A R C H I V E S
Madinat al-Muslimeen Islamic Message Board
| What is a ... ? |
|---|
| Abu_Hamza |
| 12/23/03 at 22:39:22 |
| [slm] What is a [i]hayaa'[/i] to you? Commonly defined as 'shyness' and 'modesty.' Sometimes defined as 'shame' and 'humility.' Often praised for women. Seldom associated with men! What is [i]hayaa'[/i] to you? |
| 12/23/03 at 22:39:54 |
| Abu_Hamza |
| Re: What is a ... ? |
|---|
| IMuslim_4Ever |
| 12/23/03 at 23:21:10 |
| [slm] are you asking that question or is it a poem brother? :) :) either way, in my opinion hayaa is more then shyness and modesty... and is not only for women... i feel hayaa is mostly an inner case...more than outer... hayaa should be present in everyseconds... cuz our Beloved [swt] is always watching us... Angel's are watching us... hayaa is also kind of like honor... a person with honor, good reputation will have hayaa... will talk keeping his/her voice down... will think before uttering any word... hayaa is NOT only for women BuT also for men... Men should have hayaa... in the street... at home... at work... at anywhere... Men should remember that his family will follow and admire him if he observes hayaa... and lower his gaze... men should set good example because he is mostly head of the house and other members look up to him anyways... i can go on and on about hayaa... but for now i think i wrote enough... i want to read other ppls opinion... take care ma salaama |
| Re: What is a ... ? |
|---|
| sal |
| 12/24/03 at 02:19:14 |
| I think 1 Muslem 4 ever has given excellent and clear definition to what is supposed to mean to everybody . :) |
| Re: What is a ... ? |
|---|
| Nomi |
| 01/12/04 at 00:46:49 |
| [slm] [quote author=Abu_Hamza link=board=madrasa;num=1072237162;start=0#0 date=12/23/03 at 22:39:22][slm] What is a [i]hayaa'[/i] to you? Commonly defined as 'shyness' and 'modesty.' Sometimes defined as 'shame' and 'humility.' Often praised for women. Seldom associated with men! What is [i]hayaa'[/i] to you?[/quote] Seriously, for my definition of hayaa' just watch the way our dear bro Abu_Hamza goes on here. Specially when he talks to opposite gender! [slm] Asim Zafar. |
| Re: What is a ... ? |
|---|
| theOriginal |
| 01/12/04 at 07:26:28 |
| [slm] Hayaa is the best quality someone could have. And I agree...it is an inward thing. You can just tell when someone possesses that quality, because even the way they walk changes. Your translation into in English is pretty good, but when the arabic word is used, it adds an element of respectfulness into it...I don't know. Oh and I don't know about it not being associated with men...I think it applies for either gender, but perhaps the manner in which males or females maintain hayaa is very different. Anyway..I like this thread! Wasalaam. |
| Re: What is a ... ? |
|---|
| A_Stranger |
| 01/12/04 at 17:13:53 |
| [i]And be moderate (or show no arrogance) in your walking, and lower your voice[/i] [Luqmaan 31:19] Reminds me of hayaa-fulness. (Yeah, I know...) |
| Re: What is a ... ? |
|---|
| deenb4dunya |
| 01/13/04 at 17:01:28 |
| Assalamu Alaikum, [quote]What is a hayaa' to you? [/quote] I remember one Shaikh defined it, along with the aforementioned characteristics (bashfulness, modesty, humility...) as a consciousness, shyness and apprehension of offending anybody in any way. And subhaanAllaah, this Shaikh truly possessed this characteristic. [quote]Often praised for women. Seldom associated with men! [/quote] I see that Br.Arsalan is getting some heat for this comment :). I think he is alluding to the hadith that says (to the effect of): "Hayaa' is beautiful, yet it is even more beautiful in women." On the other hand though, the companions decribed Rasoolullaah [saw] as having more hayaa' than a virgin woman in her private quarters (and this those days... they truly possessed hayaa'...) SubhaanAllaah though, in this society, we are taught that hayaa' is really a 'weak' characteristic for 'meek, oppressed' women. We are taught to speak loudly, laugh loudly, to be agressive, to state one's opinion at all times... What do you guys think? BarakAllaahu Feek Brother Arsalan.. awesome topic... we should definitely have more useful threads like this one... Wassalamu Alaikum wa Rahmatulllaah, Mujahada (aka- Deen) |
| Re: What is a ... ? |
|---|
| sofia |
| 01/14/04 at 11:18:05 |
| [slm] Hayaa' is a gift -- a form of protection, beauty, self-respect, modesty and nobility -- that Allah (swt) gives to His slaves, both males and females. When abused and neglected, this gift can be removed, leaving behind traces of impurity and just plain rough, ugly disposition. So take care of your hayaa'. :) 'Abdullah bin 'Umar said: The Prophet (S) passed by a man who was admonishing his brother regarding Hayaa', telling him, "You are very shy, and I am afraid that might harm you." On that, the Prophet (S) said, [color=blue]"Leave him, for Hayaa' is (a part) of Faith."[/color] (Bukhaari) Abu Huraira said: The Prophet (S) said, [color=blue]"Faith (Belief) consists of more than sixty branches (i.e. parts). And Hayaa' is a part of faith."[/color] (Bukhaari) 'Imran bin Husain said: The Prophet (S) said, [color=blue]"Hayaa' does not bring anything except good."[/color] (Bukhaari) |
| 01/14/04 at 11:19:05 |
| sofia |
| Re: What is a ... ? |
|---|
| AyeshaZ |
| 01/17/04 at 01:07:27 |
