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Author Topic: Attitudes About the Hijab (Head-covering). We have to do the educating  (Read 4986 times)

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Offline Sami Yusuf Islam

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Attitudes About the Hijab (Head-covering). We have to do the educating

Offline malaika2012

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Re: Attitudes About the Hijab (Head-covering). We have to do the educating
« Reply #1 on: Thursday 25 October 2007, 07:52 »
Why is it people have a problem with muslim women wearing hijabs a.k.a head coverings? From my investigation hebrew/jewish women and christian women were/are suppose to wear them as well.

Christian Women: Corinthians 11:3-10

3 But I would have you know, that the head of every man is Christ; and the head of the woman is the man; and the head of Christ is God.

4 Every man praying or prophesying, having his head covered, dishonoureth his head.

5 But every woman that prayeth or prophesieth with her head uncovered dishonoureth her head: for that is even all one as if she were shaven.

6 For if the woman be not covered, let her also be shorn: but if it be a shame for a woman to be shorn or shaven, let her be covered.

7 For a man indeed ought not to cover his head, forasmuch as he is the image and glory of God: but the woman is the glory of the man.

8 For the man is not of the woman: but the woman of the man.

9 Neither was the man created for the woman; but the woman for the man.

10 For this cause ought the woman to have power on her head because of the angels.

St. Paul the creator of the New Testament and earlist writer of christianity urged women in the Corinthian churches to cover their heads (the only place where the Bible teaches about this), he followed a custom prominent in many Eastern cultures of his day. Although women and men alike covered their heads for various reasons, married women specifically covered their heads to prevent men other than their husbands from lusting after their hair. A married woman who went out with her head uncovered was considered promiscuous and was to be divorced as an adulteress. Because of what head coverings symbolized in that culture, Paul asked the more liberated women to cover their heads so they would not scandalize the others. It is also well known that Catholic Nuns have been covering their heads for hundreds of years.

St. Tertullian in his famous treatise 'On The Veiling Of Virgins' wrote, "Young women, you wear your veils out on the streets, so you should wear them in the church, you wear them when you are among strangers, then wear them among your brothers..." Among the Canon laws of the Catholic church today, there is a law that requires women to cover their heads in church. Some Christian denominations, such as the Amish and the Mennonites for example, keep their women veiled to the present day. The reason for the veil, as offered by their Church leaders, is that "The head covering is a symbol of woman's subjection to the man and to God", which is the same logic introduced by St. Paul in the New Testament.

Jewish Women - Ancient Israel (Jewish/Hebrew law)

According to Rabbi Dr. Menachem M. Brayer (Professor of Biblical Literature at Yeshiva University) in his book, The Jewish woman in Rabbinic literature, it was the custom of Jewish women to go out in public with a head covering which, sometimes, even covered the whole face leaving one eye free. 76 He quotes some famous ancient Rabbis saying," It is not like the daughters of Israel to walk out with heads uncovered" and "Cursed be the man who lets the hair of his wife be seen....a woman who exposes her hair for self-adornment brings poverty." Rabbinic law forbids the recitation of blessings or prayers in the presence of a bareheaded married woman since uncovering the woman's hair is considered "nudity". 77 Dr. Brayer also mentions that "During the Tannaitic period the Jewish woman's failure to cover her head was considered an affront to her modesty. When her head was uncovered she might be fined four hundred zuzim for this offense." Dr. Brayer also explains that veil of the Jewish woman was not always considered a sign of modesty. Sometimes, the veil symbolized a state of distinction and luxury rather than modesty. The veil personified the dignity and superiority of noble women. It also represented a woman's inaccessibility as a sanctified possession of her husband. 78

The veil signified a woman's self-respect and social status. Women of lower classes would often wear the veil to give the impression of a higher standing. The fact that the veil was the sign of nobility was the reason why prostitutes were not permitted to cover their hair in the old Jewish society. However, prostitutes often wore a special headscarf in order to look respectable. 79 Jewish women in Europe continued to wear veils until the nineteenth century when their lives became more intermingled with the surrounding secular culture. The external pressures of the European life in the nineteenth century forced many of them to go out bare-headed.

The Lord had given a certain commandment to Moses regarding clothing, with an explanation for its reason:

Speak to the people of Israel, and tell them to make tassels on the corners of their garments throughout their generations, and to put a cord of blue on the tassel of each corner. And it shall be a tassel for you to look at and remember all the commandments of the LORD, to do them, not to follow after your own heart and your own eyes, which you are inclined to whore after. (Numbers 15:38-39. See also Deuteronomy 22:12, You shall make yourself tassels on the four corners of the garment with which you cover yourself.)

