Monday, 16 June 2014

Ripping Away the Veil...

Bismi llāh, wa l-ḥamdu lillāh, wa ṣ-ṣalātu wa s-salāmu ‘alā rasūli llāh, wa ‘alā ālihī wa ṣaḥbihī wa man wālāh

Imagine yourself in the shoes of a Muslim brother at the mall wearing a jubbah and kufi. Now imagine someone walking up to you and ripping off your jubbah, then snatching your kufi from your head. How would you feel?

Imagine yourself in the shoes of a Muslim sister wearing hijab. Now imagine someone walking up to you and tearing your hijab off your body, leaving the precious hair and skin you had been veiling from public eyes all this time bare and exposed for all to see. How would you feel?

At times, the people we interact with may seek to veil certain things about themselves, be it a detail about themselves, an act they did or so on. Sometimes, the things these people seek to veil may seem silly to us. You might think that your friend who doesn't want to reveal his/her date of birth to others is a bit of a weirdo. You might think that your buddy not wanting to tell you his/her exam marks is a bit silly. You might think that your classmate/colleague who doesn't want you to share his/her contact details with others is too much of a private person who needs to open up a bit.

But we need to remember something: not everyone is the same. Some people won't mind narrating their entire life story to an audience of 7 billion people. Others may be too shy to even mention how many siblings they have to an audience of one person. Which might seem a bit silly to you, but think about it: don't you think many non-Muslims think of women covering their entire bodies – especially the hair (and the face for niqab-wearing women) – as something silly? Don't you think many non-Muslims think of wearing "Arab nightgowns" at a shopping mall during the daytime as something that's just too weird – too alien – in a modern, Western society?

If a person wants to veil a certain thing, we should respect the person's decision to veil it. Don't go about ripping their veil away. This especially applies to private people, people who prefer keeping more aspects of their lives under wraps than we do.

Ripping away such veils is a form of namīmah, the general principle surrounding which is "unveiling what one would not like to be unveiled". Namīmah is more than just talebearing, as some of us might misconceive. The reality of namīmah lies in "divulging a secret, in revealing something confidential whose disclosure is resented," as quoted by Imām al-Nawawī in his book al-Adhkār from Imām al-Ghazālī (Allah have mercy upon them both).

If a person doesn't want to reveal something to you, respect that person's decision. If a person doesn't want you to tell others something about them, respect that person's request. Don't rip away their veil. It doesn't feel nice. Think of your Muslim sisters who have had their physical veils ripped from them and the embarrassment, shame and insult they had to endure.

May Allah conceal our faults and assuage our fears. And may He make us from those who guard their tongues from vain talk. Āmīn.

And Allah knows best.

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