Discovering the Headcover - 2

In this episode, we are going to look at the case of those who force the headcover on others. The guiding questions in our quest are as follows:

1. Is there a command in Islam to enforce the use of headcover?
2. What are the guiding psychological and mental motives behind such enforcement?
3. What can be said of the understanding of Islam of those who enforce the headcover?

We had concluded in the last episode that even if you believed that headcover is an order of God, you cannot justify through Islam enforcing it on others. The two verses on this matter, that is the verses related to the dress code for women, can at most be taken as commands to recommend, but not to enforce!

O Prophet, tell your wives and your daughters and the women of the believers to bring down over themselves [part] of their outer garments. That is more suitable that they will be known and not be abused. And ever is Allah Forgiving and Merciful. (33/59)

And tell the believing women to lower their gaze and be modest, and to display of their adornment only that which is apparent, and to draw their veils over their bosoms, and not to reveal their adornment save to their own husbands or fathers or husbands' fathers, or their sons or their husbands' sons, or their brothers or their brothers' sons or sisters' sons, or their women, or their slaves, or male attendants who lack vigour, or children who know naught of women's nakedness. And let them not stamp their feet so as to reveal what they hide of their adornment. And turn unto Allah together, O believers, in order that ye may succeed. (24/31)

The explicit language in these verses indicate that there is no compulsion in the use of headcover. Then, we can proceed to our second guiding question. If there is no command of God to enforce the headcover, why are those who are conducting such enforcement doing so?

The answer to this question has several layers. The first layer is about what is expected of men by God, which is voiced right before the verse about women cited above:

Tell the believing men to reduce [some] of their vision and guard their private parts. That is purer for them. Indeed, Allah is Acquainted with what they do. (24/30)

So, first, God tells men to guard their gazes, then tells the women to guard their gazes. Accordingly, not guarding their gazes both for men and women is considered as sin. If you are living in a male-dominant society, an easy way to avoid such sin is to enforce the headcover for women going out of their homes and, more importantly, to discourage them from being outside! What headcover means, in this context, is another point of discussion, but that is not my intention at the moment. In the end, what is enforced within a male-dominant society varies according to how the scholars in that culture interpret Islam. As a result, you can see different levels of covering for women being enforced or encouraged. This is what we have observed in the history and in some parts of the Muslim world today. 

A funny note at this point is that if men lived in a female-dominant society and if they acted according to the same mentality, it could be men who are discouraged from leaving their homes and obliged to wear accessories similar to horse blinders when going outside. But again this form of application would not be in-line with the Islamic teachings as not is the first one. 

If you want to discuss this matter with someone who defends the idea of covering women as much as possible and not letting them out of their homes much, they may start talking about some family and society benefits of such application and also how it is relaxing for women not to be under the burden of looking good all the time. And their claims can have merit of their own. When talking about commands of God, however, and especially if you are going to do an enforcement in the name of God, you must be acting based on an explicit statement of God without the interference of cultures and times. Otherwise, when you claim you are acting in the name of God, you may actually be acting according to your understanding of the matter when God has not stated clear borders.

The concise lesson from the above paragraph is that the benefits of something does not make it order of God, and similarly, harms of something does not make it prohibition of God. The ultimate criterion for judging something as order or prohibition of God is the existence of an explicit declaration on the matter without needing human interpretation. So, coming back to the issue of headcover, one can talk about or discuss whether or not women should cover when going out, but it is not anyhow justifiable to enforce headcover on women.

Finally, looking at the third question listed at the beginning, we can say that the general mentality of those who enforce the headcover or excess covering of the body for women, despite not having clear details or commands from God, tend to have an attitude to ascertain everything in life so that they are sure of the correctness of the things they do. This is an impossible task, of course, and it is incompatible with the facts of life, but this is the dominant psychology among such individuals. As such, fleeing uncertainty and unable to find a clear and well-defined answer in the book of God to their questions stemming from the never-ending correct-wrong list, they consult the scholars of the same mentality. And these scholars speak in the name of God, when they are voicing their own interpretations. They don't think whether there could be a reason God and His messenger left many things uncertain.

"Leave me as I leave you, for the people who were before you were ruined because of their questions and their differences over their prophets. So, if I forbid you to do something, then keep away from it. And if I order you to do something, then do of it as much as you can." (Bukhari, 7288)

O you who believe! Ask not about things which, if made plain to you, may cause you trouble. But if you ask about them while the Quran is being revealed, they will be made plain to you. Allah has forgiven that, and Allah is Oft­Forgiving, Most Forbearing. (5/101)

Are You Allowed To Not Tell?

If you discovered something new in the nature, like a new species or a new phenomenon in  physics, you would be thrilled to let the world know about it. But can you say the same in social or intellectual matters? Wouldn't you think twice or at least take a moment to assess the consequences of voicing your ideas or disrupting the norms by your attitudes?

Messengers of God are special people selected by the Lord of the worlds. Still, they are humans among us. They have a human soul and human psychology. That is why it is them in the first place who must believe in their status as an on-duty person for their people or for all humanity. They must be fully convinced of their mission and of the articles of faith they are going to stand for. On this matter, you can read another blog (First Believers in the Messengers). Building on top of that first step, here I would like to explore our status in the same matter, centuries away from the last revelation.

