aura

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ʿAura ( Arabic عورة, DMG ʿaura ) describes in the religious vocabulary of Islam on the one hand a nakedness which is mostly translated as "shame" and which has to be covered up. This nakedness can in the concrete sense be bare skin that has to be covered. The necessary concealment of nakedness is called Satr al-ʿAura (ستر العورة) designated. On the other hand, it describes the weak points of houses in Yathrib in the Koran . Outside of the Islamic vocabulary, the word can also mean mistakes or deficiencies.

Former Indonesian President Sukarno bared his torso in the state of Ihram during the Hajj . Most Islamic scholars consider a man's ʿaura to be the part of his body between his belly button and knee.

ʿAura in the Quran and Sunna

Koran

The term ʿAura appears in three places in the Qur'an , with different nuances of meaning. In Sura 33:13 it is used to describe unprotected dwellings in Yathrib:

“And when a group of them said: You people of Jathrib (ie Medina)! You can't stay (here with the troop). Return (to the city)! And some of them asked the Prophet for dispensation, saying: Our houses are a weak place (and are open to the enemy). They weren't (at all) a weak point. They just wanted to flee (under this pretext). "

According to Sura 24:58, ʿAura denotes three genitals of adult Muslims. The Koran exegesis , which is given here in brackets, relates "three" to three times of the day at which the "genitals" can be seen:

“You believers! Your slaves (w. What has your rights) and those of you who have not yet reached the state of puberty should ask for permission three times (three times) (if they want to come in) before the Early prayer, when you take off your clothes around noon, and after prayer in the late evening. (That's) three (times when) the genitals of you (can be seen). Outside of them (w. After them) it is neither a sin for you nor for them if you walk around (unreservedly) among one another. So God makes the verses (w. Signs) clear to you. He knows and is wise. "

In Sura 24:31, in connection with the duty of veiling women, children are mentioned who are not allowed to see the ʿaura of women because they do not yet have any knowledge of it:

“And tell the believing women to lower their eyes (instead of staring at someone, it is better) and make sure that their shame is covered (i.e. they should keep their shame) the jewelry they wear (on their bodies) , do not show openly, as far as it is not (normally) visible, pull your scarf over the slit (of the dress) (going down from the neckline) and nobody (w. not) the jewelry you are wearing (on your body) openly show, except for her husband, her father, her father-in-law, their sons, their step-sons, their brothers, the sons of their brothers and their sisters, their wives (i.e. the women they associate with?) their slaves (w. dem what they (slaves) have) the male servants (w. followers) who have no (sex) instinct (any more), and the children who do not yet know anything about female genitals. And they should not hit their legs (against each other) and thereby draw attention to the jewelry that they (through their clothing) concealed (on them) wear (so that one can see what they are keeping secret from their jewelry). And turn all of you (remorsefully) back to God, you believers! Perhaps you will (then) fare well. "

The last two passages in particular are essential for the Islamic concept of shame. However, the Qur'an does not specify what constitutes the genitals of a man or a woman.

Sunnah

In works of the Sunnah , ʿAura is used differently. An example is a hadith of "dubious authenticity", which describes the entire woman as an aura. This saying of the founder of the Islamic religion, Muhammad (died 632), later influenced some Islamic scholars. An often used saying forbids men to see the ʿaura of other men and women the aura of other women.

Koran exegesis

Due to the ambiguity raised by the Koran, various Islamic scholars tried to define ʿAura more precisely in their Tafsīr works. The Tafsīr works mentioned here do not reflect the opinion of the authors. In the classical Koran exegesis it was rather common to collect and reproduce reports and opinions of the Islamic religious founder Mohammed and his fellow prophets . Unless otherwise stated, the following comments refer to Sura 24:31.

at-Tabarī

The scholar at-Tabarī gave several accounts of ʿAura in his Tafsīr around 900. For example, it says with him that the person praying has to cover his aura. The woman must cover her hands, face and the rest of her body up to the elbows while praying. Another account, which at-Tabarī traces back to ʿAbdallāh ibn ʿAbbās , says that a woman's ʿaura is her ornament. At-Tabarī specifies jewelry as a woman's neck and ankle chains, bracelets, earrings and hair. She is only allowed to show these things to her husband. This interpretation is similar to the point of view of the early Christian thinker John Chrysostom (* 344 or 349; † 407). Chrysostom was on the one hand shocked by the poverty in the cities of his time, on the other hand he wanted to put a stop to sexual urges. One of the measures he recommended was that women should learn to wear less jewelry. It is not due for her to walk past beggars “at the price of several meals”.

al-Baghawī

According to the Tafsīr of al-Baghawī (d. 1122), a man 's ʿAura is between his navel and his knees. The same is true for women among themselves in the absence of men. However, this only applies under the premise that there is no risk of Fitna (sexual temptation).

