Q691 :How should a Muslim woman carry herself in
this twentieth century when times and requirements have changed a great
deal? Sometimes it is very difficult for a woman to adhere to Islamic
standards, particularly when she is working in a non-Muslim country.
Please netment.
A691 : A Muslim woman should carry herself according
to Islamic principles and values in all ages and centuries. It is not
up to any individual or human authority to change Islamic laws or
Islamic values. When Allah has made it clear that He wants Muslim women
to cover their bodies, with the exception of their faces and their
forearms. He made it clear that His rule applies to all Muslim women at
all times and all places. No one can say that there may nete a time
when these requirements may be relaxed. Who can decide that? A ruler? A
netmunity? A society? An individual? No one has the authority to change
what Allah has legislated. Sometimes we tend to think that our age is
totally different and far removed from other ages. If women have to
work these days, we may think that they never had to work in previous
Islamic periods. This is not correct. Even in the early Islamic
periods, say, under the Abbasid caliphate, Muslim women were working.
Some of them had shops which they ran themselves and some worked in the
fields. If a netmunity is Islamic in outlook, Muslim women can easily
work and abide by Islamic rules. The implementation of Allah’s law
must be based in the first instance on submission to Him. This is
indeed the very meaning of Islam. When man has shown his obedience, he
may use his mind to identify as much as he can, Allah’s purpose behind
his netmandment or prohibition, whether this purpose is stated by Allah
or not, understood by human intellect or not. It must be remembered
however, that Allah, not man, is the final arbiter on whether something
should be included in His law. Man beneting the final arbiter on
Allah’s legislation does not fit in with the Godhood of Allah or the
submission of man. Having said that, I have to point out that
ultimately, every individual decides how he or she netplies with
Allah’s orders. Allah is certainly aware of the circumstances of every
single one of us and the pressures to which every one is subject. He
rewards every one as he or she deserves.
Our Dialogue ( Source : Arab News – Jeddah )