Does wearing veil only mean showing how one is devout and asking for respect?

Mu' meneen Brothers and Sisters,

As Salaam Aleikum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh. (May Allah's Peace, Mercy and Blessings be upon all of you)

One of our brothers/sisters has asked this question:

Assalamu alaikum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuhu

I had come across a status that was put up reading,'A rich Muslim man in France -Rachid Nekkaz- has put aside 1 million Euros and has vowed publically to use it to pay the fines for all those Muslim women in France who choose to hold on their Burkas and Naqaabs..',

to which a brother replied,'sorry to say, its nothing but silly - learn to respect yourself--- respect doesnt comes just by wearing veil...'

after that my friend commented addressing to the brother,'If a woman chooses to cover her face she should have the right to do so. That is freedom. People have the right to choose their religion, their clothes and their lives. When we ban a woman from wearing a niqab, shouldn't we ban women from w...earing a bikini on our beaches? Why is this accepted, while that is not?

Just cause you don't like/support niqab don't go around calling it silly. To you it may be that, but to many Muslim women it's not just about respect but first a mark of piety, a liberating symbol and an act of faith. The wives of the Prophet (sallallahu alayhi wasallam) wore niqab, would you call it silly then??!!'

then he left an explanation with a few questions to which I want to give an answer but can't quite understand how to do so. His reply was: '

‎1st - topic on France - Fines upto Euro 750/head, Muslim pop wearing veil - Almost 2000 out of 1.5 mill, which means 500 euro per head according to the person above - that sounds silly to me. My intentions were nothing about wearing Veil then, but since you have raised the topic here is my justification, with your virtues-- 2nd- wearing veil something we are conditioned to believe, your reasons proves the negligence - Piety - you have to cover yourself to show that you are devouted - hmm, where is your freedom? dont we say "Allah" is every where & perceives & witnesses everyone, all the time Liberating - First reason is in serious conflict with this one and on the other hand - Equal rights, this is something i believe in the most, womens should have the rights to do everything their counterparts are subjected too, i would be the first person to protest for it, but again by wearing veil you arnt showing it, you are proving that you yourself are diff to men, Faith - This is where i'll let you argue with your senses. to sum up, am not acting self - righteous coz am definitely not, but you plz dont, I believe in "Allah" but I wont lay my Trust in something thats not correct and wont reflect or will always prevent something thats goin to harm the unity between Us Humans. Just for lill example, My mom my sister'zzz everyone in ma family wears it too, but will my love, believe, trust, faith on them reduce if they stop wearing the veil- "I dont think so". You might not like the reasoning, but doesnt it provide a threshold for you to start thinking "what is our rights and can we follow all our reasoning without hampering our believe?" I will conclude by saying, If you cant respect yourself, If you cant respect the freedom you have to make your own decision, M sorry to say you cant respect nobody.

Now my question is how do we reply back to him to make him understand that we don't wear veil to show how devout a person is? Please give an answer with regards to the comment he has made.

Thanks and Regards,

(There may be some grammatical and spelling errors in the above statement. The forum does not change anything from questions, comments and statements received from our readers for circulation in confidentiality.)

Answer:

In the name of Allah, We praise Him, seek His help and ask for His forgiveness. Whoever Allah guides none can misguide, and whoever He allows to fall astray, none can guide them aright. We bear witness that there is none worthy of worship but Allah Alone, and we bear witness that Muhammad (saws) is His slave-servant and the seal of His Messengers.

Sister it is obvious that the brother who has pledged to put aside Euro$ 1 million to assist pay the fine the French government has unjustly imposed on the believing women who wish to adorn the niqaab is a mujhahid and worthy of praise for upholding Muslim rights.

 

Out of 1.5 million Muslims living in France only 2000 sisters wear the niqaab. Where is the question of enforcement and trampling of women's freedom and rights.

The only time one loses respect for oneself and for others is when one starts removing all their clothes in public like wearing bikinis etc.. Muslim sisters can never be blamed for disrespecting anything and anybody when they wear the niqaab as it is a sign to all that she is not available and demands ultimate respect for her behavior from everybody.

The French/Western culture is so decadent that they have started believing that nakedness is respectful and covering up is evil and a means of trampling of women's rights.

True piety does not lie in the wearing of garments. Then why don't they go to their churches in Bikinis and even less? Piety starts with cleanliness, covering up, right speech and action and so on. How can we explain these simple truths when their system is completely flawed with negligence and kufr?

Freedom! The land of fraternity and Liberty is the first to trample the rights of a minority amongst minorities. Some women cannot wear what they want and are ready to go to jail and pay fines. Can there be bigger hypocrites than these? And they have the audacity to cry foul when others around the world do even lesser crimes.

This brother needs to check his emaan again and strive to support Islamic ideals. If he does not understand them he should first discuss and study and then maybe he will not be so naive and make statements against the set principles of our deen.

Whatever written of Truth and benefit is only due to Allah’s Assistance and Guidance, and whatever of error is of me. Allah Alone Knows Best and He is the Only Source of Strength. Allah Alone Knows Best and He is the Only Source of Strength.

Your brother and well wisher in Islam,

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