WOMEN’S DRESS AND ITS EFFECTS

WOMEN’S DRESS AND ITS EFFECTS

Since the old days, Muslim women are ordered by The Almighty to cover their aurah. Their aurah which includes all of their body parts except for the palms and faces are to be covered using appropriate attire. The most common dress worn by the Muslim women were known as Jilbab. To cover their head and the upper parts, the use the hijab. Islam has got no fixed standards of dress as dress is regulated by necessities according to geographical conditions of countries. In cold conditions, warm clothes are necessary for the protection of the body. Similarly, in hot countries, thin clothes are mostly the norm. This does not mean that we take to wearing clothes so thin, that wearing them just reaches almost to nakedness, which is undoubtedly unlawful in Islam. Our main object of wearing clothes is covering our satr (private parts) and protection of the body from hot and cold conditions. The satr has been defined as the parts of the person which is indecent to expose. For a man this is what consists between the navel and the knee. It is the entire body for a female except the palms.

Nowadays, there are a lot of Muslim designers coming up with appropriate yet stylish designs which can suit women’s interests. This is consistent with the women’s desires to look good and at the same time, fulfilling their religious duties. The head coverings are also becoming more popular amongst the Muslims and sometimes the non-muslims community. As Islam is known as fitrah religion, it is indeed applicable to all mankind as they follow the natural desires of human.A woman must ensure that her clothing does not resemble that of men and vice-versa nor should the clothing resemble the peculiar dress of the disbelievers.Eventhough women need to cover the aurah for their own good, the main purpose of it is to get Allah’s blessings.

O Prophet! Tell your wives and daughters and the believing women that they should draw over themselves their jilbab (outer garments) (when in public); this will be more conducive to their being recognized (as decent women) and not harassed. But God is indeed oft-forgiving, most merciful. 

And know that women advanced in years, who no longer feel any sexual desire incur no sin if they discard their thiyab (outer garments), provided they do not aim at a showy display of their zeenah (charms or beauty). But it is better for them to abstain (from this); and God is all-hearing, all-knowing. 

Aisha said, "Asma, daughter of Abu Bakr (that is, Aisha’s sister), entered upon the Apostle of God (pbuh) wearing thin clothes. The Apostle of God turned his attention from her and said, "O Asma, when a woman reaches the age of menstruation, it does not suit her except that she displays parts of her body except this and this," and he pointed to her face and hands. (SunanAbiDawud)

"It has been authentically related from Ibn 'Abbas, Ibn 'Umar and 'Aishah that the Prophet said, "Allah does not accept the prayer of an adult woman unless she is wearing a headcovering (khimar, hijab)."

Rasullullah pbuh has given a warning against wearing transparent clothing which makes the body visible or light clothing which emphasizes or highlights the figure of the body. He said,“Many women are clothed but naked in reality. Such women will never enter paradise nor will they smell its fragrance.” 

From this Hadith, we can deduce that the requirement of covering aurah comes not only from Allah but also reminded by the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh). There was another Hadith from the Prophet where he said that most women in the end of the world are actually naked in their dressings. This means that some women wear clothes that are too figure hugging and sometimes see-through that the Prophet Muhammad referred to as being naked with clothes. Besides that, wearing clothes that cover all of the body parts except the hands and face are also obligatoryto women. It is also the basic requirement for a woman’s prayer to be accepted by Allah.

The Westerns have their own ways of dressings compared to the Muslims Since most of them are of religions other than Islam, they do not have to follow the requirements that were pointed out by both Al-Quran and Al-Hadith which are: 1) Extent of covering : Most of them do not bother to cover the entire body, 2) Looseness: For other religion, there are no guidelines whether the clothes should be loose or tight, 3) Thickness: The Western are not prohibited of wearing too thin and see through garments, and 4) Overall Appearance: Islam emphasize the overall appearance of women, even though they cover themselves up, they still can be inappropriate in one way or another, different from the Western ways .

In that case, most of the Westerns wear clothing that is sometimes too thin, figure hugging attires while some or most of their body parts is left exposed. Their rapid growing fashion industry is the main reason why the Westerns tend to dress differently from the Muslim women. This does not mean that the Muslim industry is slow or not developing, as they are flourishing these days, but this means that we as a Muslims still need to dress accordingly, following the guide of Islam. Sometimes, by fusing the Islamic fashion and the western style of dressing, we could come out with nice and proper dress for both religions wear.

Clearly, the basic principle is that of modesty. In order for women and men to have respectful relationships (such as at work or school, etc.) they must focus on modesty in their behavior. This is enhanced by dressing in a way that reinforces one’s image as a modest person. It must be emphasized that behavior and appearance are both important in setting the tone of respectful interaction between men and women.

In addition, the purpose of covering oneself is to "be recognized (as decent women) and not harassed." Many women who cover their hair and dress modestly do notice that men are more respectful and people are more inquisitive about their faith, so they are "recognized" not just as decent women but also as Muslims. Occasionally, women who cover their hair may also experience harassment and discrimination because of stereotyping and misunderstandings about Islam and women. Apart from that, there are also many medical advantages from the Islamic way of dressing. One of the examples is the hijab. The purpose of wearing it is not only to cover the aurah, but also wearing hijab can prevent a lot of health problems such as skin cancer. Some of the non-muslims also wear hijab. Their reason of doing so is that they wanted to cover their faces that easily become sunburned. They prefer wearing hijab as they can avoid the excessive sunblock usage. 

