ভূমিকা

Shiavault - a Vault of Shia Islamic Books Hijab, The Muslim Womens Dress,Islamic or Cultural? Studying the Qur’an The holy book of the Muslims is the Qur’an; it is the revelation of Almighty Allah upon (peace be upon him and his progeny). The 114 chapters of the Qur’an were revealed in a piece-meal form in around twenty-two years; some of the verses were revealed in Mecca while others were revealed in Medina. For Muslims, the Qur’an is the first and the foremost source of Islamic laws and values.

It is considered the final message of God for mankind, and it is to be followed at all times and in all places until the end of this world. “These days we are often told that we must keep up with the times,” writes Dr. Nasr, a prominent Muslim scholar who currently teaches Islam at the George Washington University in D.C. “Rarely does one ask what have the ‘times’ to keep up with.

For men who have lost the vision of a reality which transcends time, who are caught completely in the mesh of our time and space and who have been affected by the historicism prevalent in modern European philosophy, it is difficult to imagine the validity of a truth that does not conform to their immediate external environment. Islam, however, is based on the principle that truth transcends history and time.

Divine Law is an objective transcendent reality, by which man and his actions are judged, not vice versa. What are called the ‘times’ today are to a large extent a set of problems and difficulties created by man’s ignorance of his own real nature and his stubborn determination to ‘live by bread alone’.

To attempt to shape the Divine Law to the ‘times’ is therefore no less than spiritual suicide because it removes the very criteria by which the real value of human life and action can be objectively judged and thus surrenders man to the most infernal impulses of his lower nature.

To say the least, the very manner of approaching the problem of Islamic Law and religion in general by trying to make them conform to the ‘times’ is to misunderstand the whole perspective and spirit of Islam.”[^1] * * * * * Some Muslim sisters have started incorporating Western feminist ideology in studying the Qur’an; they believe that hijab and other related issues have been interpreted from almost exclusively male perspective.

Some of them go to the extent of saying that since all Prophets and Messengers were men, and so the laws are also biased towards men.