book, the Glorious Qur'an. The head cover is specifically mentioned in
24:31. This instruction from God is only one aspect of a wider context
of purity of thought and action for men and women.
Islam has very strict rules against adultery and fornication, and
introduces many cautious measures to ensure the prevention and
avoidanceof such sins. One measure is the prescription that men and
women should avoid intermingling as far as possible (see Qur'an
33:53). This is why men and women pray in separate areas or
separaterows in the mosque. Another measure is that men and women
should cover the specified areas of their bodies the sight of which
arouse sexual desire in others (see Qur'an 7:26; 33:59). Yet another
measure is that men and women should lower or turn their gaze away
from looking at a person of the opposite sex (see Qur'an 24:31).
The idea that the head covering is a sign of subjection of women is
found not in the Qur'an but in another religious book with which the
Qur'an does not always agree. That other book teaches that women
should have a sign of authority over their headsbecause man was not
created from woman, but woman from man. The same book says that a man
should not cover his head because he is the image and glory of God;
and a woman should cover her head because she is the glory of man. The
Qur'an does not identify with any of these ideas. The Qur'anic
prescription of head coverdoes not in any way imply the subjection of
women.
People often confuse the Islamic prescriptions with ideas they are
already familiar with. Therefore when they see Muslim women covering
their heads they hastily conclude that it is for the same reasons
mentioned in some other religious book. But to gain a better
understanding of Islamic prescriptions, they have to be viewed within
the framework of Islamic thought.
Another mistake made by many is as follows. When they hear that the
Qur'an includes the story of Adam and Eve they conclude that the
Qur'an also upholds the idea thatEve was responsible for the fall of
man, and that the subjection of women is a necessary result of God's
curse on them. On the contrary, the Qur'an is free of such ideas. In
the Qur'an, Adam and Eve were both approached by the Devil. The Devil
did not approach Adam through Eve. Adam is therefore specifically
blamed in the Qur'an 20:121. In other verses they are both blamed;
butin no verse is Eve alone singled out to be blamed for the fall of
man. Although men are charged with the responsibility of leadership in
Islam too, this is in view of the practical dynamics of human
interaction as prescribed by God. It is not because of a curse on
women.
It would be a mistake to take the prescriptions of Islam and associate
them with ideas held outside ofIslam. Within Islam, women are capable
of as much good as men, and they stand before God equally honored.
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