No Hijab in Qur'an. 33:59 and 24:31
Craig Paul
Here's a reprise of something I did 3 years ago about 33:59 and a
similar new addition I did about 24:31
It notes the reason behind 33:59 and also notes that those reasons do
not occur today in the vast majority of the Earth.
For 24:31 it notes the importance of "illaa maa th'ahara minhaa" and
that ingenious phrase's meaning to worldwide Muslims past and present.
Article 4809 of soc.religion.islam:
From: Craig Paul
Newsgroups: soc.religion.islam
Subject: RE: "THE ISLAMIC HIJAB": motive of 33:59
Date: 7 Sep 1993 09:57:00 -0400
Lines: 112
In article <2691u1...@gap.caltech.edu>, iha...@hubcap.clemson.edu
(irfan hasan) writes:
> All Muslim women are asked to beautify themselves with their veils of
> honor, dignity, chastity, purity and integrity.
Here are a few details behind the probable reason for 33:59. You'll
see it is much different than what is assumed by what Irfan typed.
FYI, ibn S'ad died 230 AH. Volume 8 of his _Al-Tabaqat_ is about the
women Companions of the Prophet (PBUH).
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Muhammad Asad's translation, with his interpolations in [].
33:59
"O Prophet! Tell thy wives and thy daughters, as well as all [other]
believeing women, that they should draw over themselves some of their
outer garments [when in public]: this will be more conducive to their
being recognized [as decent women] and not annoyed. But [withal,] God
is indeed much forgiving, a dispenser of grace!"
33:60
"Thus it is: if the hypocrites, and they in whose hearts is disease, and
they who, by spreading false rumours, would cause disturbances in the
City [of the Prophet] desist not [from their hostile doings] We shall
indeed give thee mastery over them, [O, Muhammad] - and then they will
not remain thy neighbors in this [city] for more than a little while:"
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>From _Women and Islam_, by Fatima Mernissi
p. 180
"...Women, whatever their status, were being harassed in the streets,
pursued by men who subjected them to the humiliating practice of
ta'arrud - literally 'taking up position along a woman's path to urge
her to fornicate,' to commit the act of zina. At this point the
Prophet's problem was no longer freeing women from the chains of
pre-Islamic violence, but simply assuring the safety of his own wives
and those of other Muslims in a city that was hostile and out of
control."
"In order to deal with the problem, he began by looking into the
immediate causes of what was going on, employing his usual method of
information gathering: he sent some emissaries to quesiton those who
were acting in this manner. And they explained their behavior by
saying: 'We only practice ta'arrud with women we believe to be
slaves'(1) - thus excusing themselves by claiming confusion about the
identity of the women they approached. This was the reason Allah
revealed verse 59 of sura 33, in which He advised the wives of the
Prophet to make themselves recognized by pulling their jilbab over
themselves. It was not a question of a new item of clothing, but of a
new way of wearing a usual one, distinguishing themselves by an
action.(2) According to the Lisan al-'Arab dictionary, jilbab is a
rather vague concept. It can designate numerous pieces of clothing,
ranging from a simple chemise to a cloak. One of the definitions in
this dictionary describes jilbab as a very large piece of cloth worn
by a women; another describes it as a piece of cloth that a women uses
to cover her head and bosom."
(1) Ibn Sa'd, Al-Tabaqat, vol. 8, p. 176
(2) Ibn Sa'd, Al-Tabaqat, vol. 8, p. 176
>From _A Commentary on the Qur'an: Volume II Surahs XXV-CXIV_ by
Richard Bell; 1991, Manchester, England, The Victoria University of
Manchester (Journal of Semitic Studies)
ISSN 0022-4480
ISBN 0-9516124-1-7
p. 107
(verse 59)
"seems to stand by itself. N.S. (Noeldecke-Schwally) places the verse
before the year VIII in which Muhammad's daughter Umm Kulthum died,
leaving only the one daughter, Fatima alive. This it may be noted does
not ordain the veil for concealment, but rather recommends the letting
down of part of the mantle (over their faces?) as a means of
recognition, so that they may not be subject to insult, as other women
no doubt occasionally were."
"jalaabiib", an Ethiopic word meaning 'mantle'; Noeldecke, Neue
Beitraege, p. 53"
(verses 60-62)
"have no close connection with verse 59, but may date from about the
same time. The insults of the Munaafiqiin and diseased of heart, which
may have been the underlying motive of verse 59, have so irritated the
Prophet that he thinks of expelling them from the town and outlawing
them. He must by this time have felt fairly strong, though there seems
to be no record of any overt steps having been taken to carry this
out."
(verse 60)
"al-murjifuun, only here, is taken by Bayd.awi as referring to those
who caused trouble by spreading false rumours and scandals regarding
the Prophet and his wives and followers; in this context this seems
probable."
-----
24:31
Muhammad Asad's translation, with his interpolations in [].
"And tell the believing women to lower their gaze and to be mindful of their
chastity, and not to display their charms [in public] beyon what may
[decently] be apparent thereof(37); hence, let them draw their head-coverings
over their bosoms.(38) And let them not display [more of] their charms to
any but their husbands, or their fathers, or their husbands' fathers, or
their sons, or their husbands' sons, or their brothers, or their brothers'
sons, or their sisters' sons, or their womenfolk, or those whom they
rightfully possess, or such male attendants as are beyond all sexual
desire,(39) or children that are as yet unaware of women's nakedness; and
let them not swing their legs [in walking] so as to draw attention to
their hidden charms.(40)..."
