❞ كتاب I Appeal to Your Sense of Shame my Muslim SisterWill You not Respond ❝ ⏤ نوال بنت عبدالله

Translator's Foreword
What Is Hayaa'?
Why I Write
Do You Not Understand?
What A Difference!
Take A Look Around You
Don't Be A Leaf In The Wind
Amazed, Bewildered, Astonished and Astounded
Take Action And Do The Right Thing
Appendix
The Requirements Of Women's Hijaab In Accordance With The Qur'aan, The
Authentic Sunnah, And The Practice Of The Pious Predecessors

Verily the praise and thanks is due to Allah. We offer to Him all praise and gratitude, and we seek His
assistance and forgiveness. We seek refuge in Allah from the evil of our souls and the wickedness of our
deeds. Whoever Allah guides there is none who can lead him astray and whosoever Allah misguides there
are none who can bring him to the path. I bear witness that there is nothing truly worthy of worship except
Allah and that Muhammad is His slave servant and Messenger. May Allah send his salaat and salaam upon
His Prophet Muhammad, his family, companions, and all those who follow them in righteousness until the
Day of Resurrection. Ameen
We thought it prudent to preface the translation of this brief work by our sister Nawaal Bint Abdullah (may
Allah preserve her) with a few words about the background and context of the booklet. This is because the
author is describing a common phenomenon in Muslim countries, especially in the Arabian Gulf region. It is
an appeal that is full of emotion and concern and even a bit of outrage that may not be readily understood by
not only non-Muslims but Muslims living in other parts of the world. Her outrage may seem strange to many
in places where what she is complaining of and describes commonly occurs and largely goes unnoticed.
Such behavior however, has far more of an impact where the Islamic environment or local culture is
relatively more conservative than in most places.
The author's evident dismay and distress at what would seem a relatively mild lack of adherence may
indeed appear extreme to those outside her context. Indeed we realize that perhaps most Muslim women
would find absolutely nothing wrong with what she describes and may even view some women whom she
even points to who wear niqaab in their midst as quite conservative considering that most other women in
their locale may not consider a face veil at all necessary as opposed to the majority view in Saudi Arabia
from where the author wrote. Many commonly wear merely a scarf and slacks, dresses that do not reach the
ankles, no abaayah (A lightweight overgarment worn by Muslim women that covers the dress underneath. It
is commonly black in Gulf countries) or jibaab (see the Appendix: Requirements of Women's Hijaab) some
make-up, perfume, or maybe nothing close to Islamic hijaab and often interact with members of the opposite
sex.
What should be considered is if the author is comparing the state of affairs to the actual requirements of
Islamic Hijaab, and not merely local culture, and if those requirements are being adhered to or not by the
majority. If they are not, what does that tell us about the state of the ummah and its women as a whole?
We must also mention that in a relatively conservative Islamic environment, men often become far more
sensitive to the attractions of women and the sight of merely a woman's hands or even feet, much less a
pretty face, can be enough to cause a great trial upon them! The great Imaam, Muhammad Idrees Shaafi
once remarked that he was in the marketplace when he happened to see a woman's ankle and thought he
would lose half of his knowledge! Imagine the impact on such people of the satellite dish, videos, magazines
and other media where the beauty of women is highlighted and exploited!
Sister Nawaal fervently points to the dangers and the negative influence of western culture and moral values
upon the habits and thought processes of many Muslim women. She asserts that such influence is neither
passive nor haphazard and that it is a serious and substantial threat not just to Islamic values but to
livelihood and values once held precious by mankind as a whole. Can it not be so when the evidence of
reality is before our eyes! Could a clear-thinking believer see otherwise? Ours is a world where pornography
is a multi-billion dollar industry. Sexual practices of all types are commonly and openly broadcast on
television. Men and women speak openly on talk shows and other venues of the most graphic and lurid
details of their sexual exploits, and women suffer more physical and sexual abuse than any other group.
Even the president of the most revered nation on the earth has his most illicit sexual encounters graphically
described for the world to read.

Those living in Islamic environments are in stark contrast to those (including Muslims) living in places where
women are almost always uncovered and beautified and often practically naked in public places. The latter
are usually far less sensitive and even rarely shocked at anything. Western civilization is built upon the
appreciation of the naked form in art and in life. (Even ancient eastern cultures heavily emphasized sexuality
such as the Indian Karma Sutra)
It is well known that in the west, today's "modern and progressive" women are encouraged to be as
unashamed of their bodies as possible and to never allow themselves to be restricted. Every day life is full of
images and interaction between the sexes involving every type of woman. Sexual openness is considered
healthy while anything limiting that is considered repressive and backward. How must such a woman like the
author feel in light of this reality? Additionally, she is seeing these things in the Heartland of Islam where
there is relatively easy access to many scholars whom one can listen to and speak with (women included) in
person or by phone, through audio tapes, or even the radio and television. Not to mention the treasure trove
of good Islamic books, the presence of institutions of learning and memorizing the Qur'aan and hadeeth for
women. On top of all that she sees it among women whose native tongue is Arabic and whose heritage is
Islam and should therefore have little excuse to be uninformed.
There is a hadeeth that goes: This world is like a prison to the believer but it is the paradise of the
disbeliever. [Muslim, At-Tirmidhi, Ibn Maajah, Ahmed & others] Our sister Nawaal, and many other men and
women like her, face a seemingly unwinnable battle to stem the tide of western influence in Islamic areas.
They are painted as fanatics and regressive while those who advocate relaxation of Islamic shari'ah are
deemed reasonable and progressive, especially with regards to women, and their usual first target is
observance of Islamic hijaab.
We ask Allah to reward the author and we are grateful to her for granting permission to translate and publish
her work in English. We have attempted to do justice to her Arabic style though we have always found this
almost unrealistic due to the vast difference between Arabic and English prose. In this regard my greatest
thanks goes to Mr. Ahmed Ezzat whose revision of the translation was invaluable. We hope to have
successfully overcome most of the difficulties of translating such a work like this and pray that we are
successful in conveying the meaning of this heartfelt message from a member our most precious and
respected Islamic sisterhood to her sisters in faith.
Abdul-Qaadir Abdul-Khaaliq
Riyadh
What Is Hayaa?
Hayaa' (modesty and a sense of shame) is a fundamental characteristic of the noble and a sign of high
standards and eemaan. Among the best of what has been said of it is that, "It is a fine sensitivity and
delicate feeling that is evident in the eye and that affects the features. Whoever has been forbidden from it
has been forbidden from all good and whoever has been crowned with it has obtained honor and nobility

