LESSON 8MOdESty aNd ChaStity

Tell the faithful men to cast down their looks and to guard their private parts. That is more decent for them. Allah is indeed well aware of what they do.

And tell the believing women to cast down their gaze and to guard their private parts, and not to display their beauty except for what is outward,

and let them draw their scarfs over their chests…

Surah an-Nur 24:30-31 قل للمؤمنني يغضوا من أبصارهم  

ويحفظوا فروجهم ذلك أزكى لهم   إن الله خبير مبا يصنعون 

  وقل للمؤمنات يغضضن من  

أبصارهن ويحفظن فروجهن وال  

يبدين زينتهن إلا ما ظهر منها  

وليضربن بخمرهن على جيوبهن  

In the name of Allah, most Kind, most Merciful

  بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم

To learn Islam’s view of modesty and chastityTo explore the role of modesty and chastity in our livesTo understand the effects of modesty and chastity in society

Learning Objectives

Key WordszeenahWhat a human being uses to beautify himself/ herself withkhumurhead coveringsjuyubneck slits; chests

زينة 

خمر  جيوب 

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What is chastity and modesty?Chastity comes from the word chaste. A chaste person can be described as an individual who is decent and pure, and someone that is untouched by bad actions and thoughts. Islam is full of such personalities and the Qur’an has a whole chapter about a lady who was very pure and chaste. Do you know who that is?

The dictionary describes modesty as someone who is decent with regards to their:

Therefore, chastity and modesty is when we keep our actions and thoughts pure and decent by making sure that we behave, speak and dress in the way that is respectable and that is according to the teachings of Islam.

behaviour

The first order that Allah gives us is to lower our gaze and guard our modesty. This means that as decent and chaste Muslims, it is our duty to make sure that our eyes do not see anything haram. To help us understand what this means, we can have a look at Imam Zayn al-Abidin’s (a) Treaty of Rights where he explains the right of sight:

speech

dress

how does islam view chastity and modesty?

This hadith tells us that the main quality of Islam is modesty. We should all, therefore, make sure that as Muslims we are the most modest and chaste servants of Allah.

Rasulullah (S) has said:

Verily every religion has a nature, and the

nature of Islam is modesty.

In the ayah from Surah an-Nur, Allah addresses the believing men and women and tells us how we can apply chastity and modesty in our lives:

The right of sight is that you lower it before everything

which in unlawful to you and take notice

whenever you look at anything.

The believing women are then told not to display their zeenah. Zeenah refers to the things that we use to beautify ourselves like jewellery and cosmetics. In this part of the verse, Allah is asking us to maintain hijab in the true sense of the word. Hijab literally means a screen or a curtain. It is a barrier that we use to protect and hide our beauty from anyone that is non-mahram (those whom we are not allowed to show our beauty). Islam does not want us to draw attention to ourselves by dressing outrageously and revealingly. Rather, we should wear modest clothes and seek to copy the character and behaviour of the Ahlul Bayt, and not the unethical and shameless dressing that can be seen in societies today.

The verse then tells us who are considered our mah-rams. Some of them are:

Husbands and wivesFathers

12Brothers

Sons3

4Brother’s sons5

Sister’s sons6Children who are not baligh7

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This story tells us that hijab and modest behaviour is not only for girls. Here Nabi Musa was very conscious of his duty and towards Allah and he understood the level of respect he had to show the ladies, who turned out to be the daughters of Nabi Shu’ayb, and were not his mahrams.

When Nabi Musa fled Egypt and came to Madyan, he saw a group of shepherds getting water from the well for their animals. He also

saw two ladies with their flocks waiting a short distance away, so he asked them why they were holding back their animals. They said they were waiting for the men to finish watering their

animals and move away from the well before they could water their flocks. They

said their father was old and could not tend to the flocks himself. Nabi Musa offered to

help them and watered their sheep for them.

When the ladies returned home, they told their father - who was Nabi Shu’ayb - about the man

who had helped them water their animals. Nabi Shu’ayb asked his daughters to invite

this man to their house.

One of the ladies went back to Nabi Musa, and said to him, ‘My father invites you home so that

he can reward you for the kindness you have shown to us’.

Nabi Musa agreed to go with her. He walked in front and asked her to guide him from behind. When they reached home, Nabi Musa explained

to Nabi Shu’ayb why he fled Egypt. One of Nabi Shu’ayb’s daughters suggested that they

employ him to work for them as he was strong and trustworthy. Nabi Shu’ayb asked her why she thought he was trustworthy. She explained to her father how Nabi Musa had walked in front of her,

which reflected his modesty.

