Modesty (Haya).

   Allah says, “And it is not for a believing man or believing woman to have any

choice in their affairs when Allah and His Messenger decided a matter; and

whoever disobeys Allah and His Messenger, indeed he has strayed a manifest

straying.” Al-Ahzab. So, for a believing woman too her sole source of guidance is

Quran and Sunnah.

   Modesty “Haya” is one of the most significant factors of a woman’s personality.

The word “Haya” is derived from the word “Al-Haya” which means life as if the

person who has no Haya (modesty) is like a dead person. It is only Haya which

keeps us ethically and spiritually alive. What is Haya? The idea of Haya has been

almost exclusively attached to woman’s dress; however it is actually a bigger issue.

It is one of the most important factors that keep a person away from committing a

sinful act. There are two aspects of Haya; “Natural Haya and Acquired Haya”. The

latter is attached as a result of knowing and realizing the glory and attributes of

Allah. The stronger your belief in Allah, the more Haya you have towards Him.

This is when you have reached the peak of your Eeman or faith. If you do, say or

see anything wrong or even commit a little sin, you feel extreme guilt in your

hearts. Prophet (PBUH) said; “One who has no Haya, has no Eeman”.

Actually after Eeman, it is only Haya which keeps us away from committing sins.

If our parents or teachers punish us, we just lower our gaze and remain silent. It is

because we respect them, we have Haya of our parents and teachers and we are

indebted to them. We know our parents have raised us from day one and it is out of

respect we lower our gaze and remain silent. But there is no one who showered us

more than our Creator. We are here on this planet Earth only at the Mercy of our

Creator- the Lord. He gives us everything that is essential for survival. We respect

our parents, teachers and more and do not do any indecent action in front of them.

Prophet (PBUH) says; “God (Allah) is more deserving than other people of

shyness”. (Abu-Dawood). Are we giving people of this world more respect than

the one who created this whole universe? There has to be a level of Haya from

    Allah as well that He deserves and if that is lost then the opportunities to sin are

going to be endless.

We are living in the age of advanced technology and this has made us vulnerable to

sin. Means of sin are with us everywhere; private or public. The ability to commit

sin of all sorts is so easy nowadays. A person can use a cell phone for all types of

indecency and all kinds of prohibited things; all that everybody is aware of. At this

point, for a person not to sin, the requirement is Haya from Allah. Prophet (PBUH)

says; “Haya and Eeman are two that go together. If one is lifted, the other is also

lifted. (Al-Hakim). Haya leads to goodness and keeps away from doing a bad or

indecent act. If a person doesn’t have Haya, then there is nothing to prevent him /

her from doing anything.

   One of the ways a modest woman is recognized is generally by the way she

dresses. But modesty is not restricted to only clothes; it also has a lot to do with the

manners and lot more. It is how she carries herself, how she talks, walks and so on.

A modest Muslim woman actually feels shy to do anything that would displease

her Lord in any aspect. She has Haya in her talks, in her gaze, in the way she walks

and dresses and so on. Allah says; “O wives of the Prophet (PBUH); you are not

like any other woman. If you keep your duty (to Allah) then be not soft in speech,

lest in whose heart is a disease (of hypocrisy, or evil desire for adultery) should be

moved with desire, but speak in an honorable manner”. (Al-Anbiya).

“And tell the believing women to lower their gaze (from looking at forbidden

things), and protect their private parts (from illegal sexual acts)”. (An-Noor)

An ideal modest Muslim woman obeys every order of Allah. She has Haya of the

Lord and out of His Haya she shuns all these things which may make her shameful

in the eyes of Allah. She never tells lies, never backbites anyone, never becomes

jealous for others, never misbehaves or disrespects others and never makes fun of

anyone. She never utters an ugly provocative word against anyone, never

surrenders to hopelessness or worries, deals kindly with others and is polite with

elders and loving to children. She never indulges in forbidden activities like

singing, dancing, modeling and other vulgar activities. It is possible only due to

Haya and she feels shy to do anything that is not allowed in Islam as that would

displease her Lord. Prophet (PBUH) says; “Every religion has a character and the

character of Islam is modesty”.

    Our Prophet (PBUH) said to his companions (RdA); “Be bashful before Allah

according to His right to modesty before Him”. The companions (RdA) replied; 

“O Messenger of Allah (PBUH), verily we are shy, praise be to Allah”. Prophet

(PBUH) said; “That is not it; Modesty before Allah is that you preserve your head

and what it contains, preserve your belly and that which it carries, and remember

death and the tribulations attached to it; and whoever wishes for the hereafter,

leaves the adornment of this life. So whoever does all that is truly bashful before

God according to this right to modesty” (Tirmidhi).

   It clearly explains that being modest is not only being bashful or shy, rather it is

about being protective and caring about everything else in life as well. Preserving

your head and what it contains; this includes eyes from looking at forbidden things,

preserving your tongue from uttering any forbidden word and preserving it from

useless talks, preserving your mind by shunning all type of evil thinking.

Preserving your belly and that which it contains; it means preserve it from all types

of forbidden things as alcoholic drinks, drugs, things forbidden in Islam and things

brought from forbidden means and more. Remembering death means preparing for

Aakhirah (life hereafter) and leaving these worldly desires and lust.