THE LIBERIAN MANDINGO
ASSOCIATION OF
PENNSYLVANIA
RELIGION COMMITTEE
PHILADELPHIA, PA
August 12, 2006
In the name of Allah,
the compassionate, the
gentle. All praise is
due to Allah; we praise
him, seek his aid, and
ask his forgiveness. We
seek refuge in Allah
from the evils in our
selves and from the bad
consequences of our
deeds, whomever Allah
guides, there is none
who can lead him astray,
and whomever Allah leads
astray, there is none
who can guide them, I
testify that none is
worthy of worship except
Allah alone, without any
partners and I testify
that Muhammad (May peace
and blessing of Allah be
upon him) is his last
Prophet and Messenger.
Certainly the most
truthful speech is the
book of Allah,
(Al-Qur’an) and the
finest guidance is the
guidance of Muhammad
Peace and blessing of
Allah be upon him (Al-Hadith),
and the most evil of
affairs are newly
invented matters in the
religion, and every
newly invented matter in
the religion is BID"AH,
and every bid'ah is a
straying and every
straying is in the
hellfire.
Brothers and Sisters in
Islam
As-salaamu alaykum ,
Introduction:
I was one time relaxing
home when I turned on my
computer to see what is
going on back
home ( Liberia ) after
more than a decade of
civil strike and to find
out again what the new
elected government is
doing towards the
reconciliation,
disarmament and
demobilization of the
former combatants, I
came across the
statement attributed to
the Liberian Police
Director Munnah Sieh
where accordingly, the
Honorable Director
attributed the wearing
of veil by Muslim women
to terrorism, according
to the source the law
enforcement boss warned
the women from the
Islamic faith against
wearing veil when moving
on the streets and other
public places in the
country ..!!
Even though Munnah Sieh received
and continue to receive
condemnation from the
public both Muslim and
non Muslims home and
abroad, I deem it
necessary to come out
with this research
highlighting the
religious view towards
this crucial matter.
In addition to Munnah
threatening and
provocative remarks -
unfortunately- there has
been an increasing
amount of scrutiny
placed on the dress and
status of Muslim women
in the recent times
world wide . According
to these so-called " liberated'
women movement, the veil
not only cover the head,
but also covers the
mind, will, and
intellect. they say the
Muslim women dress codes
is outdated and
oppressive, and it stops
Muslim women from being
productive human beings.
But we tell all of them
( including Munnah Sieh
) that they speak out of
ignorance when they say
that the veil does not
belong to the modern
times, when due to the
constant decrease in
moral values in the
world today,
circumstances make the
veil even more
necessary. More than
before, sex crimes are
rampant and”liberated
women” in the larder
society now face
increasing higher
chances of being raped
or sexually harassed.
The Federal Government
of the United States of
America conducted
research in which they
found that in America, a
rape is committed every
six (6) minutes!
The women, who uncover
their beauty and show
off their bodies and
made-up faces for all to
enjoy, expose themselves
to be harmed by wolves
in human clothing.
Allah enjoined veil on
the Muslim woman to
protect her from harm,
He (S.W.T) knows his
creation, and knows that
when women make a
dazzling display of
themselves, with
immodest clothes,
perfumed bodies and made
up faces, it serves to
increase the sexual
deviance of the overall
society. Many of whose
who are misguided would
have us think though
that the veil is a
portable prison that
restricts the minds,
lives, and hearts of our
Muslim women. It is none
of these things, and in
order not to fall victim
to their plots, we must
begin to understand what
the veil truly is.
The veil in Christianity
A common misconception
is that Muslim women are
the only ones who cover
their hair. It
may be true that Islam
is the only religion in
which most women follow
its directives to cover
the hair, but it is not
the only religion to
have such directives.
It is particularly
interesting to look at
the case of
Christianity, since
Christianity is the
predominant religion in
the west, and it is the
Westerners, including
observant Christians (
like Munnah Sieh
Liberia Police Director
), who are often the
first to criticize Islam
because of the Veil (Hijab)
modest dress, including
head covering.
Covering the hair is a
religious commandment
for Christian women;
please open the Bible to
the First Epistle to the
Corinthians, chapter 11.
