عَنْ اَبِیْ ھُرَیْرَۃَ ؓ قَالَ قَالَ رَسُوْلُ اﷲِ صَلَّی اﷲُ عَلَیْہِ وَسَلَّمَ ’’اَلْاِیْمَانُ بِضَعٌ وَّ سَبْعُوْنَ شُعْبَۃً فَأَفْضَلُھَا قَوْلٌ لاَ اِلٰہَ اِلاَّ اﷲُ وَ اَدْنَاھَا اَمَاتَۃُ الْاَذَیٰ عَنِ الْطَّرِیْقِ وَالْحَیَائُ شُعْبَۃٌ مِنَ الْایْمَانِ‘‘۔(رواہ البخاری(
It is reported on the authority of Hazrat Abu Hurairah (R.T.A.) that the Holy Prophet ﷺ said, “Faith has more than seventy branches the highest and most important of them is witnessing ‘Lailaha Illallah’ i.e. profess in the unity of Allah; and the lowest of them is removing something harmful from the way, and modesty is one of the important parts of faith.”
Explanation:
In the Prophetic Tradition cited above, ‘لااله الا الله’ is declared to be the highest part of faith, while as compared to it, the lowest of it is regarded to remove something harmful from the way. The reason modesty has been mentioned separately at the end of this Hadith is that it has the nobles status when it comes to the human characters. Therefore, the Holy Prophet ﷺ is reported to have said, “لِکُلِّ دِیْنٌ خُلْقٌ وَ خُلْقُ الْاِسْلاَمِ اَلْحَیَائُ’’ Every religion has some characters and Islam’s character is modesty. (Ibne Majah)
As a matter of fact, modesty is a part of human nature which stops him from committing evil deeds, and, saving him from the bad characters, equips him with noble ones. But, if he does perpetrate something heinous under the influence of beastly instinct, it is the same thing (modesty) which makes him regretful and embarrassed on it. Since the Creator of the entire universe, Allah, the Almighty did not endow His other creature with the instinct of modesty as compared to the humanbeing, they never feel like covering any part of their bodies and conceal any deed what a man is supposed to do due to its innately nature. Only if a man ceases to have a characteristic of modesty, he loves the sins rather than hatting them. As a result, neither he cares anyone nor does he feel emabarassed. He becomes shameless to such extent that the shame itself feels hesitation from him. Therefore, there is a well-known Persian saying: ” بے حیا با شوہر چہ خواہی کن ” ‘When you lose modesty, do as you wish’. It is, in reality, in confirmation with a Prophetic Tradition, .اِذَا لَمْ تَسْتَحْیٍ فَاصنَعْ مَا شِئْت Hence, there is no scope for immodest and shameless deeds in Islam.
In Islam, the loop of modesty is too extensive that there is no other aspect of life is neglected in it.
- It is not permissible in Islam for men and women to resemble each other in appearance and dress code. The Holy Prophet ﷺ is reported to have cursed such type of people. (Bukhari)
- None is allowed to be nude. Likewise, no man or woman is allowed to be nude or expose their private parts to each other. The Holy Prophet ﷺ said, “No man should look to other man’s private part and no woman should look that of other woman’s.” (Muslim)
- Putting on tight or so thin clothes which expose one’s parts of body is not permissible for women, since the women doing so will not any abode in Paradise on the Day of Resurrection. It appears in a tradition that a woman who are nude despite being dressed, attract the men towards her or look to the men, their heads resemble the convex of a bukhti camel, they will neither enter Paradise nor feel its sweet smell.
- It is not permissible to meet any strange man in privacy and talk to him without Hijab, since when a man meets any woman in privacy, the Satan tries to involve them in sins. Hazrat Umar Faruque (R.T.A.) is reported to have said that the Holy Prophet ﷺ said, “Beware! No man stays in solitude with a woman but the devil is the third of them. (Tirmizi)
- It is not fair for women and men to cast evil glance over any strange or forbidden of them, since casting an evil glance is the first stair (cause) to adultery and it paves the way for other evil deeds. It is for this reason that, in order to close the doors of adultery and immodesty, Muslim men and women are commanded to lower their gazes. The Holy Prophet ﷺ said, “Any man who casts evil glance at any strange woman, there will be put melted glass in his eyes on the Day of Judgment. Today, we observe how the women walk in parks, picnic places, fairs and markets without Hijab and expose their beauty. In the sight of modern daughter, modesty is but an old-fashioned system, and, hence, they like to be involved in immodest acts. Regrettably, our women do not least lag behind any other corrupted nation in fashion, practicing immodesty and putting on tight and thin clothes.
May Allah, the Almighty grant the Muslim Ummah a real understanding in of Deen! (Ameen!)