Women

94687

Why do Muslim women only wear black Abayas in Muslim majority countries? Is it Sunnah of the women of Ahlul Bayt? Is it permissible to wear bright colored Abayas in non-Muslim countries as wearing black might draw unnecessary attention?

Amina Inloes, Amina Inloes is originally from the US and has a PhD in Islamic Studies from the University of Exeter on Shi'a hadith. She is the program leader for the MA Islamic Studies program at the... Answer updated 3 days ago

For the most part, we don't have strong historical evidence about the details of what women from the Ahl al-Bayt (A) were wearing, apart from a few situations where there was a reason to mention a specific fabric or something.

Anyway, without being an expert in the history of clothing, it seems that in some places, the tendency to wear black is pre-modern (and I suspect due to convenience) and in some places it is a product of modernity. When discussing today's "Islamic fashions", it is worth keeping in mind that what we have access to today is largely due to industrialization - for instance, the production of synthetic fabrics, cheap stretchy socks, and mass-produced garments - and people in the past did not have these things. Also, the concept of global "Islamic fashion" (often epitomized by the black Saudi-style abayah) is relatively new and probably due to globalization; up until recent decades, Muslims seemed to tend to wear their own regional styles more.

(There are, however, some interesting books about the history of clothing in the Muslim world, if it is a subject of interest, as well as some early photographs)

To my knowledge, in places like Iran, in the past, it was more common to wear coloured chadors, but in the 20th century, black became the popular colour.

Anyway, shari'ah in and of itself does not regulate what colour you have to wear. However, a general principle is that of 'urf; that is, one should dress in such a way which is considered normal in the area and does not attract attention (unless there is a clear reason to do otherwise, for instance, everyone may be wearing a bikini on the beach, but that doesn't mean it's appropriate to wear a bikini). So colours are one of the matters of 'urf; in some places, it might be normal and appropriate to wear bright colours, and in other places, such as Qom, it might attract a lot of attention or be an inappropriate form of social signalling. Non-Muslm countries also tend to vary widely in their 'urf regarding the colours people wear so it is really left to one's individual judgment, or you could ask people around you if you are concerned.

Anyway, as is said, Allah is beautiful and loves beauty, and Allah created all the colours and did not make any of them inherently taboo.*

(*apart from cases where wearing certain colours is specifically considered makruh, this is not the main subject here)

92642

Women . Qur'an . Man . Polygamy

Why does it seem like the Quran is talking to men and not women such as when it says 'your wives' and 'your women'? Why doesn't the Quran address women directly?

There are a few reasons, including:

* Modesty (regarding explicit subjects, the Qur'an tends to be more modest and address men specifically as well as use euphemisms, even if both men and women are intended)
* Generality (zawj/azwaj can be understood in some cases to mean "spouses" in general and not specifically "wives" as it is often translated)
* In some cases, it is specifically addressing men and speaking about women (for instance, the verse about zihar when it talks about men divorcing their wives via zihar)

So it really depends on the verse. A good resource to look at for varying interpretations of verses is _The Study Quran_ edited by S. H. Nasr.

Hope that helps!

92643

Paradise . Women . Qur'an . Man

I don’t understand why the Quran promises virgins to men in paradise. Is this not a sort of objectification of women and implying that virgins are better? And if men get virgins, what do women get?

This question has been discussed to some degree here: https://www.al-islam.org/ask/topics/7744/questions-about-Houris

Anyway, it seems that this is said in the Qur'an as a form of encouragement (just as some things about Hell can be seen as a discouragement from doing certain things). Apparently this must have been or indeed must be encourgaging to men. As for why men are addressed and promised this instead of women, some might say it is out of modesty, although I might also suggest that perhaps men need a little more encouragement sometimes! :)

As for what virginity means in the Hereafter... that is more complicated question. One would assume that the physics of things is somewhat different there, and while there is a means for 2 beings to relate which is analagous to how 2 beings relate here, it is unlikely to involve all of the specific physiological details of earthly virginity.

There is also a certain logic behind saying that the huris are "not touched by jinn or men", since (a) it is generally held that jinn have their own Paradise and so they wouldn't be interacting with them anyway, and (b) there won't be people in Paradise until the judgment, so they wouldn't have had anyone to have a relationship with before. (c) Also since there are so many of them, perhaps they are all created as exact matches (soul-mates, if you will) to their human partners and not necessarily compatible with others.

As for women, seeing as it is said that we can more or less have whatever we want in Paradise, there is no reason what women should not have virgins, if that is what they would like.

That being said, I am sure you will agree that men are the cause of 90% of headaches for women in this world, so I would not be surprised if some women decide they would like some peace and quiet instead!

