Ahlul Bayt (AS) International News Agency - ABNA: One of the objections raised regarding hijab is that this ruling imposes a difficult obligation upon women, and therefore represents a form of oppression and injustice against them. Observing hijab is a very difficult duty because women—especially in the unbearable heat of summer—must constantly wear a headscarf and a manteau so that men do not become deviant or misguided upon seeing their bodies and hair, and do not commit forbidden acts. Meanwhile, men themselves can freely wear a thin blouse and be comfortable. Imposing this level of hardship and suffering on women to prevent men from going astray is unjust.
If the philosophy of hijab is to protect men from moral deviation, why must the responsibility for this and its difficulties be imposed on women, while men are not asked to take responsibility themselves by not looking at women? Why must women pay the price for men's sick hearts?
In response to this objection, it must be said that such arguments are never a proper justification for removing hijab or for unconditional freedom in the type of dress, and they suffer from numerous flaws. Because firstly, Islam has also deemed it necessary for men to observe certain guidelines, and secondly, preventing men from being aroused is not the only wisdom behind hijab; there are other important wisdoms as well.
The Command to Modesty and Chastity: A General Directive for Both Men and Women
In the teachings of Islam, there is great emphasis on maintaining modesty (حَياء, haya) and chastity (عِفَّه, 'iffah). As Imam Ali (AS) said: "The best garment of religion is modesty" — «أَحْسَنُ مَلَابِسِ الدِّينِ الْحَیَاء». (1) And the Prophet of Islam (PBUH) said: "Indeed, God loves the modest, forbearing, chaste one who maintains chastity" — «إنَّ اللّهَ یُحِبُّ الحَیِیَّ الحَلیمَ العَفیفَ المُتَعفِّفَ». (2) Perhaps this is because, as Ali (AS) stated, "Chastity is the pinnacle of every good" — «العِفَّةُ رَأسُ کُلِّ خَیرٍ». (3) For this reason, Imam Hasan (AS), emphasizing the importance of maintaining modesty, equated lack of modesty with lack of religion, saying: "One who has no modesty has no religion" — «لَا حَیَاءَ لِمَنْ لَا دِینَ لَه». (4)
The importance of adhering to chastity becomes even clearer when we see that Ali (AS) in a luminous statement declares that it protects the soul and distances it from baseness: «العَفافُ یَصونُ النَّفسَ و یُنَزِّهُها عَنِ الدَّنایا» (5) and in a very significant reference, considers it the best form of worship: «افضَلُ العبادَةِ العِفافُ» (6). Moreover, he also emphasizes in another statement that "Chastity is the highest form of chivalry" — «العِفَّةُ أفضَلُ الفُتُوَّةِ». (7) Additionally, in another hadith from Imam Muhammad al-Baqir (AS), we read: «مَا عُبِدَ اللَّهُ بِشَیْءٍ أَفْضَلَ مِنْ عِفَّةِ بَطْنٍ وَ فَرْج» (8) — "Nothing has been worshipped before God that is superior to chastity of the stomach and the private parts." He also stated elsewhere: «إِذَا أَرَادَ اللَّهُ بِعَبْدٍ خَیْراً عَفَّ بَطْنُهُ وَ فَرْجُه» (9) — "When God intends good for His servant, He grants him the ability to be chaste with his stomach and his sexual desires." In another expression, he describes chastity thus: «أَیُّ جِهَادٍ أَفْضَلُ مِنْ عِفَّةِ بَطْنٍ وَ فَرْج؟» (10) — "What jihad is superior to chastity of the stomach and private parts?"
Clearly, the audience for these emphases is not only women—but perhaps even more so—men as well.
Men Are Also Required to Lower Their Gaze
Just as Islam has strongly commanded hijab to eliminate one of the most important factors provoking youth—namely, women displaying themselves—it has also commanded men in verse 30 of Surah An-Nur to strictly avoid leering: «قُلْ لِّلْمُؤْمِنِینَ یَغُضُّوا مِنْ أَبْصَارِهِمْ وَیَحْفَظُوا فُرُوجَهُمْ ذَلِکَ أَزْکَی لَهُمْ إِنَّ اللَّهَ خَبِیرٌ بِمَا یَصْنَعُونَ» — "Tell the believing men to lower their gaze and guard their chastity. That is purer for them. Indeed, God is aware of what they do." It is also narrated from the Holy Prophet (PBUH) that he said: A man's gaze at a non-mahram woman is like a poisoned arrow from the arrows of Satan. (11)
Men cannot appear in society with inappropriate clothing either, and they too must maintain their chastity, because just as men are aroused by women's nudity and women need to wear hijab, women are also aroused by men's nudity, and men need to observe chastity.
