Modesty

Modesty and shyness play a special part between the affairs of the Creator and the created.  All prophets and Messengers encouraged modesty, as the Prophet, may the mercy and blessings of God be upon him, said:

“Every religion has its distinct characteristic, and the distinct characteristic of Islam is modesty.”

Modesty as a sense of shame or shyness in human beings is a shrinking of the soul from foul conduct, a quality that prevents one from behaving badly towards others or encouraging others to behave badly towards you.

Islamic ethics considers modesty as more than just a question of how a person dresses, and more than just modesty in front of people; rather it is reflected in a Muslim’s speech, dress, and conduct, both in public when in regards to people, and in private in regards to God.

The Prophet SAWS has attributed modesty to faith itself. This is explained in the following hadith which is translated to say:

The Prophet (ﷺ) said, “Iman has over seventy branches – or over sixty branches – the uppermost of which is the declaration: ‘None has the right to be worshipped but Allah’; and the least of which is the removal of harmful object from the road, and modesty is a branch of Iman.”

A strong person who believes feels shy in front of God and His creation, since God knows and sees everything.  He feels shy to disobey his Lord and feels shame if he sins or acts inappropriately, whether in private or public.  This type of modesty is acquired and is directly related to one’s faith, where one’s awareness of God increases one’s “shyness” in front of Him.

The imam referenced the following hadith which is translated to say:

The Prophet (ﷺ) said, ‘One of the sayings of the early Prophets which the people have got is: If you don’t feel ashamed (from Haya’: pious shyness from committing religeous indiscretions) do whatever you like.”

And so, the way to develop modesty is to think about whether you would do the deed they are contemplating in front of their parents.  A person with a shred of shame in their heart will not commit any lewd act in front of their parents.

So the question then ought to be: Is Allah SWT not much worthier that such acts not be done in His sight?  Therefore, Islam considers that the modesty of a believer in front of God must be greater than in front of people.

Dear brothers, the key to modesty is knowing that God is aware of what you do and shying away from that which He forbids. Having God consciousness will be the foundation of modesty and so lets not get distracted from dunya and use today’s reminder to connect with Allah SWT by being aware of His presence around us at all times.

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Modesty

Modesty and shyness play a special part between the affairs of the Creator and the created.  All prophets and Messengers encouraged modesty, as the Prophet, may the mercy and blessings of God be upon him, said:

“Indeed from the teachings of the first prophets which has reached you is, ‘If you do not have shyness, then do as you please.”

Modesty as a sense of shame or shyness in human beings is a shrinking of the soul from foul conduct, a quality that prevents one from behaving badly towards others or encouraging others to behave badly towards you.

Islamic ethics considers modesty as more than just a question of how a person dresses, and more than just modesty in front of people; rather it is reflected in a Muslim’s speech, dress, and conduct: in public when in regards to people, and in private in regards to God.

Any talk of modesty, therefore, must begin with the heart, not the hemline, as the Prophet SAWS said, ‘Modesty is part of faith,’  and that part of faith must lie in the heart.

Take reservation in speech.  As with everything in Islam, speech should be moderate.  Raising one’s voice in venting anger simply shows one lacks the ability to contain it, and only damage will ensue from it.

Uncontrolled anger, for example, can lead one to verbally abuse and physically assault another, both of which take off the veil of bashfulness one is endowed with, exposing the shameful ego within.

A strong person who believes feels shy in front of God and His creation, since God knows and sees everything.  He feels shy to disobey his Lord and feels shame if he sins or acts inappropriately, whether in private or public.  This type of modesty is acquired and is directly related to one’s faith, where one’s awareness of God increases one’s “shyness” in front of Him.

The Prophet SAWS demonstrated this shyness in front of his Lord in the occasion when he met Allah SWT.

If we recall the story of the time when the prophet SAWS went to the Heavens and during that blessed night he was talking to Musa May Allah be pleased with him.

It was he who recommended he goes to reduce the number of prayers per day, as when our beloved Prophet SAWS first met Allah SWT, he was commanded to instruct his ummah to pray 50 times a day.

Each time Musa, may Allah be pleased with him, advised the Prophey SAWS to go back to Allah SWT and ask for a reduction in prayers. As we know, at the end, when the prayer count had been reduced to 5, Musa advised the Prophet SAWS once more and the Prophet SAWS said “No I cant go back I have become shy from my Lord”.

Dear brothers and sisters, not only is this an example of the reminder for today but we should also be grateful that this event ended with the count of prayers being 5 daily and the reward for these 5 prayers remaining at the original 50. Allahu Akbar.

Islam is a religion that ought to be identified by its modesty. The Prophet SAWS is known to have said that:

“Every religion has its distinct characteristic, and the distinct characteristic of Islam is modesty.’”

And so, the way to develop modesty is to think about whether you would do the deed they are contemplating in front of their parents.  A person with a shred of shame in their heart will not commit any lewd act in front of their parents.