(37) My interpolation of the word "decently" reflects the interpretation of
the phrase "illaa maa th'ahara minhaa" by several of the earliest Islamic
scholars, and particularly by Al-Qiffaal (quoted by Raazii), as that which a
human being may openly show in accordance with prevailing custom (al-'aadah
al-jaariyah)". Although the traditional exponents of Islamic Law have for
centuries been inclined to restrict the definition of "what may [decently] be
apparent" to a woman's face, hands and feet - and sometimes even less than
that - we may safely assume that the meaning of "illaa maa th'ahara minhaa" is
much wider, and that the deliberate vagueness of this phrase is meant to allow
for all the time-bound changes that are necessary for man's moral and social
growth. The pivotal clause in the above injunction is the demand, addressed in
identical terms to men as well as to women, to "lower their gaze and be
mindful of their chastity": and this determines the extent of what, at any
given time, may legitimately - i.e., in consonance with the Qur'anic
principles of social morality - be considered "decent" or "indecent" in a
person's outward appearance.
(38) The noun khimaar (of which khumur is the plural) denotes the
head-covering customarily used by Arabian women before and after the advent of
Islam. According to most of the classical commentators, it was worn in
pre-Islamic times more or less as an ornament and was let down loosely over
the wearer's back; and since, in accordance with the fashion prevalent at the
time, the upper part of a woman's tunic had a wide opening in the front, her
breasts were left bare. Hence, the injunction to cover the bosom by means of a
khimaar (a term so familiar to the contemporaries of the Prophet) does not
necesarily relate to the use of a khimaar as such but is, rather, meant to
make it clear that a woman's breasts are NOT included in the concept of "what
may decently be apparent" of her body and should, therefore, be displayed.
(39) I.e., very old men. The preceding phrase "those whom they rightfully
possess" (lit., "whom their right hands possess") denotes slaves; but see also
note 78.
(40) Lit.,"so that those of their charms which they keep hidden may become
known". The phrase yad.ribna bi-arjulihinna is idiomatically similar to the
phrase d.araba bi-yadayhi fii mishyatihi, "he swung his arms in walking"
(quoted in this context in Taaj al-'Aruus), and alludes to a deliberately
provocative gait.
--
>From _A Commentary on the Qur'an: Volume I Surahs I-XXIV_ by
Richard Bell; 1991, Manchester, England, The Victoria University of
Manchester (Journal of Semitic Studies)
ISSN 0022-4480
ISBN 0-9516124-1-7
p. 599
V.31
refers specially to the women, and at the beginning practically repeats v.30.
it is a more elaborate version of that, which was probably discarded and the
back of it used for the writing of v.29. We have here then probably a
continuation of the legislation which followed upon the 'Aa'isha affair.
The list of those with whom more freedom is allowed is more elaborate than
that in xxxiii:55, and is therefore probably later than that passage.
It is however to be noted that most of the classes here mentioned, who are
omitted there, are really inmates of the house. There is still no reference to
veiling for it is simply their "bosoms" not their faces which Muslim women are
recommended to cover, and apparently nothing new is being demanded of them.
ziinah, here evidently used of the physical attractions of woman.
illaa maa th'ahara minhaa, "except so far as they are normally visible"; just
as in regard to food, the Qur'aan at first laid down that the "good things"
were to be eaten, so here the ordinary standard of decency is accepted, and
inculcated.
khumur, plural of khimaar, is explained by Baid.awi not as "veil" but as
"cover of the neck", i.e muffler or shawl.
juyuub, "bosoms", so that it is not the face which is to be covered.
bu'uulah, "husbands", cf. ii:228
at-taabin'iina ghairi 'uulii l-'irbati min ar-rijaal, is of doubtful
interpretation; Baid.awi explains it as meaning old men who have no longer any
sexual desire, but it is difficult to see why they should be designated as
taabi'iin. This is usually interpreted as meaning those who follow for the
sake of food; this may perhaps mean "servants". One might suggest that the
phrase indicates eunuchs if there were evidence that these were common in
Medinah at that time. The legalists dispute whether they are included. Others
take ghair 'uulii l-'irbah as meaning imbecile.
laa yad.ribna bi-'arjulihinna... Baid.awi explains as, "let them not beat with
their feet so that their anklets are revealed by tinkling"; but this hardly
suits the meaning of ziinah above. It will mean rather "let them not assume
indecent postures".
--
Interesting to note that when ibn Battuta travelled throught the then Muslim
kingdom of the Maldives that women traditionally dressed with a wrap that
extended from the waist down, and nothing else. He demanded, as their
officially appointed "qadi", that they cover the upper part of their bodies,
but "he couldn't get it done". A khimaar was something unknown to them, as it
was outside their culture, as opposed to Hijazi women who knew and wore the
khimaar.
Yet for these women who were traditionally naked from the waist up "illaa maa
th'ahara minhaa" was being observed. We see similar understanding of "illaa
maa th'ahara minhaa" throughout the Muslim world, both in the past
and present, in various geographic locations, where a khimaar was and is
an unknown concept. One marvels at the ingenuity of the Qur'anic
phrase "illaa maa th'ahara minhaa" - "except so far as they are normally
visible".