“O Prophet, enjoin your wives and daughters and the women of the believers to draw their cloaks close round them (when they go abroad) ; it is expected that they will thus be recognised and not molested. Allah is ever Forgiving and Merciful.” Quran [33:59]
Isn’t the message of this ayah simple and clear? Why then do we refuse to accept that the way we dress does have anything to do with harassment? I mean this is the message of Allah, through the last and the perfect book that He revealed to mankind as a guidance. Can there be even a grain of doubt as to what wisdom lies behind these words or for that matter how relevant is this message in the present times?
This ayah clearly states that the believing woman should cover herself up so that people of doubtful character do not cherish any false hopes when they see her. Accept it or not, the way you dress does give an impression of what’s more important to you, being the centre of attraction or being stared upon by as few men as possible. You cannot be chaste women and society women at the same time. If you want to live as modest women, you’ll have to give up the ways that are conducive to becoming society women only and adopt the way of life prescribed in the Quran by the All-Knowing.
I personally have felt a large difference in the way I’ve been looked at, depending upon how modestly I was dressed. And I can tell there are many of us who would have experienced the same. Yes there can be exceptions too and why not? But the big picture can’t be ignored. Moreover, When you are in a proper Hijab, people will judge you for your intellect rather than what is possessed by you, that is the amaanah of your spouse. This applies to men as well. No doubt everyone wants to look beautiful but the question is what for? If it is for yourself to make you feel good, okay; if it is for your spouses, okay; but what exactly is the point of showing it off to the world?
Then there is the case of rape which is often talked about when this topic comes up. I don’t know any bigger crime than this one. And people who commit this major major sin cannot be among the believing men, they don’t spare even children, they don’t care about how one is dressed, they are wild and inhumane. Rape is the extreme form of not just harrasment but also of violence. Any one can fall prey to this heinous crime, irrespective of how they’re dressed, but again, had we ( both men and women) understood the Quran fully and taken inspiration from It in everything we did, there would be lesser chances of men raping and women and children getting raped.
One thing, there’s just one simple thing to understand, if we make Allah the centre of our existence and everything we do in life is out of love for Him and the fear of ending up in his disobedience, then there would be no question of doubting His aayaat or perceiving them as desired. His message is simple and clear, we either accept it fully or else, count ourselves among the hypocrites.
P.S. I am that hypocrite, most of us are.
phoenix15 