Weekly Update: June 17th, 2011

Assalamu alaykum and hello!

This is perhaps the last blog post I will be writing in the UK, definitely the last post written in London. I suppose it’s a bit bittersweet. I’ve greatly enjoyed my stay here, and I will have plenty of great memories of London and the UK. However, I will admit I miss the US and all that is familiar to me. It will feel nice to step out of the airport back in the States.

Tomorrow afternoon, it’s off to Manchester for a night. Then early Sunday afternoon I board the flight that will carry my back across the ocean insha’Allah. By late evening on Sunday (local time…4 am London time), my trip will be finished and I’ll be on my way to a warm, soft bed. Traveling will obviously hinder any chance of posting anything either tomorrow or Sunday, so don’t be surprised not to find anything new for a couple days at least.

The bigger question is what does the future hold in regards to this blog? I won’t be returning to home and my normal routine. Instead I will be staying with family in my home state, South Dakota. This will clearly mean a change in my routine. On top of this, I will have to also find employment insha’Allah which may or may not take up a lot of time. My guess is it will take up a lot of time as I’m hoping to get at least part-time if not full-time.

So, this means I might not have nearly as much time as I have now to blog. Of course I will continue to post regularly insha’Allah, the only question is what the definition of ‘regularly’ will be. Every day? Every other day? Monday, Wednesday, and Friday? Truthfully, I don’t know the answer to that. My hope is every day, or at least five times a week, but I’ll have to wait and see what the future brings.

At least while I’m looking for a job I will have a chance to post every day insha’Allah. It’s still up in air whether I will post anything on Monday; depending on when exactly I get to bed and whether or not jet lag sets in (which I doubt; jet lag doesn’t seem to affect me Alhamdulillah), I might want to spend most of the day sleeping. But certainly by Tuesday I’ll have something ready to publish.

I also hope to get another batch of ‘Daily Qur’an and Hadith’ done so as to return that feature to the blog. But it takes forever to get a good reserve done, so it’s impossible to say when ‘DQH’ is back for more.

Lastly, I would like to thank all my readers. I recently compiled a list of countries from which I’ve had views, and I was amazed to discover views had come from close to 60 countries! Alhamdulillah! It’s an awesome feeling to know what I write is being read by people from all over the world, not just by those who know me personally. I hope you all continue to visit regularly!

If you ever have a question, comment, suggestion, or just want to send me a message, feel free to leave comments or email me!

Have an excellent weekend!

Iman

Answering Your Questions: Pardah

Given that you were raised by an American family, didn’t you find the rule about pardah a little hard?

First, what is pardah? Some of you may know what pardah is, while some of you may not. For those who are unaware of the term, pardah is a Persian word meaning ‘curtain.’ More specifically, pardah has two forms: 1) physical segregation of the sexes and 2) the requirement for women to cover their bodies and conceal their form. It is important to note the different between hijab and pardah as the definitions seem relatively similar if not exact. Hijab is an Islamic moral tradition while pardah does not necessarily conform to Islamic principles. Pardah is built upon the concept of preserving honor, modesty, and respect.

As is often the case, there are different types of pardah. Women can experience severe pardah or mild pardah and anything in between. However, upon hearing the term pardah, many people imagine the more severe forms. When a women withdraws into such pardah, her personal, social, and economic activities outside of her home are often restricted. She is expected to stay home, and if she must leave the house, there are a few guidelines to follow: 1) she should be accompanied by a close male relative if the destination is more than three days and three nights (by foot or on an animal with breaks for resting and eating). Scholars usually explain this distance to be 48 miles; 2) she should be completely covered so that men cannot see here. This usually entails the use of a burqa or niqab; 3) and she should not mix with non-related men unless absolutely necessary.

Within the house, physical segregation is achieved with walls, curtains, and/or screens. In South Asian homes where pardah is observed, there are often two parts of the house: 1) the zenana where only the women and related men are allowed, and 2) the mardana, the outer part of the house for guests and men.

So how do I, as an American, find the rules of pardah? Tough? Easy? Well, truthfully I am much different than the ‘average American,’ whatever that might be. Throughout the last year I have become exceptionally more conservative than I was two years ago. Thus, the rules of pardah are not necessarily something I see as tough.

When it comes to the second part of pardah (the covering of a women’s body and shape), I’m all for it. Hijab and modesty are a huge part of Islam. Muslim women should be covering their bodies, concealing their curves and contours from the probing eyes of unrelated men. I’ve also done some experimenting with the niqab and have not found that to be a terrible idea. As I’ve stated many times before, I don’t think it’s necessary to cover one’s face. However, there are plenty of excellent benefits in doing so.

I find it relatively easy to leave the house dressed in my abaya and scarf. Yes, sometimes both can be annoying: I might trip over the abaya or the scarf might be a bit tight, and in warm weather, the combination of the two mean lots of sweat. But in the end it feels unnatural to go into the world without either; the abaya and hijab have become a part of what I would normally wear outside the house. The niqab has yet to grow on me and whether I continue to wear it in the future is still undecided. But I would even become used to the niqab if I made myself wear it long enough.

The first part of pardah (the physical segregation of the sexes i.e. hiding away the women) does cause some issues with me. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying men and women should mix. Rather, it’s better to keep men and women apart; there’s much less temptation in such a situation and Shaytan has a harder time luring people to sin.

Instead, the issue I have is the idea of being locked away indoors all the time. I greatly enjoy the outdoors – even if it’s just a walk in the park. In Minnesota I lived in a rural area and many times in a day I would find myself outside; basically any time I became bored, I would go outside. Even here I spend at least a few hours a day outside of the house. Spending the vast majority of my time behind walls is not exciting to me.

