There is something else which is astonishing. In fact, it is most astonishing. There was a girl from a religious family, regular in salâh and fasting, who dressed in Islamic dress. In their quest for money, her parents got her married to a person who was educated in America, who had no religiosity, and who did not perform salâh. When she went to her husband’s house wearing a burqa’, her husband took the burqa‘ and burnt it in the fire. He said to her, you will have to apply lipstick, put on make-up, wear revealing clothes and accompany me to Clifton to Alfeston Street. You will have to meet my friends and relatives. If you were to don this old-fashioned burqa‘, I will lose all my respect. People will say: ‘What an old-fashioned wife this person has come with!’”

O how sorrowful! The thing which has been accorded respect by Allâh Ta’ala and Rasulullah (salellaho alaihe wasallam) is considered to be disgraceful by the Muslims of today. Tell me, where does the respect and dignity of a woman lie? Is it in purdah or moving about naked? Does a noble and modest woman want strange men to cast evil glances at her hair and cheeks, and whistle at her? Real respect lies in a woman offering salâh, keeping fast, serving her husband, bringing up her children, and wearing a burqa‘ when going out of the house. But today, the husband considers it respectful to walk around in the shopping centres with his fashionable wife. He feels embarrassed when his wife wears a burqa‘. What respect is there in others looking at your wife? There is a limit to shamelessness and absence of self-respect. When a person disobeys Allâh Ta’ala, his intellect is also tormented. He thus considers good things to be bad. Allâh Ta’ala refers to this as follows:

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Is he to whom the evil of his deeds is made fair-seeming, so that he considers it as good… (Sûrah Fâtir, 35: 8)

In other words, Satan beautifies evil and makes it appealing. Consequently, people start considering evils to be good. For example, women consider non-purdah to be good. As for the women who are pious, who adopt purdah, wear the burqa‘, fear Allâh, perform salâh, and keep fast, it is our duty to respect them and we ask them to supplicate for us. As for the women who walk about without purdah, who display their hair and cheeks, and thereby steal the îmân of the men, we will never respect such women. This is the theme of most of our talks: the hair and cheeks of women who are not in purdah must not destroy the îmân of our young boys.