Read verses 3-10
“But I would have you
know that the head of
every man is Christ and
the head of the woman is
the man, and the head of
the Christ is God. Every
man praying or
prophesying with his
head covered disgraces
his head. But every
woman praying or
prophesying with her
head disgraces her head,
for it is the same as if
she were shaven. For if
a woman is not covered,
let her be shaven. But
if it is a disgrace for
a woman to have her hair
cut off or her head
shaved. Let her cover
her head. a man indeed
ought not to cover
his head, because he is
the image and glory of
God . But woman is the
glory of man. For man
was not created for
woman, but woman for
man. This is why the
woman ought to have a
sign of authority over
her head, because of the
angels."
Unfortunately most
christian women do not,
and many don't take
other teachings of the
Bible literally.
However, there do seem
to be a number of
Christian nuns out there
who continue to cover
their heads in
accordance with the
commandment of the
Bible".
In other words, the
passage means what it
says. Have you ever
wondered Catholic nuns
dress like they are
wearing hijab (Muslim
veil)? Have you ever
mistaken for a nun? I
have, more than
once).have you ever
wondered why Mariam (the
mother of Jesus) is
always depicted in
Christian art with her
hair cover? Did you
know that until the
1960s, it was obligatory
for the Catholic women
to cover their heads in
church (then they '
modernized" the service)
?.
This puts veil in the
new perspective. To my
non-veil Muslim sisters
who feel that hijab is a
sign of oppression
for the Muslim female.
Please do read the above
and then read the Quran.
Believe me, If Allah
meant for veil to be a
sign of male authority.
The Quran would be as
unambiguous about it as
Paul is in the Bible.
Please check in the
Christian Women's Head
covering Directory
www.expage.com/page/headcovering
The veil in Islam
A Muslim woman wears
veil for the simple
reason that is Allah has
commanded it in the
Quran and Sunna. As
Muslims we make the
testimony" MOHAMMED IS
THE
MESSENGER
OF ALLAH" . The Prophet
Muhammad would not be a
messenger if he did not
come with a message. and
his message is the
Quran. Therefore, we are
really saying “THE QURAN
IS THE MESSAGE OF GOD"
Our faith in
God motivates us to obey
God's message and that
is why we follow what
God has commanded in the
Quran.
The Quran also tells us
to obey the Prophet
Mohammad ( Surah an-Nisa
verse 59), to take what
he allows and refrain
from what he prohibits (
Surah al-Hasr verse 7),
to follow the judgments
(Surah an-Nisa verse
65), and to abide by his
decisions (Surah al-Ahzab
verse 36), it also tells
us that some of its
verses are ambiguous in
meaning ( Surah Ali
Imran verse 7) and that
the Prophet Muhammad
will explain the meaning
of this revelation (Surah
an-Nahl verse 44). All
of this is domain of the
sunna. The sunna records
what the Prophet
Muhammad said, did,and
silently allowed. It
shows us how he put the
Quran in to action. It
tells us what he
commanded, allowed,
prohibited, judged, and
decided and it informs
us how he explain how he
explained the Quran. the
Sunna is an important
and necessary source of
Islamic law.
So what do the Quran and
Sunna have to say about
women's dress “Veil “?
There are two verses
that deal with this
Question. There are
Surah an-Nur verse 31,
and Surah al- Ahzab
verse 59.
1. Surah an-Nur verse 31
reads:
" And say to the
faithful women to lower
their gazes, and to
guard their private
parts, and not to
display their beauty
except what is apparent
of it, and to extend
their head coverings (
Veil ) to cover their
bosoms, and not to
display their beauty
except to their
husbands, or their
fathers, or their
husband's fathers, or
their sons, or their
husband's sons, or their
brothers, or their
brother's sons,or their
sister's sons, or their
womenfolk, or what their
right hand rule(slaves),
or the followers from
the men who do not feel
sexual desire, or the
small children to whom
the nakedness of women
is not apparent, and not
to strike their feet (on
the ground ) so as to
make known what they
hide of their
adornments. And turn in
repentance to God
together, O you the the
faithful, in order that
you are successful”
2. Surah al-Ahzab verse
59 read.
" O Prophet ! Say to
your wives and your
daughters and the women
of the faithful to draw
their outer garments (Jilbabs)
close around them: that
is better that they will
be recognized and not
annoyed. And God is ever
Forgiving, Gentle.
These verses contain a
total of seven commands
for women. Three are
related to behavior,
which are:
1. To lower their gazes
2. To guard their
private parts
3. Not to strike their
feet on the ground so as
to make known of
What they hide of their
adornments.
