Reply to S/O Let's just talk about Islamic headscarves/hijabs/abayas here, shall we?

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Muslima][quote=Anonymous][quote=Muslima][quote=Anonymous]The question I have, at least, for Muslim women, is what is the purpose of being covered?  What is the spiritual significance, what is the spiritual benefit?[/quote]

There are a myriad of reasons why, but the easy, one sentence answer is, because they believe God has made it an obligation for believing women. Muslims believe that their sole purpose in life is the worship of God alone, according to His instructions, as revealed in the Holy Quran, and through the teachings of the Prophet Mohammed (pbuh). As such, wearing the hijab is an act of obedience to God and, hence, forms the primary basis for wearing it.In Islam, hijab is not demanded of women by men but is ordered upon women by the Merciful Ever-Living.

It is an outward symbol of an inward spiritual reality and aspiration. [/quote]

Ok, I get that it is a religious observance, and an outward sign that you're "spiritual," but other than that, is there anything to it?  Why would God request this particular action?  What spiritual benefit is there to the actual action?  And why aren't men given an analogous way of being spiritual?  Or are they?  I guess how I feel, is that this is something way too trivial for God to ask women to do unless there is a real spiritual benefit.  This is my issue with a lot of tenets of Islam- there are lots of rules and obedience and obligation, and no joy to it, no "fruits" of spirituality.  What is that spiritual benefit?

And you may say "hey, this shows the world that you are Muslim," but there's another side- in a Muslim country, not covering your hair shows that you are non-Muslim, and leads to a feeling of intimidation.  I've experienced this myself, and I've known women who were told, outright, that they are in a Muslim country, it doesn't matter that they're Christian, a native of that country who never wore a hijab, they need to wear a hijab now.  So, yeah, since you don't know any woman who has been forced to wear it, would that count as your first example?[/quote]

Well if you read what I wrote, I said "I never met one who was forced to wear it, but that doesn't mean they do not exist, but that is not the norm"

Now, why would God require this? God defines and God dignifies both men and women in their distinctiveness, and not in their sameness, and in However way He Chooses. Hijab is a symbol of our worship and servitude to Allah.But, since you asked, before we have a true and complete understanding of hijab and its real meaning, one needs to take a step back and start at the beginning. Allah says in the Quran (The Words of Allah), what means:

“We created not the heavens and the earth and all that is between them for a (mere) play.”

[Al-Anbiy?', 21:16]

In this verse Allah makes clear that everything He created has a purpose. Every star in the sky, every fish in the ocean, and every leaf on a tree was made for a specific reason. So too was the human being created for a specific purpose. Allah explains this purpose clearly in the Quran. He says what means:

“[b]And I did not create the jinn and mankind except to worship Me.[/b]”

[Adh-Dh?riyat, 51:56]

It is important to note even the construction of this statement. Allah did not just say that He created jinn and mankind to worship Him. He began with a negation. He said: "I did not create the jinn and mankind." By saying it in this way, Allah begins by clearing the board from any other purpose before He states what our one and only purpose is: to worship Him and Him alone. Now, it is in that context that one should begin to understand the subject of hijab. Hijab should properly be seen as simply another show of devotion to our Creator. Just as we pray and fast because He commanded us to do so, we view hijab in the very same light.

Just as praying and fasting sincerely for Allah's pleasure brings us closer to Him, so too does wearing hijab, if done with the same sincerity. By obeying Allah's commandments, hijab is just another way to worship our Lord. And in so doing, it brings us closer to realizing our purpose of creation. Of course, to you someone who doesn't believe in Islam, this has no spiritual benefit, nobody can clearly explain the sweetness and taste of faith and peace that comes to the heart of the person who feels them when they truly believe! I don't understand why you are saying there is no joy to it, do you think muslim women who wear the hijab are miserable when they wear it? you can't believe that there is a sense of calmness, peace and happiness that they feel when they are practicing their religion? By Allah, I wish you could feel the joy in my heart when I obey one of His commands, and feel so blessed, so close to him that I cry  out of amazement!

The issue I see is that you are putting  too much emphasis on the outward aspects of religion and not enough on the inward; the outward is just the reflection of the inward, of course if the inward is non-existent, you will be resentful, angry, miserable, because you dont believe in what you are doing. But for the believer,  her hijab is a “statement” that she loves God more than “society’s standards of beauty and fashion.” Her submission is to something higher than those things.

I really don't know how to explain it to you, [b]it is an act of Love towards the creator, just like you choosing to do something for your husband that you love, people might look at you and say "woow that's crazy" , but because of your love towards him, you feel great joy and pleasure in doing it and nobody can explain that feeling[/b]!

[/quote]

As someone raised Catholic this sound to me like what we would call "our cross to bear".[/quote]

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