From: merchant@davidsys.com (Rukhsana)
Newsgroups: soc.religion.islam
Subject: RE: Shura (was: Are We Having Fun, Yet...?)
Date: 16 Nov 92 23:01:11 GMT




In article <iqbal.719453547@daly-lake> iqbal@cs.ualberta.ca (Iqbal Goralwalla) writes:
""ys3359@csc.albany.edu (Yazmasterj) writes:

"""In article <1bcvgpINNm9b@aludra.usc.edu> jodar@aludra.usc.edu (Nicholas Jodar) writes:
>"""In article <718753660@lear.cs.duke.edu> ekrem@vlsivie.tuwien.ac.at (Ekrem Saban) writes:
""""
""# I doubt whether we have to dress like them, as traditionalist Muslims
""# insist, as the Arabs of the 7. century were wearing that kind of
""# dresses - whether believer or unbeliever.
""""
""""I don't believe it's required by the Shariat, but maybe you
""""should ask yourself what distinguishes you from the Kuffar....

"""I would hope there is more distinguishing me than mere superficialities
"""such as clothing.  The merit of a person is based on actions not images.
"""Arguments against Western clothing as opposed to clothing of seventh
"""century Arabs I believe stem more from resentment of colonization and
"""fear of losing cultural identity than any truly Islamic viewpoints.

"""Yasmin

* The dress of the muslim should not be similar to what is known 
as the costume of unbelievers.  This requrement is derived from the general
rule of Shari'ah that Muslims should have their distinct personality
and should differentiate their practices and appearances from unbelievers. (1)

(1) For an excellent discussion on this principle on the basis of Qur'an
and Sunnah , see Al-Albani, Ibid, pp 78-79.
Al-Abani, Muhammed N. Hijabul Mar'at-il-Muslimah Fil-Kitab Wassunah,
3rd printing, Al-Maktab-ul-Islami, Beirut, Lebanon 1389 A.H. (1976).

* Taken from 'The Muslim Woman's Dress' compiled by Jamal A. Badawi.

"" Yasmin, depends on what kind of western clothing you are talking
"" about. Ofcourse, your point regarding the merit of a person is
"" well raised. However, Islam does lay out certain requirements of dress
"" regardless of the culture. This is especially the case for women.
"" As an extreme example, consider a Muslim lady/girl/woman wearing
"" clothing which leaves behind nothing else which could be possibly
"" revealed. However positive her actions may be - she has not left any
"" signs of being a believer. The same is true for men. Guess I have
"" made my point clear with these few words ...
""
"" Iqbal.

Yes, the same is true for men. The man's dress also should not be
similar to what could be identified as the dress of the unbelievers.

Yes, Islam is more than the dress.  But it is not only restricted to 
actions alone.  Dress is part of it.

"And, Yasmin, apart from the current culture(s) and the common fashion
"of female dresses and clothings, Allah S.W.T. says, as you might know
"as well, in the Qur'an surah 24 verse 31: "And say to the believing
"woman that they should ..... draw their veils over their bosoms and
"not display their beauty except to their husbands, ...." (trans. by
"Abdullah Y. Ali). Isn't this a clear order to be obeyed by every
"muslimahs (and muslims as a whole body of believing people). Moreover,
"many muslimahs wear 'covered dresses' because they are convinced that
"it is the right kind of dress for them, in following Allah's order.
"I remember there was an article in this newsgroup sometimes ago,
"telling that in a muslim women's seminar somewhere in the U.S., the
"chairperson said: "I choose to cover my head, not my mind". Isn't it a
"good thing to be quoted? Or it isn't.

"Wisnu Hendradjit

Men should also try to follow the sunnah and not dress like the unbelievers.

Assalamu Alaikum, Wa Rahamullah....

-Rukhsana Merchant