Bismillah
Sobhan Allah, reading and pondering on the Quran is an ongoing process of learning. Alhamdulelah. Again I would like to give more insight regarding the other Ayah ordaining Muslim women dress code.
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<b>"O Prophet! Tell your wives and your daughters and the women of the believers to draw their cloaks (veils) all over their bodies (i.e.screen themselves completely except the eyes or one eye to see the way). That will be better, that they should be known (as free respectable women) so as not to be annoyed. And Allah is Ever Oft ¬Forgiving, Most Merciful." (Quran 33:59)</b>
I was discussing the Muslim women dress code with an American woman and I quoted this Ayah and explained it to her as one of the purposes. In this Ayah, the purpose is introduced as to identify and differentiate between free and slave women. She replied, O then this dress code should not apply during our time. There is no slavery no more. I replied, let us think about it. It might be true that formal slavery (although still exist as human trafficking..etc) is not practiced anymore. But unfortunately, women enslave themselves voluntarily. In the normal situation, slavery is induced over women (or men) by virtue of many ways: war as captives, kidnapping, children of slaves..etc. These cases gave no choice for a woman to be but a slave of a monetary value. However, she only has one master who is supposed to take care of her in all aspects. Comparing with the current situation, a woman willingly enslaves herself for example when she chooses show business as a career. A dancer who performs over stage with 100s of eyes looking at her, paying for this performance, is doing nothing but voluntarily enslaving herself to all of them. Even worse, in cases of women who do not observe the dress code, they enslave themselves to others for free, they offer them free pleasure sometimes only in return for a praising word or a compliment, like O how pretty you are, or how pretty and elegant your wife is. This supposedly free woman who is even married is willingly enslaved to others. Do not we need this dress code to serve as an identity for us free women? Is not this a clear purpose why Allah ordained for us this code? Quran and Allah's Divine commands are never time limited, but they rather apply and shall continue to apply till the Day After.
But we need to ponder, reason and understand as we are commanded by Quran in many positions, Allah Say: Do not they comprehend? Do they understand, or for those who ponder. May Allah Makes us among those who ponder and comprehend.
Alhamdulelah Who Has Guided us for this and if it was not for Him we would not have been guided.
