 أعوذ بالله من الشيطان الرجيم بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم قل للمؤمنين يبقوا من أبصارهم ويحفظوا فروجهم ذلك أسكى لهم إن الله خبير بما يصنعون وقل للمؤمنين يبقوا من أبصارهم ويحفظوا فروجهم ولا يبدين زينةهم إلا ما ظهر منها ويضربنا بخمرهم على جيوبهم ولا يبدين زينةهم إلا لبعولتهم صلى الله عليه العظيم نحن نتحدث عن one of the subjects that touches our life ويجب أن يكونه sometimes controversial يجب أن يسأل about it regularly ومن one of the subjects that we decided to discuss tonight is the concept or the issue of Hijab because many people ask is Hijab really relevant nowadays we live in the 21st century we live in contemporary time in advanced societies where these societies they advocate equality between men and women so is it really relevant? is it necessary? you don't think it's something of the past something outdated women today they should not do it maybe back home in countries like such and such they still need it but why do we need it in Europe why do we need it in America so many people ask these questions and some of them they believe that Hijab Muslims and non-Muslims they believe that Hijab is degrading it's a form of disrespect and demeaning to women they think that Hijab when you ask women to wear Hijab this is some sort of backwardness while shutting her off the society you are not doing justice to her a form of oppression on the other hand some people think no this is not a form of oppression this is something good for her for the society at large for men, for the family and there is nothing wrong in that they believe that Hijab is a form of protection it's a form of moral moral ethical defense and protection for women in this society so there is a long debate and this debate is continual we have this debate every single day every single day people ask why Hijab why should Muslim women observe Hijab we do have this question we have some scholars who came out not classical or traditional scholars from seminaries but probably university professors intellectuals who believe that Hijab is not mandated by Allah SWT it's nowhere in the Quran I remember one time a lady came to me and she said nowhere the Quran says mentions Hijab but this is not the case this is not the case let's discuss this over a few minutes and see why Hijab is important and whether Hijab is really mandated by God or it's a man-made man-made verdict first of all Hijab has been mentioned in the Quran in four different places with four different terms all these terms they have the same meaning the same connotation number one the verse that I earlier recited a few minutes ago in Surat An-Nur Surat An-Nur is chapter 24 and the verse is verse number 31 30 and 31 the verse speaks about about خمار and the wording of the verse وكل المؤمنات يغضن من أبصارهن ويحفظن فوجهن ولا يبدين زينةهن إلا ما ظاهر منها وليضربن يضربن in this terminology here in this context it means they cast down they cast down or they cover وليضربن بخمرهن خمر is not خمر don't get confused خمر is the plural of خمار and خمار is the veil or the cover the general meaning of خمار is a veil or the cover or the hijab or the piece of a cloth that is usually used by women this is the meaning of خبار in the Arabic grammar or Arabic literature this is one and then حجاب has been mentioned in chapter 33 سورة الأحزاب in three different verses and the wording of it one time is جلبا يا أيها النبي this is chapter 33 يا أيها النبي اولي نسائك اولي أزواجك وابناتك وانساء المؤمنين يدنينا عليهم من جلابي بهن or prophets say to your wives to your daughters and to the women of the Muslim community of your community يدنينا عليهم again they cast down they cover they cast down من جلابي بهن and the جلباب is again another meaning for حجاب جلباب is the one that covers the whole body that's the second place the third place again is mentioned in the Quran by the name of حجاب itself in chapter 33 وإذا سألت مهن متاعا فسألوهن من ورائي حجاب which means the veil or the partition or things like that and number four again سورة الأحزاب chapter 33 where Allah سبحانه وتعالى says وَلَا تَبَرْرَجْنَ تَبَرْرُجَا الْجَاهِلِيَةِ الْجُولَةِ do not discipline your ornament your bodies your physical structure do not discipline do not uncover it تَبَرْرُجْ means when someone uncover something which is covered when you uncover it this is the process of تَبَرُجْ وَلَا تَبَرْرَجْنَ don't do things that women of the time of ignorance used to do either they uncover part of their bodies or sometimes they don't make it completely neither partially nor completely do not uncover yourself so the females the females وَلَا تَبَرْرَجْنَ because here's تَبَرْرَجْنَ it's Allah سبحانه وتعالى is addressing women here now there are certain objections here some women say why should we pay their price if men are bad they should behave themselves you should speak to men to change their attitude to have more respect for females in the society to have more self control let them control their desires let them control their urges why they act like animals so why should we pay the price why should we cover because there are certain men at large in the society who have bad intention why should we pay the price this is one objection this is one question that we hear often times from women and some men of course the second I'll come to this point the second objection or a point that some people they bring about is that hijab is something of the past hijab does not work for modern societies for societies who respect women if societies where women have an almost equal place with men then you should not mention hijab hijab something of the past something which is a sign