Recently, it is a normal trend for a woman to have career. As every company has set their own dress codes to be followed, women are not exceptional of following these rules. As a result, they will choose the most practical attire to wear for their own convenience. This is where the Western style of dressing is a great advantage to the Muslim women community. With various styles of pants and trousers as well as long skirts, the Muslim women could dress comfortably at their working places.

Apart from that, their fashion styles are sometimes similar to that of us. The westerns come out with a lot of beautiful clothes that can also be worn by the Muslims such as long dresses. Today, we can see many Muslim women replacing the old time jilbab with long-loose dresses that is also appropriate with Islamic guidelines. Also, there are some everyday activities that can be easier done by wearing according to the Western style. For the housewives doing house chores, it will be easier if they wear long pants and shirt while cooking or cleaning. For recreational or sports purposes, pants are obviously the most practical to wear to avoid accidents such as tripping and falling.

There are also some disadvantages of the western women style of dressing. As some of them wear clothes that can draw people’s attentions towards them, they are indirectly drawing dangers and problems too. Crimes such as rape happen everywhere in today’s world. One of the reasons is contributed by the women themselves who dressed up without thinking about the consequences of their actions.Similar sentiments have been echoed by many others both in the print and the electronic media suggesting as if a woman’s way of dressing could be an invitation to rape.

Exploitation of women is also a common view today. There are many commercials with women in it. Sometimes, the way they are wearing is not suitable for certain ages view and also the background of the products they are advertising. Some are even willing to wear bikinis for the purpose of selling the products. This is an unfortunate event as women are being exploited with their own willingness. These groups of women most probably wanted to stand out amongst the others, however using the wrong way to do so. Also, other disadvantages of the Western style of dressing are the inability to prevent from health problems. Ultra violet rays (UV) is commonly known to bring skin problems if exposed too much to it. So, it is obvious that people have higher tendency to get skin problems if they do not cover most of their body parts.

Most Muslims do not view modest dress as an imposition meant to oppress either women or men. Indeed, many women who voluntarily covering their aurah and wearing hijab actually feel liberated; free from society’s rules about women’s looks, free from being slaves to fashion, free to reserve their beauty for their husbands and so on.The hijab cuts down on competition among women. How many people in the West sacrifice financial savings and health in order to have plastic surgery - in a desperate attempt to meet up to an unrealistic standard of beauty. In Islam, women are appreciated for their knowledge, piety and contribution to society. When women wear hijab one finds that the most beautiful women are not necessarily the most popular. Rather, a woman is assessed for her mind, and not just superficial physical traits.

Women are usually obsessed with their appearances. Naturally they would want to look good. The perspective that Islamic dress codes is conservative and less fashionable is totally wrong as today’s modern world has developing fashion industry that is well-suited for Muslim women. In addition, most women found covering the aurah had increased their confident level. They feel free from insecurity about their appearances. Also, once a woman covers their aurah, they are free from getting inappropriate treatment or getting in uncomfortable conversations with people especially the opposite sex.

In the previous days, there are some similarities between the Muslims and the Western style. One of the examples is the nuns in cathedrals and churches. The nuns wear veils and cover all of their body parts except their hands and faces. Similarly, this is also the Islamic order to its believers as to wear the hijab.They come in a variety of styles and can be worn in many ways.Western women earlier wore full dresses and different types of head coverings for work and even social gatherings.However, these trends change throughout the centuries.

Obviously, both ways of dressing have their own pros and cons.Given the condition of the disbeliever's' hearts, it is not surprising to find that much of their clothing, particularly that of women, is unsuitable for Muslims. It is designed to be attractive in itself and to enhance and attract attention to women's natural beauty.  However, determine the most suitable attire for women is depending on the occasions. For example, it is indeed more practical to wear pants while they are in the middle of something that requires a lot of moving around like jogging in the park. Working women are also always on the go and it is easier for them to move from one place to another wearing pants rather than jilbab or kurung.

However, the Muslims fashions are also practical for certain ocassions such as during events or celebrations. Students also are advised to wear these kinds of clothes as they can be very comfortable in classes or lectures. They are also worn by working women nowadays. As Muslim ordered women to wear loose clothes, it shows that Islam not only consider the aurah but also the comfort of people. Sadly, there are some new fashions that come out recently that do not exactly fulfilling the Islamic requirements. For example, the varieties of hijab sold nowadays are sometimes deviated from Islamic perspectives. Some of them are the camel-hump-like hijab where the shape of hair can be seen in obvious, apart from hijab that are too short, making it hard to cover the bossoms, revealing the shapes to men and people in the surrounding. 

No matter how we look at it, both ways are necessary in our daily lives. There is nothing wrong for Muslim to wear the Western style and vice versa. As long as we are following the Islamic guidelines which are choosing the best garment, covering the bossoms and lengthen the garments, then it is acceptable. After these three basic rules every woman is more aware of her circumstances and can adjust her dress for her situation.It is important to bear in mind that hijab is obligatory to all Muslim women no matter if they are ready to wear it or not. By wearing it, non- muslims will know our religion and faith, even without being introduced. So it spread message of Islam. After all, our life’s mission has always been to spread the message of Islam to the whole world, no matter how small the step is. Wallahualam.