Do you cover your head for religious reasons?

[Smoke]

Please note that this is not a debate thread.

Many religions observe some type of headcovering for either males or females.

Do you cover your head for religious reasons? What form of covering do you use? Do you cover your hair completely? How much, if any, of your face is covered? What's your religion? What does your headcovering signify to you? Modesty? Humility? Obedience? Something else?

 

[Booko]

No.

I think this passage kinda sums it up:

159
It hath been forbidden you to carry arms unless
essential, and permitted you to attire yourselves in silk.
The Lord hath relieved you, as a bounty on His part, of
the restrictions that formerly applied to clothing and to
the trim of the beard. He, verily, is the Ordainer, the
Omniscient. Let there be naught in your demeanour of
which sound and upright minds would disapprove, and
make not yourselves the playthings of the ignorant.
Well is it with him who hath adorned himself with the
vesture of seemly conduct and a praiseworthy character.
He is assuredly reckoned with those who aid their Lord
through distinctive and outstanding deeds.

(Baha'u'llah, The Kitab-i-Aqdas, p. 76)

I'm not sure what the bit about silk was. Apparently Baha'u'llah was referencing some older religion's tradition, but I don't know which one. Maybe Popeyesays would know.

Parts of this passage I use to teach the kids not to be mindless slaves to fashion. Of course you want to be tidy and clean, but to waste your time and money chasing every fad is pointless.

Wearing a good character is always important, though. You get to take keep that sort of clothing even when you're naked or dead.

It could also be possible to read the bit about "playthings of the ignorant" to refer to cultural traditions that have outlived any usefulness, though, now that I think about it. That's just not much of an issue here, though.

 

[Popeyesays]

Silk was forbidden as clothing to men UNLESS they were soldiers. There's a real reason for that. When an arrow pierces the human body it cuts through the clothing and leaves threads behind in the wound. Those cause sepsis and gangrene if they are not retrieved.

Silk would drawn into the wound and the surgeon could frequently draw the arros by using the garment and the threads would come out of the wound with the arrow. This removed a source of sepsis and increased the survivability of the soldier.

Things you learn while pursuing a military history degree. With the spoon of Aesculapias (sp? the guy who invented the doctor's staff with intertwining snakes) a tool for drawing arrows without inflicting further tissue damage and the wearing of silk battlefield medicine was on the side of the Arabs in their skirmishes.

Regards,
Scott

 

[Popeyesays]

Baha`i's do not have to cover their heads, but if attending funerals, weddings, synagogue or mosque we will cover our heads as appropriate--remove shoes, etc.

Regards,
Scott

 

[Zephyr]

I'll wear a hat to block the sun or to keep me warm, but never for religious reasons.

 

[Booko]

Silk was forbidden as clothing to men UNLESS they were soldiers. There's a real reason for that. When an arrow pierces the human body it cuts through the clothing and leaves threads behind in the wound. Those cause sepsis and gangrene if they are not retrieved.

Why would it be forbidden otherwise? (Think of Japanese men in silk...)

Things you learn while pursuing a military history degree. With the spoon of Aesculapias (sp? the guy who invented the doctor's staff with intertwining snakes) a tool for drawing arrows without inflicting further tissue damage and the wearing of silk battlefield medicine was on the side of the Arabs in their skirmishes.

Asclepias, not to be confused with the common milkweed. The symbol is called the caduceus. (I'm doing more with medical history these days.)

I should've known you had been aiming for a military history degree.

The things you've posted here are on a level I've only seen from my husband, my late father-in-law, or a couple of fellow wargamers who are retired brass.

 

[jamaesi]

Do you cover your head for religious reasons?

Yes, I do.

What's your religion?

I am a Muslim. An Unitarian Universalist Hanafi Muslim to be exact.

What form of covering do you use? Do you cover your hair completely?

I wear a headscarf. I usually wear a rectangular scarf, wrapped around my head however I fancy wrapping it. This is a rectangular scarf.

Sometimes I wear what is called an Al-Amira hijab, it's a two piece headcovering that's easy to slide on. If I don't have enough time to wrap and pin a rectangular one I'll just slip on an Al-Amira and off I go. This is what an Al-Amira hijab looks like.

On occassion I'll wear a square hijab, sort of "Turkish style." This is what that looks like.

I just cover my hair, but I don't loose sleep if a some locks of hair slip out.

How much, if any, of your face is covered? What's your religion?

Just my forehead and that's just because it's harder for the headcoverings to slip off if they've got some contact with skin, not just my hair.

