04-27-2007, 05:44 AM
Bismillah: Assalamo Alikum
Quote:Why aren't Muslim men required to cover up from head to toe? Again, I can only judge by what I see with my own eyes & I can't help but think that there is a distinction between men & women in Islam. So many times I pass an Islamic couple out in public - the lady is decked out in full gear & the gentleman is in shorts, a singlet & flip flops! Sometimes I see men (usually in front of the mosque) wearing long robes that cover pretty much everything but that's not compulsory is it?
In the Qur’an, Allah first mentions Hijab for men before Hijab for the women. The Qur’an says:
"Say to the believing men that they should lower their gaze and guard their modesty: that will make for greater purity for them: and Allah is well acquainted with all that they do." Qur’an 24:30
The moment a man looks at a woman and if any brazen or unashamed thought comes to his mind, he should lower his gaze.
<b>Men and women in Islam are equal but they are NOT identical</b>. I’ve told you earlier that there are 6 criteria for observing hijaab:
1.Extent:
The first criterion is the extent of the body that should be covered. <b>This is different for men and women</b>. The extent of covering obligatory on the male is <b>to cover the body at least from the navel to the knees</b>. For women, the extent of covering obligatory is to cover the complete body except the face and the hands upto the wrist. If they wish to, they can cover even these parts of the body. Some scholars of Islam insist that the face and the hands are part of the obligatory extent of ‘hijab
<b>All the remaining five criteria are the same for men and women.</b>
2. The clothes worn should be loose and should not reveal the figure.
3. The clothes worn should not be transparent such that one can see through them.
4. The clothes worn should not be so glamorous as to attract the opposite sex.
5. The clothes worn should not resemble that of the opposite sex.
6. The clothes worn should not resemble that of the unbelievers i.e. they should not wear clothes that are specifically identities or symbols of the unbelievers’ religions.
Salam
Wael.