As for the thigh, al-Baghawī refers on the one hand to Mālik ibn Anas . He was of the opinion that the thigh does not belong to the aura. He justified this with a report that is traced back to Anas ibn Mālik . He said that once when Mohammed was leading a horse through the alley of Khaibar , his knee touched Mohammed's thigh. Mohammed pulled the apron off his thigh so that Anas could see the white skin of his thigh.

Al-Baghawī adds, however, that on the other hand, most scholars see the thigh as part of the aura. He refers to a hadith which is guaranteed by several sources. In it, Mohammed explains to a certain Maʿmar that the thigh is part of the ʿaura. Another hadith has Mohammed say that the thigh is ʿAura ( inna al-faḫḏ ʿaura ).

Regarding the aura of the woman in the presence of a man, al-Baghawī declares that if she is free and in no mahram relation to him, her whole body is aura and the man cannot see anything but her two hands and her face may. The ʿaura of a slave, on the other hand, is the same as that of a man: between the navel and the knees. The same applies to people who are in a mahram relationship with one another. In the case of a strange man, the same applies to the woman as to him: She must not see his ʿ aura area. A man is allowed to see the entire body of his wife and slave with whom he is allowed to have sexual relations. This only changes if he marries his slave to another man. Then she would be like a strange slave to him.

al-Qurtubī

In the famous work Tafsīr al-Qurtubī by the Andalusian scholar al-Qurtubī , the ʿaura of the woman is specified as the entire body except for the hands and face. The man's aura, on the other hand, is located between the navel and the knee.

Tafsīr al-Jalālain

In Tafsīr al-Jalālain , the ʿaura of the woman is concretized as the part of the body between the navel and the knees.

Ibn ʿArabi

In his work Aḥkām al-Qurʾān (German: The Regulations of the Koran ) Abū Bakr Ibn al-ʿArabī (d. 1148) deals with Sura 7, verse 31, among other things. One of the problems that arises for him from this verse is whether people differ in the covering of shame ( Satr al-ʿAura ) and whether the covering of shame in the obligatory prayer is fard ( duty ) or mustahabb ( desirable ). For the assessment, he lets the famous Sunni legal scholars Abū Hanīfa , asch-Shāfiʿī and Ahmad ibn Hanbal have their say, all three of whom are of the opinion that Satr al-ʿAura is a duty to pray. This is the correct view ( aṣ-ṣaḥīḥ ), because Mohammed himself prescribed Satr al-ʿAura during the prayer.

Sunni law schools

Between the four Sunni schools of law, there is an idschma on some points with regard to the ʿaura of women . For example, they do not include the face of a free woman and classify the ʿaura of a slave as the area between the navel and the knee (there is disagreement about the chest).

Hanafites

The Hanafi are Although agree that palms ( kaffānī ) and face of a free woman does not belong to'Aura, but there is disagreement as to whether the back of the hand are included therein. The reason for this disagreement was the fact that the word kaff can mean both “palm” and “hand” as a whole. Those Hanafis who argue that the back of the hand is part of the ʿaura point to the existence of the term ẓahr al-kaff (back of the hand). From this they concluded that kaff only meant the palms, the back of the hand, on the other hand, was part of the aura and therefore should not be shown.

Some Hanafis also differentiate between the ʿaura of a woman during prayer and outside of it. According to Hsu, this is a very “rare distinction” that law school scholars made extremely rarely. Those Hanafis who make this distinction are of the opinion that a woman's foot is part of the ʿaura only outside of prayer and therefore does not need to be covered during prayer. Most Hanafis, however, count a woman's foot as part of her ʿaura in every situation.

Not all Hanafis consider the voice of a strange woman to be part of their ʿaura. Those who count them as part of the ʿAura justify this with a hadeeth. It says that “the praise of God is the business of men, the clapping of hands is that of women” ( at-tasbīḥ li-riǧāl wa-t-taṣfīq li-n-nisāʾ ).

The ʿaura of a man is defined by most Hanafis as the part of the body between the navel and the knee, while this school of law applies that they add the knees to the ʿaura. The same applies to the ʿaura of a slave. However, a few Hanafi scholars consider the slave's breasts to be part of her ʿaura during prayer. In some cases, your ʿaura is extended to the area of ​​the abdomen (that which is between your breasts and your belly button), your back (the counterpart to your belly) and both sides (which connects your belly and your back), namely, if she is hermaphroditic , has given birth to a child, has made a testamentary disposition ( tadbīr ) for her release or has concluded a release contract ( mukātaba ).

As for prayer, according to Hanafi teaching, a free woman must cover her aura in order for it to be valid. Should the clothes slip, this is justifiable, provided that more than three quarters of the back of the hand are still covered. The bosom of a slave woman is also part of her ʿaura when praying, even if it is not outside of prayer.

As for the man during prayer, he should cover his shoulder, even if it does not belong to the aura. If he does not cover them, this is a "frowned upon" ( makrūh ) act.

