Arab dissident intellectuals and the revelation verses concerning hijab

One of the key principles of religious modern thinking is considering the circumstances surrounding the revelations. The dissident intellectuals, the seculars and others have focused a lot on knowing and understanding the circumstances surrounding the revelations in the Quran and they believe that many misunderstandings and misconceptions have been caused by the fact that there has been negligence in reading the verses of the revelations according to these circumstances. Accordingly, Jaberi, a prominent dissident and modern thinker of the Arab world is of the opinion that understanding the revelation of the verses is one of the main conditions for Ijtihad (religious official judgment).
According to the beliefs of the advocates in this group, a number of criminal, and ethical and social laws and decrees of Koran are worthy of reinterpretation in the light of revelations and the understanding which is achieved in this new outlook is not consistent with the traditional understanding.
The dissident thinkers provide significant interpretations of some verses in the light of revelation of the circumstances implied in Qur'an; hijab as one of the social provisions of the Koran is among the provisions that were highly regarded by these intellectuals. In the dissents' view, the traditional recitation of verses of the revelation concerning Hijab is considered negligence and also failure to use the circumstances surrounding these verses in understanding the verses of the revelation, so that if the ancestors had given enough attention the revelation of the verses of hijab and benefited from this new understanding, they wouldn’t call for the necessity of imposing Hijab and didn’t ask women to act accordingly.
Thus, it is necessary and worthwhile, in this article, to present the Koranic documentation concerning hijab and the understanding of these dissident intellectuals of the verses which was based on revelation should be reported and then we shall put this knowledge to a critical test and shall make it clear if this is right and wrong.
In this study, three verses are discussed respecting hijab:
The first verse, verse 53 of Sura “parties” (Ahzab) which says:
O you who believe! Do not enter the houses of the Prophet unless permission is given to you for having a meal, while [you should not come early] and do not sit waiting for the time when the food is served; this makes the prophet upset; but when invited inside, you may go inside and when you have eaten you should leave and [after having meal] do not sit down to talk and discuss as this will upset the prophet but he is too shy to say anything but the God is not shy in [the expression of] the right word and when you want to ask for the prophet’s wives for something as borrowing you should express your demand behind a curtain; it is for the purity of your hearts and make them better! And you have no right to hurt the Prophet of Allah and marry his wives after his death because this is punishable by God!
The second verse is verse 59 of the same chapter which says:
O Prophet! Say to your wives and daughters and the believing women that they show pull Chadors [long scarves] on themselves; it would be best for them to be recognized and avoid being abused by others; the Lord is always forgiving and merciful.
And the third example belongs to verses 30 and 31 of Surah Noor, which say:
Tell the believers not to ogle and stare at strangers {men and women} and maintain their chastity. This is purer for them; Allah is aware of what you do! And tell the female believers to cover their eyes from the lustful looks and protect their chastity and not reveal their adornment unless when it is exposed normally and cover their neck and breasts with their scarves [so that these body members are covered] and they should not show their adornments except to their husbands or fathers or their husbands ' fathers, or their sons or their husbands' sons, or their brothers or their brothers' sons or their sisters' sons or women or slaves and relatives or mentally retarded people who are not interested in women or children who are not aware of sex and when they walk, they should not touch the ground too strongly so that their hidden adornments are not shown.
The cause of the revelation of the first verse
In the Shiite interpretive texts, there is only one cause of revelation for the first verse:
"The Prophet (peace be upon him and his progeny) married Zaynab who was the daughter of Jahesh. The prophet loved Zaynab. On the occasion of this marriage, the prophet of Islam prepared a meal and feast and invited some guests. The guests engaged in a postprandial dialogue. The prophet who wanted to be alone with Zaynab was so upset with the situation until this holy verse came down."
In the interpretative, narrative and historical Sunni sources, the mentioned verse has several occasions of revelation and they are not identical:
1. Tabari writes:
"When the Prophet (peace be upon him) married Zaynab, a group of people were invited to a meal. After the meal, the guests started to have a dialogue with each other. They overstayed their welcome, this made the prophet uncomfortable, and the prophet had no choice other than leaving the house. Then, the Prophet returned home after some time while the group was still talking. That is when the first verse was revealed, and the guests had to leave his home.”