Lowering the gaze refers
to not looking at what
is forbidden to be seen
of men or of other
women. According to the
Sunna, "What is
forbidden to be seen of
men" refers to the
region from the navel to
the knees, while" What
is forbidden to be seen
of other women” refers
to the region from the
upper chest to the
knees. Guarding the
private parts means the
private part should not
be seen or touched
except by the spouse.
Again the "private part"
of a woman are from the
upper chest to her
knees, so this is what
should only be seen and
touched by her husband.
Striking the feet on the
ground refers to a
practice of the
pre-Islamic Arab women
that they would walk in
such a manner that their
ankle bracelets would
jangle. More generally,
it refers to any kind of
posturing that give
knowledge what is
hidden.
Note:
Surah an-Nur verse 30
commands men to lower
their gazes and guard
their private parts. As
well, the provocative
way of walking mentioned
for women is a kind of
"Showing off". The
Sunnah indicates that
"Showing off “for men
includes wearing Gold
(Chain or Ring) Silk,
braiding hair wearing
ear-ring, letting the
garments trail
conceitedly on the
ground. And wearing
tight pan that prescribe
the body or private
parts extra.. extra So
in fact both men and
women have been given
similar commands in
regard to modest
behavior and avoiding
"showing off".
In addition to the
commands about behavior,
there are four commands
for women in regard to
dress:
1. Not to display their
beauty except what is
apparent of it
2. To extend their head
coverings (Veil) to
cover their bosoms
3. Not to display their
beauty except to their
husbands, or their
Fathers...
4. To draw their outer
garments (Jilbabs) close
around themselves.
The commands “not to
display their beauty
except what is apparent
of it" and " not to
display their beauty
except to their
husbands, or their
fathers ..." are
actually two parts of
the same command , which
is " not to display
their beauty beyond
what is apparent of it
except to the people
listed in the verse". So
what does "What is
apparent of it " mean?
this is one of the
passages in the Quran
that is not clear, and
the Prophet Muhammad
needs to explain. His
explanation, as given in
the Sunnah, is that
refers to the face and
hands. thus, this
command means that when
they are around men who
are not related to them,
women should cover every
thing but their faces
and their hands.( Some
Ulamaa consider the
covering the face as
requirement, while the
majority are of the
opinion that it is not
required, but what is
mentioned in verse is
limited to the wives of
the Prophet, and it is
not extended to other
women). This is the
basic rule of hijab.
Obviously, since the
hair is not part of the
face or the hands, the
hair must be covered,
so that is why Muslim
women cover their hair.
The Quran has also
mentioned extending the
head covering (Veil) to
cover the bosom.
According to the
historical records that
have been preserved, the
pre-Islamic Arab wore a
head covering called "Khimar"
which was like a
kaffiyah. It covered
part of their hair, but
left their forelock,
ears, necks and
upper chests uncovered.
Thus this command " to
extend their khimar to
cover their bosoms"
involved drawing the khimar
securely around the
circle of the face and
fasting it under the
chin so that the ends
fell down towards the
bosom. This would cover
all of the hair, the
ears, the neck, and the
upper chest. And this
is where the headscarf
comes from
As you should be able to
see from this research,
the Quran and Sunnah
provide clear, explicit
instructions regarding
the dress of the Muslim
women. Let us pray to
Allah to grant us great
courage and fortitude,
to bless us with
complete Iman (believe),
Unwavering trust and
belief in the holy
Quran, and the ability
to obey his Commandments
as they should be
obeyed. May Allah shower
peace and blessing in
great abundance, on our
beloved Prophet (S.A.W),
the best of creation,
and upon his family and
his companions.
Finally this is little
effort again in the
cause of spreading the
true teaching of Islam
from the Quran and Sunna,
I might be right or
wrong but the intention
is to propagate the
Islam and build better
Islamic ummah. My arms
are open for any
positive criticism in
the true spirit of Islam
brotherhood, I can be
contacted at
sheikh_kanneh@yahoo.com
any of your
Islamic questions and
services.
Wassalaam Alaykum
warrahmatulaahi
wabarakaatuhu
Sheikh/ Mohammed M.
Kanneh
Acting Chairman
Religious Committee
Liberian Mandingo
Association of
Pennsylvania, USA