Let me start by giving some examples. You are reading the book of God, and you realized that the interpretations of the scholars in the past do not make sense in terms of some matters today. This realization of yours does not remain a mere intellectual nuisance but grows to become a major question about the validity of the other things that you have been doing thinking as orders of God. How likely are you to voice your questions and render yourself to the winds of unrest in your spirit? 

Statistically speaking, many of us don't come up to that point, because, one, we don't read and ponder the word of God, two, we are indoctrinated to not question the conclusions of the scholars unless we are scholars (but who do you think you are to claim yourself as a scholar!), three, we are culturally educated not to ask questions but to conform to the norms. So, if somehow you passed these walls, would you take another step and actually do what is likely to bring down on you rains of backlash?

On this, you may already have an answer or you may want to take a moment to think. Whatever your situation is, there are some directions that can be inferred from the Quran. Before making inferences, let's see the original matters. The first one is about the messengers of God. They are on a mission given by God, and they don't have the choice to not do it. That is, for example, even if the revelation from God is going to bring extreme reactions when announced, even if the messenger's own safety is at risk, they are obligated to convey what is told them.

O Messenger, announce that which has been revealed to you from your Lord, and if you do not, then you have not conveyed His message. And Allah will protect you from the people. Indeed, Allah does not guide the disbelieving people. (5/67)

And We will either let you see part of what We threaten them with or cause you to die, for only the delivery of the message is (incumbent) on you, while calling (them) to account is Our (business). (13/40)

The second original matter from the Quran is about the people of the book. That is the people who received the revelations from God before Quran. They were ordered to spread the word of God and not conceal it, but unfortunately for a long time, the word of God remained in the hands of a few select people. Therefore, the revelation and the people separated from each other, religion became an instrument of interest and manipulation. Even, the revelation itself was lost and was replaced by some translations of varying trustability. Had the religious leaders shared the Word of God with public, the corruptions mentioned above could have been prevented.

And when Allah made a covenant with those who were given the Book: You shall certainly make it known to men and you shall not hide it; but they cast it behind their backs and took a small price for it; so evil is that which they buy. (3/187)

Those who conceal the clear (Signs) We have sent down, and the Guidance, after We have made it clear for the people in the Book,-on them shall be Allah's curse, and the curse of those entitled to curse (2/159)

Surely those who conceal any part of the Book that Allah has revealed and take for it a small price, they eat nothing but fire into their bellies, and Allah will not speak to them on the day of resurrection, nor will He purify them, and they shall have a painful chastisement. (2/174)

For both cases mentioned above, that is the case of the messengers and the case of the people of the book, the direct meaning is that they have to tell people what God has revealed. Based on this conclusion, we can understand that Muhammed pbuh, too, was directly and indirectly required to let people know what God has told in His book. However, God does not send His words solely to His messengers. The believers and humanity in general are the addressees of  God. So, there must be lessons for those other than the messengers.

A simple and direct inference from the same verses is that the Muslims, too, are asked to do the same and spread the word of God and make people know of the revelation. Furthermore, just like faith and actions are permanently and tightly linked to each other in the Quran (e.g. 25/70, 103/3), telling people the message of God can only be understood as a juxtaposition of the verbal message and the representation through actions. So, believers are required, in this context, to practice their religion and virtuous acts without fearing the repercussions or without expecting any return from people.

O you who have believed, whoever of you should revert from his religion – Allah will bring forth [in place of them] a people He will love and who will love Him [who are] humble toward the believers, powerful against the disbelievers; they strive in the cause of Allah and do not fear the blame of a critic. That is the favor of Allah; He bestows it upon whom He wills. And Allah is all-Encompassing and Knowing. (5/54)

Follow those who do not ask you for any reward and who are rightly guided. (36/21)

Still, there is another meaning that can be inferred from the above verses, especially in the light of this one:

Those who conceal the clear (Signs) We have sent down, and the Guidance, after We have made it clear for the people in the Book,-on them shall be Allah's curse, and the curse of those entitled to curse (2/159)

We know that not everything in the book of God is spoon-fed for our understanding. Such verses form the fountains through which timeless lessons and wisdom can be found. We do this by contemplation through life and creation and then critically thinking upon such verses. As such, we can deduce meanings of God's words that were not thought of before, or we can find new understandings that are in line with God's will. Thus, we can live our religion in context of the ever changing conditions of life. And all this may sound abstract to you, but it ties the discussion back to our starting question. 

On one hand, we have found new understandings and interpretations of the word of God in order to meet our needs and to illuminate our ways, and on the other hand, we have this question: "how likely are you to voice your questions or findings, given that doing so will likely harm you?"

The road indicated by our Lord at this conjunction is to go ahead and tell your understandings; because if those who see new insights through the book of God keep those insights to themselves, fearing social pressure and other negativities, humanity at large becomes blind towards God's communications.

Allah bears witness that there is no god but He, and (so do) the angels, and people of knowledge that stand firm with fairness. (3/18)