So the question then ought to be: Is Allah SWT not much worthier that such acts not be done in His sight?  Therefore, Islam considers that the modesty of a believer in front of God must be greater than in front of people. This is shown in the saying of the Prophet when a man asked him about remaining naked in the house while alone. The Prophet responded:

“God is more deserving than other people of shyness.”

Dear brothers and sisters, modesty can therefore be seen as the means by which morals and ethics in society are maintained and pursued.  Shyness from people and society may be a reason to be modest, but this modesty will not remain due to the fact that what is immodest one day in a secular society may be totally acceptable in another.

Therefore, the key to modesty is knowing that God is aware of what you do and shying away from that which He forbids.  God only desires what is best for us.  So to seek what is best for us is to submit to what He has in mind for us.  The only way to properly know what that is, is to believe in what he sent down to us through His Prophet, Muhammad SAWS and to embrace the religion (Islam) that His Messenger brought us.

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Lowering the Gaze

Today’s reminder is about an important matter that many of us know of, most under-estimate it’s effect and one that is prevalent in today’s day and age. Allah SWT speaks of it in the Quran and the imam referenced Surat Al Noor, ayat 30-31 which is translated to say:

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.

And tell the believing women to reduce [some] of their vision and guard their private parts and not expose their adornment except that which [necessarily] appears thereof and to wrap [a portion of] their headcovers over their chests and not expose their adornment except to their husbands, their fathers, their husbands’ fathers, their sons, their husbands’ sons, their brothers, their brothers’ sons, their sisters’ sons, their women, that which their right hands possess, or those male attendants having no physical desire, or children who are not yet aware of the private aspects of women. And let them not stamp their feet to make known what they conceal of their adornment. And turn to Allah in repentance, all of you, O believers, that you might succeed.

Dear brothers and sisters, shaytan works by encouraging us to look freely at what we don’t have a right to look at, and the only outcome of this is gaining sins and dreaming about the impossible. Therefore, we need to realise that not controlling the gaze of the eye in following what is forbidden for us is a great sin, should not be belittled.

There is a hadith in which it is said that the zina/fornication of the eye is the (lustful) look, the zina/fornication of the ears is the listening (to voluptuous songs or talk). Therefore we need to be careful that we do not fall foul of this warning.

The imam mentioned a hadith which is translated to say.

The Prophet (ﷺ) said: to Ali: Do not give a second look, Ali, (because) while you are not to blame for the first, you have no right to the second.

Dear brothers and sisters, the lowering of the gaze is also for other matters, such as not looking inside other people’s houses without permission as the house is a private dwelling to protect them on the inside as clothes is to protect them on the outside.

We have clear direction on this topic in the Glorious Quran as Allah SWT has warned those who do not protect their eyes. In the following ayat Allah SWT speaks of the trait in which people look covertly at others and are able to hide it well. In Sura Ghafir, ayat 19 it is translated to say:

He knows that which deceives the eyes and what the breasts conceal.

The explanation of this is those people that try to look at women when no one else is looking may be escaping detection of people but Allah SWT is aware of what they are doing.

We can also derive from this that the eye is the main door to the heart, and closest of sensors to the heart, and many issues arise from it hence Allah SWT links the two together in this ayat.

Dear brothers and sisters, those who do not control their eyes, for example through what they see on the screen, or outside amongst society or on the beach/shopping etc, will be inflicted with problems that affect their heart.

This is the illness of the heart will then inevitably affect their faith as each look is like an arrow to the heart, and this builds up over time if the habit is formed. Those who have this damaging trait will also discover that there is a direct correlation with the other elements of their faith, their tendency to do zikr, the amount of Quran they recite, the depth to their prayer, the charitable acts they perform etc.

But the truth of the matter is that we live in a time and a place where the lowering of the gaze is very challenging at times.

We have the distraction of social media in it’s many flavours, smartphones and media capability that children have access to before they even leave primary school in some cases.

We have challenges in the hot weather as it promotes behaviour where lowering the gaze becomes even more difficult than normal.

And so what follows then a couple of practical tips that we can take away from today’s reminder that can assist us in this.

  1. Understanding the issue of relative beauty. For example, something you see as beautiful, like a set of clothes might seem ugly to others. Hence, what you see as being beautiful may not be so in other people’s eyes. Beauty is relative and therefore use this logic to tell yourself when you see a beauty in something impermissible.

 

Ask yourself, “what is the beauty in an image that angers Allah SWT and defies his commandments openly”.  Ask yourself “what is the beauty in this person who offers themselves as a tradable commodity through displaying their beauty for all to see?” Ask yourself in these cases “what is the beauty in this when in fact it is the work of shaytan?”

 

You should know the reality of what your eyes are seeing so that you are able to shun it, ignore it and persuade yourself to look away from it.

 

  1. The second tip, if it’s a habit already, is to plan it’s eradication. With any habit, plan for a week at first, or even a day if need be, and for each failure, compensate it with a charitable act, obligatory prayers, zikr of a pre-determined amount, acts that all displease Shaytan and please Allah SWT.