I do not cover my face unless it's very cold out. Then I'll just take a corner of my scarf and tuck it in higher to protect my face from the wind and cold when I'm walking outside. It's rather convenient, if I dare say so. Hijab is a blessing in the winter.

What does your headcovering signify to you? Modesty? Humility? Obedience? Something else?

To me, it just represents that I am a Muslimah and it's just a commitment between myself and G-d and not between me and anyone else.

I don't find it as symbol modesty or humility. I've seen women who were dressed in a t-shirt and jeans who conducted themselves in a more modest manner than women who are fully covered and wearing a heavily decorated niqab with hours of embroidery stitched on, eyes smeared in kohl, giggling like school-girls at men passing by...

It's your intention and how you conduct yourself, not what you're wearing. You could go out in a burqa and it would make no difference if you didn't have that core respect for yourself.

I know this has and can be debated until the cows come home- but I don't even see a requirement of covering your face or even hair in Islam. Dressing modestly and covering your breasts and between your legs, yes. But I don't really see headcoverings as required or unnecessary. If you wish to not wear one, or if you wish to, it's your decision. If you find it would be helpful to your iman, your faith, then it's great if you want to wear it. If you find it's unnecessary to your faith, then don't. I think a lot of Muslims forget the history of hijab, which is a sad thing. It causes some women to be forced into layers of cloth.

If I was ever forced or felt forced into wearing hijab I would rip it off where I stood. In one of my classes a a fellow Muslim student completely disrespected the teacher of the class because she was a Muslim and did not cover her head. Every day in class if he showed up, as soon as he entered the classroom I would remove my headscarf and promptly throw it on the ground below my desk. He later dropped out of the class.


There's a small tangent I would like to go on. Nothing infuriates me more than a man telling a woman how to dress. Nothing. As a Muslim sister wearing a headscarf- people instantly know I am a Muslim. But a Muslim brother? Too many brothers seem to forget that hijab is required of them, as well. Muslim men used to cover their heads, too, you know. And even though we sisters are a very visible symbol of Islam, we get a lot of flack from not only nonMuslims who see and harass us, but we are told we need to cover more, we need to pray away from the men, we can't be expected to hold positions of authourity, we need to stay in our homes and just have children by too many of our brothers in the ummah.

I remember reading through some Islamic Answers websites with fatwas and advice to questions, a website that has been referenced many times by members of this forum, and reading answers about how to get one's wife to wear hijab or how women shouldn't go to college because they might be in the same room as a nonrelated male and pursuing an education isn't required of a Muslimah. It made me sick. It's like we just can't be trusted... even with the strength and learning and wisdom and patience we possess and use just to get through the day.

It makes me think of one of Djamila's greatest posts (out of so many of her wonderful and intelligent and thoughtful posts) here on these forums. When a thread came up about what one would do if they were the opposite sex for the day, she said she would run through a mosque naked just to get people to talk about MEN and modesty, not women and modesty.

 

[Popeyesays]

Why would it be forbidden otherwise? (Think of Japanese men in silk...)



Asclepias, not to be confused with the common milkweed. The symbol is called the caduceus. (I'm doing more with medical history these days.)

I should've known you had been aiming for a military history degree.

The things you've posted here are on a level I've only seen from my husband, my late father-in-law, or a couple of fellow wargamers who are retired brass.

I became a military historian BECAUSE I was a war gamer. I discovered Donald Featherstone's miniature rules and Avalon Hill Boargames about the same time. I edited an HMGS magazine for several years (Historical Miniature War Gaming Society.

I have done several articles in on-line magazines for gaming and developed (with a friend) a series of scale urban scenery sets, which you can see at:
Mean Streets Main Page

Regards,
Scott

 

[Popeyesays]

Go! Go! Jaemaesi!

Regards,
Scott

 

[Booko]

Too many brothers seem to forget that hijab is required of them, as well. Muslim men used to cover their heads, too, you know.

I can attest to this, in part anyway, because of stories from the earliest days of my faith, which were set in Iran, Iraq and Turkey for the most part. Removing a man's turban in public was considered shaming him and was a disgrace. It was considered a terrible thing to do to punish someone, and we really have a difficult time now understanding that.

The nearest equivalent would be to be stripped naked and sent running down the streets. Though even then there would be some people who wouldn't find it embarassing to be sent out in public naked.

It makes me think of one of Djamila's greatest posts (out of so many of her wonderful and intelligent and thoughtful posts) here on these forums. When a thread came up about what one would do if they were the opposite sex for the day, she said she would run through a mosque naked just to get people to talk about MEN and modesty, not women and modesty.