Thus, Islamic teachings have never neglected the matter of men's clothing. Imam Ali (AS) said: «لَیسَ لِلرَّجُلِ أَنْ یکشِفَ ثِیابَهُ عَنْ فَخِذَیهِ وَ یجْلِسَ بَینَ قَوْمٍ» (12) — "It is not befitting for a man to uncover his clothing from his thighs and sit among his people." He also said: «عَلَیکمْ بِالصَّفِیقِ مِنَ الثِّیابِ فَإِنَّهُ مَنْ رَقَّ ثَوْبُهُ رَقَّ دِینُهُ لَا یقُومَنَّ أَحَدُکمْ بَینَ یدَی رَبِّهِ جَلَّ وَ عَزَّ وَ عَلَیهِ ثَوْبٌ یصِفُه» (13) — "Wear thick and coarse garments, for whoever has thin clothing has thin religion. Let none of you stand before his Lord, Mighty and Majestic, wearing a garment that describes his body."
It is because of this sensitivity regarding men's clothing and the possibility of them being seen by women that in the same Surah An-Nur, continuing from the previous verse—in verse 31—women are also advised to guard their gaze: «وَ قُلْ لِّلْمُؤْمِنَاتِ یَغْضُضْنَ مِنْ أَبْصَارِهِنَّ ...» — "And tell the believing women to lower their gaze..."
The Role of Psychological and Personality Traits of Men and Women in Observing Chastity
The duty of covering has been assigned more to women because the criterion applies specifically to them. Woman is the embodiment of beauty (جمال, jamal), and man is the embodiment of fascination (شیفتگی, sheftegi). Woman has a tendency toward self-display (تبرج, tabarruj), while man has a tendency toward leering (چشمچرانی, cheshm-charani). This is why we see that even though covering has not been prescribed for men in the same way, in practice men leave home more covered than women. Because a man's tendency is to look and leer, not to display himself, and conversely, a woman's tendency is more toward self-display, and a man's tendency to leer at a woman further stimulates her to display herself.
In other words, it is woman who, by virtue of her particular nature, wants to captivate hearts, make men fall for her, and trap them in her affection. Therefore, self-display and nudity are among the specific deviations of women, and the command for covering has been prescribed for them. (14)
The reason women are obligated to cover themselves more than men is due to the difference between men and women in terms of instinctual arousal. As research and scientific experience shows, a man is aroused by looking at a woman's body and figure to a degree that a woman is not aroused by looking at a man. In this regard, it has also been proven in sexual psychology that while the entire surface of a woman's body is stimulating to a man, the same is not true for a woman. (15)
In general, men and women do not have similar feelings toward one another, and in terms of their creation, they have dissimilar conditions. That is, it is woman who is subjected to the assault of the eyes, limbs, organs, hands, and entire body of man, not man who is subjected to the assault of woman. (16)
Maintaining Women's Social Security: A Wisdom Behind Observing Hijab
That men become aroused upon seeing a woman's body and that women need to observe their hijab is one of the wisdoms of hijab. But more important than this is the matter of women's social security, which is achieved through the ruling of hijab. Thus, in verse 59 of Surah Al-Ahzab, we read: «یا أَیُّهَا النَّبِیُّ قُلْ لِأَزْواجِکَ وَ بَناتِکَ وَ نِساءِ الْمُؤْمِنینَ یُدْنینَ عَلَیْهِنَّ مِنْ جَلاَبِیبِهِنَّ ذلِکَ أَدْنی أَنْ یُعْرَفْنَ فَلا یُؤْذَیْنَ وَ کانَ اللَّهُ غَفُوراً رَحیماً» — "O Prophet! Tell your wives, your daughters, and the women of the believers to draw their cloaks close over themselves. That is better so that they may be recognized and not harmed. And God is ever Forgiving, Merciful."
