Topic:
“Fashionable”
To:
The Star Magazine: I
read the article "Fashionable" in the STAR sated 12 April,
2009 and would like to make the following remarks:
Islam
is a "Way of Life" and it is governed by Qur'anic injunctions
which form the framework and basis upon which life is established. Take
for example the way women should dress. In Surah Nur verse 31 several
aspects have been instituted by Allah. These include having an outer
garment over an existing one, indicating loose clothing, clothing that
do not reveal the contours of the body. Though there are various
interpretations to this verse, the Shafi'e School of Islamic Thought (Madhab)
permits the face to be exposed. Other aspects refer to the lowering of
one's gaze and who one can mingle with. What is most significant with
the verse is that "they should not stamp their feet so as to reveal
what is in their inner garments".
On
the basis of this and many other verses including Ahadith, we can say
that the mode of how Muslim women should dress has been established
in accordance with Allah’s commands. This is the basic framework or
outline on which Islamic fashion is established. As for women dressing
in black or any specific colour, well, that is a matter of choice.
However, the Prophet Muhammad (s.a.w.) has said that a woman should not
dress in a manner to attract attention to herself, which could make her
look like a whore. In fact, many Malay women think they are dressing in
accordance with Islam when they wear the ‘tudung’ and cover
themselves but in truth they fail the test when they sport tight fitting
clothing which details the outline of their bodies, a clear prohibition
in Islam
How
the Pakis, Afghans or Malays dress culturally is something else. Often
we find a lot of cultural practices undertaken in the name of Islam to
be downright unIslamic.
As for the statement made by Marina Mahathir that “Dressing in Islamic fashion does not make you a better Muslim than the one who does not,” she is right and wrong. She is right in one aspect because we do come across many Muslim women who do dress in accordance with Islamic rules but are not necessarily righteous Muslims. However, she is wrong because a woman needs to cover herself in accordance with Qur'anic requirements regardless of whether she is a good Muslim or not. Many make the mistake of referring to Islam as a matter of the heart (internal) when in fact it is a combination of externalities and internalities.
Marina
has also gone astray when she questions the Qur’an by saying: “Whether the Qur’an gives us fashion guidelines? No, it just tells
us to behave modestly. God is beyond fashion.”
If the verse quoted by me above is not related to fashion or the
way a Muslim woman should dress then what is? The problem with her and
such people is that they are possessed by their ‘nafs’, meaning that
since she is one who does not comply with such, so it only natural for
her to come up with her own assumptions. Maybe, we should ask her
whether wearing a ‘wig’ is ok or not? She most probably will say it
is ok if you’re bald.
The
truth is that most Muslims are ritualistic robotic Muslims who go
through the daily rituals such as prayer, fast and go for Hajj with the
rest being left to their whims and fancies. It would be better to turn
to Allah for forgiveness and to strive for improvement rather than to be
rebellious.