Shafiʿites

The Shāfiʿites , as far as the ʿaura of women is concerned, largely adhered to al-Shāfidī , who in his Kitāb al-Umm defined the ʿaura of a free woman as her entire body except for the face, palms and wrists. Regarding the feet, Ash-Shāfidī only described the back of the foot as aura. Some Shafiʿites deduce from this that a free woman may show the lower part of her foot, others count the entire foot to her ʿaura.

When it comes to men, most Shafiʿites also adhere to al-Shāfidī, who referred to a man's alsaura as the part between his knees and his navel. Some also include the navel itself and / or a man's knees in their definition of the ʿaura, but these are a minority in the Shāfiʿite school of law.

The Shāfiʿites disagree on the slave girl. There are two important points of view here. On the one hand, those who define their entire body except head and arms as ʿAura and are in the minority; on the other hand, the majority who represent the “doctrine” of the law school and define the ʿaura of the slave as the part of her body between the navel and the knee.

If a believer does not cover his aura during prayer, the Shāfiʿites believe that the prayer is invalid. If you notice during the prayer that the ʿaura is not covered, you should repeat the prayer immediately. If the praying person does not notice this, it is still valid. The same applies in the event that clothing has slipped after prayer.

The Shāfiʿites do not count the back of a free woman's hand as part of her aura during prayer. With regard to a slave, her aura is between the navel and the knee during prayer.

Like the Hanafis, the man should cover his shoulder, even if it does not belong to the aura. If he does not cover them, this is a "frowned upon" ( makrūh ) act.

Malikites

The Mālikites also believe that the face and palms are not part of the ʿaura of a free woman. The peculiarity of the Malikitic school of law is the distinction between the “central part of the ʿAura” ( al-ʿaura al-muġallaẓa ) and the “peripheral part of the ʿAura” ( al-ʿaura al-muḫaffafa ). The peripheral part consists of her bosom, the opposite part of the back and her limbs, which include her head, hands and feet. The rest of the body - except for your face and your palms, which are not part of the ʿaura, - constitute the central part of the ʿaura.

For the Mālikites, the ʿaura of a man is the part of the body that lies between the knee and the navel - neither of which counts as an ʿaura. The central ʿaura of the man therefore consists of his genitals and the buttocks.

What applies to men, also applies to female slaves with the Mālikites: her ʿaura is between her knee and her navel, the central part of the ʿaura is next to her genitals, in contrast to the man, but her entire buttocks.

In compulsory prayer , the distinction between the central and the peripheral part of the ʿ aura has far-reaching consequences. Most Mālikites believe that covering the peripheral aura is a personal duty but not a criterion for the validity of prayer. So if this part is not covered, the prayer is still valid. So it represents a breach of duty with regard to the ʿaura veiling, but does not make the prayer invalid. Most Malikite scholars, however, consider the covering of the central part of the aura during prayer to be compulsory ( wajib ). Only a small part of the Malikites consider prayer to be valid if the central aura is not veiled. The majority of the law school prescribes that the believer must repeat the prayer if the central aura is not covered.

The Mālikites also say that a man should cover his shoulders during prayer, even if it does not actually belong to the aura. If it does not cover them, the Malikites also classify it as a “frowned upon” ( makrūh ) act.

Hanbalites

Unlike the three schools mentioned above, the Hanbalites consider a woman's palms to be part of her ʿaura. Some Hanbalites like Ibn Dūyān (d. 1935) go even further and define the entire female body as an 'aura. The ʿaura of a girl up to puberty, however, consists only of the part of her body that lies between her knee and her navel.

As for the man, the Hanbalites adhere to the Mālikites and the Shāfiʿites: they regard his ʿaura as everything between the knee and the navel. In contrast to the Hanafis, the Hanbalites do not include the knee as part of the aura. Boys between the ages of seven and ten only have to cover their genitals and cleft buttocks, nothing else is part of the ʿaura. The same rules then apply to boys aged ten and over as to an adult man.

The ʿaura of a slave woman in front of her owner is the same as that of a man when he has married her to another man. As for the slave, who does not belong to him, he is only allowed to see her head, face, neck, hands, legs and feet.

If the clothes slip during prayer, then the Hanbalites hold it like the Hanafis: the prayer is still valid. With regard to the man's shoulders, they agree with their predecessors: even if it is not part of the aura, he must cover them during prayer. If he fails to do so, be it makrūh .

Modern positions on ʿAura

The two Islamic scholars Uriya Shavit and Ofir Winter differentiate in an article on sport in contemporary Islamic law between two Sunni approaches to ʿAura: Salafīya and Wasatīya. They describe the Salafist approach as one who is socially deeply conservative and wants to apply Islamic rules to all areas of life.

