Monday 21 January 2013

ERRORS, OMISSIONS AND MISTAKES



Bismillah Ar Rahman Ar Raheem
Assalaamu alaikum wa rahmathullah wa barakatuhu

Relatively recently I posted a blog about wearing gloves and veiling the eyes in public.  As I said then, I am not a scholar, just a very ordinary muslimah  who was greatly blessed by having an erudite Papa, learning from him about our beloved deen when I was a child.

In consequence I am very wary about getting involved in preaching about how my sisters (and brothers) in Islam should live their lives.   I am no shaykh, no scholar, and my learning comes from listening to my Papa and many men far wiser than I will ever be.  In consequence it was with some trepidation that I wrote that Blog on gloves and eye veils.  

I hope that people reading it understood that I was merely expressing an opinion based on commonsense rather than copying out all the relevant daleels to prove my point.  Surprisingly I got several e-mails from sisters agreeing with my view and even 2 saying they were going to act on what I humbly recommended.

No, I am NOT boasting about that blog as the reason for mentioning it.  Instead this is time for me to say, "Astaghfirullaah" loudly and publicly.  For two sisters pointed out that, while I was advocating covering the eyes in public, my avatar for my Blog profile was actually a photo of myself  with my eyes clearly visible.   OUCH !

I did immediately alter the photo to one where my eyes are well concealed but the incident has taught me not to preach or advise something without ensuring that I am doing it fully myself.   In blogs, and in blog comments, it is easy to say how something should be done, but it is less easy to ensure that one obeys one's own instructions or recommendations.

That blog and my Error, Omission or Mistake taught me a profound lesson about how to (as our Western friends say)   "Practice what you preach".  And I hope it may have instilled a little more humility into me in my personal jihad to became a worthy slave to Allah (subhana wa ta'ala).


 xxxxxxxxxxx


(I have deliberately not discussed whether it is haraam or halaal to show pictures of people in blogs.  That is a topic being discussed by people far more competent than myself, and is one where there is a very wide diversity of opinions.)


2 comments:

  1. Asalam waliykum,

    Very tricky subject. With so many views from Scholars on this. I even heard one scholar saying its ok if a sister puts up photos of her not wearing Hijab!! Because its a photo not her in real life. Did not make sense at all.

    I am of the opinion that showing the face is ok. Its the intention... so if you are plastered with make up, making pouting faces or duck lips. And obviously trying to act "sexy" then this is obviously wrong morally and islamically.

    If the body is covered as ordered in the Quran wearing Jilbab then again its ok. Its a touchy subject because on the internet everyone can see you... all men across the globe. So it is better not to show your face. Many sisters i know when they review clothing on their blog they always blur out their face.

    Allahu Allam

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Bismillah Ar Rahman Ar Raheem
      Assalaamu alaikum wa rahmathullah wa barakatuhu

      Walaikum salaam, dearest sister.

      I have to agree with all you say, specially with your conclusion that it is better not to show your face on line. I never have, but I know two sisters who have told me that pictures of them with exposed faces have appeared on fetish websites.

      As I said in the blog, I don't pass judgement one way or another, but I do deplore the so-called scholar who advocates pictures of sister not wearing hijaab. How crazy can you get?

      What I do find somewhat surprising in that newspapers in KSA, where sisters are expected to wear niqaab in public, actually print many pictures of bare-faced sisters as well as barely covered foriegners, and no-one in the Saudi Ulema appears to object strongly at this.

      Double standards........................

      Delete