What is necessary in a healthy society is that men satisfy their sexual needs through marriage and lawful means, and do not look at women lustfully or harass them in public. But even if most men observe this, corrupt and immoral individuals may still exist, and women need to maintain their hijab to be safe from the evil of those limited individuals and to prevent its spread. Certainly, a woman being covered—within the limits set by Islam—brings her greater dignity and respect and protects her from the aggression of vulgar and unethical individuals. A clear testament to this claim is the shocking statistic existing in Western societies, showing what disaster the lack of hijab and the culture of nudity have brought upon society and families—something that Western scholars themselves admit. (17)
Hijab as a Crucial Factor in Strengthening the Family
Another matter that conveys the importance of hijab is the harmful effects of its absence on family cohesion. When absolute freedom prevails and women with any kind of clothing and makeup are easily visible on the streets and alleys, no woman will then be attractive to her husband, because women more beautiful than her are also seen on the streets and alleys.
But if women wear hijab in society, men will remain loyal to their wives as the best and most beautiful women with whom they can find tranquility. As the Quran points to this matter in verse 21 of Surah Ar-Rum: «وَ مِنْ آیاتِهِ أنْ خَلَقَ لَکُمْ مِنْ أَنْفُسِکُمْ أَزْواجاً لِتَسْکُنُوا الَیْها وَ جَعَلَ بَینَکُمْ مَوَدَّةً و رَحْمَةً انَّ فِی ذلِکَ لِقَوْمٍ یَتَفَکَّرُوْن» — "And among His signs is that He created for you spouses from among yourselves so that you may find tranquility in them, and He placed between you affection and mercy. Indeed, in that are signs for people who reflect."
The tranquility and peace referred to in the above verse is not limited to the physical aspect. Rather, its spiritual aspect is more important and stronger (18), and it is clear that if the culture of nudity becomes prevalent, this tranquility will never be attained by husband and wife. Conclusive and documented statistics show that with the increase of nudity in the world, divorce and the breakdown of married life have continuously risen, because "whatever the eye sees, the heart yearns for," and whatever the "heart"—here meaning unruly desires—wants, it pursues at any cost, and thus each day it becomes attached to one beloved and bids farewell to another.
In an environment where the culture of hijab prevails (and other Islamic conditions are observed), the two spouses belong to each other, and their feelings, love, and affections are exclusively for one another. But in the free market of nudity, where women have effectively become a shared commodity (at least at the level of non-sexual interaction), the sanctity of the marriage covenant can no longer hold meaning, families disintegrate rapidly like a spider's web, and children become orphans. (19)
Hijab and the Preservation of Women's Dignity and Personality
In this discussion, the matter of "women's vulgarization" (ابتذال, ibtizal) and "the fall of their personality" is also of great importance, requiring no figures or statistics. When a society desires a woman with a bare body, it is natural that it demands from her more makeup and more self-display day by day. And when a woman—through her sexual appeal—is made into a tool for advertising goods, a decoration for waiting rooms, and a factor for attracting tourists and travelers, in such a society, a woman's personality falls to the level of a doll or a worthless commodity, and her sublime human values are entirely forgotten, leaving her only pride in her youth, beauty, and self-display.
Thus, she becomes a means for satisfying the unruly desires of some corrupt, deceitful men and demonic pseudo-humans. In such a society, how can a woman shine through her moral qualities, her knowledge, her awareness, and her intellect, and attain a lofty position?
Truly, it is painful that in Western and Westernized countries, and in our country before the Islamic Revolution, the greatest fame, renown, money, income, and status belonged to corrupt and promiscuous women who had become known under the name "artist and performer," wherever they set foot, the orchestrators of that corrupt environment would break their own heads and hands for them and consider their step a blessed arrival!
