Praise be to Allah (The Glorified and Exalted).
1) Do not pay any attention to articles written by persons that have never studied Islamic jurisprudence from an accredited Islamic university. The author is clearly ignorant.
2) Islamic laws are derived when one has a
total understanding of the religion, not just from simply reading a few verses and interpreting them how one wills. I do not read an article about Medicine and then dare to go to an experienced physician (whom has a total understanding of Medicine, from reading Microbiology, anatomy, physiology, and studying pathology) and tell him my medical opinion.
3) In Islam, human nature is considered in the Shariah. Human weaknesses are taken into account and laws are devised to ward off temptations that may lead to sin. Because the understanding is that if the temptation presents itself, then most likely, man will indulge in the sin.
This is derived from the initial story of the downfall of Adam (peace be upon him) and the fact that man is misled by the jinn. Adam (peace be upon him) saw the forbidden tree, stared at its fruit, and it was at an easy reach for his grasp. Under the whispers of Iblis (Satan), Adam (peace be upon him) ate from the forbidden tree and was removed from Heaven. Man is challenged in the same manner on this earth, sinful temptations presenting themselves and each individual's qareen (evil jinn companion) whispering disobedience, trying ardently to lead the individual to Hell.
The total body covering of women was supported by the first Muslims including Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him), he was referred to as "The scholar of Islam" by the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him). Caliph Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) had also ordered all free Muslim women and beautiful slave women to wear a face veil. This was the man whom the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) had once said would have been chosen as a prophet after him, if Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) had not been the last of the prophets. `Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) also covered her face and this practice is supported by the following verse of the Qur'an and hadith:
“O Prophet! Tell your wives and your daughters, and the women of the Believers to draw their cloaks (veils) all over their bodies [i.e. falling from their head and down to their feet]. That will be better, that they should be known (as free respectable women) so as not to be annoyed. And Allah is Ever Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful” [33:59].
The covering of women includes wearing a loose outer garment that covers the entire body, accompanied by a head covering, face veil, and gloves. This complete hijab (body covering) is mentioned in the following hadith:
Narrated Safiya bint Shaiba:
‘Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) used to say, “When (the Verse): “They should draw their veils over their necks and bosoms [i.e. all over their bodies],” was revealed, (the ladies) cut their waist sheets at the edges and covered their faces with the cut pieces.” [Bukhari: Book 6: Volume 60: Hadith 282]
A woman once asked the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), “O Allah’s Messenger! If a woman has no veil, is there any harm if she does not come out (on Eid day for the prayer)?” The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said, “Her companion should let her share her veil with her [i.e. a fellow Muslim should provide an extra veil for those who do not have one]…” [Bukhari: Book 2: Volume 15: Hadith 96]
Narrated Abdullah bin ‘Umar:
A person stood up and asked, “O Allah’s Messenger! What clothes may be worn in the state of Ihram (pilgrimage to Kabah for Hajj or Umrah)?” The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) replied, “…and the Muhrima (a woman in the state of Ihram) should not cover her face, or wear gloves.” [Bukhari: Book 3: Volume 29: Hadith 64]
In the last hadith, above, the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) makes an exception for women to not cover their faces and hands during Ihram, the fact that the exception is made, indicates that the women normally covered such body parts.
4) The claim of people who say "a man should just control himself," or the Muslim woman should not cover herself in likeness to the normality in Saudi Arabia, is total nonsense. These people do not take into account firstly the Right of Allah (The Glorified and Exalted) to Judge for His Own Creation, and then the strong desire for women that has been placed in men in this world and the existence of the
qareen and other
shayateen from among the jinn, whose whispers are difficult to ward off.
The strong desire for women in men can be seen from the following example: I once read a psychology book that presented a poll, in which several men were asked the question, "When a woman smiles at you, what do you think that means?" Over 80% of the men answered that they believed the woman wanted to have an intimate relationship with them!
The strength in the whispers of the qareen and other shayateen from among the jinn, can be seen in the following account:
Ibn ‘Abbaas (may Allah be pleased with him) said that a man came to the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) and said, “I think thoughts to myself, which I would rather be burnt to a cinder than speak of them.” The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said, “Praise be to Allah, Who has reduced all his [the Shaytaan’s (devils)] plots to mere whispers.” [Narrated by Abu Dawud]
It can be seen in lands were women freely mix with men and do not observe any type of face or body covering, that there is widespread fornication, adultery, rape, spread of diseases from zina (fornication/adultery) [such as in the US, in which the CDC stated that 1 out of 4 teenage girls has an STD], broken families (and even loss of lineages, which the Shariah came to protect), and a lack of religiosity.
Undoubtedly, the body of a woman is a means of temptation for men. This is especially true with the face of a woman because men take pleasure in viewing women. The face of a woman is what places the initial desire in the hearts of men, leading to lewd thoughts, and initial contact. Islamic laws are formulated to take into consideration consequences that may arise due to a temptation. For example, viewing the face of a woman, may lead a man to become infatuated and commit fornication with either that woman or another, commit adultery, rape, desire to view the nudity of other women, etc and even eventual loss of salvation because of horrendous sins that may have been committed and straying from the Right Path. The Believers are supposed to be a large family, helping one another to gain salvation, there is a principal in the Shariah that the life and salvation of every human being is important. This principal is best exemplified in the following statement of the Qur'an
"...if any one saved a life, it would be as if he saved the life of the whole people" [5:32]. Those women who refuse to follow the proper covering, are opening the door to destruction for their fellow Brothers. In which remembrance of Allah (The Glorified) is replaced with lewd thoughts and wanton display of disobedience and chasing after one's desires.
5) People who oppose the covering for women view this life as the only life to live and do not care about the laws of modesty, salvation, brotherhood and consideration among the Believers, and religiosity in Islam. Muslims should simply declare their religious position when asked about the hijab of women and if some disbeliever does not want to accept it, then who cares.
And Allah (The Glorified and Exalted) Knows Best.