Is it hard to believe that ladies would be compared to crows and not feel offended. The following Hadeeth continues to amaze me. Umm Salamah (rtaf) has narrated: “When the verse ‘That they should cast their outer garments over their persons’ was revealed, the women of Ansar came out, as if they had crows over their heads by wearing outer garments.” (Abu Dawood) The word ‘crow’ refers to the colour of the outer garment or the shape of the covering – nothing flattering, to say the least. If, today, a lady was compared to a crow, she would most probably throw a fit of rage. The Ansar women, however, were not offended, because the whole objective of covering oneself was not to draw others’ attention.
It is a wonder how women of that time obeyed the rulings so promptly, whilst we are still caught up in a debate of what Haya (modesty) is and why is it necessary to protect it, in order to protect our Iman.
The Prophet (sa) said: “Haya is (a part) of Iman.” (Bukhari) In another Hadeeth, narrated by Abdullah ibn Umar (rtam), the Prophet (sa) said: “Indeed, Haya and Iman are companions. When one of them is lifted, the other leaves as well.” (Al-Hakim) Furthermore, Abu Hurairah (rtam) narrated that the Prophet (sa) said: “Faith consists of more than sixty branches. And Haya is a part of faith.” (Bukhari) The Prophet (sa) also said: “Haya will not bring anything except good.” (Bukhari)
With so much knowledge available on the importance of Haya and the strong link between Haya and Iman, what should worry us next is how to protect Haya, in order to protect our Iman. To do so, one must first understand the concept of Haya. Haya comes from the word ‘Hayat’, which means ‘life’. To have Haya would imply that a modest person has life, whilst immodesty implies death of character. A quick research reveals that the word Haya is taken to mean respect, modesty and bashfulness. Some scholars have divided Haya into inner or natural Haya and outer or acquired Haya.
Inner or innate Haya is the Fitrah that children are born with. To nurture the innate Haya is a responsibility of parents and society. Acquired or outer Haya is a result of education and study of the Deen. Both go hand in hand. Innate Haya means that we are ashamed in front of Allah (swt) and therefore abstain from sin. Acquired Haya would then mean how to abstain from sin. Readers must remember that a person, who has no Haya, feels absolutely no shame in doing whatever he wants. Abu Masood Uqbah bin Amir al-Ansari al-Badri (rtam) reported that the Prophet (sa) said: “Among the things that people have found from the words of the previous prophets was: ‘If you feel no shame, then do as you wish.’” (Bukhari)
How to Protect Haya
We are commanded by Allah (swt) to lower our gaze and hide our private parts. “Tell the believing men to lower their gaze (from looking at forbidden things), and protect their private parts (from illegal sexual acts, etc.) … And tell the believing women to lower their gaze (from looking at forbidden things), and protect their private parts (from illegal sexual acts, etc.)…” (An-Nur 24: 30-31) There is no ambiguity, therefore, in the kind of action, manner, speech and dress that a Muslim should have.
Much hue and cry was raised after the rape and murder of a minor child was reported in the media. After all the noise died down, life went on as usual. We, as a society, have failed our children, because the rapists, who commit the crime, have no shame (Haya), and parents, who make excuses for their children’s revealing clothing, have no Haya. According to Amr ibn Shuayb (rtam), the Prophet (sa) said: “Command your children to pray, when they are seven years old, and beat them for (not offering) it when they are ten, and separate them in beds.” (Abu Dawood). How is it that when a child learns to pray, he will want to stay uncovered otherwise.
According to a Hadeeth of the Prophet (sa): “No man is alone with a woman but the Shaitan is the third one present.”(Ahmad, Tirmidhi, al Haakim) This dictates how one should behave in the presence of the opposite gender, whether in a real environment or in virtual space. The concept of friendship with the opposite gender does not exist at all in Islam, and we do not need to be apologetic for that. After all, the Prophet (sa) said: “Every Deen has an innate character. The character of Islam is modesty (Haya).” (Abu Dawood)
To instill the value of Haya in our children, we need role models, so that children firmly believe that it is possible to have Haya in this day and age, yet move in the midst of society. Parents and elders need to double-check their behaviour, speech and way of dressing for assessing, whether they are instilling the right set of values or not. Knowledge of the life of the Prophet (sa), his companions, Mothers of the Faithful, and the women of that time is a powerful tool to aid the young generation in acquiring Haya and thereby remaining steadfast in Deen.
An example has been set for us by the Prophet’s (sa) daughter Fatima (rtaf). She was so modest that when she became ill and her death was imminent, she asked Asma (rtaf) that when the time came to do her Janazah, they should do it at night, so that no one could see her figure; and when they bury her, they should do it at night, so that they could not see her figure. (Ibn Shahrashub, Manaqib Al Abi Talib)
Other examples have been set by our pious predecessors to show us the level of Haya that Allah (swt) loves. Abu al-Abbas al-Azhari said: “I heard the servant of Mohammad bin Yahya adh-Dhuhli saying, while he was being washed: ‘I served him for thirty years, and I would give him his water, and I never even saw his leg, and I was his property.’” (Siyar A’lam an-Nubala; 12/279) In another incident, Abu Bakr bin Maymun came and knocked on the door of al-Humaydi and assumed that he was given permission to enter. So he entered, finding al-Humaydi with his thigh exposed. Al-Humaydi began to cry, saying: “By Allah, you have just laid your eyes on something that nobody has seen, since I have reached adulthood!” (Siyar A’lam an-Nubala; 19/122)
Aisha (rtaf) says: “I used to enter the building, in which the Messenger of Allah (sa) and my father were buried, whilst I was dressed lightly, saying: ‘These are just my husband and father.’ However, when Umar was buried, by Allah, I never entered this building except that my clothing was wrapped tightly around my body, out of shyness from Umar.” (Hakim)
In light of the overwhelming evidence and the stellar examples set forth by our pious predecessors, it would be a shame, if we still continue to debate and argue about how important Haya is in order to have a strong Iman. In fact, it becomes imperative to observe the guidelines given to us, in order to protect our own Haya and the Iman as well as the Haya of the coming generations.
About author
