by Ruling for Removing Veil Because of Working
Question:
Assalamu’alaikum.
Honorable ustadz, you probably have heard about the news regarding the policewoman and her veil. Today, the police force of Indonesia have issued a decree that prohibited the policewomen to wear veil. If they are still stubborn, they will be asked to resign.
For a policewoman who wants to wear veil, what should she do? Whereas working as a policewoman is her only source of living.
Slave of Allah.
(email address: ra***ng****@gmail.com)
Answer:
Wa’alaikumussalam.
All praises be to Allah, peace and prayer of Allah be upon His messenger.
It was narrated from Ka’b Ibn Iyadh -may Allah be pleased with him-, that the Messenger of Allah -peace and prayer of Allah be upon him- said,
إِنَّ لِكُلِّ أُمَّةٍ فِتْنَةً وَفِتْنَةُ أُمَّتِي المَالُ
“Every nation has its trial. And the biggest trial for my nation is wealth.” (Narrated by Ahmad, Tirmidhi, and classed valid by Al Albani).
Upon understanding this hadith, we’ll probably reminded of the tragic condition of some of the muslims, particularly those who face the dilemma of choosing between the world and the shari’a rules. For those who easily “feel compelled”, they will legalize every way in order to achieve the worldly need that they are after. What important to them is to have a enough meal, enough sleep; about the sin, they intend to repent later on. Hopefully, they say, God will forgive us, since we are forced to do this. That is the picture of those who are not patient enough in dealing with the hardship of trial of wealth . It is too easy for them to regard everything as “being forced”. That is including people who have hearts to sell his dignity to pursue their career and profession.
Veil is the Honor of A Woman
Allah has obliged women to wear veil, and its greatest aim is to uphold the position and dignity of women.
يَا أَيُّهَا النَّبِيُّ قُلْ لِأَزْوَاجِكَ وَبَنَاتِكَ وَنِسَاءِ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ يُدْنِينَ عَلَيْهِنَّ مِنْ جَلَابِيبِهِنَّ ذَلِكَ أَدْنَى أَنْ يُعْرَفْنَ فَلَا يُؤْذَيْنَ وَكَانَ اللَّهُ غَفُورًا رَحِيمًا
“O Prophet, enjoin your wives and your daughters and the believing women, to draw a part of their outer coverings around them. It is likelier that they will be recognized and not molested. Allah is Most Forgiving, Most Merciful.” (QS. Al-Ahzab: 59)
Allah is The All Knowing about character of men. Allah knows about the tendency of evil men towards women. They are so eager to interfere with a woman that they value less respectable. But the eagerness will vanish if the woman they face is wearing veil and maintain her dignity. And it is the form of Allah’s mercy towards His slave. Therefore, Allah ended the verse by mentioning two of His noble names, “Allah is Most Forgiving, Most Merciful.” (See: Tafseer of As Sa’dy, page 671).
Women should be Supported of Living, Not Supporting
Every single creature that Allah created in this universe has its own nature. The nature that exists within that creature becomes its identity in going through its life. It is the most ideal condition for every creature in pursue its life. It is as an SOP (standard operating procedure) for every creature that wishes to have a comfortable life in this world.
The nature, or natural tendency is different between one kind of man and the other. The nature of man is clearly different with of woman. Therefore, each of them bears different task. Allah has declared about it in the Qur’an, through his verse,
وَلَيْسَ الذَّكَرُ كَالْأُنْثَى
“and a male is not the same as a female.”(Q.S. Ali Imran/The Family of Imran:36)
For you who’d like to lead a normal life, don’t you even think to defy your nature. If you did, you’ll certainly will suffer from anxiety and other uncomfortable feelings. For you who have been destined as woman, have a life as a true woman, and don’t ever think to change yourself by trying to imitate men. Because there are no choices for you but being a woman. Vice versa, for you who are destined to be a man, live a masculine life, and you have no choice but be a man.
Among the natural tendencies of men that Allah has ordained for them in the Qur’an is earning the living for their family, the task that is not belong to woman. Thus, Allah has ordained men to be a leader in their own family. .
الرِّجَالُ قَوَّامُونَ عَلَى النِّسَاءِ بِمَا فَضَّلَ اللَّهُ بَعْضَهُمْ عَلَى بَعْضٍ وَبِمَا أَنْفَقُوا مِنْ أَمْوَالِهِمْ
“Men are the protectors and maintainers of women because Allah has made one of them excel over the other, and because they spend out of their possessions (to support them).” (QS. An-Nisa/The Women: 34)
Allah has declared in this verse that a husband could be the leader of his family due to : (1) the excellence he has, and (2) the possession he spent for his wife. And Allah’s words are true; we could see that many men lost his authority in front of their wives, because they couldn’t earn the living for their family or because the wives’ income dominated the total income of their family.
In such condition, it will be difficult for a couple to have a normal life, because -once again- men going against their nature and natural tendencies will threaten their life welfare.
Getting the Sustenance without Violating the Shari’a Rules
Verily, 100% of the sustenance comes from Allah, and Allah alone. This is a principle that we should instill into our mind, as Allah confirmed in the Qur’an:
وَمَا مِنْ دَابَّةٍ فِي الْأَرْضِ إِلَّا عَلَى اللَّهِ رِزْقُهَا
“There is not a single moving creature on earth except that Allah is responsible for providing its sustenance.”(QS. Hud: 6).
In another verse, Allah also reminded His slaves,
وَلَا تَقْتُلُوا أَوْلَادَكُمْ مِنْ إِمْلَاقٍ نَحْنُ نَرْزُقُكُمْ وَإِيَّاهُمْ
“do not slay your children out of fear of poverty. We provide you and will likewise provide them with sustenance;” (QS. Al-An’am/The Cattle: 151).
We should bear in our hearts that the sustenance comes from Allah, whereas the work that we did is just a cause to obtain that sustenance. And of course, there are many causes to obtain the sustenance.
The relation between this principle and the problems we face is that it is impossible for Allah to keep some of the sustenances that He had previously ordained for one of His slave, which he could only obtain by violating His shari’a laws. Because if that is the case, it means that Allah has done wrong to His slave.
Therefore, we could conclude that we could only obtain the sustenances of Allah through the lawful ways, without having to violate the shari’a rules, and there are million ways to obtain that sustenance.
And Allah knows best.
Answered by: ustadz Ammi Nur Baits
www.Syaria.com