According to Shavit and Winter, the Wasatīya, on the other hand, wants to make life as easy as possible for the Muslims and therefore looks for answers to important questions in all four Madhāhibs . They justify their approach with Maslaha (German: public interest ), a principle that al-Ghazālī developed. He was of the opinion that everything that protects religion, life, offspring, reason and property, legitimizes a case law and is thus in accordance with the Sharīʿa . Muhammad ʾAbduh later developed the concept of Maslaha further and wrote that all worldly affairs are adaptable. Thus, by using Maslaha, Wasatīya scholars can respond to current needs.

Gender equality

Ibn Arabi defined the'Aura a woman and a man in his Sufi -Werk al-al-Futuhat Makkīya (The disclosures of Mecca) only as the area "of their genitalia ". He justifies this interpretation with a part of sura 7 verse 22: "When they had now eaten from the tree, their shame became known to them, and they began to staple leaves (of trees) of Paradise over themselves." According to this, God had Adam and Eve issued the same regulations regarding the coverage of her pubic regions. Both should therefore cover their genitals. If women are urged to cover more of their bodies, it is out of modesty and not because their body is a shame to be covered, Ibn ʿArabi continues.

Fiancée

According to a fatwā from al-Azhar , a man can see his fiancée before the wedding if he really wants to marry her. However, the fiancé is only allowed to see the face and hands of his future wife, as both are not yet married.

The Saudi Arabian scholar ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz ibn Bāz sees this a little more loosely in a fatwā. At the beginning he added that a meeting between a man and a woman before the wedding was not necessary, but desirable. The same applies to women’s obligation to veil. So that the man can convince himself of the beauty of the woman, the woman should show her hair and feet. In this way the love between the two could spark. However, it must be ensured that another woman, the father or the brother of the fiancé is also present.

Women

Attempts have been made to make the ʿAura more concrete in early Islamic history. In the treatment of topics, a distinction is usually made according to social status and gender (both sides, i.e. women versus men who are not closely related, men versus women, etc.). Most tracts, however, deal with women. What matters is a woman's age and physical maturity, as well as the activity she is currently doing. The degree of mandatory body coverage varies in all cases.

In relation to non- mahrams (a mahram is a person of the opposite sex whose relationship precludes a marriage between the two; sura 4 verse 23) the woman should always veil herself. There is only a relief for potential men who could marry the respective woman. Even a married woman had to veil herself, including her hair, as she could look for a husband again in the event of a divorce or widowhood. For more modern Islamic scholars, the only exception is a male slave, from whom she does not have to cover her hair.

Free women were still forbidden to show their breasts. Whether slaves were allowed was controversial. The ankles of free women should, in the opinion of most legal scholars, also be veiled, while one could not agree on the feet.

Regulations are easier with other women. Muslims would only have to cover the body section from navel to knee under themselves. As for non-Muslims, there are different views. The only one who is allowed to see the full aura of a woman is her husband.

Hijab

Many devout Muslims wear the hijab because they want to cover their aura with it.

Aisha Chaouki writes in her book entitled The Headscarf - Oppression or Freedom? , which was published by the Islamic Library IB Verlag, founded by Muhammad Rassoul , regarding the female ʿAura that the woman must "undoubtedly" cover everything except her face and her hands. She argues with two hadeeths. In one, Mohammed says that a Muslim woman is not allowed to extend her arm beyond half of her forearm. In the second he explains the passage “they should, if something pull themselves off their garment” from sura 33 verse 59, by “he covered his head and only left his left eye free”.

The Baden-Württemberg teacher Fereshta Ludin justified wearing a hijab by covering her ʿ aura.

Even before Islam, the Arabs considered not covering a woman's hair as bad as it would be if someone were to strip naked.

face

Facial veils have always been the subject of controversy. Only the lack of textual basis in the Koran and Sunna on this largely led to the Idschmāʿ that concealment was not necessary. However, some scholars believed that face veils were praiseworthy or even compulsory. Fachr ad-Dīn ar-Rāzī (d. 1209) wrote, for example, that a woman should cover up her face in order not to signal sexual readiness. A man, on the other hand, is encouraged to face the woman he is about to marry.

Some scholars have always viewed the issue of veiling in the context of a strange man. If the face of a woman arouses lust in her male counterpart, according to these scholars she must cover her face. Arousing pleasure is not limited to the face, but can also affect her hands, which she must then cover. Various scholars emphasize that this has nothing to do with the woman of the ʿAura, but has to do with Fitna in the sense of sexual temptation.

The Andalusian scholar Ibn Abd al-Barr wrote, for example, in the 11th century that it was already ijma that the woman during prayer and in ihraam should show her face.

