The children enjoyed helping the builders by bringing them stones, bricks, etc.

The children enjoyed helping the builders by bringing them stones, bricks, etc. The children would carry them in their long white skirts (underneath which they wore nothing) and then place them before the builders. In doing so, their private parts would be revealed. The Holy Prophet related that he went and put a stone in the skirt of his long chemise and when he wanted to rise, something stopped him and hit against the skirt of his dress. He repeated it and he had the same feeling.

He then realized that he should not do this and he did not try again.2 "Say to the believing women that they cast down their look."3 You see that in these two verses, the ruling particular to men. For instance, if women were forbidden from ruling for a Nahj al-Balaghah, Sermon 227. Ibn Abil Hadid, Sharhe Nahj al-Balaghah, Sermon 190. 24 : 31.

men and women is the so me this is not something looking and not men, there would have been a distinction that such and such ws allright for men but not for women. It is clear, then, that when there is no distinction made between men and women, it has another purpose which we shall discuss in the next lesson.

**LESSON FOUR THE ISLAMIC HIJAB - PART II** THE COMMAND NOT TO REVEAL THEIR ADORNMENT "AND TO GUARD THEIR PRIVATE PARTS" The word farj is used in Arabic to refer to both a man and a woman's private parts. The fact that men and women have both been commanded to guard their modesty, to guard their private parts is in relation to two things: the view of others and this includes everybody except a husband and wife, and the other is that one should guard one's modesty from corruption, from adultery.

If we look at the external form of the verse, perhaps we would conclude that it only refers to corruption but because, from the time of the prophet's companions and the very first commentaries up the Holy Quran, it has been clearly recorded that wherever the Holy Quran says, "guard their private parts," it means from adultery except in those verses where it is to guard the private parts from the view of others.

Thus, this verse, either refers to the collective view or it refers to the view of others if we take the traditions into account. There is no difference of opinion here. The third duty is not to reveal "their adornment ..." which refers to that which is separate from the body like jewels and gold as well as things that are attached to the body like hena and collyrium.