of backwardness it's not a sign of development it's not a sign of advancement so let's stay away from the hijab and we don't need hijab our women here they observe their religious and moral duties and there is no need for the hijab this is another discussion that the hijab is something of the past we should not bring it to the future leave it in the past leave it in the societies that are mostly traditional and most of them are a patriarch society where men dominate the family and the society and they want to control women and one of the ways to control women is through imposing hijab on them so this is the second argument the third argument or the third objection is that where is it yeah is that even women who observe hijab even those who observe hijab sometimes they commit sin and the hijab does not deter them from being bad from acting bad from committing sometimes shameful acts immoral acts and they give you examples they say see look at this look at this family this lady they wear hijab but they are still doing bad things so this means hijab is not good why do you advocate hijab these are three important objections if you have any other objection let's listen to it now before we begin the re-battle now I understand the first one a man have to control themselves very true and this is why Allah begins with men when he speaks about hijab what does he say in Surah An-Nuri أول المؤمنين يغضوا من أبصارهم Oh Prophet he begins with men before going to women he says it is the responsibility of men to cast down their eyes يغضوا أغضوا تبلي to decrease Allah did not say let them shut shut out their eyes because if you shut your eyes you can't walk you can't see he says let them decrease let them not gaze this is the right interpretation they should not gaze at women you may look at them you may talk to them they should not gaze with bad intention so this is how it begins Allah is addressing men here very true that we have to speak to men before women because the issue of hijab is not a piece of cloth it's an issue of dignity and chastity and protection and that does not women alone do not shoulder this responsibility it's men and women and it is men before women it is men before women men are there they begin the family they initiate the family they are the pioneers they establish the family so Allah begins by addressing men he says you have to be extra careful you have to be extra careful whether all women they wear hijab they observe it or they don't your responsibility is not to look is to respect yourself and consider the way you treat women the way you want people to treat your wife your daughter your sister your mother treat them in the same way أول المؤمنين يبضوا من أبصارهم they cast down their eyes and then ويحفظوا فوجر حقاً وليس فعلهم ويحفظون في حالات السيارة ويهم جدا لا يمكننا أن نقول هذه ويرعل هذا this is the truth but some people this is very important فالأسرحة التي تبارك فينا يوجد أكثر من أسرحة أو أسرحة فهذا يجب أن نجد فتح السلوشن إذا لم نجد فتح السلوشن سنرى أين أين لا يوجد باونس لا يوجد باونس ولكن مع المهمين ما يجعلنا المهمين يوجد باونس the rules and the boundaries the discipline that we have if we give in to our desires to our shahmah, to our desires, to our urges to our temptations then we are not going to be human beings anymore what makes a human a human and distinguishes him from animals is the power to control animals do not have power to control now hungry whatever food they see they jump on that food they don't ask is this food for me for someone else did I pay for it they don't ask hungry with us we have to go through this process mental process is this food for me or not yes I am hungry but at the same time I have to make sure that this food is waffle for me the same thing with other concepts so Allah begins with men very right قول المؤمنين لا يغضوا من أبصارهم ويحفظوا في وجههم ذلك أسكى لهم ذلك أسكى لهم the Quran uses the term teski if they want to purify themselves if they want to be morally and spiritually stronger then they have to control the Prophet صلى الله عليه و آله و سلم أبصاركم ترون العجاه it begins with your eyes if you are able to control your eyes God is going to allow you to see some miracles some mysteries in this universe mysteries are there but we don't see them why because the vision is weak why the vision is weak because the heart is weak there is a weakness here when the heart is weak then the vision does not work what war of sorrow cast down your eyes control them you are going to see mysteries of this universe وكذلك النوري إبراهيمة ملكوطة السماوات you will love why ibrahim was able to see mysteries because he was able to control he has the power of control he would discipline himself self control this is the point this is the main goal of fasting كتب عليكم الصيام كما كتب علي الذين من قد لكم لعلكم تتقون تقوى is control the simple meaning of تقوى is to control to control our desires so this is point number one we agree that men have to act in a civil way in an ethical way they should not take advantage of women whether women they want to put on their clothes or go naked you responsibility as a believer as a believer imagine someone I'll give you an example someone he leaves his let's say iphone here and he goes someone who has iman someone who does not have iman you will go and get it you will take it you will consider it game game or profit you will take it away but someone with iman I would say no listen this one has an owner has an owner it is true that he forgot his wallet his phone here he made a mistake I should not make a mistake I should not make a mistake this is a humanity this is تقوى تقوى is