2-Anas says:
“On the wedding night with Zainab, the Prophet prepared a meal of dates and flour and slaughtered sheep. My mother, Umm Salim, also made a small dish containing Hiss – dates which are mixed with oil and sour so that their kernels come out - and sent it for the Prophet (peace be upon him) and he said to me that I should invite the followers to a meal. I also invited the people, and they would come flocking to his house and then the prophet went out after having the meal...but three people were still talking in his house and did not want to leave. The Prophet was upset that these three guests were still sitting in the house but he was too modest and shy to ask them to leave. It was at such a time that the holy verse was revealed and the prophet pulled a curtain between him and me.”
3. Some other sources also say:
"When the Prophet married Zainab, people were invited to a meal. After the meal, the guests began to speak and converse, a group pretended to be ready to leave but they were still having a dialogue among themselves. The Prophet (peace be upon him) left his house and a number of them who had understood his intention left as well but three guest stayed in his house regardless and when the prophet returned and saw those three men, he was forced to leave again, and those guests had to leave as well. Then, I went to look for the prophet and later told him that they have gone away. The Prophet returned to the house and I also accompanied him. When I got home, the Prophet arrived and when I wanted to enter, the prophet pulled the curtain and at this time this holy verse was revealed.”
4. In another hadith quoted by Omar we read:
"I asked the Prophet: the bad and the good individuals come to you. I wish you asked your wives to wear hijab. At this time, the holy verse came down."
5. We also read in another version quoted by Mojahid that:
"The prophet was having a meal with a number of his disciples and Ayesha was also present in the house. When they were having this meal, one of the disciple’s hand accidentally touched Ayesha’s hand and the prophet was upset with this matter and then the holy verse was revealed.”
Among the above revelations, the revelations narrated in the hadiths by the Sunnis have been used by the dissident intellectuals, but the causes for the revelation of these verses as they are quoted in Shiite interpretative and narrated sources have not been used and this is due to the fact that all of those who sought a new reading of the verses of hijab are among the Sunnis, and this group only trusts their own expository and narrative texts. For example, "Fatima Mernissi" refuses to accept Hijab as a religious order and rejects the indicated decrees about hijab which are announced by the religious scholars. According to them, hanging the curtain by the Prophet of Allah in the second and third verse indicates that hijab means creating a safe and secure place for the consummation of wedding away from the presence of others and it is not the so-called Islamic and religiously compulsory hijab.
"Mohammed Abed Jabri" unlike Mernissi accepts the indications regarding hijab in the verses but he thinks that the decree is particularly and solely meant for the Prophet's wives based on the fourth source of revelation for the verses and further he refuses to accept it as a general and public rule.
"Mohammad Saeed Ashmavy" follows Mernissi to avoid recognizing hijab in the holy verse as a term and like Jaberi he has not accepted the generality of the verse. He thinks that hijab is exclusive to the prophet’s wives and believes that it creates a special veil between the wives of the Prophet and the believer so that with the veil his wives are not seen at all.
The evaluation
The revelations mentioned are appropriate providing that the accuracy of their documentation can be properly proven and only when their indications are complete and also the reason for choosing each of them and their precedence over any other revelation are expressed; this is true while neither Mernissi nor Jaberi and Asamavy say anything about the document and the implied quoted traditions.
Moreover, they do not express the cause of the revelation as compared with other revelations and this is true while Jaberi is very strict in accepting the circumstances of the revelation and does not recognize just any narration or quotation as the cause for the revelation of the verses:
“The cause of the revelation of the verses should be verified by those who were witnesses to the revelations and have been aware of the circumstances using credible documentation and proof and the hadiths mentioned by the disciples and the followers are only ancillary and are introduced simply as quotations.”
