Asaalamualeikum.
I know that we must obey Allah no matter what. But i want to understand things also from a practical perspective.
What is the main reason why looking at women with skirts is seen as a bad thing in Arab culture? Is it because looking at awrah of women dressed in skirts that don't cover the body properly is seen as one of the biggest way of disrespecting women?
In European culture women who dressed with skirts and attractive clothes are seen as a symbol of respect and stature in the society.
Is the main objective of the hijab to respect women because a women that doesn't cover is considered disrespectful in Arab culture just like the disrespect of bad behaviour towards parents?
Is looking at uncovered women considered disrespectful in Arab culture just like the disrespect of showing your soles?
Is the main objective of the entire Islamic religion < to increase the respect>?
Is respect the main reason for the existence of all those prohibitions?
Is respect the main reason for the existence of all those obligations?
Is respect the main objective of all acts of worship?
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Just look back to the early years of the 20th century and your statement about the European culture would be wrong. Older people still look with a certain sadness at what has mainly changed "the good manners" of early days to this "nakedness" especially in the 60's and 70's and later with smaller or bigger developpments.– Medi1Saif ♦Aug 5, 2020 at 9:35
2 Answers
As'salaamu alaikum.
The ultimate purpose for the revelation of the religion of Islam is to teach humanity what it must and should do to prepare for the coming of the Day of Judgment. Everything - and I mean EVERYTHING - is aimed at that one purpose.
"We said, 'Get down from here (Heaven). If, as is sure, there comes to you Guidance from Me, whoever follows my Guidance, on them shall be no fear, nor shall they grieve. But those who reject Faith and call My Ayah a lie, they shall be Companions of the Fire. They shall stay in it forever.'" Surat-ul-Baqarah (2), ayah 38-39.
This passage from the Qur'an is telling us that, at the time Allah expelled Adam and Eve from Heaven (the Original and True home of Humanity), He promised to show them what to do to make it back.
Now, Allah is very generous. In addition to the blessings that will be received on the Day of Judgment for having lived our lives on earth in harmony with His instructions, Allah has also made our obedience to His Will a source of many blessings for us in this world too.
You mentioned women's covering up and men averting their gaze from women, so I'll speak on that to make a point.
In the time of the Prophet Muhammad (SAWS) women were not highly esteemed and valued members of society. This was partly because they were seen as weaklings and financial liabilities, but it was also because a lot of them were living a slutty lifestyle. It is said that, in the times before Islam, the women routinely danced naked around the Kaaba and that they (the pagan Arabs - both men and women) used to indulge in public orgies. These behaviors only serve to further debase and devalue women.
Then Islam came with its rules and regulations regarding women. Women should cover themselves when they leave the house; men should not leer at women (and vice versa); men must marry a woman if he wants to have sex with her; husbands must protect and provide for the upkeep of women; men must not go out of his way to make women's home life miserable; men should treat women with gentleness as a general rule; women should not go out of their way to draw attention to themselves nor to entice men. These and other rules worked together to restore dignity to the women of Arabia. Put another way, Islam made women WORTHY of respect by the way it required them to carry themselves, and by the way it required men to treat women.
But there's more to it than that. It was not only about restoring dignity and respect to women. Allah is the Most Wise. His ordinances are designed to solve many problems at once.
Islam requires Muslims to abstain from a lot of vices (drinking alcohol, indulging in fornication and/or adultery, gambling, etc.) Because vices give us pleasure, many people have a hard time abstaining from the them.
"Allah does wish to make clear to you and to show you the ordinances of those before you. And He does wish to turn to you in mercy. And Allah is All-Knowing, All-Wise. Allah does wish to turn to you, but the wish of those who follow their lusts is that you should turn away from Him -- far, far away. ALLAH DOES WISH TO LIGHTEN YOUR DIFFICULTIES, FOR THE HUMAN BEING WAS CREATED WEAK." Surat-un-Nisaa (4), ayah 26-28.
Allah knows that it's hard for most of us to do the right thing, so He put a lot of laws in place TO MAKE IT EASIER TO BE A GOOD MUSLIM. Instead of having to wrestle with resisting temptation, just remove the temptation. It's simple mathematics.
If you take a person who likes getting drunk and put him/her in an environment where alcoholic drinks are not readily available, he/she won't have a hard time staying away from drinking. In this way, it is very easy for them to stay sober. Likewise, if we create an environment to where vices are not readily accessible it's easy from Muslims to abstain from vices and, consequently, easier for them to be good Muslims in that respect. Those are sins they won't have to answer for on the Day of Judgment.
In a nutshell, Islam is about preparing for the Day of Judgment. Allah wants us to be successful on that Day, so He has made laws that are designed to make following His Guidance very easy on us. And, of course, we get all the other (worldly) blessing's and benefits that come from obeying Him too.
I hope this answer helps your understanding.
Maa'as'salaam.
Ve aleikum salaam.
What is the main reason why looking at women with skirts is seen as a bad thing in Arab culture?
It's not something about Arab culture, it's about Islam's restrictions for a better/safer social life. Arab culture does not equal to Islam and Islam does not equal to Arab culture, they are different things.
Of course respect is an essential part of Islam but, the other reasons of hijab are safety and privacy.
Women are extremely precious and private in Islam, like jewels. You won't want to show your jewels everyone.
A woman is created very beautiful and attractive for men. Every single part of their bodies are attractive for men. A man is created with a very high level of attention, love and lust to women which women does not have same level of lust.
Leaving these attracting forces uncontrolled causes and inappropriate sexual life, sexual abuse or exploitation of women which we see in many cultures nowadays.
Unfortunately, these properties of women are opened to public in most of the world. Their beauty and attractiveness are used in commercials, porn 'industry' and every other place to please eyes and lust.
This is just keeping doors locked to stop robbery and keep privacy.
In Islam only way to join this attractive forces is marriage, which loads many responsibilities to a man, so no one can leave women when they're bored. Married couples are very transparent to each other and very private to others. So, no aspect of women is shareable with other people.
In the other hand, Islam has restrictions for men too. They are not allowed to look and enjoy other women. A woman with a short skirt or tight/transparent clothing, absolutely disregards all men who try to obey Islamic rules. And men are created very weak to keep their eyes off the women. So, this is not a respectful woman behavior.
Is the main objective of the entire Islamic religion < to increase the respect>?
Is respect the main reason for the existence of all those prohibitions?
We can say that the respect is one of the main objectives of Islam but not the only one.
Respect to other people's personal privacy is one of the most important things to keep social life safe/private and to make the world livable.
Is respect the main reason for the existence of all those obligations?
Is respect the main objective of all acts of worship?
The main reason for all those obligations and all acts of worship is to prove yourself as a obedient only to 1 single Allah who orders only good things and prove yourself as a faithful, respectful, peaceful one to win to consent and love of Allah and his heaven. Because He accepts only respectful, peaceful and faithful people to his heaven to live together forever.
