How is modesty divided into blameworthy and praiseworthy, given the hadith: (Modesty is all good)?
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The questioner : Shaykh, may Allah reward you. Someone might ask: How do we divide modesty into blameworthy and praiseworthy, when the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said in the hadith: Sunan Abi Dawud 4796Sahih (Al-Albani). And what indicates this is... what the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) mentioned in the hadith, and he... said... So how do we reconcile this with his saying (peace and blessings be upon him): ?
The Shaykh : Yes, the modesty that is praiseworthy is one thing, but the blameworthy modesty is the modesty from seeking knowledge or the like, or from clarifying the truth; that is blameworthy. For this reason, Umm Salama said, "O Messenger of Allah, Allah is not shy of the truth," and then she asked. This indicates that if she had remained silent out of modesty, that modesty would have been blameworthy.
The questioner : ...
The Shaykh : Perhaps he understood from this what Ibn 'Umar understood from his son Bilal when he said: "By Allah, we will not be shy of them", meaning the women. Ibn 'Umar narrates, saying that the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) said:Sunan Abi Dawud 566.
The questioner : ...Should it not be said that it is not called modesty at all, but rather it is called cowardice?
The Shaykh : For this reason, we said that it is blameworthy, and in reality it is cowardice and timidity. Yes, for example, if someone came and said, "By Allah, I was too shy to ask so-and-so about such and such," we would say this is modesty in the wrong place. It is called modesty, but it is not in its proper place.
The questioner : O Shaykh:
The Shaykh : Yes.
Modesty is good altogether, or he said: Modesty is altogether good
الحياء خير كله ، أو كله خيرAll of modesty is good
الحياء كله خيرThe Shaykh : Yes, the modesty that is praiseworthy is one thing, but the blameworthy modesty is the modesty from seeking knowledge or the like, or from clarifying the truth; that is blameworthy. For this reason, Umm Salama said, "O Messenger of Allah, Allah is not shy of the truth," and then she asked. This indicates that if she had remained silent out of modesty, that modesty would have been blameworthy.
The questioner : ...
The Shaykh : Perhaps he understood from this what Ibn 'Umar understood from his son Bilal when he said: "By Allah, we will not be shy of them", meaning the women. Ibn 'Umar narrates, saying that the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) said:
Do not prevent the female servant your women from visiting the mosques of Allah.
لا تمنعوا إماء الله مساجد اللهThe questioner : ...Should it not be said that it is not called modesty at all, but rather it is called cowardice?
The Shaykh : For this reason, we said that it is blameworthy, and in reality it is cowardice and timidity. Yes, for example, if someone came and said, "By Allah, I was too shy to ask so-and-so about such and such," we would say this is modesty in the wrong place. It is called modesty, but it is not in its proper place.
The questioner : O Shaykh:
The Shaykh : Yes.