Preserving the Muslim Home front

Some contemporary Muslims are so much estranged from Islamic values and teachings that one would have to see such Muslims praying before they can be called believers. It is almost becoming a norm especially among some ‘civilized’ elites to exceed the bounds of Islam which prohibit men from shaking women who are not their Dhu […]

Some contemporary Muslims are so much estranged from Islamic values and teachings that one would have to see such Muslims praying before they can be called believers.
It is almost becoming a norm especially among some ‘civilized’ elites to exceed the bounds of Islam which prohibit men from shaking women who are not their Dhu Mahram (i.e. women who are in a degree of consanguinity precluding marriage). This is prohibited (haram) in Islam, whether the woman involved is young or old; and whether the man in question is aged or not. The wearing of hand gloves by a woman does not repeal this prohibition; the reason being to forestall the evil that is inherent in such contacts.
Talking about fashion which is generally the passionate command of most women, Islam prohibits women when leaving their homes from wearing a colourfully designed Jilbab (a loose long garment for women) that could easily catch the attention of men who may not be a Dhu Mahram. A woman who wears such a jilbab is advised to wear a hijab (veil) that would conceal the fashionable designs on the jilbab especially if they are on the upper part of the gown. Allah (SWT) states in Qur’an 24:31 “Say to believing women that…they should draw their veils over their bosoms and not display their beauty except to their husbands, fathers…..” There is however no harm if such a stylish Jilbab is wore by a woman when inside the house where only the woman’s Dhu Mahram would have the privilege of seeing her in the gown. Islam also forbids that the Jilbab, rather than being a loose wear, is made to fit tightly into a woman’s body.
This also brings us to the unregulated use of perfume by today’s Muslim women. Islam provides that a woman should not apply perfume or body spray if she is leaving he house to where she might come across men who are not her Dhu Mahram because the scent from it can attract men to gaze at her more than allowed by law. She may use perfume if she had no intention of going out of the house or if her going out would be to a congregation that purely consists of women. It is forbidden for a woman to go out of the house in to any public gathering that consists of men and women in perfumed dresses. Some Muslim women especially the elitists in contemporary Nigeria feel any adornment without perfumed dresses or sprayed body on their way to public events including Qur’anic graduation ceremonies and wedding or naming feasts (walimah) is incomplete even when men and women are often gathered in such functions in one hall; which is in itself a risk factor. Allah (SWT) says to women in Qur’an 33:33 “And stay quietly in your houses, and make not a dazzling display like that of the former times of ignorance…” A woman’s natural beauty and artificial ornaments including dress are only permitted in Islam to be displayed (in the most honourable manner) to her husband and not the general public.
The recent revolution in the world of information technology is another area that gives us concern. The advent of facebook, BBM, etc; has rendered the privacy of the ideal Muslim woman unsafe, vulnerable and endangered. Islam forbids a woman from having facebook friends or joining BBM groups of people who are not her Dhu Mahram or closely related to her husband. Doing so amounts to empowering unauthorized persons in to the privacy that is the exclusively the preserve of her husband. Islam frowns at this practice to guard against the attendant consequences in it.
The last issue to be examined in this discourse pertains to the western-led crusade which advocates equality (of rights and privileges) between a husband and his wife/wives. The average literate Muslim woman today sees herself as having the same status with her husband. More blameworthy of this offence than others are the working class women. I do not know if income plays any role in the recalcitrant attitude of some women. It is tantamount to challenging Allah’s wisdom for a woman to think that she deserves equal rights in all matters with her husband.
Allah (SWT) assigned roles to men and women according to their natural dispositions. A man has a duty to toil and provide for his family and dependents. A woman carries pregnancy for nine months and takes the trouble of caring for the newborn for at least two years. Allah (SWT), the Omniscience, is Just in assigning roles to His creatures. Qur’an 3:36 “…And nowise is the male like the female…” Any attempt by a man or woman to assume the roles of the opposite gender is not likely to be genuinely successful. But if one may be allowed to sound “chauvinistic’, how could a woman want to enjoy the same status with her husband who feeds, clothes, shelters and offset medical bills of family members in addition to paying school fees of children among several other statutory responsibilities? Allah (SAW) says “Men are protectors over women…”
This position must, however, not be misunderstood as to downplay a woman’s right to respect from her husband. Of course, respect between the two should be mutual. There are several hadith narrations which corroborate a man’s special status as a husband. The Prophet (SAW) said, ‘If I were to order anyone to prostrate before another, I would have commanded women to prostrate to their husbands due to the special right Allah gave to husbands over them”. The Prophet (SAW) made this assertion when Mu’adh bn Jabal, on return from Sham, prostrated to the Prophet (SAW); arguing that he saw the people of Sham prostrating to their priests. This hadith which prohibits and seals the obvious fact that prostration under any circumstances cannot be done to anyone in creation except to Allah (SWT) further asserts that if that were to be allowed, it would have been to order women to do so for their husbands. The Prophet (SAW) also said, “One person in the world owed the greatest right by a woman is her husband, and the one person in the world owed the greatest right by man is his mother”. May Allah (SWT) save us from the misleading plots of the devil, amin.