Sometimes religious scholars really frustrate me whenever they disagree on major issues – hijab being one of those issues. Now here it is, another controversy about the hijab and whether it has been divinely prescribed for Muslim women – an Islamic duty or not? Incorrect and misleading interpretations? Nevertheless, I think it’s good to be aware of other interpretations, which differ from the well settled, widely known and accepted interpretations.
This is Just another reason to do independent reading and research on the matter …
In March 2012, on the last day of her trip to Morocco to commemorate International Women’s Day, UN Women Executive Director Michelle Bachelet, met with the rural women of the Soulalyates ethnic group, who have been striving for inheritance and property rights. All of them were wearing the hijab according to their religious belief. But some religious scholars are now beginning to discuss other interpretations of religious text that do not completely agree or endorse the wearing of the hijab. Image: Karim Selmaoui/UN Women
“… Last month at Al Azhar University, Sheikh Mustapha Mohamed Rashed defended a thesis that sparked a heated debate among religious scholars. The candidate concluded that Hijab, or the veil, is not an Islamic duty.
The claim is not the first of its kind, but the mere fact that it is adopted in Al Azhar University – the Sunni Islam’s foremost seat of learning – makes it controversial.
Sheikh Mustapha Mohamed Rashed argued that Hijab is not an Islamic duty. He stated that Hijab refers to the cover of the head, which is not mentioned in the Holy Quran at all. “Nonetheless, a bunch of scholars insisted vehemently that the veil is both an Islamic duty and one of the most important pillars of Islam,” he added.
In doing so, the PhD candidate points out, “they deviated from the purposes of the Islamic law and “Sahih Atafsir” or the true interpretation. They rejected reasoning and relied only on literal text.”
According to Mohamed Rashed, these scholars de-contextualized the verses of the Quran and interpreted them in their very own liking, following some ancient scholars, as if what they said is sacred and is no subject to Ijtihad.
Ijtihad is a technical term, which literally means “exertion” in a jurisprudential sense; it is the exertion of mental energy by a Muslim jurist to deduce legal rulings from Islam’s sacred texts.1
The researcher continued that the scholars, who claim that Hijab is an important pillar of Islam, departed from “Al Minhaj Assahih,” or the true path, of interpretation and reasoning, which interprets the verses according to their historical context and the causes of revelation. These scholars “interpreted the verses in their general sense, overlooking the causes of their revelation, intentionally or due to their limited intellectual capacity resulted in psychological scourge.” Worse yet, they approached hundreds of important issues in the same way.”
“The supporters of Hijab as an Islamic duty base their arguments on inconsistent and wrong evidence. They would ascribe various meanings to the veil, from Hijab to Khimar to Jalabib, a fact which shows that they digressed from the true meaning they intended to address, the cover of the head,” he added. The researcher attempted to deconstruct the three claims that are derived from interpretations of the sacred texts…”
Please take part in the Poll.
What’s your take on this? Feel free to give reason (s) for your answer.
i didn’t like this post very much but all of your other posts are very good.http://www.editoravida.net
Posted by Cleonei | July 3, 2012, 6:37 pmAssalam Alaikom,
I’m from Egypt and it was shocking for me to read about this. I have looked up this “scholar” but I found nothing real that proves he is a scholar in Al-Azhar. on the contrary, I found some links from Egyptian christian copts websites saying that this man has converted to christianity!
http://mechristian.wordpress.com/2009/08/24/mostafa-christian/
I also found some discussion on Al-Azhar forum about him. No body in Al-Azhar knows about him.
http://www.azhar2day.com/vb/showthread.php?t=47647
Not everyone that studies in Al-Azhar becomes a scholar by default. Probably he has studied in Al-Azhar school/university but it doesn’t mean he’s a scholar that we would consider his opinion a scholarly opinion.
Please if you know Arabic or have a friend who knows it, look him up on google.