Dear brothers and sisters, in this country there is a saying that the eyes are the windows to the soul. Let’s use today’s reminder to understand that our soul is at risk through the actions of our eyes and take steps to ensure that we do not fall foul of this trap.

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Modesty, Decency and the Common Enemy

Allah SWT speaks of an interaction with Shaytaan in the Glorious Quran in ayats 16 and 17 from the same Sura. Translated it says:

 

[Satan] said, “Because You have put me in error, I will surely sit in wait for them on Your straight path.

Then I will come to them from before them and from behind them and on their right and on their left, and You will not find most of them grateful [to You].”

Dear brothers and sisters, if you ponder over these ayats, you can feel the determined nature of his in leading us astray. Not only can we be certain that he will lay wait in the straight path for us in order to lead us astray, but he is also promising a concerted effort of coming at us from all directions so that we may be led astray. And the final chilling note from him is that he will be successful with the majority as they will not be grateful to Allah SWT.

We need to remind ourselves of this mission statement from the real enemy of our lives and keep this at the forefront of our thinking.

This leads us on to the actual passages for todays reminder. Translated, these ayats from the Glorious Quran say:

 

O Children of Adam! Indeed We have sent down to you a garment which covers your shame and provides protection and adornment. But the finest of all is the garment of piety. That is one of the signs of Allah so that they may take heed.

Children of Adam! Let not Satan deceive you in the manner he deceived your parents out of Paradise, pulling off from them their clothing to reveal to them their shame. He and his host surely see you from whence you do not see them. We have made Satans the guardians of those who do not believe.

And when such people commit an indecent act they say: ‘We found our fathers doing that, and Allah has enjoined it on us. Say: ‘Surely Allah never enjoins any indecency. Do you say things regarding Allah that you do not know?’

We conclude then with 5 lessons we can take from these ayats:

  1. Allah SWT has sent down clothing. This is after clothing was removed from Prophet Adam (peace be upon him). This tells us tha, unlike the Christian narrative, mankind is not born in sin and nor are we a cursed creature. That punishment was for then and the slate is wiped clean when we are born.

 

  1. Clothes have been given to us to look good. It’s a source of adornment. So we reject the extreme view that they are merely to cover our private parts. No, they are sent for us to look the business, there is no harm in that. And the beautiful thing about that fact is that the next time we go shopping for the best garments in the Boxing Day sales, if we remind ourselves that Allah SWT wants us to look good then in essence, we are remembering Allah SWT and thus performing zikr by buying those clothes, subhanAllah!

 

  1. Despite the finest clothes, they pale into comparison with the garment of piety. This is the garment of the heart. And what enables us to cover the heart? Consciousness of Allah SWT or taqwa. And this, then follows that by having taqwa, we will remember Allah SWT when wearing our clothes and thus buying clothes that are modest, decent and a cover as a covering should be.

 

  1. Recognition that Shaytaan is an enemy. One point worth mentioning here is that we don’t see Adam and Huwa (Eve) as our parents. We see them as some historical figures. But Allah SWT is telling us here that we see them with the same reverence and respect as our own parents. And by doing that, with the ayat telling us how Shaytan stripped our parents of their clothing, it conjures the type of emotion needed when understanding how much of an enemy Shaytaan is to us.

 

The ayat follows this up with a warning that him and his tribe, others who follow him in being our enemy, are watching us when we can’t see him. This tells us that we are in danger of being manipulated, deceived, hoodwinked by an enemy that we cannot even see. Or worse still, we see but we don’t recognise as the enemy.

 

This is a potent warning. Just look around at our role model in this day and age. Look at the people dictating fashion for example. Fashion that is to a point which we are embarrassed to dress our kids in sometimes. Fashion that is ridiculing the commandment of our Lord.

 

And when we speak of decency, it’s not just about covering but the method of covering. Islam is about being modest and so we need to remember that sometimes being covered doesn’t mean being decent. Skin-tight clothing or transparent clothing is an example of this as is decency of character. The key here is as mentioned in the ayat, by being conscious of Allah SWT in everyday life, it will inevitably lead to decency in what we say, do and of course, wear.

 

  1. And finally, it is about knowing that the path to Allah SWT can have the unlikeliest of obstacles. The final ayat outlines this perfectly. A practical example can be when we try to do something for the sake of Allah SWT and our own family calls us out for doing so. Telling us that we are being extreme in dressing modestly for example or for wearing a hijab or for keeping a beard. The lesson here is one of perseverance for the sake of Allah SWT, a recognition of the difficulty we may face from our nearest and dearest and a lesson on patience as we must strive to do what’s right without speaking harshly to those who disagree with us.

Dear brothers and sisters, it is not enough to call ourselves Muslim and be done with it. We have in Shaytan a committed enemy and a leader of an army with one aim and that is to send us astray. Whether it is in the form of what we wear or our conduct in life, we must live our lives with our eyes wide open and recognise that our enemy will be hidden from us but all the while attempting to keep us away from the path set by Allah SWT.

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