The Queen of Sheba

The story of Sulayman ('alayhissalaam) and the Queen of Sheba ('alayhassalaam) stands out in my mind because of how beautifully she is described in the Qur'an and how dignified the interaction between her and Sulayman is. Bilqees' intellect, wisdom, and quick wit are highlighted - as is her willingness to accept truth.

What really catches my attention is that when she declares her Islam, she says it in the following terms: {"My Lord, indeed I have wronged myself, and I submit with Solomon to Allah, Lord of the worlds."}
There is no arrogance whatsoever - no stubbornness or reluctance to admitting previous wrongdoing, just honesty. As well, she submits with Sulayman ('alayhissalaam) to Allah - the submission of equals before their Lord. There is a sense of dignity to it all, a powerful aura of respect.

What's really amazing about how Allah tells the story in the Qur'an is that it ends with her declaration of faith in Him, with such grace. A lot of people turn it into a romance story or argue that she gave up her queendom to Sulayman, but none of that is even hinted at in the ayaat that speak about her.

Allah so clearly brings our attention to a woman who had both power & wisdom; who didn't allow herself to be swayed by fear, but who was determined to make her decisions based upon actual experience. She demonstrates to us the attitude that we should all have - a willingness to go out there and seek knowledge and experience for ourselves; to be cautious but not stubborn; open-minded but not easily dazzled... and above all, the ability to acknowledge that we have done wrong, and to turn to Allah with a heart full of faith and repentance - and dignity.

The Queen of Sheba is the perfect example of how submitting ourselves to Allah does not bring us down, but simply raises us higher.

The relationship between Sulayman (as) and Bilqees (as), as hinted at from that final declaration of Bilqees, also encapsulates (to me) the ideal relationship between men and women; that they both be seen as individuals capable of authority, and of humility at the same time. Most importantly, that each party respects the other - acknowledging their strengths and seeking only to assist each other in improving as human beings, and above all, to support each other in turning to Allah and worshiping Him alone.

The image we are left with in the Quran is that of Sulayman & Bilqees, king and queen, submitting themselves equally as slaves to Allah alone. How much more beautiful could their relationship be?

To Celebrate or Not to Celebrate, Isn't Even a Question

With all the hullabaloo over ‪#‎SCOTUS‬ yesterday, the most striking thing to me hasn't been the ruling itself (especially since Canada legalized same-sex marriage ages ago), but how many Muslims (conservative/orthodox) have reacted.

It is bewildering to me that many feel obligated to celebrate a law which doesn't reflect our Islamic moral values in any way. It is also bewildering to me that many feel that *not* supporting or celebrating it automatically makes one a hateful, homophobic bigot.

I really do not understand why so many people assume that believing that something is haraam - e.g. gay marriage - means being a horrible abusive jerk to LGBTQ+ people. We engage on a daily basis with people who commit shirk, which is the greatest crime on the face of the earth; but on this one specific issue, some people seem obliged to morph into the Hulk (but with less noble objectives) and dooming people to hell left, right, and center.

It really is not that difficult to have firm convictions about something and to speak against the haraam (whatever it may be) while maintaining good character and excellent manners. Yesterday, I had an interesting experience - while waiting at the bus stop, my gay neighbour was chatting with me, telling me about the #SCOTUS ruling and asking me questions about niqab and hijab. At the end of our conversation, he told me, "Thank you for always being nice to me even though I know that your religion doesn't accept homosexuality."

I was taken aback, because prior to this conversation, our interaction was limited to "Hi" and "How are you" while passing each other on the street or at the door of our apartment building. Yet what I found most poignant is that yes, people can understand that you disagree with something - and feel strongly about it - without you being horrible and awful to them about it.

As Muslims, we should not feel pressured to outwardly support something that we believe is sinful... and this applies to *all* forms of sin, whether it is shirk, riba, or homosexual acts (all of which are severe in the sight of Allah). Nor should we forget our standard of Ihsaan in all that we say and do, no matter whom we are interacting with.

It's really not that hard.

