This article is meant for Muslims, those who have submitted themselves to their Creator, Allah Ta’ala. As for those who hold enmity to Islam and Muslims, they will not be able to understand it as the contents are far beyond their shallow and corrupted minds. Never mind the subtle points raised in this article, non-Muslims are unable to understand or accept even the most obvious truths.

Firstly,

we start off with the belief that the Deity we submit to is Allah Ta’ala, Who is Unique, Perfect, has no partners, no family; and that whatever He does is perfect and has perfect wisdom.

[This is not something new that Islam has come with. This is a Truth that was accepted and taught from day one, with the creation of Hadhrat Ádam (AS) and repeated throughout the history of mankind by all the messengers of Allah Ta’ala. Therefore, no nation has any excuse for not accepting this truth. However, as stated above, there are countless people who reject this obvious Truth.]

Secondly,

we believe that Muhammad Rasúlulláh (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam) was the last in the line of sinless messengers sent by Allah Ta’ala for the guidance of mankind. Among the unique features of his mission, was that he came as a mercy unto the whole of mankind, with Divine laws which, if adhered to, would bring about peace and harmony to the people of the earth. Needless to say, these laws, emanating from Allah Ta’ala, are perfect and far superior to anything that human beings can promulgate.

[The statements of the "learned" and "religious" pope are enough indication of the state of mind of the "educated" people among the non-Muslims. One can imagine the state of the minds of the brainwashed masses! The truth is that the Ahle-Kitáb, the Jews and the Christians, were given clear descriptions of Rasúlulláh (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam) in their scriptures, so much so that Allah Ta’ala states that they recognised him better than their own children!]

Thirdly,

when it comes to crime, it is an accepted axiom that the punishment will be commensurate with the seriousness of the crime. For example: In any country, the act of treason will carry the heaviest penalty. A person committing a minor crime may be given just a warning or a nominal penalty. Similarly with Allah Ta’ala, that the act of treason - a person dying in a state of kufr - will be cast into Jahannam forever, never ever to come out from it. A person guilty of an offence at a different level may not be punished at all by an Islamic court, but it may be that his evidence in future will carry no weight in the Islamic court.

ZINA

Bearing the above in mind, we now come to the question of ziná: there are two situations, one is where the persons are unmarried, referred to as fornication; and the other situation is where the people involved are married, referred to as adultery. The punishment for fornication is lashing with a whip; whereas the punishment for adultery is stoning to death, referred to as rajm. Rajm - stoning to death of the adulterer, is a punishment that Allah Ta’ala had prescribed even for the Jews and Christians, and remained a command under Islam. As mentioned, the seriousness of the crime will determine the seriousness of the punishment. We can thus gauge the seriousness of ziná by the seriousness of the punishment. Ziná must be having far reaching consequences for the individuals, the family, the community and the society at large for Allah Ta’ala to have set down this severe punishment.

Having accepted that ziná is a very serious crime in the eyes of Allah Ta’ala, we have been warned against committing this sin. Whereas others state that their scriptures say that thou shalt not commit adultery, Allah Ta’ala has told us that we must not even go near ziná! The emphasis in this instruction is even greater with regard to the seriousness of ziná - do not even go near ziná, nevermind committing ziná.

[Readers may be excused of they did not know that the Jews and Christians were also forbidden from committing adultery and that the punishment for this sin was stoning to death. Judging from what is happening in western society. Nobody can be blamed from thinking that this command had been expunged from their scriptures, because we see hardly anybody mentioning it. Instead of it, the modern-day command is: Thou shalt practise safe sex!]

