Regarding 24:31 (the verse of hijab)
Question:
In the particular extract of the verse
وَلَا يُبْدِينَ زِينَتَهُنَّ إِلَّا مَا ظَهَرَ مِنْهَا
Mawdudi translates this as " women should not display their make-up and adornment" except that " which is displayed of itself " for the second part he says, "There is a world of difference between "displaying something" and "its becoming displayed of itself." The first implies `intention' and the second 'compulsion' and a state of helplessness".
So per Mawdudi the verse is saying that it's not OK to display face,hands,ears as generally understood but it's obligatory to cover everything (not just Head cover but also face cover i.e. Niqab) which has been adorned except if it gets displayed by accident or under compulsion(country rule etc)
I'll appreciate if you can tell me if this particular understanding is correct and if not what is the mistake in it.
Thank You
Answer:
First, if we go with Maududi's interpretation of the verse then still it does not necessarily mean that women should cover their face. This is because he himself writes (tranlsation) "Adornment includes attractive clothes, ornaments and other decorations of the head, face, hand, feet, etc. which the women usually employ, and is expressed by the modern word 'make-up'."
So even according to this interpretation one may argue that if a woman does not use adornments on her face then she may reveal her face.
Second, the statement "except what is revealed by itself" seems like saying the obvious (i.e. obviously what is revealed by itself is revealed!). This is unless it is mentioned here to mean that God forgives women who unintentionally reveal what is not supposed to be revealed. However, if you look at the entire verse you will appreciate that the subject of the verse is not God's judgement, rather it is about limits and allowances for women. It therefore does not make much sense to say "you need to cover your adornment unless it is revealed by itself".
The third point is what Javed Ahmad Ghamidi explains which is a linguistic one. I try to explain it here as simple as possible:
The verse says: َّ إِلاَّ ما ظَهَرَ مِنْها
a. If we say it means 'except that which is displayed itself ' then the Arabic will be: الا ان یظهر منه شی
This interpretation can be correct only if ما in the verse is ما المصدریه
b. If we say it means 'except that which is normally displayed" then the Arabic will be: الا الظاهر منه
This interpretation can be correct only if ما in the verse is ما الموصوله
Ghamidi argues that since the verb ظهر in this construction is past tense, therefore ما can only be ما الموصوله. Therefore only the second interpretation (b) is correct.
The above (b) is also the preferred view by Tabari and the view held by Zamakhshari.
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December 2014
In the particular extract of the verse
وَلَا يُبْدِينَ زِينَتَهُنَّ إِلَّا مَا ظَهَرَ مِنْهَا
Mawdudi translates this as " women should not display their make-up and adornment" except that " which is displayed of itself " for the second part he says, "There is a world of difference between "displaying something" and "its becoming displayed of itself." The first implies `intention' and the second 'compulsion' and a state of helplessness".
So per Mawdudi the verse is saying that it's not OK to display face,hands,ears as generally understood but it's obligatory to cover everything (not just Head cover but also face cover i.e. Niqab) which has been adorned except if it gets displayed by accident or under compulsion(country rule etc)
I'll appreciate if you can tell me if this particular understanding is correct and if not what is the mistake in it.
Thank You
Answer:
First, if we go with Maududi's interpretation of the verse then still it does not necessarily mean that women should cover their face. This is because he himself writes (tranlsation) "Adornment includes attractive clothes, ornaments and other decorations of the head, face, hand, feet, etc. which the women usually employ, and is expressed by the modern word 'make-up'."
So even according to this interpretation one may argue that if a woman does not use adornments on her face then she may reveal her face.
Second, the statement "except what is revealed by itself" seems like saying the obvious (i.e. obviously what is revealed by itself is revealed!). This is unless it is mentioned here to mean that God forgives women who unintentionally reveal what is not supposed to be revealed. However, if you look at the entire verse you will appreciate that the subject of the verse is not God's judgement, rather it is about limits and allowances for women. It therefore does not make much sense to say "you need to cover your adornment unless it is revealed by itself".
The third point is what Javed Ahmad Ghamidi explains which is a linguistic one. I try to explain it here as simple as possible:
The verse says: َّ إِلاَّ ما ظَهَرَ مِنْها
a. If we say it means 'except that which is displayed itself ' then the Arabic will be: الا ان یظهر منه شی
This interpretation can be correct only if ما in the verse is ما المصدریه
b. If we say it means 'except that which is normally displayed" then the Arabic will be: الا الظاهر منه
This interpretation can be correct only if ما in the verse is ما الموصوله
Ghamidi argues that since the verb ظهر in this construction is past tense, therefore ما can only be ما الموصوله. Therefore only the second interpretation (b) is correct.
The above (b) is also the preferred view by Tabari and the view held by Zamakhshari.
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December 2014