Nabi Shu’ayb then asked Nabi Musa to stay with them, and allowed him to marry one of

his daughters.

Imam Ja’far as-Sadiq (a) said:

There is no faith

for the one who has no modesty.

What role do modesty and chastity play in my life?We can apply modesty and chastity in three areas of our life:

Behaviour:Behaving modestly is very important in Islam. As Muslims, we must ensure that our manners (akhlaq) are the best. Part of that includes modesty. This means making sure that all our actions reflect the pure and decent teachings of the Ahlul Bayt. We must be respectful to ourselves and others in the way that we behave. Remember, whatever we do, reflects on our religion.

Can you list 3 ways in which our behaviour can be modest:

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Speech:The tongue is considered to be one of the most important parts of the human body. We must use the power of speech for good, to spread the word of Islam and speak politely and gently with others. We must be modest and chaste when we speak. Using swear words and foul language is immodest, unacceptable and prohibited in the eyes of Allah.

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One of the rights of the tongue as taught to us by Imam Ja’far as-Sadiq (a) in Risalt al-Huquq is:

The right of your tongue is that you should

consider it too respectable to utter foul language, and give it the habit of good speech, familiarize it with good manners, dedicate it to situations of speaking when needed, and for to achieve the

benefits of this world and the life to come.

When we speak to anyone, we must be polite, soft, and speak with intelligence and sense. Speaking foolishly and loudly is not the sign of a good Muslim.

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Dress:Islam places a great significance on how a Muslim dresses. We should dress modestly without drawing attention to ourselves. Our dressing represents our manners and ethics. At the age of nine, girls are required to cover their hair in front of non-mahram men, and dress in an appropriate way. Islam considers females to be very precious, and like all treasures, they are to be protected. Women are protected by hijab.

Modest dressing does not only apply to girls; boys must be careful not to wear t-shirts with rude slogans and inappropriate pictures. Whenever we get dressed, we must ask ourselves, would my Imam approve of what I am wearing? This should be the way we test our decency.

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Faith in ActionObserve your behaviour, speech and dressing

for a week and think about whether it is a reflection of Islam and the teachings of the

Ahlul Bayt. What can you do differently?

Surah al-Taḥrim 66:12 ومرمي ابنت عمران التي  

أحصنت فرجها فنفخنا  

فيه من روحنا وصدقت  

بكلمات ربها وكتبه  

وكانت من القانتني 

And Mary, daughter of Imran, who guarded the chastity of her womb,

so We breathed into it of Our spirit. She confirmed the words of her Lord and

His Books, and she was one of the obedient.

HIGHER LEVELWhaT arE ThE EffEcTS Of MOdESTy and chaSTITy In SOcIETy?

Allah has created everything perfectly, and He has designed us in the most perfect way. In order for us to live the best and most successful life, we must follow His instructions and refer to his advice for guidance. Allah tells us in Surah an-Nur that the successful people are those who guard their modesty and chastity and are mindful of their behaviour in front on their non-mahrams.

This is something we should take very seriously. If society as a whole lived by these rules, there would be no rude behaviour and perversion in the community. The world would be a safer and more harmonious place. But, because there are many people in the world who disrespect the rules of Allah, overstep the boundaries and are immodest in their behaviour, speech and dress, there are many evil acts that are being committed. This can be prevented if we all follow the teachings of Islam and preserved our modesty and chastity.

Imam Ali (a) said:

Modesty prevents

ugly actions.

SUMMARYchastity and modesty is viewed very highly in the eyes of Islam. Our role models, the Ahlul Bayt, were the most purest and modest people.chastity and modesty play a role in all parts of our lives especially in our behaviour, speech and dress.Modest dressing in Islam is known as hijab.

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3Modesty does not apply to girls only, boys are also expected to guard their modesty and to respect the laws of Islam.The tongue is one of the most important organs of the human body and plays a huge part in preserving our modesty and chastity.Society as a whole would be successful and peaceful if the laws of Allah were followed.

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What are the three parts of our life in which we can practice chastity and modesty?Rasulullah says the nature of Islam is modesty. What does this mean?

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How can we use our speech to be modest?

What are the effects of immodesty in a community?

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4Can you think of a story from the Qur’an of a Prophet who guarded his modesty and was rewarded by becoming the king of Eygpt?

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