The Saudi scholar Sālih ibn Fauzān, on the other hand, believes that a woman's face is aura. He justifies his view that this is the part of the body that people look at most.

hands

Ibn Taimīya wrote that for a woman in the presence of a non-mahram, her entire body, including face and hands, counts as an aura. Accordingly, he stated that the woman must cover her face with a niqab and her hands with gloves .

voice

Some Islamic legal scholars believe that the woman's voice belongs to her ʿaura, while others deny it. Among the supporters of this thesis is the Shiite website Darolzahra, which published an article on the voice of women. The views of various legal scholars are summarized here. Among other things, they refer to Jamal ad-Dīn al-Hillī , who referred to the voice of a strange woman as ʿAura. The Iraqi Ayātollāh ʿAlī as-Sistānī , for example, contradicts this . In his opinion, a man can also enjoy listening to the voice of a stranger. The prerequisite for this, however, is that he does not come into temptation and that the woman neither softens nor refines her voice.

The Qatari Ministry of Religions writes in a fatwa that the woman's voice itself is not an aura. However, women are advised to be humble about conversations as there is temptation in their voices. They refer to the view of the medieval Syrian scholar Ibn Muflih (d. 1362), who wrote that the voice of a strange woman is not an aura. In a further fatwa, the Ministry refers to the Idschmāʿ with this view.

Sports

Salafists differentiate between situations in which only Muslim women play sport and those in which a non-Muslim woman is also present. When Muslims are among themselves, they only have to cover the area of ​​their body that lies between the navel and the knee. However, if a non-Muslim woman does sports, then stricter rules apply: in this case, a Muslim woman must cover everything except hands and face. The Wasatīya, on the other hand, does not distinguish between the beliefs of women.

epilation

The now banned online portal The True Religion published a fatwā on the subject of epilation before it closed . In it, a Muslim woman asks whether it is allowed to have a doctor remove her thick hair under her armpits and in the pubic area, which she can only remove with great difficulty with a razor, by a laser. In his answer, the author of the Fatwā points out that the ʿaura of a woman towards another woman is between her belly button and knee and that this region of the body should only be exposed in medical emergencies. Unless absolutely necessary, this part of the body must be covered.

The same question preoccupied the Shiite clergymen ʿAlī as-Sistānī , ʿAlī Chāmeneʾī and Nāser Makārem-e Schirāzī. They dealt independently with the question of epilation in women and to what extent the ʿaura for it should be exposed. As-Sistānī and Chāmeneʾī declared epilation not allowed, while Shirāzī allowed it under the armpits.

During prayer

Ibn Taimīya believed that the woman should wear a headscarf during prayer.

Ayātollāh Chomeinī also dealt with the ʿaura of a Muslim woman during prayer. His view was that the woman should cover her entire body including her head and hair during prayer (Problem No. 789). But she is freed from this when she washes herself. If she wants to be sure that what Islam stipulates ( wāǧeb ) is covered, then she should also cover the ends of her face ( meqdārī az aṭrāf-e ṣurat ) and arms to about below the wrist ( qadrī pāyīntar az moč ) .

For both sexes, failure to cover the respective ʿAura means the nullity of prayer. On the other hand, those believers who did not know these rules when performing the prayer must pray again (n.791). Should the person praying during the prayer see that his ʿ aura is not covered, he must cover it immediately. However, if the process of covering takes too long, one should finish praying first and then repeat the prayer. If it is only after the prayer that one notices that the aura was not covered, then the prayer has nevertheless been performed correctly (n. 792).

If the clothes slip on the floor when you bend, they should not be used again for the next prayer. If there is no clothing around, then it is legitimate to cover yourself with grass and leaves. But if there is no covering at all, the prayer should be postponed until later (nos. 793–797).

Men

The rules for men were and still are simpler. Generally everything between the navel and the knee is defined as an aura. Hanafis consider the knee to be part of the ʿAura, while other Madhabs do not include the knee. Despite these rules, men are always described in classical texts with long robes and headgear.

The man's voice

According to the Qatari Ministry of Religions, the man's voice is ʿAura in case it leads to temptation. Otherwise it is not. It is particularly emphasized that the voice of the man, in the event that he has the seduction of women in mind, is also to be classified as ʿAura .

Soccer

The preacher Muhammad Salih al-Munajjid , who is of Syrian origin in Saudi Arabia, sees covering the ʿ aura as a criterion that marks football games as permitted. He defines this from the navel to the knee. In the Malay province of Kelantan , soccer players are allowed to wear shorts. Away from the field, however, stricter rules apply - the knee must always be covered there. The Somali Al-Shabaab militia allows football matches in their areas as long as none of the players wear shorts. Pants must always reach above the knee. The T-shirts, on the other hand, must at least cover the elbows. Anyone who pulls up or takes off their T-shirt while celebrating a goal will be banned from playing football for life.

During prayer

Ayātollāh Chomeinī described the ʿAura for women during prayer as well as that of a man. What exactly he means by ʿAura in men is not entirely clear. He writes that a man has to cover his ʿ aura in the course of prayer, but it would be better if he covered everything from the navel to the knees (Problem No. 788).