A Soulful Sort of Chastity

When it comes to discussions on women's access to masaajid, bringing down barriers, and so on, it's obvious that I'm a huge proponent of following the Sunnah of RasulAllah (sallAllahu 'alayhi wa sallam) and the Sahabah.

One of the things which has pushed me towards this stance so strongly (anti-barrier despite being a niqaabi), is observing how well this sunnah is followed in Malaysia. MashaAllah, so far wherever I've gone in one-space masaajid, I've seen exemplary behavior - respect, dignity, appropriate dressing and behavior - from the men and women alike. After reading about what Masjid an-Nabawi was like during the time of RasulAllah, seeing this has really resonated with me.

However, let's be realistic now.

Growing up in Vancouver and Victoria, Canada, every single masjid I went to was segregated, with clearly designated spaces for men and women. And yet... and yet the behavior exemplified was simply not appropriate. Inappropriate dressing is only one minor issue that I witnessed; more concering was the sheer level of inappropriate behavior between the genders.

I'm not just talking about a few people being 'friendly' - I'm talking about straightforward flirting, men feeling free to walk into the womens' space without a second thought or a little warning beforehand (because whether or not you agree with segregation, I should hope that you DO respect the idea of a 'safe space' for each gender; as a niqaabi, having a dude walk into a room where you felt 'safe' to remove your niqaab is a *huge* sign of disrespect).

At the risk of sounding more Salafi than feminist, I was (and am) reminded of the saying of A'ishah (radhiAllahu 'anha), during her own discussion on the subject of women attending masaajid:

"If RasulAllah (sallAllahu 'alayhi wa sallam) had lived today, he would have forbidden women to go to the masjid, as Bani Isra'eel did." (Tafseer al-Qurtubi)

Why the stark contrast between A'ishah narrating a hadeeth that unequivocally forbade the prohibition of allowing women to masaajid, and her own statement?

The truth is, Muslim women have also forgotten the adab and akhlaaq of mixed gender interaction. Just as Muslim men have the obligation to lower their gazes and treat all women with respect, honour, and dignity - so are Muslim women enjoined to lower their gazes and treat men with respect, honour, and dignity.

Whether respect, honour, and dignity is simply an alien concept these days, or Muslims have merely forgotten what exactly what kind of behavior those qualities dictate, the reality is that a mere headscarf doesn't automatically mean that we're behaving appropriately.

 Unfortunately, the concept of spiritual chastity (especially with regards to mixed-gender interaction) has been mocked, criticized, and rejected by many who consider themselves 'progressive' and yet fail to recognize that the loss of spiritual chastity has resulted in the detriment of society as a whole. Respect and dignity can only exist when these values are encouraged, and the current environment of hypersexualization does nothing to foster pure, honourable relationships between men and women that are independent of sexual intentions.

Looking back at the interactions between the Sahabah and Sahabiyaat, we see that - whether they were discussing religious matters, arguing a difference of opinion, or even just visiting each other - every instance of contact was marked by a striving for chastity, for spiritual strength and purity.

They understood that every individual is held accountable before Allah, questioned as to whether they played a role in improving society... or making it worse. Was the purpose of their communication a positive one, a beneficial one, one that would add to their book of good deeds? Or was it merely to indulge their baser human desires, the desire to be admired by the other gender, to be flattered, to attract attention, to coax interest not in a subject of import, but of a more personal type?

Whether in the masjid or the mall, school or on the sidewalk, men and women alike are enjoined to be keenly aware of themselves and their roles in creating, encouraging, and maintaining a society that values spiritual purity and chastity.

Are we doing our part?

{Indeed, the Muslim men and Muslim women, the believing men and believing women, the obedient men and obedient women, the truthful men and truthful women, the patient men and patient women, the humble men and humble women, the charitable men and charitable women, the fasting men and fasting women, the men who guard their private parts and the women who do so, and the men who remember Allah often and the women who do so - for them Allah has prepared forgiveness and a great reward.}
(Surah al-Ahzaab, verse 35)

 #ForgottenHeroines