What is the wisdom behind the Muslim woman not exposing her hair before a disbelieving woman?
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The questioner : What is the wisdom behind the Muslim woman not exposing her hair before a disbelieving woman?
The Shaykh : On the occasion of this question, I want to draw attention to the fact that the wisdoms of legislation are not specified in the Book and the Sunnah, but some of them can be reached through the method of derivation and reflection, and by some scholars, not all of them.
We know that many of the rulings of the Shari'ah are acts of worship for which Allah (Blessed and Exalted is He) has obligated us, and He has asked us to submit to them in submission as a test of us: do we believe or do we disbelieve? If there is a ruling of the Shari'ah, it is obligatory to obey and submit to it directly. If a scholar has clarified a certain wisdom, there is no harm in revealing it, but on the condition that Muslims do not become accustomed to not accepting the rulings of Allah that are stated in the Book of Allah and in the hadith of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) unless they know the wisdom; in that case, this contradicts faith and submission.
As for this issue, we say: We have known from the previous verse that the woman is an 'awrah (part of the body that must be covered) to the disbelieving woman just as the man is. What is the wisdom? Someone might say, and let us assume that it is me, I do not know. So what would be the position of the questioner if he heard the answer: I do not know? Would doubt remain in his heart because the Shaykh did not know the wisdom of this ruling of the Shari'ah? Of course, his position should not be like that; rather, he must submit in submission, as is the text of the Noble Qur'an.
As for whether there is an apparent wisdom, it is clear that the disbelieving woman's hair, taste, and upbringing differ completely, as we see, from the upbringing of the Muslim woman. For example, she does not hesitate to associate with men and befriend them, and to go out with them in seclusion and in the open, and so on. This is because nothing remains with these women of what is known in our Islamic language as jealousy (ghirah). The disbelievers do not have anything called jealousy; I have even heard that in some European languages, there is no equivalent to this Arabic word in their language, because they do not know what jealousy is.
The point is that since the disbelieving woman is of this nature, when she mixes with the Muslim woman and sees something of her hidden adornment, just as the Muslim woman sees it, it may be a cause, it may be a cause that leads her to describe the features and beauty of this woman to some men, whether they are Muslims or disbelievers. This would be a cause for opening a path for this woman to fall into a fitnah (trial, discord or temptation) that she has no power to repel. This may be part of the wisdom. And in the end, I say: if this is correct, it is from Allah, and if it is wrong, it is from myself. But you must adopt the ruling of Allah and submit to it in submission.
The Shaykh : On the occasion of this question, I want to draw attention to the fact that the wisdoms of legislation are not specified in the Book and the Sunnah, but some of them can be reached through the method of derivation and reflection, and by some scholars, not all of them.
We know that many of the rulings of the Shari'ah are acts of worship for which Allah (Blessed and Exalted is He) has obligated us, and He has asked us to submit to them in submission as a test of us: do we believe or do we disbelieve? If there is a ruling of the Shari'ah, it is obligatory to obey and submit to it directly. If a scholar has clarified a certain wisdom, there is no harm in revealing it, but on the condition that Muslims do not become accustomed to not accepting the rulings of Allah that are stated in the Book of Allah and in the hadith of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) unless they know the wisdom; in that case, this contradicts faith and submission.
As for this issue, we say: We have known from the previous verse that the woman is an 'awrah (part of the body that must be covered) to the disbelieving woman just as the man is. What is the wisdom? Someone might say, and let us assume that it is me, I do not know. So what would be the position of the questioner if he heard the answer: I do not know? Would doubt remain in his heart because the Shaykh did not know the wisdom of this ruling of the Shari'ah? Of course, his position should not be like that; rather, he must submit in submission, as is the text of the Noble Qur'an.
As for whether there is an apparent wisdom, it is clear that the disbelieving woman's hair, taste, and upbringing differ completely, as we see, from the upbringing of the Muslim woman. For example, she does not hesitate to associate with men and befriend them, and to go out with them in seclusion and in the open, and so on. This is because nothing remains with these women of what is known in our Islamic language as jealousy (ghirah).
Indeed, Sa'd is jealous, and Allah is more jealous than Sa'd, and for that reason He has forbidden the prohibited things.
إنَّ سعدًا لَغيُّور ، وإن الله لَأشدُّ غيرةً من سعد ، ومن أجل ذلك حرَّمَ المحارمThe point is that since the disbelieving woman is of this nature, when she mixes with the Muslim woman and sees something of her hidden adornment, just as the Muslim woman sees it, it may be a cause, it may be a cause that leads her to describe the features and beauty of this woman to some men, whether they are Muslims or disbelievers. This would be a cause for opening a path for this woman to fall into a fitnah (trial, discord or temptation) that she has no power to repel. This may be part of the wisdom. And in the end, I say: if this is correct, it is from Allah, and if it is wrong, it is from myself. But you must adopt the ruling of Allah and submit to it in submission.
Source
www.al-albany.com
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.