Ever seen a Hijabi posting her most beautiful pictures on Facebook? I have. And it's completely beyond my understanding. Before everyone concludes I'm an extremist of some sort, I'll admit that I'm on Facebook too, and at some point, I have also posted my pictures up. But that's when I discovered that several months of Facebook usage still does not empower most of us with the ability to conquer the privacy settings on our profiles, if they were ever of any use to start with.
Sure, we all want to show our friends how drop dead gorgeous we were looking at some party we went to. We also want to prove to our non-Hijabi friends how we resemble those supermodels on TV when we dress up for the "Halal prom". We also want to amaze our non-Muslim female friends with the awesome hairstyles and colors under our Hijab. In all honesty, we just want to have some fun and share our exciting Kodak moments with our friends, right?
I once spoke to a fellow Hijabi about posting pictures of herself without Hijab on Facebook, MSN, and other online social networking services. She said, "I know that there will always be the possibility of non-mahrams seeing my pictures while my friends are looking at them, but it's their responsibility to take care of my Hijab, I trust them. I guess I'm just one of those girls who don't like thinking outside the box."
Pure intentions aside, since when has there been the Islamic exception of trusting others with our Hijab? And what does thinking outside the box have to do with anything? If others were trustworthy enough to take care of our Hijab, then I'd never have come across those online photos of posing Hijabis featuring the religious leader's wife without Hijab in the background.
Fortunately, 50 percent of Hijabis are wise enough to avoid posting non-Hijabi pictures on such public websites. But the number of Hijabis who make their profile pictures (which can usually be accessed by the entire Facebook network) a picture of themselves is simply overwhelming. Of course, it is technically "permissible" for non-mahrams to see us while we are in Hijab, but the majority of Hijabis are so dolled up in their display pictures that it seems as though someone forced a headscarf on the winner of America's Next Top Model.
Of course, sisters are not alone when it comes to the competition of who looks the hottest in their Facebook display picture. The brothers have been quick to catch on. Posing with their Versace sunglasses and slick t-shirts (if they are wearing one at all), down to the core of the matter, it has become a game of impressing anyone and everyone, as long as you're on Facebook.
But the photo album disease is also spreading far and wide with the adults too! The number of parents who are posting pictures of their children is absolutely terrifying. It's understandable that parents want to show off their beautiful children to their friends; however, it goes without saying that many of these parents are not exactly quite tech-savvy and not too proficient when it comes to privacy settings, thereby often leaving their children's pictures publicly accessible by any and all weirdos.
Furthermore, according to a report by the BBC, a team of researchers from Cambridge University analyzed sixteen social networking websites and discovered that some sites, including Facebook, stored photos of users and allowed them to be viewed by others, even after the user deleted them. They did this by uploading pictures and noting down the image URLs. "When checked 30 days later, these links continued to work for seven of the sites, even though a typical user might think the photos had been removed," the researchers found. Despite all the privacy settings and limitations we may try and implement to our Facebook and other online profiles, more likely than not there will always be a loophole in the system, a fact that many of us are quite oblivious to.
Another classic example of privacy settings gone wrong is adding an application or taking certain quizzes on Facebook, which give the creator access to our entire profile, including all our private photos and the "public link" on our albums, which gives anyone who has this link complete access to all our "hidden" pictures.
While there are multiple benefits of having pictures on Facebook, including "so my friends know it's me who is adding them" and "my relatives overseas want to see what I look like", it's quite a risky business. Accessible from Google, the entire process of having our pictures downloaded and saved on someone's computer takes only a few seconds. It is very possible that a Hijabi sister's cute profile picture of her having a good time with friends might very well end up in the hands of an overzealous matchmaker in the community and ogled over by dozens of boys around the globe, and vice versa.
The essence of Hijab is simple: to conceal as much as possible and only display our beauty when absolutely necessary. If Facebook profile pictures were an absolutely necessary place for Muslims girls, boys, and adults to post their most stunning and attractive pictures for the whole world to see, then I guess I've been slow to jump on the bandwagon.
![Sayed Ali Khamenei reciting the Martyrdom of Imam Ali (as) [ENG SUBS]](http://i3.ytimg.com/vi/nSFVAMjmFgY/default.jpg "Ayatollah Sayed Ali Khamenei reciting the Martyrdom of Imam Ali (as) [ENG SUBS]")
Comments
I think she means both.
Jazak'Allah for the excellent article, sister! Very well-written and to the point. May Allah (swt) reward you immensely for your efforts!
I agree.