Posted by Mohamed | July 4, 2012, 1:36 pmhmm interesting. The source of the info. is from reputable sources. But I will definitely look into this. Thanks.
Nevertheless, this is not the first time such a claim has been made against the hijab. So how should the Muslim community deal with such claims? How do we as Muslims respond on an individual level? And how should our Scholars respond to such claims? There are also many Muslim women who also reject the hijab – claiming it’s not a divine command. So his statement is reflective of the views of these Muslimahs …
Posted by Zainab John | July 4, 2012, 2:11 pmI don’t trust this source, sister…such claims are always made. There is a real war on Islam. It starts with destroying the image of Islam and Muslims in the eyes of the world. Then destroying the image of Islam and Muslims among themselves by planting doubts and disbelief.
And this war is everywhere, even in Muslim countries. Few days ago, a guy with a beard (they call him sheikh) came on Egyptian TV to say that a woman can take off her hijab and wear skirt if she gives herself to a man to become his slave! This is an example…
So how should the Muslim community deal with such claims?
How do we as Muslims respond on an individual level?
> I think it starts with reading and studying. Unfofrtunately, most muslims (including me) don’t read a lot about their religion and takes the knowledge from the juma’a khutbas or lectures only. But they aren’t enough. We need to have a good knowledge of our deen, so when some guy like this comes up and says such thing, it won’t cause us confusion or make us doubt our deen.
And how should our Scholars respond to such claims?
The scholars always respond with strong evidences to such claims. However, for this particular case, I didn’t see any response because I think no one heard of this. But if such claim came from a guy that there were talks that he converted to christianity before and he isn’t a real scholar working in Al-Azhar or anything like that, why would anyone bother to reply? If it was a real Al-Azhar scholar that said such thing, everyone in Egypt would know about it including me. but I got to know about this link from my wife who told me that a lot of revert Muslimas are discussing it online as a real scholar opinion..unfortunately…
Posted by Mohamed | July 4, 2012, 3:10 pmValid points ahki especially about many of us not reading enough about our religion – so very true – only recently the thought crossed my mind…
Posted by Zainab John | July 4, 2012, 4:37 pmAsking questions are genuinely nice thing if you are
not understanding anything completely, but this piece of writing offers nice understanding even.
Posted by Shawn | December 23, 2012, 7:51 pmAs-salam alaikum,
Uncritical approaches by unqualified D.I.Y.ers are potentially a great wellspring of misguidance. Literalism & Anarchy, they are 2 extremes. We should all strive to acquire the tools & habits of scholarly academia, however realising our limits e.g. intellect, lack of command of the idiosyncratic nuances of language – the foundations of comprehension.
“Hijab” A.F.A.I.K. means “covering”, not headscarf.
As soon as we degenerate into loose populist mangling of words especially technical terminology, we are speaking different languages & communication is difficult. There are good reasons for “coming to common terms” as in Dr Samuel Johnson’s endeavours. Precision aids clarity & dispels confusion.
Hijab is a trait of Islam, a Deen which is a holistically integrated & transcendant set of guidelines & boundaries suitable & flexible enough for all times, nations & cultures. With regard to those who are blinded by the “need” for change/novelty – constant change implies that nothing is of permanent value .
Hair can be alluring & sexually stimulating, as the advertising industry based upon sexualisation is well-known to utilise as a factor. We can deny basic human nature, but that is a perversion of a saturated unbalanced society, & we should consider the history of Mankind. I do not believe tthe Marxist Man theory that Man evolves in a straight fashion as time “progresses”. Prof Toynbee in his 12 vol. magnum opus deals with this psychological fallacy to which many are prone. Just consider the exceptions e.g. Tokugawa shogunate & then Hitler. Civilisation & the Savage state are in constant conflict, independent of “Asr/Time”.
Hijab for men & women & all sapient beings. Freedom or ferality, Liberty or Libertine?
Posted by Truth Hurts | January 12, 2013, 12:58 pm