(With all apologies to our male colleagues who may completely disagree :) )

Anyway, Allah speaks to us according to our understanding in this world, when it comes to matters outside of this world, there is a certain amount of guesswork or theorizing when it comes to these questions. It is however an interesting question to ponder.

92618

Women . Nose

Are women allowed to get a nose job?

Zaid Alsalami, Shaykh Dr Zaid Alsalami is an Iraqi born scholar, raised in Australia. He obtained a BA from Al-Mustafa University, Qom, and an MA from the Islamic College in London. He also obtained a PhD from... Answered 3 weeks ago

Bismihi ta'ala

Yes, one is allowed to undergo plastic surgery, like rhinoplasty, and it is halal in itself. Of course, one must be observant of other things that it could entail that could be haram, like touching of a non-mahram, etc.

And Allah knows best.

73434

Hadith . Dajjal . Women . Sunni-Shi'a

Do the Shia have any authentic Hadith that suggests that most of Dajjal's followers will be women?

Sayyed Mohammad Al-Musawi, Sayyed Mohammad al-Musawi is originally from Iraq and heads up the World Ahlul Bayt Islamic League in London. Other than being involved in various humanitarian projects, he frequently responds to... Answered 1 month ago

I did not find any authentic Hadeeth in Shia books of Hadeeth suggesting that most of Dajjal's followers will be women. It is narrated in many Sunni books e.g. Musnad Ahmad Ibn Hanbal from Abdullah Ibn Omar.

Wassalam.

90852

Women . Respect . Mahram . Man . Salah (Prayers)

Why do women stand behind men in prayer? I read somewhere that it was to respect them and to prevent the men from staring at them and that makes sense to me. But why do they have to follow that rule in their own homes with Mahram relatives?

Bismihi ta'ala

This is an interesting question, and it can be tackled from different angles.

In general, the ruling is that a female (mahram or non-mahram) cannot pray beside or in front of a male. This is not purely a matter of preventing men from unlawful glancing, because if that was the case, then a wife could pray in front of a husband.

Islam focuses on elevating the status of a women beyond her being sexualised by others, and even by herself. This can be seen not only in mandating hijab, but even in the obligatory or recommended (mustahab) acts in prayer, like how she prostrates, and how she stands back up.

This is all for the purpose of preserving her modesty, and also to eliminate any likelihood of a lustful gaze (haram or halal), during prayer in particular, for the purpose of gaining that absolute concentration in prayer.

Of course, we are assuming that this is just one of the reasons behind the ruling. It's similar to the story of Prophet Moses (a.s.) and the daughters of Prophet Shu'ayb (a.s.). However, the reality is that like many other rulings, we do not have the precise reason for it. There could certainly be more reasons.We are just assuming that it is a matter of convenience and a spiritual matter for concentration, but it could be more than that.

The main issue is in prayer we need to attain ḥudhūr al-qalb, which is presence of the heart.We need to be concentrating completely on our prayer, and remove anything that would distract us.

We understand that it is also the very natural structure of the female that Almighty God has created with her beauty and attraction that could contribute to a male (her mahram or non-mahram) being distracting and glancing at her.

Please look at all the other rulings for prayer, which can also hint to how important it is to avoid loss of concentration, like praying in front of an image, etc.

It could also be for convenience, so a woman does not feel embarrassed or exposed when she is bending down for ruku' or sujud.

And so on.

Furthermore, please refer to your Marja' taqleed on this ruling, because there are some jurists who consider it mustahab, and not wajib.

And Allah knows best.

89873

Mahram . Family . Women . Man

Do you have to cover your arms and legs in front of Mahram family? Can you specifically explain the rules of what is allowed to remain uncovered for men and women when they are with their Mahram family members?

It depends on the age and situation of you and the Mahram member of your family. It is not obligatory to cover your arms and legs in from of an old Mahram being sure that uncovering arms and legs will never cause nor initiate unwanted feeling. In general, it is not obligatory to cover in front of Mahram, that parts of your body which are usually uncovered at home with your family, provided that it should not cause bad feeling of desire or shame.

Wassalam.

89008

Divorce . Women

Why doesn't a woman have the inherent right to divorce like the man does considering that women tend to be much more emotionally intelligent than men?

The classical/traditional ruling is that a woman has a limited right to divorce.

In practice, I have never seen a marriage which stayed together because a woman legally "can't divorce". If a marriage breaks down to that degree, there is usually a separation (either the wife leaves the home, or the husband leaves the home, or both agree to separate).

