{Islamic Mailing Group} Encouraging The Men in Their Hijab!

Encouraging The Men in Their Hijab
By Maryam Abd Al Ghafur

Usually, when people think of men and hijaab, they think of men being free from hijaab, and of men commanding women to wear yards of fabric while they themselves have no clothing requirements that are ordered for them by Allaah Subhana wa Ta'alaa and Rasul Allaah, sall'Allaahu alayhe wa salaam.

That would be an incorrect assumption. Men, too, have requirements of clothing, beyond that of being covered from navel to knees, and as women who are wives, mothers, and sisters by blood, daughters, and sisters in religion, it is our duty and responsibility to teach, remind, and encourage them in what is proper for Believing men

The Glorified said,

"The believers, men and women, are Auliya' (helpers, supporters, friends, protectors) of one another; they enjoin [on the people] Al-Ma'roof (i.e., Islamic Monotheism and all that Islam orders one to do), and forbid [people] from Al-Munkar (i.e., polytheism and disbelief of all kinds, and all that Islam has forbidden]: they perform As-Salaat [Iqaamat-as-Salaat] and give the Zakaat, and obey Allaah and His Messenger. Allaah will have His Mercy on them. Surely Allaah is All-Mighty, All-Wise." Soorah at-Tawbah, ayah 71.

The men have been commanded not to let their lower garments trail below the ankles. [1] And what is the fashion these days, the fashion of the polytheists, of those who follow the whims of designers and actors and musicians more closely than they do the knowledge and wisdom of those who submit to Allaah? To wear the pants loose (good), exposing the underclothes, coming to the tops of the shoes or lower than that (not good at all!) And we will find that many of the Muslim men know the hadeeth of that which is below the ankles is in the Fire, but they persist in this. 

Women can help the men, by reminding the adults in their sphere of influence, and buying the appropriate lengths, or hemming, (or giving needle and thread to the sons and nephews!) the trousers, jeans and otherwise. Who do we worship? The fashions of men change from season to season, year to year. The words of Allaah, the Sunnah of His Messenger, may Allaah grant him peace and raise his station, these are immutable.

My dear and noble sisters in the religion, the only religion that has been completed and perfected and approved by Allaah, this is from our responsibility to the other half of humanity. We can do so, we must do so, with knowledge, with kindness, with patience; the same characteristics that we look for in husbands, in fathers, in a'immah. Don't let them face the punishment because we did not care enough to not nag, but warn and advise, in the best of ways.

There is another issue of hijaab for men that we have even more influence over, and that is the issue of the beard. How many women see the beardless faces of newscasters, actors, Hollywood, Bollywood, and Dollywood, and say, "Oh, he's cute! " How many women say that they don't want a man with a beard, because it is rough and scratches? But the beard is from the hijaab of men. Just as for a woman to not wear hijaab is a shame and proclaims to all who see her that she does not know the religion and does not fear Allaah as He deserves to be revered, for a man to not wear his beard is to proclaim that he, too, is woefully ignorant. Did you know that there was a time in the Muslim world when to fully show to the people that a man was a fool, he was made to shave off his beard, so that his humiliation was complete? And now we see men with luxuriant mustaches, facial stubble, or, worst of all, as hairless as women and proud of this! Women are hairless, and this is not a shame, but rather from a woman's beauty, Men who are not able to grow the beard are not shamed, because this is how Allaah has fashioned them to be. But the ones who choose to disregard and disobey the injunction of growing the beard and trimming the mustache, of being opposite of the Jews and Christians, this is a wrong, a willful disobedience that women can help to rectify, bi'dhnillaah. "It's just a beard. It's just one thing."

My sisters, all of the Believers have been commanded to enter into Islam completely. It was just one sujud, or the refusal to obey just one commandment from Allaah, that caused one jinn to earn his name of Iblees and to become a shaytaan, the most evil and the worst of them. Just one. And for that, he is cursed by Allaah, he will enter into the Fire forever, and he is not our friend, our well wisher. He is our enemy, encouraging and advising us to disobey Allaah. Let us be his enemy, and encourage and advise to obey Allaah.

Salaam Alaikum wa Rahmatullaahi wa Barakatuhu!

[1] There is a strong difference of opinion on this issue

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