In any case, failure to cover the respective ʿAura means the nullity of prayer for both sexes. On the other hand, those believers who did not know these rules when performing the prayer must pray again (n.791). Should the person praying during the prayer see that his ʿ aura is not covered, he must cover it immediately. However, if the process of covering takes too long, one should finish praying first and then repeat the prayer. If it is only after the prayer that one notices that the aura was not covered, then the prayer has nevertheless been performed correctly (n. 792).

If the clothes slip on the floor when you bend, they should not be used again for the next prayer. If there is no clothing around, then it is legitimate to cover yourself with grass and leaves. But if there is nothing at all, then the prayer should be postponed until later (nos. 793–797).

Laws on Satr al-ʿAura

Satr al-ʿAura has already found its way into legislation in Aceh and Kelantan. The following is a description of the two examples.

Aceh

In the Indonesian province of Aceh, which has a special legal status in Indonesia, the so-called Qanun (province-specific regulations) applies . The word is borrowed from Arabic and wants to emphasize the Islamic character of the province. A qanun must first be ratified by parliament and then by the respective governor of Aceh. Qanun No. 11/2002 prescribes the introduction of Islamic law in the areas of ʿAqīda and ʿIbāda , among others . This includes, among other things, the obligation to wear ʿAura clothing for all Muslims. In the declaration of this law, Islamic clothing is defined as Aura-covering, not transparent and not body-hugging. Since most women are not educated in fiqh , according to a local suffragette, the majority of women in Aceh assume that covering their hair and wearing a wide dress is part of the Islamic conditions for covering the female ʿaura.

Qanun No. 11/2002 prohibits women from wearing tight trousers in public. In public institutions, it is also mandatory for women to wear the headscarf. This happened when the provincial government declared public facilities to be ʿAura-covered zones. Conversely, men are not allowed to wear shorts. The Al Jazeera website posted pictures of the enforcement of the laws that have been in force for Muslims since 2001 and non-Muslims since 2010. One shows a man who has to do ten push-ups because he was wearing shorts and had an inappropriate hairstyle . The extension of the law to non-Muslims, who have had the same dress code as Muslims since 2010, has also been criticized by some Islamic scholars.

Kelantan

The " Kelantan Sharia Criminal Code Enactment 1985 " has been in effect in the Malay province of Kelantan since 1985 . Accordingly, only Muslim men have to cover their ʿ aura. Those who do not observe this will receive a lesson in their religion from the local Ministry of Religions. If the person concerned refuses, there will be a fine. Since there is no consensus among Islamic religious scholars as to whether the knee is part of the ʿaura or not, no one can be held accountable for this with a prison sentence. Men who are currently playing on the soccer field are exempt from this rule. Off the pitch, however, the rule still applies. In September 2017, for example, a controversy arose when a man was picked up by members of the religious police on his way to a football game. Lua Choon Hann, a leading member of the Malay-Chinese Society , sharply criticized this practice. This would discourage young men from doing sports.

The regional government, which forms the Islamic Party of Malaysia (also: PAS), increasingly focused on women . In 2015, a law that also affected women was passed. It stipulated that women who work in the service sector must henceforth wear a hijab ( tudung ). However, government officials explicitly pointed out that this did not apply to women in public life or outside their working hours. This represents a U-turn compared to the 1960s, when leading religious scholars in Kelantan still believed that wearing the hijab was not compulsory (" wajib "). According to Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Hassan, a former history professor in Malaysia, conservative elements took on important posts in the 1970s and banned any discussion of the hijab. As evidence of the PAS turnaround on hijab, he cites that in the 1950s and 1960s the wife of the PAS President, Dr. Burhanuddin al-Helmy, had not worn a hijab. The women's rights activist Norhayati Kaprawi sees behind this change the attempt to control women. In her documentary Who Am I? (“Aku Siapa?”) It also shows women who are encouraged to wear the hijab. In their opinion, one should question why the hijab should be the symbol of Islam.

In 2016, the PAS passed a law to cover the aurat ( ʿAura ) exclusively for female staff in fast food restaurants and supermarkets that are open at night. The US chain Kentucky Fried Chicken reacted shortly afterwards with an internal guideline and instructed its employees in April 2016 to wear long T-shirts from now on. As of 2017, the law has been in place in all fast food restaurants in the state. Many residents of Kelantan welcomed this step, as they see it as conforming to Islam on the one hand and the law forbidding women on the other hand from luring men to sin with tight clothing. However, there are also critical voices. Zaid Ibrahim, a former MP in Kentalan, said the PAS was a "desperate party" and it would do anything to remain relevant to its supporters. The PAS itself, on the other hand, announced that it had initiated this law in order to polish up its own image towards investors and to promote tourism.

In contrast to Aceh, the laws in Kelantan only apply to Muslims, non-Muslims do not have to follow these dress code.

