Anything would be useful . Do muslim women were certain clothes to dignify themselves?
dig·ni·ty
/ˈdɪgnɪti/ Pronunciation Key - Show Spelled Pronunciation[dig-ni-tee] Pronunciation Key - Show IPA Pronunciation
–noun, plural -ties. 1.bearing, conduct, or speech indicative of self-respect or appreciation of the formality or gravity of an occasion or situation. 2.nobility or elevation of character; worthiness:
dignity of sentiments. 3.elevated rank, office, station, etc. 4.relative standing; rank. 5.a sign or token of respect:
an impertinent question unworthy of the dignity of an answer.
I assume you want to know if the way we dress has something to do with one or more of the above definitions? Sorry this answer will be so long but it is such an important topic for Muslim women and I am pleased to have the opportunity to explain.
I don't know if you have any knowledge at all about Islam so I will just try to explain and if you don't understand anything just let me know and I will expand.
Before we start I need you to understand that despite certain misconceptions, women are very highly regarded in Islam and the protection of our modesty and dignity is paramount. If you want evidence of this just let me know.
Also what men (husbands/fathers/brothers etc) want has nothing to do with it, I dress this way for Allah (G-d) and Him alone. Yes if my husband disapproves of something I want to wear and can explain to me why it is not deemed as an Islamic mode of dress I will not wear it but only because it would displease Allah not because my husband doesnt like it.
Ask yourself a question, if you went to court and the female judge was wearing a mini skirt, showing her cleavage and her long hair flowing - would you take her seriously? What if she was a surgeon, a lawyer, politician, etc. As a Muslim woman I want to be taken seriously, respected and not seen as a 'play thing'.
The basic rules are to cover ourselves, except face and hands, and to wear loose clothes that do not show the shape of our bodies. We must also wear of material thick enough so that our shape cannot be seen through the material.
The most common question re our dress is Why?
The Prophet Mohammad (peace and blessings upon him) said "
Every religion has a special character and the characteristic of Islam is modesty". He also said "
Modesty and faith are joined closely together and if either of them is lost the other goes also".
As a Muslim you cannot sperate out faith and modesty, they go hand in hand, without one you cannot have the other.
So despite the misconceptions of men forcing us to dress the way we do, you can see from the following verses of the Quran that Muslim women choose to dress this way as a submission to Allah (G-d).
The Quran (Koran) says
And say to the believing women that they should lower their gaze and guard their modesty; that they should not display their beauty and ornaments except what (must ordinarily) appear thereof; that they should draw their veils over their bosoms and not display their beauty except to their husbands, their fathers, their husband's fathers, their sons, their husbands' sons, their brothers or their brothers' sons, or their sisters' sons, or their women, or the slaves whom their right hands possess, or male servants free of physical needs, or small children who have no sense of the shame of sex; and that they should not strike their feet in order to draw attention to their hidden ornaments. And O ye Believers! turn ye all together towards Allah, that ye may attain Bliss. (24:31)
The Quran also says:
O Prophet! Tell thy wives and thy daughters and the women of the believers to draw their cloaks close round them [when they go abroad]. That will be better, that so they may be recognized and not annoyed. Allah is ever Forgiving, Merciful (59:33)
In this verse Allah tells us to cover ouselves in order to be recognised as Muslims and therefore not bothered by male attention.
People often do not realise that Muslim men are also ordered to be modest in dress and life, they cannot wear gold or silk, they must never dress to show anything between the navel and knees, etc. In fact the verse telling men to be modest comes before the verse re women, as follows:
Say to the believing men that they should lower their gaze and guard their modesty: that will make for greater purity for them: And Allah is well acquainted with all that they do. (24:31)
So when I am in my home I do not cover my hair, I can wear tight fitting clothes, see through materials, etc. I can remain dressed like this (within reason, obviously not a bikini) if I am in the presence of my immediate family or my husbands immediate family but if say a cousin of my husband comes to visit then I must cover my hair and body. The reason is modesty, I do not want to be seen as an object of desire to any man but my husband. One can assume my immediate family and husbands immediate family would not see me in this way but a cousin could be tempted to think of me in this way, leading one or both of us into sin.
This must be explained. Let us assume my husbands cousin is not married. Muslims are to remain pure (virgins) until marriage. Now, he pops round for a cup of coffee and I am lounging on the sofa dressed in thin clothing, with my hair flowing over my shoulders. It does not matter if I am beautiful or not, I am a symbol of what is forbidden to him until he marries. So he sips his tea and stares at my cleavage, what thoughts will go through his head? My husband is also in the position of trying to have a friendly chat with his cousin (or friend or whatever) while knowing he is staring at his wifes cleavage, this will make my husband jealous and may cause bad feeling between the men.
If the cousin even imagines certain acts he is commiting adultery and I am behaving in such a way that causes this adultery - hence I am also committing adultery. When put like that it sounds extreme but think about it, how many times have you looked at a girl in a bar or on a beach and imagined certain things? Try to remember a time that you have been with a friend and you cant take your eyes off his new girlfriend/wife, remember what goes through your mind. So in order to respect my husband, his cousin and myself I ensure that I am dressed in a way that will not cause these difficulties to arise.
Hope I have explained that well enough for you to understand. The same goes for men of course, if I have a friend to visit and my husband is wearing small shorts that shows a certain bulge, her mind may wander. So in short we not only dress modestly to protect and respect ourselves but also to protect and respect those around us.
Obviously this is also the reason we dress modestly when outside the house, which is even more important - who wants to be oggled by strangers?
The Quran is not so specific as to womens dress, so we look to the Ahadith (traditions of the Prophet Mohammad (pbuh)) and we find this:
"Ayesha (R) reported that Asmaa the daughter of Abu Bakr (R) came to the Messenger of Allah (S) while wearing thin clothing. He approached her and said: 'O Asmaa! When a girl reaches the menstrual age, it is not proper that anything should remain exposed except this and this. He pointed to the face and hands." (Abu Dawood)
This is why we cover our hair.
The last point I would like to make is why some Muslim women also cover their hands and faces (including eyes). I do not do this so do not want to speak for the sisters who choose to but I found the following paragraph on
USC-MSA Compendium of Muslim Texts
The question of hijab for Muslim women has been a controversy for centuries and will probably continue for many more. Some learned people do not consider the subject open to discussion and consider that covering the face is required, while a majority are of the opinion that it is not required. A middle line position is taken by some who claim that the instructions are vague and open to individual discretion depending on the situation. The wives of the Prophet (S) were required to cover their faces so that men would not think of them in sexual terms since they were the "Mothers of the Believers," but this requirement was not extended to other women.
Hope this is of some help to you. If you have any further questions just ask I will be happy to answer if I can.