In addition, Dr. Jaberi puts all of the revelation of these verses in the category of individual accounts and they are only useful for doubtful agreements. So how Jaberi and his colleagues founded an interpretation theory with this negative attitude to the revelation of the verses and how do they benefit from them on the basis of such a revelation and thoroughly adhere to the false readings provided by others?
The cause for the revelation of the third verse
The cause of the revelation of the second verse has also been reported differently in both Shia and Sunni sources:
Ali Bin Ebrahim Qomi writes about the cause of the verse thus:
"Women went to the mosque and the prayer was set up and led by the Prophet. When this group went to the mosque for the evening, the night and the morning prayers, they were abused in the dark streets. On this occasion, the holy verse came down."
Some Sunni commentators write thus about the cause of the second verse:
"When women from Medina went out at night to use the toilets, the youth of Medina harassed them. On this occasion, the holy verse was revealed."
In other Qur'anic and interpretative texts of the Sunni tradition, the kind of clothing the free women and concubines used is introduced as the cause of their harassment.
The same theme was also narrated by Sadie. Sadie says:
"When women from Medina came out to relieve themselves, young men from Medina thought that the women who had coverage was a free woman and thought that the unveiled women are slaves and concubines so they were harassed by them. On this occasion, the holy verse came down."
According to the above revelations, some Arab intellectuals are of the opinion that the cause for hijab is to distinguish between free women and slave girls or concubines. For example, Mohammad Jaberi has said:
"The cause of the decrees for hijab is that young people and men can recognize free women from concubines and do not harass and bother them and don’t give them lustful looks.”
In addition to the cause of the revelation, he makes use of the "In Yarefun" in verse 59 of Sura al-Ahzab and Omar’s harsh treatment of veiled slave girls to deduce the cause of the decree announced with respect to hijab.
Jaberi writes in conclusion:
"The causes that led to the canonization of hijab have been annulled as, in the new age, women do not go out of their houses to use the toilets anymore and slavery has been abolished and some men and women are not called slaves and, moreover, women do not have the same need to be accompanied by the concubines as in the past and they are not harassed in this way."
And, then, using the principle that what is extant is caused for a reason and always appears with the cause for a decree and with the absence of a cause it can be abolished, he takes advantage of this verdict and declares that "therefore, hijab is not obligatory in the new era."
"Abdel Fatah Al-Qader" also bridges the gap to the cause of the decrees given for performing hijab. In his opinion, the reason for announcing a decree concerning hijab is to make a difference between the free Muslim women and the concubines. Therefore, if the cause of a decree will cease to exist and, in the new age, as a group of women cannot be labeled as concubines or slaves, then, the cause for the decree is annulled automatically and as a result, with this absence of the cause, the decree which is credible as long as a cause exists, would be annulled as well and this important statement shows that hijab is a historical order and it is not compulsory to observe hijab for all places and at all times.
Review and Assessment
The citations mentioned concerning revelations are worthy of being documented and being referred to providing that they have correct implications and indications. Moreover, what the dissident thinkers have known as the cause of the decree is not the cause of the decree; rather, it is the philosophy of the verdict given and the verdict is never dependent on its philosophy.
The cause of the revelation of the third verse
In Sunni and Shia interpretations in the literature, there are three causes for the revelation of the holy verse:
1. Imam Baqir (peace be upon him) said:
"A young man from the Ansar on his way came across a young woman who had worn a headscarf and the brims of the scarf were thrown on the back of her ears and neck and her chest and neck were laid bare. While he was following her with his eyes, the young man did not watching his steps in the front and went into an alley and suddenly hit his face against the wall and a piece of a bone or a piece of glass that was on the wall tore his face and his face was covered in blood. When the young man went to see the prophet and told him about what had happened, this divine decree was revealed.”
2. Jabir bin Abdullah narrates:
Asma who was the daughter of Mersed was in a garden of palm trees. A number of women came to see her, while their necks, and chests, and their hair was seen. Asma said, may this be more indecent? Therefore, it was the occasion when the verse was revealed: (And tell the female believers).
3. Hazarmi narrates:
The cause for the second revelation is considered to be general and comprehensive and a major part of the verse is thus covered and the cause for the revelation of the third verse is specific and it has to do with the Arabic phrase.