ʿAura as privacy

In the presence of Muslim scholars, however, the commandment to veil the ʿaura is also interpreted in the sense of a commandment to protect privacy. For example, Yusuf al-Qaradawi quotes in his book “The Permitted and the Forbidden in Islam” ( al-Ḥalāl wa-l-ḥarām fī l-Islām ) the traditional prophetic word : "If someone veils a ʿ aura, then it is so (meritorious) as if he were to rescue a girl buried alive from her grave ”( Man satara ʿauratan fa-ka-annamā istaḥyā mauʾūdatan fī qabri-hā ) and deduces from this that it is not allowed to spy on other people in their homes or because of them Denouncing unauthorized acts such as wine consumption.

literature

Arabic and Persian sources
Secondary literature
  • Ali, Kecia and Oliver Leaman : Islam: the key concepts. Routledge, New York 2008, pp. 12-14.
  • Anne Ball: "Between 'Awra and Arab Feminism: Sexual Violence and Representational Crisis in Nawal El Saadawi's Woman at Point Zero" in Sorcha Gunne and Zoë Brigley Thompson (eds.): Feminism, Literature and Rape Narratives: Violence and Violation . Routledge, New York, 2010. pp. 71-84.
  • Eric Chaumont: «La notion de ʿawra selon Abû l-Ḥasan 'Alî b. Muḥammad b. al-Qaṭṭân al-Fâsî (m. 628/1231) »in Revue des mondes musulmans et de la Méditerranée 113–114 (November 2006) 109–124. On-line
  • Hsu, Shiu Sian Angel: Dress in Islam: Looking and Touching in Hanafi Fiqh . University Microfilms International, Ann Harbor 1994.
  • Krawietz, Birgit: From Prescriptive Modernity to Shame at Large: Muslim Sportive Bodies and (Fe) Male Nudity. In Susanne Kurz, Claudia Preckel and Stefan Reichmuth (eds.), Muslim Bodies: Body, Sexuality and Medicine in Muslim Societies. Berlin: LIT, 61-96.
  • Krawietz, Birgit: Sport, Women and Religion: On the Power of Looking at the Woman's Body. In German Olympic Sports Confederation (ed.), Exercise and Health - More Migrants in Sports. Network project, Frankfurt aM 2011, 36–39. Accessible online
  • Schulze, Reinhard: The veiling of women in Islamic tradition. In: André Holenstein, Ruth Meyer Schweizer , Tristan Weddigen, Sara Margarita Zwahlen (eds.): Second skin. On the cultural history of clothing. Haupt, Berne 2010, pp. 117-134.
  • Uriya Shavit and Ofir Winter: "Sports in Contemporary Islamic Law" in Islamic Law and Society 18/2 (2011) 250–280.

