Hayaa (Modesty)
Volume: 19 Issue: 1

What is Hayaa?

Hayaa means modesty or shame. It is a very special quality in every person that stops him / her from committing sins. It is like the brakes in a car. If the driver presses the brakes it will save him from crashing into another car on the road. It will protect him from getting involved in an accident. If the car has no brakes it will crash and everyone in the car may be hurt or killed. Allah Ta’ala has blessed every person naturally with this quality of hayaa. We are all born with hayaa. But if we don’t look after this jewel within us, it disappears very quickly. Rasulullah sallallahu alayhi wasallam has said, “Hayaa (Shame) is a branch of Imaan.” This Hadith shows us how important hayaa is in the life of a Muslim. In another Hadith it is mentioned that Rasulullah sallallahu alayhi wasallam said, “Hayaa and Imaan exist together. If you lose one of these the other one is also lost.”

Modesty under attack

There is an all-out effort in the world today to destroy and wipe out every sign of modesty within us. The smart phone, magazines, newspapers, clothing industry and the schools are all working together in destroying every bit of hayaa and shame within us. Females are made to wear tight fitting, see through clothing that destroys all the shame within them. In schools they are made to wear short dresses with no pants, revealing their bodies.

The smart phone is the worst tool of shaytaan to destroy the modesty within us. It is eating up our children from within and destroying every bit of hayaa they may have. Hayaa has become very rare in this age and time and when something becomes rare its value also increases. Allah Ta’ala really values a person who protects the hayaa he/she has. Our heart’s desire should be that we be amongst the chosen ones to keep alive this beautiful quality of modesty. We should make sure that our dressing is always according to the Sunnah. Don’t watch television, browse the internet or use the smart phone unnecessarily. There is a very strong chance that we may go onto a site that will smash down our hayaa. Rasulullah (sallallahu alayhi wasallam) has said, “When one loses modesty, he will do whatever (wrong) he wishes to.” May Allah Ta’ala protect us all.

Boys and girls

Allah Ta’ala has not allowed boys and girls to mix freely with each other except if its your sister, mother or aunt. We must be very careful about this. Boys must play only with boys. Girls must play with girls. A boy must not sit next to a girl in the class, in the car, in the taxi or the bus. Girls cannot mix freely with their male cousins or with other boys in their class or neighborhood. They must not talk to them or discuss school or madrasah work with them. This brings about big problems in our lives and Allah Ta’ala becomes displeased with us. Similarly, boys also cannot mix and talk to their girl cousins and other girls in school and Madrasah. Allah Ta’ala will protect our honour and will reward us abundantly in the hereafter for being obedient to Him.

The Smart Phone

The smart phone is the worst tool of shaytaan designed to destroy every bit of shame and hayaa in our lives. Dear children, be very careful of this DEVICE. Many people are caught in this trap and are destroying themselves. They don’t know how to protect themselves. Children go on the worst sites and view the worst of pictures. A person from head to toe gets engaged in sin. His eyes, his ears, his hands, his mind, his heart and his entire body is involved in sin. Please stay away from these filthy screens. They will destroy our Imaan and we will have no peace in our lives. If we get engaged in doing good actions, Allah Ta’ala will bless us with everything of the best in this world and the next. Viewing pictures on the phone will chase away all the Malaaikah from our homes.

Let’s start by correcting our outer side

Every person has to correct himself on his inside and his outside. His heart and mind which is inside must be correct and clean. But what’s on his outside also must be correct. Let’s start off by fixing our outer side. Our dressing, our habits, our ways, our hairstyles. To fix our outer appearance is much easier, so let’s start today. The outer will then impact on the inner and insha Allah we will be able to become good Muslims inside out.

Dressing

Dressing correctly and modestly is a very important part of the life of a Muslim. Dressing incorrectly can very quickly destroy the jewel of hayaa within us. A woman must dress modestly and cover her entire body when leaving her home. She should make sure that her head, body and face is covered. Little children must also dress modestly. Girls should never be made to wear short dresses or tight jeans. This destroys her shame. She loses her respect in society and is regarded to be very cheap. But a girl who is dressed according to the Sunnah with long lose dresses is given lots of respect in society.

Boys must also dress according to the Sunnah. From a young age, get into the habit of wearing the kurta and topee. When going to school we can wear our topees and go to school. How happy Nabi sallallahu alayhi wasallam will be with us when he is told that we are trying to dress like him. How much of duas he will make for us when he comes to know that the young Muslim boys are trying to practice on his Sunnah.

When going to school, do not wear short pants. We should make a point of wearing long pants when we go to school. Many schools allow Muslim boys to wear long pants. Also be very careful when swimming or going to the beach. Don’t wear clothing that will show our private areas (the area from the navel to the knee for boys and the entire body for girls).

Sunnats of the Day of Jumu’ah

To wake up early.
To have a bath.
To apply oil on one’s head.
To apply itr (males only).
To make miswaak.
To wear clean clothes.
To remove unwanted hair.
To clip the finger and toe nails.
To recite abundant durood shareef.
To recite Surah Kahaf.
To go early to the masjid. (males only)
To go walking to the masjid.
Burn some incense like ’Ood on a Thursday night at home.

Parents column

Dear parents,

This month we are discussing the importance of Hayaa (shame) in the life of a Muslim. Over the past few years, this important quality of hayaa is getting lost. Dresses are getting shorter, neck lines are getting lower, clothing is getting tighter and more of our bodies are being exposed. This destroys the modesty in our lives and when modesty is destroyed, Imaan is also destroyed. As parents, we have to teach our children the importance of Hayaa (modesty). The following are some important points that we can keep in mind to strengthen the hayaa in our lives.

Always dress our children modestly from a young age. Don’t allow them to wear short pants and short dresses. We must not feel shy to dress like a Muslim.
We should also be careful of our own dressing. Do not wear tight, immodest clothes.
Be careful of children using the cell phone. This device is destroying the hayaa of the Ummat. Children cannot be given free usage of the cell phone with Wi-Fi. This is a recipe of destruction.
We must not allow free mixing of males and females in our homes except if they are our mahram. (e.g. wife, mother, sister, daughter, aunt, etc.).
Be careful of how we are dressed in front of our children. Keep our satr areas covered even when we are at home.
Mothers should not breastfeed babies in front of other older siblings.

These are a few points that we can keep in mind to help develop the hayaa in us. May Allah Ta’ala bless us all with this valuable quality of hayaa.

Birthdays

Alhamdulillah we are Muslims. Our religion of Islam is complete and perfect. We are the chosen servants of Allah Ta’ala. We follow the beautiful way of Nabi Muhammad (sallallahu alayhi wasallam). Allah Ta’ala out of His love for us has made us Muslims. We don’t go to the temple and light fireworks for Diwali. We don’t go to church and celebrate Christmas and Easter. We don’t buy Easter eggs and eat hot cross buns. In the same way, we don’t celebrate birthdays. We don’t follow the disbelievers and have parties with cakes, candles, sweets and chocolates. We are Muslims. Rasulullah (sallalahu alayhi wasallam) or his beloved Sahaabah (RA) never celebrated birthdays. The day of our birth is not a time to celebrate, but rather to reflect. For example, on our 10^th birthday, it should remind us that 10 years of our life has passed and we are 10 years closer to the grave. Insha Allah in future, none of us will ever have a birthday party. Birthday parties make Shaytaan happy and make Allah Ta’ala unhappy. Let us always do those deeds that will make Allah Ta’ala happy with us.