Should she take off her hijab because of the harassment that she is faced with after the London bombings?

Before issuing a general fatwa in such cases it is essential
to have a complete picture of the situation and find out whether or not it
has reached the degree of necessity which would make it permissible to do a
haraam deed on which there is consensus that it is haraam. 

It seems that it has not reached this stage, rather these are
the actions of a few fools and extremists, and it is not a general trend in
that country. Rather as some of them have said, it is just a few instances
of provocation and harassment which can be dealt with without such a serious
compromise. Based on that, the Muslims have to ask for their rights to
protection, and they should not be blamed for the actions of others, or
compromise on practising their religion which is the source of their pride
and distinction.  

We must remember that hijab is an obligation that Allaah has
enjoined on the Muslim woman, which is proven in the Qur’aan and the saheeh
Sunnah, and the ummah is agreed upon it despite the differences in their
madhhabs and schools of thought. No madhhab has deviated from this view, and
no faqeeh has gone against it, and this is what the practice of the ummah
has been throughout the centuries. Allaah says (interpretation of the
meaning): 

“O Prophet! Tell your wives and your daughters and the
women of the believers to draw their cloaks (veils) all over their bodies
(i.e. screen themselves completely except the eyes or one eye to see the
way). That will be better, that they should be known (as free respectable
women) so as not tobe
annoyed. And Allaah is Ever Oft‑Forgiving, Most Merciful”
[al-Ahzaab 33:59] 

“and to draw their veils all over Juyoobihinna (i.e. their
bodies, faces, necks and bosoms) and not to reveal their adornment”

[al-Noor 24:31]

It is the duty of every Muslim to adhere to the obligations
of his religion, and to strive to please his Lord and obey His commands, and
no one should force him by any means to give that up. 

You would be surprised to see people who advocate freedom and
the protection of human rights taking away the freedom of others because of
some actions that they had nothing to do with. 

With regard to a Muslim woman taking off her hijab because of
her being faced with harassment, we may sum up this issue in the following
points: 

·It is not permissible for a
Muslim woman to stay in a land where she cannot practise her faith openly.
Based on that, every Muslim woman who lives there and is not able to
practise her faith openly must migrate to a land where she can practice her
faith openly with complete freedom.

·If she is not able to migrate,
then the Muslim woman in such  circumstances should stay home, especially if
she has a guardian who can look after her and meet her needs, and she should
not go out except in cases of necessity, for fear of the fitnah (turmoil) to
which she may be exposed.

·It is not necessary for her to
go out to work and study if there is someone who can support her and she can
delay her study until the next semester or take a leave of absence from
work, until things calm down, because this harassment only happens in the
days following an incident, then it soon calms down and things go back to
normal.

·But if she goes out for some
necessary reason and she is afraid that she may face harassment, then she
should look at what kind of harassment it is. If it is something that can be
put up with, such as swearing or insults, or just hostile looks from some
people, this does not mean that it becomes permissible for her to take off
her hijab, because one can put up with this kind of harassment. It is false
to say to a woman: give up your hijab because of some words that you hear on
the street; rather she should be patient and put up with it. This comes
under the heading of testing the faith of the believing woman. Allaah says
(interpretation of the meaning):

“Do people think that they will be left alone because they
say: “We believe,” and will not be tested.

3. And We indeed tested those who were before them. And
Allaah will certainly make (it) known (the truth of) those who are true, and
will certainly make (it) known (the falsehood of) those who are liars,
(although Allaah knows all that before putting them to test)”

[al-‘Ankaboot 29:2-3]

So she should put up with any harassment or mockery that
comes for the sake of Allaah, and keep in mind what Allaah has promised of
reward to the one who adheres to His religion, as the Prophet (peace
and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Ahead of you there is a time of
patience when the one who adheres to Islam will have the reward of fifty
martyrs among you.” Narrated by al-Tabaraani from Ibn Mas’ood and classed as
saheeh by al-Albaani in Saheeh al-Jaami’.

·Another means of warding off
harassment is not to go out alone, but only in the company of her guardian
(wali) or as part of a group, so that the foolish will not harass her when
she is alone.

·If she is going to be faced
with unbearable harassment, such as being beaten or killed or having her
honour tarnished, and she has to go out for some necessary reason, then in
this case it is permissible for her to reduce her hijab to a lesser kind,
such as covering the head and neck only. She may give up only as much of her
hijab as will protect her from being exposed to harm, because necessity
should not be exaggerated. Or she may cover herself without the kind of
hijab that people are used to, so that the Muslim woman will not appear as a
target for harassment in the eyes of those people. Among the winter clothing
etc of non-Muslim women there are garments which cover all or most of the
parts that are required to be covered by sharee’ah.

·If her hijab is taken from her
by force, then she is being put to trial and she will be rewarded, but she
must go back to her proper dress when the problem comes to an end.

Such a fatwa must be issued with caution and in a gradual
fashion, according to the situation, so that it will not lead to a loss of
Islamic identity in societies that are not conservative.