Individual evidence

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  3. ↑ 24:58
  4. ↑ 24:31
  5. ^ Ali and Leaman: Islam: the key concepts. Routledge, New York 2008, pp. 12f.
  6. ^ Ali and Leaman 2008, p. 12.
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  10. ^ Brown, Peter: The Body and Society - Men, Women and Sexual Renunciation in Early Christianity . Faber and Faber, London [a. a.] 1988, p. 312.
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  17. ↑ Hsu 1994, p. 20.
  18. ↑ Hsu 1994, p. 21.
  19. ↑ Hsu 1994, pp. 21-22.
  20. ↑ Hsu 1994, pp. 24-25.
  21. ↑ Hsu 1994, pp. 32-33.
  22. ↑ a b c d Hsu 1994, p. 33.
  23. ↑ Hsu 1994, p. 22.
  24. ↑ Hsu 1994, p. 25.
  25. ↑ Hsu 1994, pp. 25-26.
  26. ↑ Hsu 1994, pp. 29-30.
  27. ↑ Hsu 1994, p. 32.
  28. ↑ Hsu1994, p. 23.
  29. ↑ a b Hsu 1994, p. 26.
  30. ↑ Hsu 1994, pp. 29-31.
  31. ↑ Hsu 1994, pp. 23-24.
  32. ↑ Hsu 1994, p. 27.
  33. ↑ Hsu 1994, pp. 27-28.
  34. ↑ Hsu 1994, p. 32.
  35. ↑ Shavit / Winter: Sports in Contemporary Islamic Law , 2011, p. 253.
  36. ↑ Shavit / Winter: Sports in Contemporary Islamic Law , 2011, p. 252.
  37. ↑ Sura 7, verse 22
  38. ↑ Ibn ʿArabī: al-Futūḥāt al-makkīya , Vol. 1, p. 408. Available online
  39. ↑ Fatwa on the reputation of one's own fiancé . Accessible online
  40. ↑ ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz ibn Bāz: What can he see of her before the wedding? . Accessible online
  41. ↑ a b c Ali and Leaman 2008, p. 13.
  42. ↑ Sura 4, verse 23
  43. ↑ a b Ali and Leaman 2008, p. 13f.
  44. ↑ 33:59
  45. ↑ Chaouki, Aisha: The "Headscarf" - Oppression or Freedom? - About the Ḥiǧāb and the clothing of Muslim women. IB Islamic Library, Düsseldorf 2011, p. 25 f.
  46. ↑ Knieps, Claudia: Does the Koran prescribe the headscarf? - The religious debate . Accessible online
  47. ↑ Wellhausen, Julius: '' Remnants of Arab paganism ''. Berlin, Reimer 1897, p. 199.
  48. ↑ Hsu: Dress in Islam . 1994, pp. 34-35.
  49. ↑ Walīd ibn ʿUthmān ar-Rašūdī: Hal waǧh al-marʾa laisa bi-ʿaura huwa qaul al-ǧumhūr? . Saaid.net Memento archive.org
  50. ↑ ʿAurat al-marʾa amām ar-riǧāl al-aǧānib . Accessible online
  51. ↑ Do women have to wear niqaab? . Accessible online
  52. ↑ Muḥammad Ṣāliḥ al-Munaǧǧid : ar-Rāǧīḥ fī ḥukm taġṭīyat al-waǧh . Accessible online .
  53. ↑ Ṣaut al-Marʾa fī t-Tašrīʿ al-Islāmī . Accessible online .
  54. ↑ as-Sistānī, ʿAlī: Ṣaut al-Marʾa . Accessible online .
  55. ↑ Ḥukm Inšāʾ al-Marʾa li-Qanāt bi-Ṣautihā ʿalā al-Yūtyūb . Accessible online .
  56. ↑ Ḥukm tasǧīl al-fatāt mawādd mutanauwiʿa wa-ʿarḍuhā fī l-Yūtyūb . Accessible online .
  57. ↑ Uriya and Winter: Sports in Contemporary Islamic Law , p. 273.
  58. ↑ Awra to the doctor? . Accessible online
  59. ↑ Fatwā-ye ḫāmeneʾī dar-bāre-ye epīlāšiyūn ʿaurat-e zan montašer šod . Accessible online
  60. ↑ Ibn Taimīya, Taqī ad-Dīn: Faṣl satr an-Nisāʾ ʿan ar-Raǧul wa-satr ar-ar-Raǧul ʿan ar-Raǧul . Accessible online .
  61. ↑ Ḫomeinī, Sayyid-e Ruḥ Allāh Mūsawī: Tūżīḥ-e Masāʾel-e Emām Ḫomeinī (rh) - Nasḫe Matnī . Accessible online .
  62. ↑ a b c d e Ḫomeinī: Tūżīḥ-e Masāʾel-e Emām Ḫomeinī (rh) - Nasḫe Matnī . Accessible online .
  63. ^ Ali and Leaman 2008, p. 14.
  64. ↑ Istimāʿ Ṣaut ar-Raǧul ... Ruʾya Šarʿīya . Accessible online .
  65. ↑ Uriya and winter sports in Contemporary Islamic Law , p 267, respectively.
  66. ↑ a b c 'Action against man for wearing shorts to enlighten, not punish' . Accessible online
  67. ^ Al-Shabab's 'halal' football a different game . Accessible online
  68. ↑ Afrianty, Dina: Women and Sharia Law in Northern Indonesia - Local women's NGOs and the reform of Islamic law in Aceh . Routledge, Oxon & New York 2015, pp. 71f.
  69. ↑ Afrianty 2015, p. 77.
  70. ↑ Afrianty 2015, p. 132.
  71. ↑ Indonesia: Jeans Banned for Some Aceh Women . Accessible online .
  72. ↑ Women and Syariah in Aceh . Accessible online .
  73. ↑ Young and in love in Indonesia? Beware, in Banda Aceh the sharia police are watching . Accessible online
  74. ^ In Pictures: New Islamic law in Indonesia . Accessible online .
  75. ↑ Sharia should not apply for non-Muslims: Aceh ulema . Accessible online .
  76. ↑ Men's aurat ruling since 1985, applies only to Muslims, explains Kelantan official . Accessible online
  77. ↑ MCA: Dress code law in Kelantan will kill sports development . Accessible online
  78. ↑ Islamic dress, tudung, not for all in Kelantan . Accessible online
  79. ↑ tudung industry in Malaysia: Cashing in on conservative Islam . Accessible online
  80. ↑ It's long-sleeved uniforms for women working in Kelantan KFC . Accessible online
  81. ↑ Female Muslim workers in Kelantan must cover "aurat" . Accessible online
  82. ↑ Zaid: Kelantan dress code shows PAS 'desperation . Accessible online
  83. ↑ al-Qaraḍāwī, Yūsuf: The lawful and the prohibited in Islam: al-Halal wal-haram fil islam. Hindustan Publ., Delhi 1998, p. 315.

The Quranic verses linked here are taken from the Corpus Coranicum project of the Berlin-Brandenburg Academy of Sciences . All verses were retrieved from the project's homepage on December 6, 2017 .