Clothed in Righteousness

O children of Adam, We have bestowed upon you clothing to conceal your private parts and as adornment. But the clothing of righteousness - that is best. That is from the signs of God that perhaps they will remember.

(al-Araf 7:26)

Yasmina:

According to Islam, appropriate attire is one component of an ideal, righteous society.[1] While some may consider covering the hair and body a burden, a backwards tradition or even a sign of oppression, as a woman who adheres to this tradition I know it is quite the opposite. The hijab (veil) shifts the focus from a woman’s external appearance to her intellect and internal beauty, and thus contributes to the betterment of society by elevating the level of social interactions between people. Women who choose to wear the hijab are highly motivated to obey God and honor His commands; their sense of humility and selflessness is heightened because they live in a state of constant awareness of their Creator and Sustainer. As humans seeking righteousness in our lives, we are often thwarted by our own shortcomings.  The religious teachings regarding appropriate dress are designed to help us reach beyond ourselves toward God.

Grace:

I am heartbroken by misguided criticism of any religious practice, including the wearing of the veil, whose intent is to direct one’s focus to God. Indeed, images of a veiled Mary, mother of Jesus, influenced the Christian practice of women wearing head coverings, especially at worship, for centuries. Still, head covering as a sign of a woman’s submission to God became equated in early Christian dogma with their submission to human authority. The belief arose that a man’s head was to be kept bare before God, while a woman’s head would remain covered in submission to her husband.  As a Christian woman who sees herself validated by God as a full partner with her husband and others, I (like Yasmina) see submission to God as central to the righteous life, and I applaud any religious practice that, in demonstrating true humility, is liberating rather than oppressive.

Tziporah:

Having spent several weeks reflecting on the words of Yasmina and Grace, I remain conflicted about how to respond.  My sense is that in both Islam and Christianity the practice of women covering their heads was adopted from Judaism and adapted to be more appealing. Rabbinic sources prescribe the covering of married women’s hair in public to ensure that anyone other than her husband will not be enticed by her appearance.  This clear mandate of tzniut (modesty) applies only to married women. A parallel custom of men covering their heads—in humble recognition that God is above them—also developed in Judaism, but it never pertained to women.  Today, women who regard themselves as equal to men before God may choose to wear a kippah (also known as a yarmulke or skullcap), and married women may reject the custom of covering their hair as outdated.  However, in both cases, because the women are reinterpreting centuries-old tradition, they may be accused of being arrogant—rather than humble—as they attempt to transform religious norms and infuse old ideas with new meaning.

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[1] The actual details of proper dress are addressed in other verses of the Quran and various Hadiths.

Who's In, Who's Out?

Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”

The Gospel of John 14:6

Grace:
These words of Jesus, so sacred to Christians, are often used as words of comfort at Christian funerals. Yet heard outside Christian tradition or misunderstood within it, they can be bitterly divisive, especially if they are interpreted to mean that non-Christians have no access to God or that only Christians who declare their faith in a certain way—using specific words or performing a specific ritual—are “saved.” In an earlier statement within this same biblical passage, Jesus said, “In my Father’s house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you.”[1] Later Jesus emphasizes once again that the Father dwells with those who “obey my teaching.”[2] Thus, as a Christian, I believe that I come to the Father through striving to live a Christ-like life, a life rooted in the sacrificial way of love—love without conditions and without exceptions.

Yasmina:

Muslims understand the way to God as a path, referred to in the Quran as the “straight way,” and defined as “the way of those on whom Thou hast bestowed Thy Grace, those whose portion is not wrath and who go not astray.”[3] God has shown this path to all of His prophets and messengers, including Abraham, Joseph, Moses, Jesus and finally Muhammad [Peace and Blessings be upon them all].  One reference to these honored prophets reads: “Those were some of the prophets on whom God did bestow His Grace, of the posterity of Adam, and of those who We carried [in the Ark] with Noah, and of the posterity of Abraham and Israel of those whom We guided and chose. Whenever the Signs of God Most Gracious were rehearsed to them, they would fall down in prostrate adoration and in tears.”[4] As a Muslim, I revere Jesus [Peace and Blessings be upon him] as the Messiah who was born of an immaculate birth. I follow the teachings of God in the Quran and I humbly strive to emulate the character of Muhammad [Peace and Blessings be upon him], who gave the perfect example for loving and serving God and His creation, and embodied the true meaning of Islam.

