پردہ

‘Abdullah ibn Mas‘ud (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: “A woman is, as it were, something to be covered (‘awrah — the part of the body one is commanded to conceal) — that is, just as the ‘awrah must be kept covered, so a woman should stay veiled within the home; when she goes out, the devils eye her and make her the target of their gaze.”

The word for “woman” (‘awrah) in Arabic means a thing to be concealed. This blessed hadith tells us that the nature of women is likewise: they should remain in purdah, because when a woman goes out of the house the devils pry and peer at her. So women should not go out without need, and if they must go out for a need, they should go out veiled in such a way that neither natural nor artificial adornment is displayed. All this wisdom of the Shari‘ah is for safeguarding women’s chastity and honour and for preventing the mischief of Satan. The consequences of unveiling and the undue freedom of women have proved so destructive to the peace and tranquillity of Western society that the thinkers there have now come to accept the Islamic principle (of purdah). Purdah is neither a defect nor a prison for a woman; rather, purdah is such an adornment for women that it adds lustre to their honour and dignity.

Purdah is the honour of our mothers, their modesty;
it is the crown upon the heads of chaste sisters.
Purdah is a branch of modesty, the flower of chastity;
in unveiling, beauty is but a single blunder.
Purdah alone is the golden principle of piety;
and to observe purdah is the command of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him).