Philo of Alexandria (who lived from 20 B.C to A.D. 50) in his treatise The Special Laws gives an interesting comment about the significance of the Jewish woman's headcovering. Regarding the procedure followed by priests who examined women accused of adultery (cf. Numbers 5:18) he writes, "And the priest shall take the barley and offer it to the woman, and shall take away from her the head-dress on her head, that she may be judged with her head bare, and deprived of the symbol of modesty, which all those women are accustomed to wear who are completely blameless." (13) But it should not be taken for granted that Jews in general attached any such definite symbolical meaning to the headcovering.

Think about it, why does every Christian picture of Mary mother of jesus have a head covering? Did the mother of their lord and savior ever have her head covered? Answer: More then likely!!!

So why should Christians be angry when a muslim has a head covering,when the bible tells them they should do it as well

Offline Sami Yusuf Islam

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Re: Attitudes About the Hijab (Head-covering). We have to do the educating
« Reply #2 on: Thursday 25 October 2007, 08:19 »
malaika2012 !!!!

Big welcome  :-D :-D


Christians today simply don't read their book and don't know what it says!


big welcome and thank you very much for this very excellent essay.

Offline malaika2012

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Re: Attitudes About the Hijab (Head-covering). We have to do the educating
« Reply #3 on: Friday 26 October 2007, 10:50 »
You are welcome... My husband found that essay and I thought it was very interesting. So I thought I would share it with my brothers and sisters. And thank you for making me feel welcome brother.

Offline Casey

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Re: Attitudes About the Hijab (Head-covering). We have to do the educating
« Reply #4 on: Friday 26 October 2007, 12:47 »
That is very interesting in deed.  I agree, many Christians don't know their own scriptures!  I was wondering, though, what the meaning of the next park of 1 Corinthians chapter 11 means.

     13.  Judge for yourselves: Is it proper for a woman to pray to God with her head uncovered?
     
     14.  Does not the very nature of things teach you that if a man has long hair, it is a disgrace to him,

     15.  but that if a woman has long hair, it is her glory?  For long hair is given to her as a covering.

     16.  If anyone wants to be contentious about this, we have no other practice - nor do the churches of God.

Is the Bible saying that a women's hair can serve as her head covering?  I am interested if this has anything to do with the fact that, to my knowledge, the new Corinthian Christians were not previously Jewish and thus the head covering would have been a foreign custom?  What do you think?

Casey 


Offline Sami Yusuf Islam

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Re: Attitudes About the Hijab (Head-covering). We have to do the educating
« Reply #5 on: Friday 26 October 2007, 18:14 »
You are welcome... My husband found that essay and I thought it was very interesting. So I thought I would share it with my brothers and sisters. And thank you for making me feel welcome brother.


thank you very much indeed and big big big thumbs up to your husband!

may Allah let love and understanding grow between you two.


it is a very interesting article indeed.


thank you very much for sharing it



Offline Sami Yusuf Islam

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Re: Attitudes About the Hijab (Head-covering). We have to do the educating
« Reply #6 on: Friday 26 October 2007, 18:19 »
That is very interesting in deed.  I agree, many Christians don't know their own scriptures!  I was wondering, though, what the meaning of the next park of 1 Corinthians chapter 11 means.

     13.  Judge for yourselves: Is it proper for a woman to pray to God with her head uncovered?
     
     14.  Does not the very nature of things teach you that if a man has long hair, it is a disgrace to him,

     15.  but that if a woman has long hair, it is her glory?  For long hair is given to her as a covering.

     16.  If anyone wants to be contentious about this, we have no other practice - nor do the churches of God.

Is the Bible saying that a women's hair can serve as her head covering?  I am interested if this has anything to do with the fact that, to my knowledge, the new Corinthian Christians were not previously Jewish and thus the head covering would have been a foreign custom?  What do you think?

Casey 




Casey..... that was an excellent piece of work


I thank you very much for having shared this with us.

I personally started reading and memorizing the old and new testaments when I was 15.

Let me surprise you a little bit even more about the readings I made..........


I will make sure that I do NOT take anything out of its context.... so I will keep the whole chapter......





Matthew 10 (World English Bible)
1He called to himself his twelve disciples, and gave them authority over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal every disease and every sickness.  2Now the names of the twelve apostles are these. The first, Simon, who is called Peter; Andrew, his brother; James the son of Zebedee; John, his brother;  3Philip; Bartholomew; Thomas; Matthew, the tax collector; James the son of Alphaeus; and Lebbaeus, whose surname was Thaddaeus;  4Simon the Canaanite; and Judas Iscariot, who also betrayed him.