Yet, maybe as I begin to start a family and settle down a bit more, my time will be occupied by more things and my desire to be outside will wane – at least a little bit. However, I can never really see myself as the person who doesn’t mind being cooped up in the house all the time.

At the end of the day, I have no problem with pardah nor do I find it tough despite being raised by an American family. A few years ago, had someone asked me this same question, I would have answered with a resounding yes, it would be hard to follow. But in learning more about Islam and in becoming far more conservative, pardah really isn’t that bad.

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Packing Today!

Assalamu alaykum and hello!

As I’ve mentioned maybe once or twice before, insha’Allah I’ll be leaving the UK this upcoming Sunday, the 19^th. I’ll go into more detail about it in Friday’s update as well as what will happen in the future once I return to the US.

But today I just wanted to let you know there probably won’t be a post. The original plan was to begin packing on Thursday. However, since the laundry is getting cleaned today, it only makes sense to fold it and place it straight into my suitcase – at least the stuff I won’t be using until I get back to the US. Thus, today I’ll be a bit busy packing and handling a few other things that need to get done.

The good news is this will allow me to publish something on Thursday insha’Allah. Although, does it really matter if I’m posting something on Tuesday or Thursday? Anyway, you can expect a post on Wednesday and Thursday so long as nothing major comes up. And of course there will be a (probably lengthy) update on Friday insha’Allah.

Well, I better get back to that packing!

Iman

Common Misconceptions: Democracy vs. Islam

Many Westerns would argue Islam and democracy do not mix well and will never mix well. Recent uprisings in the Middle East have probably brought about renewed interest in politics in Islam. Experts say democracy would be best in these countries but that it would never work as Islam doesn’t allow it.

But is Islam truly against democracy?

Islam is the name for the way of life which Allah subhana wa ta'ala wants us to follow. Muslims often avoid the word ‘religion’ because in many non-Islamic societies there is a separation of ‘religion and state.’ This separation is not recognized at all in Islam as Allah is very much concerned with all that we do. This includes political, social, economic, and other aspects of our lives. Hence, Islam is a complete way of life.

Given this, it is not at surprising that Allah is also concerned with the method which we choose to govern ourselves. The main rule which the Islamic state must observe is stated in the Qur’an (4:59): ‘You who believe, obey Allah and the Messenger, and those in authority among you. If you are in dispute over any matter, refer it to Allah and the Messenger, if you truly believe in Allah and the Last Day: that is better and fairer in the end.’

From this verse, it is clear the state’s obligation of obedience to Allah is just as important as the obedience of the individual. Therefore, the Islamic state must derive its law from the Qur’an and sunnah. There can be no other source.

This principle does exclude certain choices from the Islamic state’s options for political and economic systems such as pure democracy, unrestricted capitalism, communism, and socialism to name a few. For example, pure democracy tends to place the people above the Qur’an and sunnah. This is disobedience to the Creator.

When it comes to a pure democracy, Islam is not in favor of such a government. However, there is an alternative to pure democracy. Such a democracy is one that implements and enforces the law of Islam, Shari’ah.

Allah also states in the Qur’an (42:36-38): ‘What you have been given is only the fleeting enjoyment of this world. Far better and more lasting is what Allah will give to those who believe and trust in their Lord; who shun great sins and gross indecencies; who forgive when they are angry; respond to their Lord; keep up the prayer; conduct their affairs by mutual consultation; give to others out of what We have provided for them.’

In this verse, Allah commands us to conduct our matters by taking counsel among ourselves or by consulting each other. This is the methodology of the Islamic state, to consult one another. But, it’s always paramount to keep the Qur’an and sunnah supreme. Any law which contradicts the Qur’an or sunnah is haram, unlawful.

The broad principle of consultation is definitely wide enough to encompass a form of government where all are heard. Indeed, all are encouraged to be heard. Early Islamic states were of this form and were quite successful. Pure democracy was not a necessary form of government.

The petty governments of many modern so-called Muslims countries do not apply the principle of consultation of others. As such, they often are guilty of crimes against the people. These governments are not Islamic.

While it is partially true Islam is against democracy, this is only because pure democracies place the people above anything else. In Islam, nothing can come before the Qur’an and sunnah. However, with His infinite wisdom, Allah has given us a way to govern people correctly and in a way that benefits all. What more do we need?

Weekly Update: June 10, 2011

Assalamu alaykum and hello!

Is it really Friday already? Maybe it’s just me, but this week has flown by. Although I don’t think I’ll be able to say the same about today. I have so much to do today I’ll probably be writing for the next several hours. All the while watching informational documentaries online. Hopefully it will be a productive day insha’Allah!

Now, what’s coming up this week?

I’m hoping to get another good batch of Daily Qur’an and Hadith ready. The last set ran out this past Sunday. I thought I might be able to start writing DQH posts every morning instead of creating four weeks’ worth at one time, but so far this hasn’t happened like I had planned. I have no desire to prepare another set, so for the time being I’ll be attempting to post every morning.

I can’t say whether I’ll be posting anything tomorrow or Sunday. I did receive a question on Formspring which I would like to answer and post here. Insha’Allah that will come either tomorrow or Sunday, probably Sunday.

Monday through Thursday is also unpredictable. I might write one or two other posts on common misconceptions or I might write about some other topic. Truthfully, I have no idea so we’ll just keep it interesting!

Hope you have a good weekend!

Iman