Some Arab dissident intellectuals have taken advantage of above-mentioned revelations to offer a new reading of the holy verse. For example, "Ahmad Aghleh" an Arab dissident scholar is of the opinion that the use of headscarf by women has been a common habit among pre-Islamic Arabs. He believes that men and women before the dawn of Islam used to cover their faces and heads to avoid the dust and sun and they left their neck and chests bare in this way.
This habit of the ignorant Arabs continued after the advent of Islam and Muslim women as the ignorant women of that age left their chests and necks bare until the holy verse was revealed and invited Muslim women to cover their chests.
Aghleh believes these verses imply the necessity of covering the neck while covering the head and face is not signified by the holy verse and if they cover their heads and this was a desirable deed as covering the chest, then it was good to mention such a decree explicitly and clearly so that the people addressed by the Holy Quran would be asked to cover these parts of the body and this way the multifarious interpretations demanding subjective desires which are supposedly expressing the God’s will could be avoided.
Doctor, "Mohammad Shahrur" is also inspired by the above revelation and only accepts hijab and recognizes the coverage of only the chest and the middle parts of the female body.
"Mohammed Abed Jaberi" and "Mohammad Ashmavy" are also of the opinion that hijab is a historical verdict and the occasion for the revelation of verses dealing with hijab is used as the cause for such decrees.
According to them, moderating the quality of women's clothing during that period and making a difference between free women and slave women (concubines) are the two main reasons for the fact that hijab is obligatory, and because these two reasons do not exist today, therefore, there is no need to demand the observation of hijab any longer inasmuch as a decree depends on a cause and with the presence and absence of a cause a verdict is given or taken back.
Review and criticism
Revelations are mentioned as the central authority of the above readings while these revelations cannot be referred to or relied on in some respects:
A) The cause of the second revelation – which is the main document of the above readings – are considered as the Mursala accounts, (18) and a narrative such as this is not worthy of interpretation and cannot be relied on in establishing a theory of interpretation.
In addition, the first version which is called valid, has not been documented by this group of Arab intellectuals.
B) The revelations which were mentioned do not indicate any of the common practices of women in dressing in that particular era, but they only indicate the dress quality of a number of women and this cannot be generalized to the dress code among all the women in a period of time. If the dress code of just a few women were taken as a yardstick for the whole community, then the fact that Asma was surprised which was formulated in the form of a question did not make any sense.
C) Many of the provisions of Islamic law are considered signature laws or ordinances that have been signed by the establisher of law and by amending some of them their integrity has been confirmed by him.
Therefore, by modifying the type of dress code that was used in the time of revelation, we cannot merely accept the reforms and deny the main part of the common practices and refuse to believe the indication of the verses in covering the other parts of body.
Women at the time of the revelations covered their heads with a scarf and tied the brims of their scarves behind their heads and did not cover their chests. When the revelations were made, Muslim women were invited to cover the chests as this part of their bodies stimulates men more than the head and face; so that the resulting revelation in the Shiite interpretation of the texts given the case of the young man and his look at the woman was that woman did not cover the neck and chest.
D) Based on the rules of principle, whenever the cause of the revelation is specific, the criterion of the general public is the cause and one cannot refuse to accept the whole verse under the pretext that it is general and one cannot limit the performance required by a verse to a certain time and place.
E) In addition, this group of women do not represent the community of Muslim women in the time of Prophet (peace be upon him) since many Muslim women began to wear hijab after the revelation of this verse. Especially with regard to the fact that the Ahzab holy verse was revealed in the fifth year and this verse is in Surah Noor while it was announced in the sixth year of the exodus.
In other words, the obligation of the Arab women has been wearing a complete hijab after the revelation of the verses in the Ahzab Sura; therefore, the circumstances surrounding the revelation of the afore-mentioned verse are inconsistent with the traditional implications of the Arabs and as Mr. Jaberi says, one of the search criteria of the verses is the revelation and its compatibility with Arab traditions.