Why do some Muslim women cover their eyes when in the Quran it even uses an example of veiled eyes (more)..?

Question

Why do some Muslim women cover their eyes when in the Quran it even uses an example of eyes being veiled as a NEGATIVE thing? It just doesn't make sense to me. I can understand if back then they covered themselves up with a large piece of material and held the covering in a coy way that might cover an eye for a moment but even in the Quran it uses 'veiled eyes' as a negative. So what pushes a woman to think that covering her eyes is good? I am Muslim by the way but don't understand this.
From the Quran: Sura Baqara ...and their eyes are veiled. They have incurred severe retribution. (7)

me, some women actually cover their eyes. Not all Muslim women wear black.

I made a quick search for a photo and got this (but I don't necessarily like the source): http://www.cqpress.com/context/terrorism/images/20000324-cover.jpg

I think it is a good option to have the flap if you live where there are duststorms, but otherwise...where are the muslims to answer this?
**I am not talking about this being fard or not. I am asking how one could find it positive when it it negative in the quran?

Answer 1

subhanAllah, please sister read the verse again. It is not speaking of literally veiling the eyes.

authuu bilahi mina shaytaan arajeem

The verse is not talking about clothing at all. Please read it!

seeking: how is the verse relevant to covering your eyes with clothing? and the questioners pose that doing so is wrong because of this verse. This is clearly not the tafseer of this ayah.

MRB, actually 'technically' you are wrong. There are different opinions on whether niqaab is mandatory or not. You can have the opinion that it is not mandatory but you can not say it is wrong. Can you name a scholar that says it is forbidden? Your husband being from the middle east means little unless he is a scholar, being Arab doesn't qualify one to make fatwa.
You are also incorrect about not being able to be recognized. There are several hadeeth about the companions of the prophet (pbuh) recognizing their wives from a far when they were completely covered. And I know from personal experience that the husbands of women who wear niqaab have no problems identifying their wives nor do their children, subhanAllah.
And, regarding hajj. If you were aware of the hadeeth you would know that it doesn't say 'don't wear the niqaab' it says 'remove the niqaab for hajj'........seeming to imply that at other times it is to be worn.
To top it off, it is VERY clear that making fun of any form of hijaab (calling someone ninja) is haram.

Answer 2

How many people are actually answering your question about having EYES VEILED? Everybody is just talking about niqab...I guess eye veiling is an offshoot of niqab but still, nobody could stay on topic.

Anyway, I think niqab can be a good thing but not obligatory. I personally find eye veiling a bit odd though.

And Sarah asked if there is one scholar that says niqab is haram. I know that there is a Sudanese scholar (Turabi) that says hijab (as in headscarf) is not required. I have also heard he says a lot of other things that most Muslims wouldn't agree with but I though I'd just throw this out there... Some people consider Marmaduke Pickthall to be a scholar and he said it is haram. I think Ahmad Kutty might be 'anti-niqab' too but I cannot remember.

Anyway, even I am going off topic, I do not veil my face or eyes so I will just star this to help you get answers.

Answer 3

Technically in Islam, it's wrong to cover your face. The Qur'an says to cover yourself, but also says that you should be able to be recognized. You can't be recognized from just seeing your eyes. The hijab should be worn covering the hair and neck and part of the chest and the arms should be covered to the wrist and down to the feet. You should only show three parts of your body, your face, and your hands (there are two). When women go on Hajj, they are even then not allowed to cover their face, so that should tell them that it's not required of them because if it was then that would be the place that it would have to be done. It's became a cultural thing for people, mostly Saudi Arabians and bedouins though. My husband (who is from the Middle East, and is a Muslim man) calls them Ninjas because he also knows that they shouldn't cover there faces this way...

EDIT: Sarah, first of all, I did not say that I make fun of them, I said that he does and when he does it I tell him not to talk about them because that is their culture. In Islam, you do not have to follow the hadith, you follow the Qur'an. Many muslims do not acredit the hadith because some have been added and some have been removed...I never claimed it to be forbidden, which would mean not allowed...I said wrong which means not recommended or required...And about your friends who seem to be able to recognize their wife in the niqab from far away, put them 30 feet away from each other with a line up of other women wearing niqab that are the same height and relative weight and see if they can recognize them...

Answer 4

I can't get over how so many fellow Muslim sisters seem to not read verse 59 of Sura 33 correctly. Sura 33:The Parties (Al-Ahzab)
59. O prophet, tell your wives, your
daughters, and the wives of the
believers that they shall lengthen
their garments. Thus, they will be
recognized (as righteous women)
and avoid being insulted. GOD is
Forgiver, Most Merciful.

This verse clearly states that the Believing Women and the wives of Prophet Muhammad(PBUH*) are to cover everything except the eyes. The reason that some Muslim sisters cover their eyes is like in Afghanistan they could be beaten when the Taliban were in power or they take the covering to the extreme by covering their eyes.

55.The women may relax (their dress code) around their fathers, their sons, their brothers, the sons of their brothers, the sons of their sisters, the other women, and their (female) servants. They shall reverence GOD. GOD witnesses all things.

There is also a strong Hadeeth from Muhammad(PBUH*) that states that all believing Muslim women are to cover everything except the eyes. However I don't have a book on Hadeeths to prove my point. Remember the wives of the Prophet(PBUH*) are an example for all the Ummah sisters to follow and we should be like the Prophet's(PBUH*) wives in every way. I may only be a revert to Islam for 9 months but my husband who has more knowledge of Islam then me gladly answers my questions and I refer to the Qur'an if I need to verify something and I do believe that it is fard for the Muslimah to cover everything except the eyes so as not to be seen like dogs and not to have strange men look at them. ALLAH(SWT) knows best and we shouldn't question the Qur'an for that is ALLAH's(SWT) word.

Answer 5

Covering the eyes with a transperant piece of cloth was necessary in deserts before Islam and it remained after Islam to protect the eyes from the sand. Such habit remained till troday in some areas, But in the religion itself, it has no base or referrence.

Answer 6

Although Sara above me is correct it is not in the literal sense, I agree with you and would come to the conclusion that if it can be used in the figurative sense then it can be seen literally as well.
How can something be bad figuratively but then not bad literally? Don't we get our understanding of the figurative from the literal?
I find this to be an interesting question.

EDIT: Sarah, you are right, it is NOT talking about clothing but it is talking about the eyes being covered in a figurative way and it is saying that it's bad. YES, figuratively -but where do we get our understanding of the figurative from?

Maybe this should be in the philosophy section. lol

Answer 7

Isn't that more of a cultural thing? Like, some regions/countries are way more conservative, so some places, women don't cover their heads, but some places, they're covered head to toe?

I'd think covering your eyes would be a pretty extreme way to cover up...I mean, I wouldn't do it unless I was in the middle of a sandstorm or something.

Who do you mean?

Answer 8

Discussion about what is Fard and what is not is as varied as there are Muslims, Islamic countries and cultures. I think the woman, where she can, be allowed to choose.

_()_

Answer 9

Women get to choose what level of hijab they able to follow...

1) cover all except hands and face.

2) cover all except hands

3) complete covering.

Most women who cover up completely will not uncover EVEN if their husbands ask them to uncover.

They do it for the sake of God.

"All those who look upon a woman with Lust has already committed adultery with her" - Prophet Jesus
.

Answer 10

thats so true also apparantly when you on hajj the pilgrammage to mecca you are not allowed to cover your face or else you have to pay some kind of saddqa im not sure how accurrate this is but have heard it several times but not had the time to research