Tziporah: 

I admire Grace for choosing a challenging text, which she described as having been “used too often in terribly disparaging, exclusionary ways.”  It immediately brings to my mind the many times I learned that Judaism allows all people of faith entry to olam ha-ba, the world to come, provided that they uphold 7 basic laws.[5] This teaching was often invoked by Jewish Studies professors to demonstrate Judaism’s superiority as a universal and welcoming religion.  This assertion—that all religious paths are acceptable but only mine is the “truth”—has proven personally dissatisfying and, at times, destructive to relationships between people of different faiths. I can certainly appreciate how this idea originated with the early rabbis, perhaps in response to emerging Christian teachings that acceptance of Jesus was the only path to redemption.  I can also see why later rabbis perpetuated it through centuries of persecution and forced conversion of Jews to Christianity.  Nevertheless, I am uncomfortable with our apparent compulsion to declare ourselves and our beliefs as most right and exclusively true.  I pray that in the world to come, humanity will have evolved to accept the Baha’i teaching that all religions express a single Divine purpose[6] and serve as multiple paths leading to God’s presence in paradise.

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[1] The Gospel of John 14:2

[2] The Gospel of John 14:23

[3] al-Fatihah, 1:7

[4] Maryam, 19:58

[5] Jeffrey Spitzer's excellent explanation of Noahide Laws is at www.myjewishlearning.com.

[6] This is reflected in the Baha’i teaching of The Oneness of Religion.

Guest Blogger Responds to Last Week's Post

Thank you, Yaira, for sharing your insights & wisdom with She Answers Abraham readers!

“You shall completely destroy all the places there, where the nations that you’re dispossessing worshiped their gods: on the high mountains and on the hills and under every lush tree.  And you shall demolish their altars and shatter their pillars and burn their Asherot in fire and cut down the statues of their gods and destroy their name from that place.”

(Deuteronomy 12:2-3)

Yaira:

On first reading, this passage seems harsh and not at all fitting with the concept of religious pluralism. These verses—when removed from their original context and interpreted on a literal, surface level—can lead to fundamentalism and trouble. So first, let’s put them back into context.

By Divine decree, Moses will not cross with the Israelites into the Promised Land—so by the bank of the River Jordan, he gives his final address to the people. He begins by reviewing the exodus from Egypt and the subsequent forty years of wandering in the wilderness. Then he offers guidance about how the Israelites should conduct themselves moving forward.

The central message that I hear in all of his advice, throughout the book of Deuteronomy, is to keep God as the focus of their lives. They are told to love God, “with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.” (Deuteronomy 6:5) The people are told to demolish the worship spaces, altars and statues of the former occupiers of the land because the continued existence of these things would distract them from true service to God.

Next, let’s look beyond a literal interpretation. It’s important to know that what happens in the Torah is not just an event in the distant past. Just as Moses stood addressing the Israelite people thousands of years ago, he stands today, here in my living room, talking to me. What I hear Moses saying to me is that to enter the Promised Land—to uphold a sacred, covenantal partnership—I must clear out all the things in my life that would distract me from a central focus on God. All of those false idols of cash and comfort and consumerism must go, and what must remain is true and constant devotion. When these verses are interpreted in this light, they are a reminder that to live a life grounded in the holy, we must keep our hearts clear of clutter and open to God. 

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*Yaira is a Jew who believes that honest interfaith engagement is an important part of the connective, healing work so needed in the world right now. Yaira has a B.A. in English and is working toward an M.A. in Theological Studies. She is married with two boys and is fueled by laughter, gratitude and radical amazement.