5Jesus sent these twelve forth, and charged them, saying, "Don't go among the Gentiles, and don't enter into any city of the Samaritans.  6Rather, go to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.  7As you go, preach, saying, 'The Kingdom of Heaven is at hand.'  8Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, and cast out demons. Freely you received, so freely give.  9Don't take any gold, nor silver, nor brass in your money belts.  10Take no bag for your journey, neither two coats, nor shoes, nor staff: for the laborer is worthy of his food.  11Into whatever city or village you enter, find out who in it is worthy; and stay there until you go on.  12As you enter into the household, greet it.  13If the household is worthy, let your peace come on it, but if it isn't worthy, let your peace return to you.  14Whoever doesn't receive you, nor hear your words, as you go forth out of that house or that city, shake off the dust from your feet.  15Most assuredly I tell you, It will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah in the day of judgment, than for that city.
16Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves. Therefore be wise as serpents, and harmless as doves.  17But beware of men: for they will deliver you up to councils, and in their synagogues they will scourge you.  18Yes, and you will be brought before governors and kings for my sake, for a testimony to them and to the Gentiles.  19But when they deliver you up, don't be anxious how or what you will say, for it will be given you in that hour what you will say.  20For it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father who speaks in you.  21Brother will deliver up brother to death, and the father his child. Children will rise up against parents, and cause them to be put to death.  22You will be hated by all men for my name's sake, but he who endures to the end, the same will be saved.  23But when they persecute you in this city, flee into the next, for most assuredly I tell you, you will not have gone through the cities of Israel, until the Son of Man has come.  24"A disciple is not above his teacher, nor a servant above his lord.  25It is enough for the disciple that he be like his teacher, and the servant like his lord. If they have called the master of the house Beelzebul, how much more them of his household!  26Therefore don't be afraid of them, for there is nothing covered, that will not be revealed; and hidden, that will not be known.  27What I tell you in the darkness, speak in the light; and what you hear whispered in the ear, proclaim on the housetops.  28Don't be afraid of those who kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul. Rather, fear him who is able to destroy both soul and body in Gehenna.  29"Aren't two sparrows sold for an assarion? Not one of them falls on the ground apart from your Father's will,  30but the very hairs of your head are all numbered.  31Therefore don't be afraid, you are of more value than many sparrows.  32Everyone therefore who confesses me before men, him will I also confess before my Father who is in heaven.  33But whoever denies me before men, him will I also deny before my Father who is in heaven.  34"Don't think that I came to send peace on the earth. I didn't come to send peace, but a sword.  35For I came to set a man at odds against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter in law against her mother in law.  36A man's foes will be those of his own household.  37He who loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; and he who loves son or daughter more than me isn't worthy of me.  38He who doesn't take his cross and follow after me, isn't worthy of me.  39He who finds his life will lose it; and he who loses his life for my sake will find it.  40He who receives you receives me, and he who receives me receives him who sent me.  41He who receives a prophet in the name of a prophet will receive a prophet's reward: and he who receives a righteous man in the name of a righteous man will receive a righteous man's reward.  42Whoever gives one of these little ones just a cup of cold water to drink, in the name of a disciple, most assuredly I tell you he will in no way lose his reward."


Offline Casey

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Re: Attitudes About the Hijab (Head-covering). We have to do the educating
« Reply #7 on: Friday 26 October 2007, 21:24 »
That is a very interesting passage.  What do you think the meaning of it is?  What caused you to start memorizing the Old and New Testaments?  That seams like an ambitious task!

Casey

Offline Sami Yusuf Islam

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Re: Attitudes About the Hijab (Head-covering). We have to do the educating
« Reply #8 on: Friday 26 October 2007, 21:33 »
That is a very interesting passage.  What do you think the meaning of it is?  What caused you to start memorizing the Old and New Testaments?  That seams like an ambitious task!

Casey


Hello Casey.

the passage is one of a series of remarks I had while reading the old and new testaments.....

I will be posting the other ones progressively here on talkaboutislam inshaaAllah

Every time I talked about those readings with Christian friends, they would all keep telling me that I am taking the text out of its context.

Thus I kept the context here.....



now why I memorized parts of the old and the new testament...... : easy, I am Lebanese.

in Lebanon, muslims and Christians have lived together for hundreds of years, and thus........ when you have Christian friends who do not care at all to read their book and talk to you about it, you go and grab a copy and start reading on your own to understand : after all, what is so different between my people and those people ?



Offline Casey

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Re: Attitudes About the Hijab (Head-covering). We have to do the educating
« Reply #9 on: Friday 26 October 2007, 22:18 »
Fascinating.  I suppose in my ignorance I was unaware of the number of Muslims and Christians living together in Lebanon.  There are a great number here living together in Boston as well.

So do you think any of what the Bible says is true or do you only read it to discuss with your Christian friends?

Also, what about these verses from 1 Peter chapter 1:

15 - But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do

16 - for it is written: "Be holy, because I am holy."

Can anyone be as holy as God?

Casey


 



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