not we take advantage of someone who have who made a mistake and we go and make a double mistake تقوى means when someone makes a mistake we have to collect it so this is number one yes we agree that men have to have more control second second when they say that حجاب is a deterrence a hindrance when she wears حجاب she cannot integrate herself into the site this is like locking her down handcuffing her not giving her freedom but this is not for my friends and I have many examples many many examples that you know them and we know them that حجاب was never a hindrance yes I agree with you it is difficult it is extremely difficult to observe حجاب in the United States of America extremely difficult it is not easy probably it is women's biggest jihad and biggest struggle is to observe حجاب especially a working woman but still we have women here in America in Europe many of them I personally know many university professors female university professors in the United States of America who are حجاب full حجاب they go to the classroom they have been teaching their students they like them they are very open with the students I have been to some of their classes and I have seen how the students they discuss the حجاب with the female professor and she defends the حجاب and they respect her more they respect her more we have physicians doctors who observe the حجاب we are engineers we have people who work for the government we have a lady who works in the white house in America she observes حجاب we have many staffers in the congress in Washington who observe حجاب حجاب is not a hindrance if you have the faith here if you have strong faith here and if you are well connected with Allah you can wear anything and you don't worry about what people say but sometimes when there is some weakness we start hesitating we get confused we don't have self confidence I know of a judge in America a female judge who started wearing the حجاب 5 years ago and she told me personally she said I struggled for so many years I've been a practicing Muslim and I've been a judge and I was meditating on حجاب reflecting contemplating but I did not have the courage I did not have the courage one day it was close to the month of Ramadan and I fast I observe fasting and prayers and dua and she has been to Hajj she comes from a very good family and she has the support of her family and most importantly the support of her husband who is a surgeon the husband is a doctor and a surgeon he supported her 100% she said when I had the support of my husband he said to me go for it don't worry don't worry you are building this beautiful relationship with God why do you worry about me as long as God is supporting you she said the night I decided to go to the court the following day I could not sleep that night I was still hesitant what people would say when I show up the following day following morning in the court people who worked with me the staff who worked in the court what would they say so she said I could not sleep the whole night but in the morning I said I put my trust in Allah I put my trust I put my full trust I put on the hijab and I went some people thought that I had cancer treatment so I lost my hair this is why I am covering my hair some people thought that there is a new Halloween I am putting some sort of whatever and some people realized no I am a Muslim this is a hijab and I was explaining to them she said I left my car in the parking lot as I was walking to the courthouse people started greeting me and asking me what is it some of them are my close friends and I explained to them this is my religious duty hijab is mandated by God I want to obey God and listen to God and she is very happy about it until now until today she is very happy about her hijab and her job as an American judge sitting on the bench she says many of the people who come to the court they respect me they respect me for my standing up and observing my religious duties it happens it is never a hindrance yes it is difficult I agree with you to be fair it is very difficult at the school, high school college, university very difficult especially during summertime during summertime I asked some of the men to try to work hijab one day and go to work it is very difficult Islam is about sacrifice and I always say sometimes maybe Allah would not look at women's prayers or fasting or he says these are what I look at your hijab hijab at a very difficult time in a difficult country in a country that does not sympathize with me in a country that puts you down you did work the hijab you did observe the hijab good job it requires a lot of imam a lot of self confidence and we build this self confidence during the month of Allah during the month of Allah this is the month the reason for these long hours of fasting is to build self confidence and self confidence and beside your husbands your fathers your brothers should be supportive of you we men we should really encourage them and facilitate this process for them and for certain girls who do not still understand it it does not make sense it takes some time don't go harsh on them don't go hard on them try to understand give them some time let them love the hijab let them wear the hijab out of conviction not out of passion is not good when we pray out of passion when we fast out of passion or emotions it's not good it's not going to service it's not going to be fruitful but when someone believes in this concept believes that fasting is good for my heart and my soul and my mind then he's going to go after it you don't need to encourage him anymore let them understand the value of hijab