That timely remark of hers left me remembering her almost daily ever since she made it.

 

[Booko]

I became a military historian BECAUSE I was a war gamer. I discovered Donald Featherstone's miniature rules and Avalon Hill Boargames about the same time. I edited an HMGS magazine for several years (Historical Miniature War Gaming Society.

I have done several articles in on-line magazines for gaming and developed (with a friend) a series of scale urban scenery sets, which you can see at:
Mean Streets Main Page

Regards,
Scott

I am so going to have to slap the both of us for this...uh...should I take our off topic wargaming stuff out and move in into another thread or should we continue privately?

*sheepish look*

 

[ayani]

Do you cover your head for religious reasons? What form of covering do you use?

ya, i do. i usually wear a small knit cap, a bit like a kufi.

or a longer scarf, especially in winter:

Do you cover your hair completely? How much, if any, of your face is covered?

not completely. some hair sticks out in the back and front, and i'm fine with that. my face goes uncovered.

What's your religion? What does your headcovering signify to you? Modesty? Humility? Obedience? Something else?

i believe it has a name now... just ayani deen. my head-covering symbolizes to me obedience, remembrance of faith and ideals, and prayerfulness.

 

[Popeyesays]

Booko, I sent you a PM.

As to silk, I think the expense of silk made men wearing it "immodest". I have seen it postulated that way before.

Regards,
Scott

 

[Peace]

Do you cover your head for religious reasons? What form of covering do you use? Do you cover your hair completely? How much, if any, of your face is covered?

Yes, I do wear a scarf that covers my hear and my neck. My body actually is all covered except for my face and hands. I do cover while praying and while going outside home and also at home when strangers or cousins are in.

What's your religion? What does your headcovering signify to you? Modesty? Humility? Obedience? Something else?

My religion is Islam and I am a Muslim. Covering means mainly obediance to my Creator which is a kind of worship, since my Creator ordered me to cover I do say "I heard and I obey". Covering is also a form of modesty.

Peace

 

[Don Penguinoini]

No, but i know Sikhs have to when they enter a Gurudwara.

 

[mcteethinator]

I wear a kufi when I pray.

 

[Terrywoodenpic]

I am not sure why some faiths cover their heads during worship.
After all god can see our thoughts and very soul... why should he worry about our heads?

 

[ayani]

I am not sure why some faiths cover their heads during worship.
After all god can see our thoughts and very soul... why should he worry about our heads?

for me it's a means of showing respect, of keeping myself mindful. many faiths have traditionally covered the upper body or head for prayer, to create a kind of sheltered cloth cave and better focus on devotions. i think that's also part of the idea.

 

[moegypt]

I am not sure why some faiths cover their heads during worship.
After all god can see our thoughts and very soul... why should he worry about our heads?

As you said in another thread "It is not for me to Question the decisions of God."

 

[Lindsey-Loo]

Not yet, but once I get married (if I get married), I'll probably decide to wear a veil during worship services.

Head Coverings


2 Now I praise you, brethren, that you remember me in all things and keep the traditions just as I delivered them to you. 3 But I want you to know that the head of every man is Christ, the head of woman is man, and the head of Christ is God. 4 Every man praying or prophesying, having his head covered, dishonors his head. 5 But every woman who prays or prophesies with her head uncovered dishonors her head, for that is one and the same as if her head were shaved. 6 For if a woman is not covered, let her also be shorn. But if it is shameful for a woman to be shorn or shaved, let her be covered. 7 For a man indeed ought not to cover his head, since he is the image and glory of God; but woman is the glory of man. 8 For man is not from woman, but woman from man. 9 Nor was man created for the woman, but woman for the man. 10 For this reason the woman ought to have a symbol of authority on her head, because of the angels. 11 Nevertheless, neither is man independent of woman, nor woman independent of man, in the Lord. 12 For as woman came from man, even so man also comes through woman; but all things are from God.
13 Judge among yourselves. Is it proper for a woman to pray to God with her head uncovered? 14 Does not even nature itself teach you that if a man has long hair, it is a dishonor to him? 15 But if a woman has long hair, it is a glory to her; for her hair is given to her[a] for a covering. 16 But if anyone seems to be contentious, we have no such custom, nor do the churches of God.
1 Corinthians 11:2-16

I suppose it is a symbol of authority, just like the verse says. The veils worn by the ladies in my church usually cover just the top of the head, the back of the hair, and frames the face.