There is much more to the issue than what was mentioned in the video and what has been mentioned by the young Muslim women here. Words in the Arabic language have linguistic meanings (hijab - "to sheild from") and technical/applied meanings as any student of the Arabic language would know.
The explanations in parentheses or brackets are not from 'toxic mullahs' but the Prophet's companions - from the original tafseer. When understood in light of other verses and hadiths, it becomes clear that veiling is a command from God to all of the believing women for all time.
I don't know exactly which year after the Prophet's migration to Madinah that Almighty God sent down the verses concerning modesty and veiling, but it was at least 15 years after the commencement of the revelation. Believing women take the Prophet's wives as role models and best examples to follow. If Almighty God commanded the Prophet's wives (who were the most moral and purest of women) to cover themselves, how much more important is it for us (believing women), who do not even have an ounce of the faith that they did, to do so as well?
Almighty God is Most Wise and All Knowing. He sent down the Quran over the course of 23 years and for the first 13 of them, Muhammad preached in Makkah with his message focussed on one thing: Tawheed - Pure Monotheism. Surely women were going out at night to use the privy then too, and I'm sure some were being assaulted as well. But the issue of veiling was revealed some 15 years later at the time when Almighty God ordained for them to be revealed.
Anyways, I won't add anything else to this thread which, to me, was started for nefarious reasons, but I will leave with a passage from an article which may shed more light on the status of women and hijab in Islam.
Amidst the hustle and bustle of a teeming metropolis, a solitary figure traverses. She moves steadily in her black garment which shields her against the tyranny of this life. Whilst others around her rush frantically, she move with tranquillity and ease. The peace which she achieves beneath this veil of hers, is immense. It is a liberation beyond measure. Is this a princess of royal blood? No. Is she a head of state? No. So who is this woman of serenity? This is a woman of Hijaab. A woman amongst many women. A Muslim Woman.
The site of a woman covering from top to bottom, is not so rare anymore in the major cities of the West. For many Westerners it represents the oppression which Islam imposes upon women. For Muslims however, it is the realisation that Islam will eventually reach every corner of this planet. This is not surprising, considering that Islam is the fastest growing religion on Earth. What is surprising, for Westerners, is that 7 out of 10 (70%) people who become Muslim are Women! It is these same women who then go on to willingly observe the Hijab without coercion or force. The women of Hijaab in the cities of London, Paris, New York etc, are not all immigrants who have just stepped off the boat, as many people think. Rather, many of them tend to be women of high intellect and education. Women who have experienced the bitterness of western oppression. Women of diverse nationalities and races, who are brought together as one, under the banner of Islam.
An Islaamic Duty
Ever since the appearance of Hijaab in the west, there has been a constant crusade against this noble act. The hypocrisy of the Western media has been evident for many years now, through its constant attacks on Islam and Hijaab. Despite these attempts, women in Hijaab are still on the increase. Thus, a new crusade had to be launched by the advocates of “liberation” and “freedom”. For a while now, many Western critics have insisted that the Hijaab has nothing to do with Islaam. They claim that it is a cultural practice and not a religious one. This has been broadcast in the Western media with the aid of its puppets, the modernist Muslims. People such as Dr Zaki Badawi, have pushed this erroneous view for a number of years now. This has led to much confusion amongst ignorant Muslims, and many Muslim women are being led into depriving themselves of this great benefit. So what is the reality behind this issue? Is the Hijaab obligatory?
Hijab is an Arabic word which literally means a cover, a screen or a partition. Islamically it refers to the dress code of the Muslim woman. In answering the above question, as Muslims we unashamedly say, Yes!, the Hijaab IS OBLIGATORY!! The proofs for this obligation are many, but due to lack of space we will only quote two here. In the Qur’an Allaah says:
“And tell the believing women to lower their gaze and guard their modesty, and not to display their adornment except that which appears ordinarily thereof, and to draw their veils over their necks and bosoms..”
(Sura An-Noor 24:31)
About the words “..except that which appears ordinarily thereof..”, then the scholars of Islam have explained that these words refer to the hands and face of a woman. This is supported by the hadith of the Prophet (Sallallaahu ‘alaihi wa Sallam) : “Aisha reported that Asmaa, the daughter of Abu Bakr, entered into the presence of the Messenger of Allaah wearing thin transparent clothing, So the Messenger of Allaah turned away from her saying : ‘O’ Asmaa, when a women reaches the age of menstruation, it is not allowed that any of her should be seen except this’ – and he pointed to his face and two hands.” The Hijaab is therefore something which MUST cover the entire body of a woman, except her face and hands. It is NOT a simple headscarf which many women wear, because a piece of cloth on the head does not conceal the parts of a woman’s body, which when exposed, are the result of much strife. Besides covering the entire body, the Hijaab also has other conditions, such as not being tight, transparent, too colourful or resembling the clothes of a man. These conditions are also proven from Islaam.
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