NOTICE: This article is a reproduction from Submitters Perspective No 29, June 1987.
We learn from the Qur’an that God has put in His message to us, 3:7, straightforward verses (Muhkamat محكمات) and multi-meaning verses (Mutashabehat متشابهات). The straightforward verses are described as “the essence of the book.” Thus, they constitute the essential teachings of the Qur’an.
The Qur’an further points out a sure way to recognize those with doubt in their hearts; they will dwell on the multi-meaning verses (Mutashbehat متشابهات), seeking to assign one particular meaning to them, while neglecting the essential verses (Mukhamat محكمات).
One of the multi-meaning verses of Qur’an deals with the “woman’s beauty” (Zeenah ازينة) [24:31].
What constitutes “beauty” of the woman? Is it her eyes, her cheeks, her hair, her nose, … what?
It has turned out to be an obsession of many Muslim men to demand that a Muslim woman must cover her hair, while these particular men themselves are up to their eyebrows in idol-worship (see the main article on Page 1). The tragedy is heightened by the Qur’anic fact that idol worship is the absolute worst sin; worse than murder (except the premeditated killing of a believer [4:93]), adultery and corruption. “Idol-worship is the ONLY unforgivable sin”, when maintained until death.
Nowhere in the Qur’an do we find the requirement that a woman must cover her hair. The Qur’an orders the Muslim men and women to dress modestly and subdue their eyes, and tells the Muslim women specifically to lengthen their dresses and cover their chests (24:31 & 33:59). Many of these men, totally drowning in idol-worship, distort the Arabic word “Khemar خمار,” which simply means “cover”: any kind of cover, over anything (Khamr or intoxicants, for example, cover the mind). They vehemently insist that it is a cover that must come from above, after covering the woman’s hair. They even dig up some Arabic dictionaries, written by equally oppressive men, that advocate the same absurdity.
However, since it is God’s law that those with doubt in their hearts will always dwell on the multi-meaning verses, we have to thank God for exposing them and keeping us informed about them.