Issuing fatwas or Islamic decrees by clerics in the Muslim majority country is a normal phenomenon. In countries where Muslims are a minority, clerics do not lag behind Muslim majority countries' clerics in issuing fatwas governing every aspect of a Muslim's life. Most of the time, these bizarre fatwas issued by the clerics leave us in splits.
Recently, over his radio program, Sheikh Abdullah al-Mutlaq, a member of the Council of Senior Scholars, says, "Muslim women should dress modestly, but this doesn't necessitate wearing the abaya, or a long loose-fitting robe metaphorical of religious faith." He also says, "More than 90% of pious Muslim women in the Muslim world do not wear abayas. So we should not force them to wear abayas."
The cleric did not clarify his issue of this fatwa concerning why Muslim women do not necessarily have to wear the burka-like abaya anymore. There are no explanations from the cleric why the abaya is not an Islamic dress as well. He did not try to convince the Saudi and other Muslim women remove their abayas or veils.
Of course, some of them will remove their veils, but most of them won't or can't take out these robes as a huge pressure will be coming from their husbands and family members.
Some women won't overthrow them in their lifetime because wearing this dress has been a tradition in the region and they have been wearing this since their tender ages. And, these women will be inspiring other women not to listen what the cleric said.
Saudi patriarchal-male dominated society has segregated its females in every aspect of life and imprisoned them with the black robes for centuries. The females do not have the freedom to wear what they like, or can't go where they like to go. Slowly but surely, the women of Arabia will be coming out of this tradition. But it is not going to happen overnight.
This fatwa will have huge religious and political ramifications of the future Muslim women who can persuade their family members not to force them to wear these robes.
This optimistic fatwa is a testament to Prince Salman's efforts towards modernization of the Saudi Kingdom. It seems a new dawn has broken. Even before and after the establishment of the Saudi Kingdom, the Al-Saud family has been managing the Ulemas, or cleric body in establishing a strict interpretation of Islam to rule the kingdom.
Sometimes, the Al-Saud family persuades the Ulema council for a strict interpretation of the Koran, or if necessary, forces them to issue a fatwa to dissolve an issue. Thus, the Al-Saud family and the Ulema council have been working hand in hand almost for a century.
It seems crown prince Mohammad bin Salman's vision 2030 and modernization of Saudi Arabia is going very well with the help of the Saudi-religious clerics who have a great leverage in persuading the world's 1.6 billion Muslims about religious fatwa or decree.
The cleric's interpretation has been followed by earlier another two fatwas which are the parts of social reform plan spearheaded by Mohammed bin Salman, the kingdom's de facto ruler, vowed to transform the kingdom with the Al-Saud Family's Vision 2030 programme.
In his book, how to avoid contempt and hatred, chapter nineteen, Niccolo Machiavelli says, "Princes must delegate the task to others and keep popular ones for them." Princes must not be hated if they're hated, they will be losing their positions. There must be some good reasons for the hatred.
How can they avoid being hated when terrible things have to be done? He says, "You must appoint a deputy and you must get him do the dirty work for you." Over the years, the Kings and princes got so many unpopular works done by the cleric body or the Ulema council for them.
Of course, this fatwa is one of the best things ever done by the cleric at the behest of the crown prince Salman. But in the eyes of ultraconservative Saudis, this fatwa is the weirdest and ugliest one. So the crown prince used the Ulema Council to issue and make the fatwa popular among the Saudis.
The Koran doesn't say anything like burka, abaya, hijab, and nikab, but of course, mentions Khumur or coverings. In another verse, Koran says jalabia or outer loose garment, and libas or clothe. The use of burka was not that much popular in South Asian countries even a few decades ago. Very few of the Muslim women would wear black robes covering head to toe. The Saudi Wahhabi clerics exported these robes through various channels, and Muslim men living in the Gulf countries brought these black robes to their country of origin like India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Malaysia, Indonesia and so and so countries. So let us see if the Koran says anything regarding hijab or veils.
The Koran, 24:31 An-Nur (The light), says, "And tell the believing women to restrain their looks, and to guard their privates, and not display their beauty except what is apparent thereof, and to draw their coverings over their breasts, and not expose their beauty except to their husbands……"
The Arabic word "khimar" means "a covering" and its plural is "khumur" and its root word is khamara which means "to cover." Let us see how Muslim scholars have interpreted this word in many different ways. Some interpreters say "khumur" as shawls, others mention "veils", and some others say "scarves", "coverings" and "head covers". Some historians say that the word burka has been there in the Arabic lexicon even in the pre-Islamic Arbia, but Koran did not use it nor Koran used any other words for hijab but "khumur".
Many of the scholars have interpreted "khumur" as veils or hijab to cover Muslim women's cleavage but not their heads. Some other argue that this verse was revealed to the wives of the Prophet. But in Arabia and beyond, some Muslim women cover their full bodies including head, faces, hands, and feet.
Orientalists say that veiling existed in ancient countries before the pre-Islamic era, such as in ancient Assyria, Syria, Israel, Greece and Rome.The Koran, 33:59 Al Ahzab (The allies), says, "O Prophet! Tell your wives and your daughters and the women of the faithful to draw closely over themselves their chadors [when going out]….."
The Arabic word "jalabia" means a piece of garment, but this "jalabia" has been interpreted by many Islamic scholars as chadars, wraps, cloaks, veils, outer garments, wrapping-garments, outer coverings, coverings, and over-garments.
The Koran, 7:26 Al Araf (The heights), says, "O Children (of) Adam! Verily, we have sent down to you clothing, it covers your shame and (as) an adornment. But the clothing (of) [the] righteousness - that (is) best."
Again here, the Arabic word "libas" means clothe and its plural is libasan. Many scholars have interpreted the word as clothing, dress, garments, raiment and clothes.
Mostly, the aforementioned verses of the Koran mention Muslim women's dress code. But it seems the strict interpretation of the Koran by some Wahhabi clerics makes Muslim women cover themselves from head to toe.
The writer, a Bangladeshi freethinker, is based in Toronto, Canada
Latest News