YUSUF Islam » Chinese Whiskers » He Won't Talk to Unveiled Women, Right?

Chinese Whiskers (FAQs)

He Won't Talk to Unveiled Women, Right?

The accusation that I do not speak or interact with ladies who are not veiled is an absurdity. Only misinformed or unenlightened people with heads buried for the last decade – missing a plethora of my TV and public appearances proving otherwise – would repeat such junk.

Reality is often different from the media’s lust for a good headline. It’s true that I have asked my manager to respectfully request lady presenters from embracing me when giving awards or during public appearances, but that has nothing to do with my feelings or respect for them. Islam simply requires me to honour the dignity of ladies or young girls who are not closely related to me, and avoid physical intimacy, however innocent it may be.

My own story with regard to women’s rights really began when I became a Muslim. Following my acceptance of Islam, I immediately returned to London to look after my mother. Soon after I married and within a year had the great news of a baby girl, we called her Hasanah (meaning, good or beautiful). God has blessed us with four daughters and two sons (one son died in infancy), and I have always been an advocate for girl’s education. My four daughters all follow the basic wearing of clothes which modestly cover their God-given beauty. They’re extremely well educated; they do not cover their faces and interact perfectly well with friends and society. My eldest, Hasanah, runs a record company in Dubai, my second eldest, Asmaa, is a qualified solicitor, and my youngest, Aminah, is training to be a shoe designer.

According to the Last Prophet, Women are the twin halves of men.”[1] He also said, “Heaven lies at the feet of your mother.” In the Qur’an, when we read the story of Adam and Eve, at no time do we read that blame is attached to a section of humanity, i.e. women, for the fall of man; the fact is that the responsibility was ultimately born by both, equally.

The reality is that my honour and respect for women has only increased with Islam and my acceptance of my wife’s rights. It was after all at my wife’s request that my manager was told to caution ladies, during TV appearances or gatherings, from kissing me or getting too close – veiled or not!

[1] Human Life began with the union of man and woman, together, as we read in the Qur’an (7:189): “It is He (God) who created you (all) from a single soul and made from it a partner of like nature in order to dwell together with her in love. When they are united, she bears a light burden and carries it about unnoticed. When she grows heavy, they both pray to God, their Lord, saying, ‘If Thou givest us a goodly child, we vow we shall ever be grateful.”
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