05-17-2007, 02:56 AM
Bismillah: Assalamo Alikum.
The reason for veiling is explained here from a catholic view point:
Proper Dress and Behavior for Catholic Women
Quote:In obedience to Sacred Scripture, many Catholic women wear some kind of veil or headcovering. Some wear a headcovering only at Mass. Others feel called to wear a headcovering at other times during the day, as well as at Mass. Many non-Catholic Christian women also wear a headcovering.
Quote:Modesty in clothing is usually not difficult. <b>Clothing should not be too revealing or too tight. Women (as well as men) should not wear clothing which shows their undergarments.</b>
This point compelled me to re post the 6 criteria for observing hijaab in Islam.
1. Extent:
The first criterion is the extent of the body that should be covered. This is different for men and women. The extent of covering obligatory on the male is to cover the body at least from the navel to the knees. 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 ‘hijaab’.
All the remaining five criteria are the same for men and women.
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.
Quote:Modesty applies to behavior even more so than to clothing. God is more offended by someone who is modest in clothing but immodest in behavior, than He is by someone who is immodest in clothing but modest in behavior. Even so, <b>we should all be modest both in clothing and in behavior</b>.
Same or similar to what I’ve said before that the complete hijaab, besides the six criteria of clothing, also includes the moral conduct, behaviour, attitude and intention of the individual. A person only fulfilling the criteria of hijaab of the clothes is observing ‘hijaab’ in a limited sense. Hijaab of the clothes should be accompanied by hijaab of the eyes, hijaab of the heart, ‘hijaab’ of thought and hijaab of intention. It also includes the way a person walks, the way a person talks, the way he behaves, etc.
Quote:"<b>A woman shall not wear anything that pertains to a man, nor shall a man put on a woman's garment; for whoever does these things is an abomination to the LORD your God</b>." (Deut 22:5).
Saint Padre Pio use to <b>refuse to hear the confession of women who were wearing pants or an immodest dress</b>.
Women should not dress or act like men, for this is an abomination in God's eyes. God created the human race with two genders, intending each to have his and her proper place in Creation. Men and women are not meant to behave or dress the same manner. Part of the beauty of the human race is found in the differences between men and women.
The Prophet Muhammad pbuh also said: Allah curses those men who imitate the women, and He curses those women who imitate the men
. [Al-Bukhari]
I just found this website to be very interesting, so I thought to share it with our Catholic guests.
Salam
Wael.