The shariah aspect informs what happens next - sadly, what sometimes happens is that the man refuses to grant the wife a divorce out of revenge, he moves on and marries another wife, and the woman is trapped being married to him in name only. Then, she puts forward a lot of effort to get a shariah divorce from the non-marriage, and oftentimes this is accomplished after some time (sometimes years) and with a lot of disillusionment.

The point being, at any rate, that if a marriage is unbearable, people won't stay together because of this particular law.

Regarding emotional intelligence, individuals vary. There are men with good emotional intelligence and men with low emotional intelligence. The same with women.

However, given the social pressures on women, women tend to have very acute survival skills in these matters. Most women in Muslim societies or communities in which divorce is stigmatized are acutely aware of the stigma of divorce and how it will disadvantage them or their children socially and financially and do not rush into it by any means. This stigma is cultural and not an original part of Islam; when you read hadith from the time of the Prophet (S), you see that it was not unusual for women to be widowed or divorced and to expect to remarry; the stigma against it in some societies is more of a modern thing. (Maybe things are changing these days, at least a few decades ago there was in some places a lot of stigma.) This is not to say that men won't suffer stigma - this also varies from society to society - but in general women tend to suffer more from divorce socially and financially, especially if they were a financial dependent.

(Exceptions may apply! I am just speaking in general here not for every specific case. Women, like men, also vary in their level of interest in being committed to a marriage.)

Anyway, regarding divorce law, there are some individuals in this day and age who are giving it another look. This is not dissimilar to how certain laws in the past were given another look, such as laws regarding the purity/impurity of Ahl al-Kitab.

In the meantime, one can work around this by granting the woman the right to divorce at the time the marriage contract is performed. (Sadly, again, this is often not enough to guarantee that a woman will be able to get the assistance needed for divorce, except in places where Shia Islamic marriage contracts are legally enforced, such as Iran, but at least it is something.) Maybe in the coming decades there will be some more dialogue on this issue.

Of course we hope that everyone has successful marriages and doesn't need to divorce! This is just a precaution.

Divorce . Women

Why doesn't a woman have the inherent right to divorce like the man does considering that women tend to be much more emotionally intelligent than men?

All the rules in real Islam of the Prophet and his Holy Progeny ( Ahlul Bayt) (SAWA) are based on the absolute wisdom for the benefit of human beings. Allah, His messenger and Ahlul Bayt, know the full reasons for every rule. We might know little bit but we firmly believe in the Absolute Wisdom, Knowledge and Mercy of Allah. That is why we do not argue and never question why after our faith in Allah's Mercy, Knowledge and Wisdom.

No doubt, divorce being the most unwelcome act, should not be given to woman who is more emotional than man. Islam aims to decrease chances of divorce being breaking the families. Conditions for valid divorce in Islam are many and not very easy to achieve immediately. The aim is to discourage emotional divorces.
'Wassalam.

88850

Women . Clothing . Bicycle

In many places, cycling is a very common and finance friendly mode of transport. Is it permissible for women to ride bicycles if they wear lose clothes that don’t define their bodies?

If the woman is wearing full Hijab (lose clothes that don't define her body) cycling will be permissible for her, although it is better for her to avoid it as it is mentioned in many books the it is Makrouh (disliked). Makrouh is after all permissible.

Wassalam.

63585

Women . Imam Ali . Nahj al-Balagha

What were Imam Ali's view on women in light of some sayings in the Nahj al-Balagha that seem to be critical of them?

Imam Ali (AS)'S views in every matter is nothing but what Allah (SWT) and the Prophet Muhammad (SAWA) said. Woman is equal partner to man in our faith and she can be better than man if her good deeds are more than him. Fatima (AS) is a Woman yet has reached the highest degree above all men of the world.

Critical sayings about women are either not authentic or if authentic then oriented to certain women who disobeyed Allah and the Messenger during that time and those women who follow them every time. Ameerul Mo'mineen had suffered a lot from such women specially in the battle of Jamal which was instigated and led by a woman.

Wassalam.

83926

Perfume . Women

Is it permissible to sell perfume in a non-Muslim country where women can buy it and may wear it outside? If not, would it make a difference if they were intimate perfume oils that are more discreet than typical liquid spray perfumes?

Seyed Ali Shobayri, Seyed Ali Shobayri is of mixed Iranian and Scottish descent who found the path of the Ahlul Bayt (a) by his own research. He holds a BA in Islamic Studies from Middlesex University through the... Answered 3 months ago

Bismillah,

Asalamu Alaykom,

The act of selling perfume and oils is permissible. It isn't your responsibility relating to what someone would do with the perfume.

May Allah grant you success