Comments on: Muslim sprinter wins Olympic sprint dressed head to toe in hijab

By: Haq

Haq — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 19:34:26 +0000

Br Abu Majeed, Can you direct me towards any book/text where hijab is discussed in the manner you have? I never knew that the asl was covering skin and being loose was from ijtihad i thought both were covered by nass.

JazzakAllahu Khayr for the info though

Wassalam

Haq…

By: Abu Majeed

Abu Majeed — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 08:24:38 +0000

I think from a fiqh angle the base ruling of Hijaab is to cover the awrah where the skin cannot be seen. The condition of being loose (which is from ijtihad) is seen as perfecting the purpose of Hijaab therefore we could say mustahabb or highly recommended. It’s like the issue of zawajal-misyaar. The strongest opinion amongst our scholars is that it is a valid marriage contract. That being said it isn’t seen as a contract whicH fulfills the full meaning of marriage since the husband isn’t always with his wife and/or doesn’t provide for her financially and they may purposefully try not to have kids. But according to all schools of thought that whoever married under these conditions has a valid contract.

So lets not say that this sister is not a muhajjabah or that she is rebellious for what she is doing. You should have seen the many “Muslim” runners who were basically in panties and a bra ouT there. Lets look at this for what it is in the scope of it’s own reality. We can’t judge the millions of spectators with our high standards of “awrah” and “Haya”. The fact is as an American I can say that there is a very low chance that almost no one was attracted to this sister because of her “revealing” clothes. On the contrary, people saw a Muslim woman who looks akward, but is clearly proud of her identity. Believe it or not, that is what we need in our Ummah. At a masjid picknick it would be strange and possibly offensive for the old school imigrants to see a race among girls dressed like this, but would it be so bad? Lets lighten up a little.

By: AbdelRahman

AbdelRahman — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 22:04:20 +0000

That being said, Zubair is right in saying that no matter the spiritual state of anyone (not that we know, anyways), a person should be welcomed and invited whether they wear short sleeves or niqaabs, smoke or use miswaak, because the only way we can better ourselves is together. Through community insha Allah.

By: AbdelRahman

AbdelRahman — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 22:02:17 +0000

It allows Muslim athletes to compete while still adhering to the strict modesty required of their faith.

This quote from the article kind of bothers me.

And I don’t think anyone is ostracizing anyone else, I just think opinions are being shared. There’s no doubt in my mind that a sister like this has noble intentions, and iA she’ll be rewarded.

But we can’t mistake noble intentions for acceptable actions. I’m not as much concerned about the sujood as I am by the “fusion” of identities. I’m not saying women shouldn’t compete in sport, but a distinction needs to be made between what’s right and what’s progress towards right (which is relative, of course).

It’s the same issue with Muslim bands/music.

By: UM-ABDELRAHMAN MURPHY

UM-ABDELRAHMAN MURPHY — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 19:00:41 +0000

Young muslem girls should learn what is right for them to do as muslims , and what is not proper to do , mixed messages , like [ do wrong , and then we teach you what is right later, will not build a strong muslim identity .
May ALLAH SUBHANAHU WA TAALA Guide us.

By: Zubair

Zubair — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 17:40:10 +0000

Guys,

I don’t think anyone is trying to claim that her dress is an ideal Islamic dress. The point is, as Imam Suhaib said, she’s trying to fuse her identity with an Islamic articulation. She had the courage to wear a hijab (along with full clothing) in front of millions of people and she made a statement saying, “I am a Muslim!.” If you read the comments on the other post on this blog of her picture, you will see how many sisters felt empowered by her courage. If she can wear a hijab in front of millions of people, the sisters felt like they can wear a hijab to work and school without being afraid. So instead of us trying to ostracize her and bringing out the ‘Haram Police’, we need to welcome people like her into the community and allow them to express themselves and guide them gently if they’re doing something un-Islamic.

Invite to the way of your Lord with wisdom and good instruction… (al-Qur’an 16:125)

By: Jibran

Jibran — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 17:16:56 +0000

the real question I think is “do tight (but covering) clothes fall under hijab?”. sometimes sisters go into beaches w/ hijab on thinking its ok as well……

By: UM-ABDELRAHMAN MURPHY

UM-ABDELRAHMAN MURPHY — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 16:25:35 +0000

Brother JV, note that the Prophet’s mosque did not have walls or doors at the time , so people came in and left from the side or the front entrance, as for the mosque in your area , i am sure that the brothers will lower the Gaze when passing by the sisters area . How can we compare this to 2 million non muslems eyes looking at this muslem sister . Let us remember the hadeeth that asks every muslim man [ Do you like this for your sister , wife , or daughter ] you will fined the right answer. Gazak ALLAH khair

By: Faiez

Faiez — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 02:43:46 +0000

I agree with um-abdelrahman, a woman with food that good can’t be wrong!

By: JV

JV — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 02:27:41 +0000

Exactly, women prayed behind the men in the Prophet’s (saw) mosque, so if you came late, which I am sure people did in those times as well, or left early while people were still praying their sunnah, they probably saw women making sujood. In a masjid in our area the women can pray behind the men in the main prayer area when its not busy. So you inevitably see sisters praying, and yes, making sujood.