Send us a textThe Trouble with Religion: Part 3Someone asked me about the hijab. I started to research its source, and I found once again that men were making the decision for women about what to wear and how to act. They go on for pages reciting verses and Hadith, not quite understanding or including a woman’s point of view. The term hijab is not in the Quran. Now I am not a Quranic scholar, nor an Imam nor in a position of authority to tell other people what to do. One of my jobs as Shaykh is to help people think, to consider the bigger picture, to remind them that Allah has all the power and majesty and might, and we know so very little.What this brings to mind is that it is so easy to turn anything into a Religion. Religion may be defined as: ‘the belief in and worship of a superhuman controlling power, especially a personal God or gods.  •  a particular system of faith and worship.  •  a pursuit or interest to which someone ascribes supreme importance.’Contained within this structure are traditions either borrowed or part of a culture. Hair covering for both men and women in the Middle East is an ancient tradition.So a religion might have many religions or patterns of behavior within it. Very often the cultural traditions are embedded within the religion, thus making it difficult to disengage the actual spiritual teachings from the cultural artifacts. Hair covering is just one of many religions within every religion. Just as people who want their lawns nice and trim do not understand that their patch of grass is a poor copy of the fabulously wealthy lords and ladies who had vast pastures, often the petty bickering about what to wear and how to look is part of this conundrum.There is no definitive answer because it depends on the tradition you are part of, the one others are promulgating, and what it means to you. I cannot mention any specific cultures because we are all guilty of imposing our culture, beliefs and nafs on others. What I can say is that the Quran explicity states that, “There is no compulsion in religion.” I take that to mean we come to our decision through studying our heart, discussing it with Allah, and finding a way to bring peace in our community and family.Various communities throughout the world maintain an unvarying adoption of an earlier tradition including clothing, hair, rituals - like the Hasidim in Israel or New York. They keep an ancient Polish ghetto as an artefact in their lives. Various festivals bring out every country’s traditional costumes, dances, masks and music, hidden away during the year until this moment. Everyone knows the songs, the food, the purpose.Honoring traditions is important, but more important is the knowledge of how it all fits together and what the true pupose is of the wardrobe or hair covering. Seek the source and come to your own conclusion.Salaam Alaykum, murids, seekers, curious and interested listeners,We appreciate you, and are happy to share our Sufi Message. Your donation will  help support our Sufi Centre in Sydney where we offer Zikr, Sohbet, spiritual counselling and healing services. We believe the message should be free, but it costs equipment, rental, services, software and hardware to get this to you. Thank you for choosing our podcast amongst all the millions available. If Support the showPlease send your questions to: [email protected]

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