Thank God that those conditions were dismantled, and woman emerged from her previous state of vulgarization and the position of a foreign doll and worthless commodity, and found her personality again. She put on hijab, but without becoming isolated, she appeared in all useful and constructive social arenas—even on the battlefield—with her Islamic hijab. (20)
Summer Heat as a Flimsy Excuse
Another point regarding this objection is that summer heat is merely an excuse used by the Westernized, as they promote the removal of hijab even in the cold of winter. Since 1,400 years ago until now, countless women have maintained and continue to maintain their hijab on the hottest days of the year, without using the heat as an excuse to oppose this ruling. It may involve some difficulty and hardship, but not to an unbearable degree, nor does it constitute a valid reason to oppose it.
In any case, summer heat is an unacceptable excuse. After all, for thousands of years, women in various societies—Muslim and non-Muslim, even while performing heavy agricultural labor in hot regions such as the Middle East—have maintained their hijab in the heat of summer.
Footnotes:
(1). عیون الحکم و المواعظ, Leithi Wasiti, Ali ibn Muhammad, edited by Hassani Birjandi, Hossein, Dar al-Hadith, Qom, 1997 (Persian solar calendar), first edition, p. 118.
(2). الکافی, Kulayni, Muhammad ibn Yaqub, edited by Ghaffari, Ali Akbar and Akhundi, Muhammad, Dar al-Kutub al-Islamiyyah, Tehran, 1407 AH, fourth edition, vol. 2, p. 112.
(3). عیون الحکم والمواعظ, same as above, p. 45.
(4). بحار الأنوار, Majlisi, Muhammad Baqir, Dar Ihya al-Turath al-Arabi, Beirut, 1403 AH, second edition, vol. 75, p. 111.
(5). عیون الحکم والمواعظ, same as above, p. 21.
(6). الکافی, same as above, vol. 2, p. 79.
(7). غرر الحکم و درر الکلم, Tamimi Amedi, Abd al-Wahid ibn Muhammad, edited by Rajaei, Seyyed Mahdi, Dar al-Kitab al-Islami, Qom, 1410 AH, second edition, p. 27.
(8). روضة المتقین, Majlisi, Muhammad Taqi, Kushanpour Islamic Cultural Institute, Qom, 1406 AH, second edition, vol. 12, p. 78.
(9). عیون الحکم و المواعظ, same as above, p. 131.
(10). الکافی, same as above, vol. 2, p. 79.
(11). بحار الأنوار, same as above, vol. 101, p. 38.
(12). وسائل الشیعة, Sheikh Hurr al-Amili, Muhammad ibn Hasan, Al al-Bayt Institute, Qom, 1409 AH, first edition, vol. 5, p. 23.
(13). تحف العقول, Ibn Shu'bah Harrani, Hasan ibn Ali, edited by Ghaffari, Ali Akbar, Society of Seminary Teachers Publications, Qom, 1984 (Persian solar calendar), second edition, p. 113.
(14). See: زیور عفاف (Zivar-e Ifaf), Hedayatkhah, Sattar, Research Department of Khorasan General Education Office, Mashhad, 1996 (Persian solar calendar), second edition, pp. 230-235.
(15). مجموعه آثار شهید مطهری (Collected Works of Motahhari), Motahhari, Morteza, Sadra Publications, Tehran, 2011 (Persian solar calendar), vol. 19 (Women's Rights in Islam, The Issue of Hijab, Professor's Responses, Sexual Ethics), p. 437.
(16). روان شناسی اخلاقی زن و مرد (Moral Psychology of Woman and Man), Pire, Roger, translated by Sarvari, Mohammad Hossein, Hamgam Publications, Tehran, 1982 (Persian solar calendar), first edition, p. 44.
(17). See: دائرة المعارف فقه مقارن (Encyclopedia of Comparative Jurisprudence), Makarem Shirazi, Naser, Imam Ali ibn Abi Talib School, Qom, 1427 AH, first edition, vol. 1, pp. 85-89.
(18). پیام قرآن (Message of the Quran), Makarem Shirazi, Naser, Dar al-Kutub al-Islamiyyah, Tehran, 2007 (Persian solar calendar), ninth edition, vol. 2, p. 446.
(19). تفسیر نمونه (Tafsir-e Namuneh), Makarem Shirazi, Naser, Dar al-Kutub al-Islamiyyah, Tehran, 1995 (Persian solar calendar), 32nd edition, vol. 14, pp. 443-444.
(20). Same as above, vol. 14, p. 446.
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