HIJAB FOR MEN IN ISLAM
As men attract
women and Islam asks women to do the hijab, in the same way, women also attract
men, does Islam also asks men to do the hijab? Why do men need to do hijabs?
Islam has
highlighted the concept of dignity and modesty in the interaction between the
members of the opposite sex. Dress code is the portion of all that teaching.
Along with the topic of hijab for women, there is also another topic which
hardly ever emphasized and that's the hijab for men in Islam.
In Islam, the hijab
is both for men and women and most of the aspects of the hijab are the same for
them but in some aspects, they differ. The extent of clothing is the only
difference in hijab for men and women and the reason is that the man gets more
attracted by looking at the woman as compared to the woman getting attracted by
looking at the men and this is scientifically proven. There are many types of
research done on this and today science tells us that when a man looks at a
woman, his pupil dilated more and he is sexually more excited as compared to
when a woman looks at a man, her pupil dilated less. So, based on human nature,
the extent of hijab for women is much more as compared to the extent of hijab
for men. In the Glorious Quran, Allah Almighty speaks about the hijab first for
men and then for women. It is mentioned in Surah An-Nur:
قُل لِّلۡمُؤۡمِنِينَ يَغُضُّواْ مِنۡ أَبۡصَٰرِهِمۡ وَيَحۡفَظُواْ
فُرُوجَهُمۡۚ ذَٰلِكَ أَزۡكَىٰ لَهُمۡۚ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ خَبِيرُۢ بِمَا يَصۡنَعُونَ
Tell the believing men to reduce
[some] of their vision and guard their private parts. That is purer for them.
Indeed, Allah is Acquainted with what they do. (Surah An-Nur: 30)
So, the hijab for
men is to lower their gaze and to dress in loose clothing. So a Muslim man has
this duty that he cannot show all his limbs or organs proudly, "I'm a
Man". Hijab is not just for women. When Allah Almighty speaks of lowering
the gaze and hijab, He speaks about the men first and then women. Nowadays,
most men always think that hijab is just for women and they claim that most of
the sins happening in society are just because of those women who do not take
hijab. Yes, it is the cause of sin but not as a whole. Men who do not take the
hijab that Islam teaches them, are also responsible for this.
Regarding the criteria of clothing or hijab for men, there are six
criteria in Islam.
- Covering the body from navel to knee
- The clothes you wear shouldn't be so tight to reveal the figure
- The clothes you wear shouldn't be transparent or translucent that shows the body
- The dress you wear shouldn't be glamorous that can attract the opposite sex
- The dress you wear shouldn't resemble the dress of the opposite sex
- The dress you wear shouldn't resemble the dress of non-believers
The entire above
mentioned are the hijab of clothing for Men, and besides this hijab is for the
way of person talk, walk, looks, and thinks. It means the hijab is not only
following all these rules but has deeper inside meanings that apply to both men
and women. In Quran Allah Almighty mentioned the idea of righteousness and
piety as more important than the physical covering of a body.
يَٰبَنِيٓ ءَادَمَ قَدۡ أَنزَلۡنَا عَلَيۡكُمۡ لِبَاسٗا يُوَٰرِي سَوۡءَٰتِكُمۡ وَرِيشٗاۖ وَلِبَاسُ ٱلتَّقۡوَىٰ ذَٰلِكَ خَيۡرٞۚ ذَٰلِكَ مِنۡ ءَايَٰتِ ٱللَّهِ لَعَلَّهُمۡ يَذَّكَّرُونَ
O children of Adam, We have bestowed
upon you clothing to conceal your private parts and as adornment. But the
clothing of righteousness - that is best. That is from the signs of Allah that
perhaps they will remember. (Surah Al-A'raf: 26)
Hence, the concept
of the Hijab in its most popular understanding today has lost its true meaning.
It has come to narrowly appear as a physical idea for women, whereas it was
meant to be more spiritual for all. It has become a political tool utilizing gender
politics within Islam, and socio-cultural politics within the world. Very few
people are aware of the personal connotations that the Hijab holds. It is not
simply a case of misinterpretation, but rather that of selective overlooking of
facts and doctrines over time, to make the religion better suited for a
patriarchal society.