Subhan'Allah beautiful defnitition.. I also see hayaa as an amanah from Allah(swt), one which like everything else in our life can be easily taken away.. Allahu alam |
| Re: What is a ... ? |
|---|
| Abu_Atheek |
| 01/18/04 at 04:55:51 |
| [slm] Shyness and social phobia are negative qualities, while modesty is given a high position among personal virtues. The Prophet has urged his followers to be modest, saying: "Every religion has a special moral trait, and the moral trait of Islam is modesty." (Related by Malik and Ibn Majah). He also says: "Modesty brings nothing but good." (Related by Al-Bukhari and Muslim). In another Hadith related by Muslim, he is quoted as saying: "Modesty is full of goodness" (Related by Muslim). Abdullah ibn Umar, a companion of the Prophet, reports that God's messenger passed by a man from the Ansar admonishing a brother of his concerning his modesty. The Prophet said to him, 'Leave him alone; for modesty is part of faith.' (Related by Al-Bukhari and Muslim). The Prophet is also quoted as saying: "Faith has seventy-odd or sixty-odd branches. The most important among these is the declaration that 'there is no deity other than God,' and the lowest in rank is to remove harmful objects from people's path. Modesty is a branch of faith. (Related by Al-Bukhari and Muslim). Modesty was one of the Prophet's characteristics. His companion, Abu Saeed Al-Khudri says: "God's messenger was more modest than a virgin girl in her private room. When he disliked something, we noticed that by the expression on his face."(Related by Al-Bukhari and Muslim). Indeed the Prophet mentions modesty as a quality of God Himself, as he says: "God Almighty is modest and generous. When a person raises his hands in appeal to Him, He is too modest to let him take them down unanswered." (Related by Ahmad, Abu Dawood and At-Tirmithi). Unlike shyness that manifests low self-esteem and a sense of contempt for oneself, modesty is associated with high self-esteem, and a sense of personal dignity that has not been undermined by wrong upbringing or bitter experience, whether in childhood or adulthood. A modest person has a positive view of himself, and he values his own dignity. He is keen to avoid anything that is likely to detract from his own respect. Shyness may prevent a person from doing many things in the presence of others, while modesty may restrict a person and prevent him from doing what is unbecoming even when he is alone. What he refrains from, then, is what does not fit with his own self-image. It is how he sees himself that matters, not how others see him. He is full of self-respect. Hence, he would not allow himself to do what he feels to be unbecoming, regardless of how other people view it. He has an independent judgment, not merely towing the social line, as it were. A human being with undistorted nature is modest, because he appreciates his position in God's system of creation. He is inclined to emulate God's attributes, apart from pride and majesty, within the limitation of his human nature. Hence whatever is in conflict with such qualities debases man, because it leads him to do what does not fit with his position as God's honored creature. Thus, modesty stops a person from telling lies, doing injustice, theft, treachery, miserliness, envy and coveting what others have. Modesty may be compared to an inner watch guard which helps us to avoid sinful and unbecoming practices. The Prophet's modesty has been compared by one of his companions to that of a virgin in her private room. Such modesty is maintained by a virgin because she is naturally keen to maintain her position of self-respect. It is part of a woman's dignity that she should be sought after, not seeking men. Indeed even when she is willing to accept a suitor who has proposed marriage, she may think that a declaration of acceptance could be understood as an eager desire. She is then too modest to express her acceptance in words. She resorts to keeping silent, and her silence is understood to be an acceptance of the proposal. It is contrary to a woman's dignity that she should be seen merely as a tempting body, paying little attention to the human being that she is. Hence, a woman is naturally inclined to cover her body. A noticeable characteristic of women who take sex as a profession is that their self-esteem is very low. Hence, they do not find it hard to put themselves in unworthy positions. By nature, a human being is too modest to allow others to look at what he or she considers to be private, whether physical or moral. A human being loves to appear at his or her best. It is divine wisdom that has made human private parts devoid of beauty. Indeed, God describes these as a person's 'shame' or 'nakedness' as in verse 7: 22. Modesty stops a person from causing harm to others. It is the quality which makes a person behave as a civilized human being, regardless of whether or not he fears punishment. Hence a shameless person is one to be avoided, because he is oblivious to his own and other people's honor. He has nothing more to worry about. Hence the Hadith: "Among the heritage people have received from earlier prophets is the statement: 'if you have no sense of shame, then you may do what you like'." (Related by Al-Bukhari). Al-Bukhari also relates that the Prophet says: "It is right that one should feel more ashamed in front of God than in front of other people." Author: Dr Muhammad Kamal Al-Shareef |
Madinat al-Muslimeen Islamic Message Board |