headscarve. Hijaab is not a headscarve to begin with.

The question is, is modesty complete without hijaab?

Comment by nuqtah — April 26, 2007 #

Reply
As i’ve stated before, hijaab encompasses a whole set of behaviours, attitudes and mannerisms. This is in addition to outwardly appearance.

The amalgamation of both is what “completes” modesty.

Comment by Sumera — April 26, 2007 #

Reply
So, would modesty be incomplete without physical hijaab?

Comment by nuqtah — April 28, 2007 #

Reply
Thank you. Ok, so is one aspect of ‘hijaab’ more important than the other? As you said, the amalgamation makes it ‘complete’. However are either outer/inner aspects of hijaab more important than the other? Or, are they on equal grounding?

Comment by nuqtah — April 29, 2007 #

Reply
The inner aspects of hijaab are meant to drive towards outwardly demonstration, which means adorning and adhering to the physical requirements.

However that sometimes isn’t the case, so outwardly appearance cannot be taken as an indicator or measure of modesty. This was discussed here

Comment by Sumera — April 29, 2007 #

Reply
So if a muslim thinks they are sinners and have weak iman, they decide not to wear hijaab (even if there’s no impediment), that is something acceptable?

Comment by nuqtah — May 1, 2007 #

Reply
If you clicked on the link I provided above, you’d see what that discussion was about and where it ended up.

If a Muslim considers herself weak and a sinner, she may very well not adorn khimaar. Under Shariah that would be considered wrong. What do you propose one does with a person who refused to wear the khimaar? Force them to wear it? Because your line of questioning certainly seems that way

Comment by Sumera — May 1, 2007 #

Reply