Islam & the Modern World · Modesty & Sexual Ethics
Modesty is not a women's subject
In short
- 1.Modesty is called a branch of faith (Sahih al-Bukhari 9, Sahih Muslim 35).
- 2.Men have a dress code too, and the command to lower the gaze reaches them first.
- 3.Talking about modesty only when women are the subject is a distortion of the teaching.
The claim being examined
Modesty is discussed almost exclusively as a rule about how women dress.
The Islamic position
Haya — modesty as an inner disposition — is described in the Sunnah as a branch of faith itself, and is required of men in dress, speech, gaze and conduct.
Analysis
Haya is a broader category than dress. Sahih al-Bukhari 9 and Sahih Muslim 35 record faith as having some seventy branches, the highest being the declaration of God's oneness and the lowest removing harm from the road, with modesty (haya) named as a branch of faith. Sunan Ibn Majah 4181 and Jami at-Tirmidhi 2009 record that modesty brings nothing but good and that it is a characteristic of the religion, and Sahih al-Bukhari 6117 records that if you feel no shame, do as you wish. The scope in law is wide: men have an awrah with a minimum from navel to knee agreed across the schools, and the prohibition on ostentation, on trailing garments in arrogance (Sahih al-Bukhari 5788) and on silk and gold for men are all modesty rulings aimed at men. The command to lower the gaze reaches men first in Q 24:30. There is a real and correctable problem in Muslim discourse here: modesty is preached to daughters and rarely to sons. Making that criticism openly earns credibility with a non-Muslim audience and is simply true.
From the Qur'an
قُل لِّلْمُؤْمِنِينَ يَغُضُّوا مِنْ أَبْصَارِهِمْ وَيَحْفَظُوا فُرُوجَهُمْ ۚ ذَٰلِكَ أَزْكَىٰ لَهُمْ
Tell the believing men to lower their gaze and guard their chastity; that is purer for them.
وَلِبَاسُ التَّقْوَىٰ ذَٰلِكَ خَيْرٌ
But the garment of God-consciousness — that is best.
From the Sunnah
Faith has some seventy branches, the highest of which is saying there is no god but Allah, and the lowest is removing something harmful from the road; and modesty is a branch of faith.
If you feel no shame, then do as you wish.
Sources
Sahih al-Bukhari 9 · Sahih Muslim 35 · Sahih al-Bukhari 6117 · Sahih al-Bukhari 9; Sahih Muslim 35
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