As mentioned above, seeing that non-Muslims can neither understand nor accept the obvious truths of Islam, it is unlikely that they will understand the finer points that will now be discussed: The gravity of ziná has been further emphasised to Muslims by being told by their Rasúlulláh (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam) that do not think that ziná is only the act of copulation, but there are other types of ziná as well. These are ziná of the legs, ziná of the hands and ziná of the eyes! These are also evil. Although there may not be the punishment of rajm for these acts of ziná, they are not to be taken lightly. Allah Ta’ala knows what we are up to. He knows where our feet are stepping to and why. He knows what our hands are touching and why. He knows where our eyes are roving and why. He knows what our hearts are harbouring. There is no escape from Allah Ta’ala! Therefore, we have to abstain from these acts of ziná as well. There may not be any punishment in this world by an Islamic court of law for these acts of ziná, but there will be a reckoning in the hereafter. In this world as well there are effects felt: a black spot appears in the heart and the spiritual radiance in a person diminishes and finally disappears; poverty and famine are experienced.

[These are concepts either not understood by non-Muslims or rejected by them. In actual fact, these acts of ziná have become integral parts of western society. "Flirting

" is not considered to be an evil. Public displays of kissing is nothing to lift one’s eyebrows about. Ziná of the eyes is not only acceptable, but has becoming an essential and indispensable item in western society. We just have to see the women displayed in adverts, billboards, glossy magazines and newspapers; flimsy apparel on the beaches and no apparel in nudist colonies; unclad women in fashion parades - in fact, wherever one goes - the message is: commit ziná of the eyes! It is encouraged and promoted to an extent that anyone who tries to avert his eyes would be considered to be "abnormal"!]

Let us now touch on the question of ziná of the eyes: Our teaching is that one’s gaze should be lowered. One should not stare at a ghair-mahram. This applies to both males and females. There is absolutely no room for debate on this issue. The first accidental glance is excusable, but not the second deliberate one.

The question now arises: fine, one will try and follow this injunction of lowering the eyes, but how can women stop the next person from ogling them? The answer is simple: use the method that the wives of Rasúlulláh (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam) were instructed to adopt by none other than Allah Ta’ala! That is, by wearing a veil. How else are the women going to avoid others from looking at them? When we know that ziná of the eyes is an integral part of the culture of others, can any woman say that she is the exception and that others will not look at her with evil intent?

[From here, it is obvious why non-Muslims feel uncomfortable when they are with women who are veiled. The simple answer is that they are prevented from committing ziná of the eyes. The excuse that it is difficult to "communicate" with her if one cannot see her face is so much hogwash. They communicate quite well over the phone or by letter or by sms or e-mail, where they do not see the person’s face at all, so why the desire to see the face of the woman sitting in front? One can see how shaitán has deceived such people.]

It is often said, "There is nothing wrong at looking at the opposite sex if your intention is clean. Beauty is a creation of Allah Ta’ala - by looking at members of the opposite sex we are appreciating the beauty that Allah Ta’ala has created in them." Our mashá’ikh have long ago answered this argument: This is nothing but shaitání deception! It is like saying, "One can place a dry stick in a fire and it will not burn!" Have they not heeded the grave warning that Allah Ta’ala has issued through the mouth of his Nabí Yusuf (AS), "Verily, the nafse-ammárah enjoineth unto evil.."?

Of course, these are subtle issues of a spiritual (rúhání) nature which Muslims should find no difficulty in understanding and accepting. As mentioned earlier, one should not expect non-Muslims to understand these points or accept them. Hayá (modesty and chastity) is part of ímán and very much a part of our Dín. Of course, non-Muslims cannot understand this. The words "modesty" and "chastity" have long ago disappeared from their vocabulary, just like the word "sin" is not to be found in their writings anymore. So, it is even more remote that they will understand this further instruction in the Sharí’ah that a person, never mind not looking unnecessarily at the satr of others, even though they may be of the same gender, but a person is also not to look at his own satr without a good reason.

[Do not even dream of discussing this point with non-Muslims! They have no concept of what is a satr. In their lopsided society where men get ‘married’ to men and women get ‘married’ to women, even to mention that the thighs of a man form part of his satr is going to expose you to ridicule. In their society there is hardly any activity where the satr is not exposed, possibly men playing bowls, cricket and tiddly winks may be exceptions!]

We make du’á that Allah Ta’ala removes the blinding shaitání veils from our eyes, hearts and minds, and grant our community (and right-thinking people) the taufíq to restore the true núrání veils of hayá as worn by the wives of Rasúlulláh (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam).