The Hijāb is honour and protection for the women and she becomes venerated and has value
By our Shaykh, the 'Allāmah, the Trustworthy Advisor, Abū 'Abdirrahmān Yahya bin 'Alī Al-Hajūri - may Allāh preserve him -
"A woman who covers herself has honoured herself, protected herself and honoured it.
This hijāb is honour to the women and protection for her, and she becomes venerated. The chaste woman is awed, and she has value. You see some of the sinful women believe if she uncovers herself she will be a fitnah for the people, but the people loose interest in this uncovered one and they belittle her, they consider her fallen, she doesn't have value with them. And verily the point of benefit is that the protection of the women and the value of women is in her sticking to the legislation. So she has her religious dignity and her protection according to the level of her preserving her hijāb and her religion.
So this is an honour to the women, an according to how much she abandons these customs and values, Allāh disgraces her, she will have no status, and she will have no honour, and whoever Allāh disgraces none is able to honour. Perhaps you'll search for proposers to her and you won't find, and people look at her with a look of belittlement, and if she finds one she finds a sinful one who will bring about woes upon her, she won't find a righteous, recompense is in accordance to the action.
And that chaste one, with what she has of religion, Allāh facilitates for her one who will honour her, and she'll live an honourable life with a righteous man. All of this is from Allāh honouring the righteous person male or female.
And many of the sinful ones who expose themselves to corruption find bitterness in life, and being downtrodden and misery and a bad condition and humiliation and violation of honour and awaiting their downfall and feeling broken inside, she won't live a good life ever.
By Allāh the fornicators and also the women of fitnah and those who expose themselves to fitan don't find happiness in life as the religious chaste women find. Not from the males or the females.
(مَنْ عَمِلَ صَٰلِحًا مِّن ذَكَرٍ أَوْ أُنثَىٰ وَهُوَ مُؤْمِنٌ فَلَنُحْيِيَنَّهُۥ حَيَوٰةً طَيِّبَةًۖ وَلَنَجْزِيَنَّهُمْ أَجْرَهُم بِأَحْسَنِ مَا كَانُوا۟ يَعْمَلُونَ)
"Whoever works righteousness, whether male or female, while he (or she) is a true believer (of Islamic Monotheism) verily, to him We will give a good life (in this world with respect, contentment and lawful provision), and We shall pay them certainly a reward in proportion to the best of what they used to do (i.e. Paradise in the Hereafter)."
[An-Nahl, 97]
And this has been mentioned by alot of women in the west and that they envy the women whose fathers respect her, then she becomes respected with her husband, then honoured with her children and her brothers and her family. So she is in honour and ovation throughout her life.
And that stressed and worn out one, she has work, in a state of misery. One time we went and found a women had a car accident at night and she was getting angry and raising her voice at the other one, why you hit my car from behind and the likes of that, there is no need for this. If it was a man she would have remained in the car protected, sitting well-mannered, and the one disputing with a man would be another man and the one communicating until they come out with a solution and they are in Khayr and Āfiyah. There didn't need to occur all of this. But no, they exposed the miskeenah and behold she goes and makes a licence and tires herself, and she goes and drives her car, she goes and gets hit, and shouting and she gets shouted at and is harmed, and from time to time she goes here an complains that this one harassed me and this speech.
There is no need for this, may Allāh guide you, stay in your house honoured, safety from Allāh,
(وَقَرْنَ فِى بُيُوتِكُنَّ)
"And stay in your houses"
[Al-Ahzāb, 33]
This is general,
هَذِهِ ثُمَّ ظُهُورُ الْحُصْرِ
This (is the pilgrimage for you); afterwards stick to the surface of the mats (i.e. should stay at home).
Likewise is the statement of the Prophet ﷺ;
فَتَنْصَرِفُ النِّسَاءُ مُتَلَفِّعَاتٌ بمروطهن مَا يعرفن من الْغَلَس
"And the women would depart wrapped up in their woolen garments, being unrecognizable because of the Ghalas (darkness before dawn).
Ghalas and other than it, after the hijāb was revealed, the women used to go out as if they were crows. And this one come out disarranged in the car, everyone infront can see her and all those that look at her. Tiring for her the miskeenah, by Allāh they oppressed her, and this is not from her affair. And the religious chaste one passes by with her husband next to her driving or her son or her relative drives her, a princess, he drives her and escorts her, takes her for treatment, takes her for visits, wherever she wants, while she is an honoured princess. Rather than her driving and getting hit and shouting. Look at the difference between the one who obeys Allāh and the one who disobeys Allāh. This is oppresion. I bare witness to Allāh that it's oppression to women.
And that perhaps this action they are bringing about oppression unto themselves. The women is miskeenah, she needs looking after and being instructed, so if she is encouraged on oppression to herself and society she will oppress herself and society because she is as the Prophet ﷺ said;
مَا رَأَيْتُ مِنْ نَاقِصَاتِ عَقْلٍ وَدِينٍ أَذْهَبَ لِلُبِّ الرجل الحازم من إحداكن
"I have not seen anyone more able to remove the understanding of a prudent man than one of you."
اللهم إني أحرج حق الضعيفين اليتيم والمرأة
"O Allah, I declare inviolable the rights of two weak ones: the orphans and women".
She has rights upon her guardians, upon her parents, her children, her husband;
قلت يا رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم ما حق زوجة أحدنا عليه؟ قال: "أن تطعمها إذا طعمت ، وتكسوها إذا اكتسيت ولا تضرب الوجه، ولا تقبح
I said: "O Messenger of Allāh, what is the right of the wife of one of us upon him?" He replied, "You should give her food when you eat, clothe her when you clothe yourself, not strike her on the face, and do not revile her."
Honoured!
(وَقَضَىٰ رَبُّكَ أَلَّا تَعْبُدُوٓا۟ إِلَّآ إِيَّاهُ وَبِٱلْوَٰلِدَيْنِ إِحْسَٰنًاۚ)
"And your Lord has decreed that you worship none but Him. And that you be dutiful to your parents."
[Al-Isrā, 23]
The legislation has provided for her in all her stages, and along with this granting of her permission to go to the Masjid, the legislation recommended her to stay in her home so that she doesn't go out for prayer. By Allāh her going out for prayer in congregation the reward is 27 degrees, is it more important or her going to the market to have lunch or going to work.
No doubt that if the legislation was granting permission for the going out of the women, it would of granted her permission to go out for every prayer an unrestricted permission without recommending her to stay in her house, and without it being obligatory for her to stay in her house if fitnah is feared. For verily if she fears fitnah she is prevented, or her being a fitnah for others. It has come via Ā'ishah;
لَمَنَعَهُنَّ الْمَسْجِدَ
"He would have definitely prevented them from going to the Masjid."
And verily this permission to go out for the prayer during the time of the Prophet is with the condition of no fitnah to her or from her, and with that;
وَبُيُوتُهُنَّ خَيْرٌ لَهُنَّ
"And their homes are better for them."
The prayer of a woman in her house is better than her going to the Masjid in congregation praying with the men. Except if nobody sees her and there is no fitnah. There's no fitnah or there is a path which is specific for the women and she goes up without any fitnah, this is a good affair. As for that then preventing the avenues of fitan.
This is added to the proofs pointing towards that her going out is not permitted in totality in everything as the men go out. Verily it is for affairs with their legislated guidelines.
As for what is related to her travelling from country to country, then I seek refuge with Allāh from fitan. This is even worse. From airport to airport, from country to country, "Where has the girl gone?" He says: "By Allāh she has a grant, and she's going to aquire a certificate, in such and such country", and perhaps he boasts about it in the sittings of Qāt, happy that his daughter travelled to the western countries by herself to aquire a certificate for such and such, and without a mahram, so she combines between uncovering the face and removing of the hijāb, and tabarruj, and travelling without a mahram.
لا يحل لامرأة تؤمن بالله واليوم الآخر تسافر مسيرة يوم وليلة إلا مع ذي محرم عليها
"It is not permissible for a woman who believes in Allāh and the Last Day to make a journey of one day and night unless she is accompanied by a Mahram."
And she combines between seclusion, because she is mixing with men by herself, she doesn't have a mahram, and she combines between wastage, by Allāh it's wastage;
كلكم راعٍ، وكلكم مسئول عن رعيته
"All of you are guardians and are responsible for your subjects."
Wasting of the ones whom Allāh has placed under your care,
ما من عبد يستر عليه الله رعية، فلم يحطها بنصحه لم يجد رائحة الجنة"
"There is no slave whom Allāh makes in charge of subjects and he doesn't look after them with goodwill and sincerity, except will be deprived of the fragrance of Jannah."
He makes her go to waste. And she also combines between lack of mercy for the women;
اللهم إني أحرج حق الضعيفين
"O Allah, I declare inviolable the rights of two weak ones..."
And she is weak, so he leaves the weak one on her own shoulders to go, harms occur to her and she is exposed to hazards, and she combines with that also with her becoming fatigued and with the fitnah of her, and all of this is on the conscience of the Waliy who doesn't take care of her. And the conscience of the women who don't pay attention to these important responsibilities, and the conscience of these organizations which waste her to these far distances to her detriment, fitnah and in her distancing from her religion."
__
Transcribed to Arabic and summarised by:
Thābit Al-Hadhramī
- may Allāh reward him with good -
on the 12th, Dhūl-Qa'dah, 1442H
Translated by:
Abu 'Abdillāh 'Omar bin Yahya Al-'Akawi
