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Hijab: A Divine Ordinance, ordained by all Prophets of Allah (SBUT) Part 3

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Hijab: A Divine Ordinance, ordained by all Prophets of Allah (SBUT)

Part 3

 

Existence of indications to Hijab in the so called old testament And jewish writings, and the biblical reference to the issue that Jesus (SBUH) did not destroy and abrogate the mosaic laws, and references to Hijab in the so called new testament and Christian writings, and Qur’anic confirmation, prove that the command of Hijab existed even though it has been partly or fully disregarded, altered and … by malevolent usurpers and their followers; here are a few samples from christian-respected scholars and writings indicating Hijab for women:

 

“Early Church Fathers, such as Hermas, Clement of Alexandria, Jerome, Augustine of Hippo and Tertullian also mentioned women's headcoverings.” ("Concerning the Trial and Tribulation that are to Come Upon Men". Pastor of Hermas. Ante-Nicene Fathers.; "On Clothes". The Instructor. Ante-Nicene Fathers.; Schaff, Philip (1994). Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers. Hendrickson Publishers.; Augustine. "How Man is the Image of God. Whether the Woman is Not Also the Image of God. How the Saying of the Apostle, that the Man is the Image of God, But the Woman is the Glory of the Man, is to Be Understood Figuratively and Mystically". On the Trinity. Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers.; Ante-Nicene Fathers, Volume Four, Book One, Part Three—On the Veiling of Virgins. As cited in the English Wikipedia.)

 

Irenaeus translates 1 Corinthians 11:10 as follows: "A woman ought to have a veil upon her head, because of the angels." (Irenaeus, Against Heresies, Book 1, 8:2, cited in The Ante-Nicene Fathers, A. Cleveland Cox, ed., (U.S.A: The Christian Literature Publishing Co., 1885), I:327.)

 

Clement of Alexandria (153-217 a.d.) considered as improper clothing for women anything that did not cover the eyes or hide the shape of the body. He wrote when dean between A.D. 192 and 202 of christianity's foremost institution of learning. He stated it is unseemly for clothes to end above the knee, "nor is it becoming for any part of a woman to be exposed."

 

A christian woman was to be "entirely covered, unless she happens to be at home. For that style of dress is grave, and protects from being gazed at. And she will never fall, who puts before her eyes modesty, and her shawl; nor will she invite another to fall into sin by uncovering her face." (Clement of Alexandria, The Instructor, cited in The Ante-Nicene Fathers, A. Cleveland Cox, ed., (U.S.A: The Christian Literature Publishing Co., 1885), II:290.)

 

Clement also pointed out that "it is prohibited to expose the ankle ... it has also been enjoined that the head should be veiled and the face covered; for it is a wicked thing for beauty to be a snare to men."

 

The Didascalia was a comprehensive manual of christian corporate and private life compiled in the early third century. After discountenancing otherwise honorable women adopting the clothing, footwear and hairstyles of streetwalkers, it instructed: "Thou therefore that art a Christian, do not imitate such women; but if thou wouldst be a faithful woman, please thy husband only. And when thou walkest in the street, cover thy head with thy robe, that by reason of thy veil thy great beauty may be hidden; and [when thou walkest in the street] adorn not thy natural face; but walk with downcast looks, being veiled."

 

In reference to the Roman practice of public n ude bathing, it asked christian women how they could appear n aked in such circumstances even though they covered their faces and bodies in the street.

 

Between the times of Clement and the Didascalia came the church father Tertullian. His treatise "On Prayer" presented a long dissertation on whether women were free to be unveiled in church when all Christian women wore veils outside it.

 

There was a controversy over whether "woman" in 1 Corinthians 11:5-16 applied to (1) every post-pubescent female or (2) only an adult female who was s exually experienced, i.e., not a v irgin. He being a Roman lawyer, became champion of the cause that "woman" included s exually inexperienced adult females.

 

Tertullian spoke of concealing the face in public as universal among christian females. He spoke of outdoor veiling as a law of nature and called on proto-nuns to be consistent by veiling at public worship as well. He rhetorically queried: "Why do you denude before God what you cover before men? Will you be more modest in public than in the church?"

 

Years later, Tertullian noted that women veiled their heads in public, in the presence of heathen men, with the implication that all adult christian females wore "burqas" or at least ample veils outside home and church.

 

No author in the first two centuries of the christian church whose writings have survived disputed that married women must be veiled in church or that all believing adult females must cover their features when outside it or their home.

 

And so on …

 

And let us keep in mind all older paintings and statues of Hadrat Maryam- Mary- (SBUH) in which she was always depicted fully veiled; one of her more famous attributes is: “White veil”.

 

The following two statements, one from the past and the other present, should be quite thought-provoking and eye-opening:

 

John Calvin (1509-1564) The theologian of the Reformation preached three sermons from 1 Corinthians 11:2-16 from which the following excerpts are taken:

 

"So if women are thus permitted to have their heads uncovered and to show their hair, they will eventually be allowed to expose their entire breasts, and they will come to make their exhibitions as if it were a tavern show; they will become so brazen that modesty and shame will be no more; in short they will forget the duty of nature. . . . So, when it is permissible for the women to uncover their heads, one will say, 'Well, what harm in uncovering the stomach also?' And then after that one will plead [for] something else: 'Now if the women go bareheaded, why not also [bare] this and [bare] that?' Then the men, for their part, will break loose too. In short, there will be no decency left, unless people contain themselves and respect what is proper and fitting, so as not to go headlong overboard." (Seth Skolnitsky, trans., Men, Women and Order in the Church: Three Sermons by John Calvin, (Dallas, TX: Presbyterian Heritage Publications, 1992), pp. 12,13.)

 

Bob Schlenker, an American christian contemporary author, has said:

 

"Some time ago, I had been prompted by the spirit of the Lord to ask why the relationship between men and women was such a mess, particularly within the church. The answer that became inescapably apparent is that men and women in the church have rebelled against the Lord by disobeying commands governing their gender roles. Myself included! One example of this rebellion concerns headcovering."

 

Alas! … Hadrat ‘Eesa- Eisa, Jesus- (SBUH) never commanded a free interrelationship between men and women, resulting to such a mess that the world is in today:

 

Matthew 5:28 But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart.

 

Matthew 5:29 And if thy right eye offend thee, pluck it out, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell.

 

Let us now look at a few Hadiths in this regard:

 

In Tohaf al-‘Oqool it is narrated that Hadrat ‘Eesa (SBUH) has said that even one look at a person who is not Mahram (for men: wives, daughters, mothers …, and for women husbands, sons, fathers … are Mahram) should be avoided, for the seed of l ust is thus planted in hearts, and one look is enough for corruption of the person who looks.

 

In the Warraam Hadith collection it is narrated that Hadrat ‘Eesa (SBUH) has said that one must not stare at any thing which is not allowed, for as long as one guards his eyes adultery will not be committed; Hadrat (SBUH) continues that if a person is able to even avoid looking at the clothing of a woman who is not Mahram, he should do so.

 

In Meshkaat al-Anwaar, Nahj al-Fesaahah and … Hadiths from Hadrat Mohammad (SAWA) and Imam Saadeq (SBUH) and … have been narrated in which it is stated that no one is safe from adultery, every human part has its own adultery; the adultery of eyes is looking, the adultery of Lips is kissing, the adultery of tongues is talking, the adultery of hands is touching, the adultery of souls is wanting … a person who is not Mahram …

 

We also cordially invite our friends to read both parts of “Truth behind other so-called Christian occasions” in this site: kindfather.com

 

Alas! It is so sad that some muslims have been falling in similar satanic traps …

 

To be continued …