this is number 2 at number 3 many sisters they say I don't believe in hijab because I see many women who wear hijab they don't behave well they are not good Muslims mainly some of them yes we are not saying that every single female who observes hijab she becomes an angel some of them are not angels some of them are angels but some of them are not neither old men are angels these are imadat imadats are like medicine prescribed by doctors sometimes these medicines if we know how to use them we use them wisely then they work sometimes the medicine does not work I'll give you an example Islam is a package Islam is not just one or two items we pick and choose I pick and choose Salat because I can do Salat and so fasting I can do fasting but zakat no I don't believe in zakat Islam is a package it's not pick and choose each imadat it integrates the other one they work together if one part is missing the whole machine would not work so either you do the whole the whole thing or you don't do if someone let me let me ask you this question to maintain good health what should we do to have a good health number one good diet yes number two exercise number three pay your taxes then if someone he has good exercise good diet his diet is perfect have you seen some people when they are about to eat first they start reading here oh this is calories I can do this some people are obsessed you know if someone leads very strict diet good exercise but then he smokes when you have a good health huh you wouldn't you cannot go and say but my exercise is good I exercise every day and my diet is perfect they tell him that you also smoke it's a package the same thing with hijab the same thing with zakat the same thing with Hajj the same thing with being beautiful to your parents being a good husband being a good wife being a good citizen it's all the same if something is missing someone who does all has a prayers now we have some muslims who never miss any prayers they never miss any Salat and after the Salat they have Nawafir and after the Nawafir they have Taraweeh but then when they go to the market they put Islam in the masjid in the market they are not Muslims Islam is absent from the market Islam is absent from the family this is not an Islam they are not going to benefit ارأيت الذي يكذب بديم فذلك الذي يدعوا ليتيم ولا يحفظوا على ضعام المسكين فاويلون المصليم وووو لذين يحفظون أنهم لا يقومون لذين يقومون لذين يقومون they are losers they do not adhere to the message of the prayers of the Salat they lose so yes I know some unfortunately women they put on the hijab but they do not adhere to the message of hijab hijab has two parts one is called hijab peace of the cloth peace of the cloth in some countries they call it abayl in others they call it chadr in other countries they call it whatever it's a peace of the cloth but this is only one part of the hijab actually this is the smaller part of the hijab the greater part of the hijab is the attitude is the behavior is the banners how you carry yourself the real hijab is ifa chastity do not cheapen yourself this is why Allah SWT says in the holy Quran ولا فلا يخضعنا في القول ألبه مرف لا تكونوا كامل عندما يتكلم لا تتكلموا بأيك عندما يتكلموا بأيك تتكلموا تتكلموا لا تتكلموا بأيك لا لأن أي تفكير إذا كان يخطب هذا is why في اسلام اسلام يخطبنا أن تترفع على الرجال لا تتكبر وإنما تترفع there is a difference not to be arrogant when she deals with men with strangers, no but to keep herself above at a high altitude when she speaks with a stranger she does not bring herself down because once she brings herself down if he is sick if something wrong with him he is heartless without a brainless heart he is going to take advantage of her فلا تفضعنا بالقوة الله says be careful when you speak to strangers ويطمع على الذي في قلبه مرض some people are okay they understand you, they appreciate you but some they don't understand they take advantage of you true حجاب is a behavior before it is a piece of the cloth it's a behavior let me say one thing to our daughters who are still hesitant many of them, many of our daughters they observe good prayers good fasting, good manners good relationship with their parents with their families, they do good at school they do good at home but they are still having a problem with her job because they go to school American school and now you know the image of Islam nowadays you know it's declining rather than we work on improving the image of Islam unfortunately you work 10 years to improve all of a sudden one incident that takes place here in this state and that state and bombing this and that brings Islam down to me and you have to struggle for another 10-20 years to work so I don't blame them I say I am not asking you to obey your father neither obey your husband on this obey Allah take up the hijab as an obedience submission to the will of God since you know for certain that God is mandating this in the Quran and earlier I mentioned 4 places in the Quran with 4 different terms so submit to him submit to him and you will see the reward in your life you will see the result you will see how submitting oneself to the will of God will produce good positive results in your life submit to Allah and you will see the result over the time I am not saying that today you wear hijab and you know you are an angel no that does not happen but you will see in the long run you will see the positive result insha'Allah and the foods of hijab in your life and also in your family's life and in your community الله مخفل المؤمنين والمؤمنات والمسلمين والمسلمات الأحياء منهم والأموات تابع لهم بيننا وبينهم بالخيرات إنك مجيب with دعوات مرحبا