and been bestowed with complete good.' [Mawaarid Ath-Thamaan Li-Duroos Az-Zamaan - Abdul-Azeez As-
Salamaan, Vol. 3 pg. 367] How could it be otherwise when the best of the creation of Allah, sallallahu 'alaihi

wa sallam, stated: Al-Hayaa' khairun kulluh (Hayaa' is all good) [Muslim]?
This hayaa' has become feeble and withdrawn. Moreover, destructive concepts and designs aimed at us
from the enemies of Allah and (enemies of) the Muslim woman, eat away at its body until it has deteriorated
and weakened to the point that the caller [to hayaa'] has little affect upon many Muslim women when they
are called to it.
If we look at the profound state of affairs in which the Muslim woman lives and her digression behind
western trends and continuous imitation of them until if they enter the lizard's hole she would enter along
with them, we see a strong testimony of the weakness of deen and hayaa' in such a Muslim woman. This is

why I have strived, asking the Most High and Able Protector for assistance and sincerity, to write a few
words aimed at my Muslim sisters that I hope will affect and reverberate upon their souls.
Why I Write
My beloved sister, the words I write are from a heart full of sorrow and pain at the sorry condition of so many
Muslim women today. We see the Muslim woman who, dressed in clothing that is covering yet nakedness,
comes out to display her charms and seduces the slaves of Allah with the filthiest of weapons - the weapon
of enticement and allurement that she has learned of the ways and means of seduction. For you find this
seduction in the home and in the street and in speech and in movement. Seduction in clothing and
beautification, in walking and sitting and in the glance. It is really a serious matter that is disgraceful and that
dismembers the heart with grief when we live in a reality where so many Muslim women are divested of
hayaa'. The deen and the Qur'aan are forgotten and practices and morals are disavowed...and there is no
ability or power except from Allah!
Dear sister, this address is from my humble and insufficient pen and lined by my injured inner being and it is
naught but a cry from one warning and cautioning you, my dear sister. They are but words which I can only
hope find your ears and by which the door of your heart may be reached and they find space, an entrance
and acceptance and then application.
These words emanate from a heart that has love, friendship and sincere advice to you. Advice from a sister
who has been caring much for her sister who she sees is heading down the road of misguidance upon which
she is practically swept away. She has been deviated and is falling into the trap and snare that was
prepared for her by the Zionist and she is negligent and doesn't know. How is it that I don't take hold of her
hand and advise her and direct her or try to open her eyes to the plots and designs around her?
My deserving sister, my words are not new, yet they are a reminder for you so that perhaps Allah would
cause you to benefit by them and make them flow over your heart with coolness and tranquility. Would that
they have a great influence upon you, in shaa Allah. I appeal to you my beloved sister, to your sense of
religion, your pure nature which Allah has created you upon, and your sense of modesty (hayaa'), and your
fear of Allah the Most High and Able. Do you not listen at all to the call of your sincere sister who so cares
for you?
Know my dear sister, that you and I and every Muslim woman, are standing on a port among the harbors of
Islam. Namely, the Muslim family and the education of the children in the manner loved and accepted by
Allah. Its pillar and foundation is obedience to Allah and following His Messenger (sallallahu 'alaihi wa

sallam) and searching for what pleases Allah to acquire the priceless commodity that all of us hope for - Al-
Jannah.

It is for this, my Muslim sister, that when the scheming enemies of Islam saw the position of the Muslim
woman and the powerful influence she had amongst those with whom she lives as the teacher and
developer of the coming generations and due to her would the upbringing be either solid or corrupted, they
turned their focus on us. They focus on us, we Muslim women, to destroy our morals and take away our
deen and hayaa' toward which we were naturally disposed and which we were commanded to stick to, until
the morals of our sons, the men of the future and the pillars of the Ummah, get corrupted. They would
destroy these morals which support the Ummah in its progress and understanding and (men) upon whom its
honor depends after Allah. If this pillar is made defective or is destroyed and this strong nature of the
Ummah is weakened, then what will become of its future? This is exactly what the enemies of Allah want.

 An advice and admonition to Muslim sisters about Hijab.