Extreme Attitudes About the Veil — Essence of Islam Vol. 3

14 Sep, 2026 Essence of Islam 0

Essence of Islam Book Cover by Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad (AS)

Introduction

In this discourse from Essence of Islam (Volume 3), Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad (AS), the Promised Messiah and Mahdi, expounds upon Extreme Attitudes About the Veil, presenting profound spiritual insights and scriptural verities.

Book Series: Essence of Islam (Volume 3)
Author: Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad of Qadian (AS)
Section: Part 11: The Veil
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vided with any occasion for secret functioning and should not be confronted with anything that might incite dangerous tendencies. This indeed is the philosophy that underlies the Islamic injunctions regarding the veil, and this is what the Shariah demands. The Book of God does not aim at keeping women in captivity like prisoners. This is the thinking of the ignorant who are not aware of the Islamic ideals. The purpose of these regulations is to restrain men and women from letting their eyes rove freely and from displaying their beauty and charm, for this is to the benefit of both men and women. Remember, in Arabic Ghadd-e-Basar means to restrain oneself from casting even a cursory glance at the wrong place, while at the same time seeing things which are permissible. It does not behove a pious person, who desires to keep his heart pure, that he should lift his eyes in an unbridled manner like a beast. It is necessary for such a person to cultivate the habit of Ghadd-e-Basar in his social life. This is a blessed habit through which a person’s natural impulses are transferred into a high moral condition without adversely affecting his social needs. This is the quality which, in Islam, is called Ihsan or chastity.
[Islami Usul ki Philosophy, Ruhani Khaza’in, vol. 10, pp. 343-344]
[Essence of Islam, Vol. 3, p. 332]

People have adopted extreme attitudes in respect of the veil. Europe has gone to one extreme in abolishing it altogether and now some naturalists too wish to follow suit, whereas it is patent that this licentiousness has flung open the gates of vice in Europe. On the other hand, some Muslims go to the other extreme and do not let The Veil 333 their women step out of their homes at all, even though it is often necessary for them to travel or to go out on account of some other need. We believe that both these types are in error.
[Malfuzat, vol. 6, p.322]
[Essence of Islam, Vol. 3, p. 332]

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[Essence of Islam, Vol. 3]
[Essence of Islam, Vol. 3, p. 333]

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Introduction