I do believe that the author makes a point in writing about 'facebook hijab' and she does make an effort to say that she is generalizing, but I find her viewpoint a little cynical. But I am on the naive side. Yes, I've seen sisters who wear hijab display profile pictures that look like America's next Top Model, but I've also seen those who just have a 'normal' picture with friends or family. Sometimes, not every picture is about showing off one's beauty to the world, it is just a simple picture, so that friends see their friend's face. I think in our over analyzation of everything these days, nothing remains simple. A 'beautiful picture' for some people is not a means of showing off, it is just how they look, the real 'them' (I am not speaking of the modeled up make up here) and to display their profile pictures to their friends and family is the same as meeting them in public--at work, school, a masjid or wherever else.
That said, there is a problem with facebook users not being aware of how many of their pictures/albums are accessible to others. Hopefully, both sisters and brothers will become more savvy in the nature and tools of facebook use.
Well written sister. May Allah (swt) reward you for the efforts.
Quote:
Amr Bil Maroof and Nahi Anil Munkar - Enjoining the good and forbidding the evil. That's what the sister is doing. We shouldn't have this kind of mentalitiy, we should point out others faults whilst looking at our own faults, at the same time.
Majooreen,
Wassallamu Alaikum,
This is a good article that needs to be circulated amongst many of our communities. Posting up inappropriate pictures on facebook and online in general is very common these days, especially amongst our Hijabi sisters (I'm leaving out the brothers because they're just a whole other story :-x). I agree, I think the sis is doing her duty of Amr Bil Maroof & Nahi Anil Munkar for the sisters. May Allah reward you for your efforts.
thanks sister! great article!
I think most Islamic laws are under analyzed these days. We always try to find the easy way out and live off what is “permissible” rather than what is more Islamically appropriate or highly recommended. It doesn’t make a difference if you’re posting pictures of Madressa awards night or the girls night out, the point is that you’re unnecessarily displaying yourself, and this is VERY different to having people see us in public because that is not voluntary but rather, a necessity. And that is why it's permissible.
I find it very uncomfortable if a complete stranger might be looking at my personal pics..i think at the end of the day we really have to ask ourselves what out true intention really is for posting our very attarctive pics or any pics for that matter on these sites..and you will find ur answer..otherwise ur just fooling yourself!!
Get real people!!wake up..dont let shaitan fool you...what would Bibi Fatima (A.s)say ??please ponder on this and inshaAllah the right guidence from our Masoomeen(A.s) will come
In reference to some comments: I think being careful about pictures and thinking about this is wise.
But be careful, please, about going so far as making judgments on halal/haram without checking on rulings from your marjah or asking your resident scholar, etc.
Publicly displayed pictures of women in hijab are not new since Facebook came along; the camera has been around awhile now. You can find websites,newspa pers, magazines, galleries and so on published by Islamic scholars or their representatives , mosques, masjids, etc., that all contain pictures of hijabi women at various Islamic, community, educational and other functions. Their faces are typically not blotted out, they are sometimes identified, they are not controlling who sees them, preventing them from being seen, or saying that no image of a hijabi woman should ever be seen in public or online. Ayatollah Sistani in Contemporary Rulings of the West is quoted saying that a film developer can see and develop photos of hijabi women even without hijab provided they are not pornography and he doesn't know the women. There are numerous rulings about passport/ID photos being permissible, and others in various publications of rulings from various scholars about the permissibility of photos in general, including involving hijabi women, including published photos that might be seen by anyone. I won't post them all, but anyone can conduct the searches or submit queries to the appropriate people. But, several of them apparently allow women's photos to be seen in public, generally speaking, and of course involving all appropriate hijab rules.
That doesn't mean there is no need for concern over posting any and everything on Facebook, nor that a hijabi does not have the prerogative to avoid posting pictures on her profile if she thinks that is best. Young sisters and brothers are sometimes naive and do not think about what they are posting or portraying.
Makes me reconsider putting up pics, i am always scared of the security around pictures.
Thanx for the article, May Allah bless you.
so tell me the necessity for thus article then and post me your email too
thanks
Thank you for all the comments.
Sister Masooma, surely it is “permissible” to have one’s pictures viewed by non-mahrams as long as they are observing proper hijab. However, the central issue that we need to ponder upon is whether or not we are achieving anything by having our faces displayed in public to an unlimited amount of non-mahram viewers. When hijabis are featured in the media, if there is a beneficial purpose to having them being displayed that way, for example, a news report of a Muslim girls school which raised money for a charity, then it seems more appropriate for hijabis to be seen by mass numbers as it serves a very good purpose. In fact, both brothers and sisters should be encouraged to utilize most forms of media in order to improve Islam’s image and to encourage others to do good.
On the other hand, one must be careful to avoid being overly enthusiastic about such “pure” intentions as dolled up hijabis on Facebook may just use this as an excuse to “encourage non-hijabis to do hijab” or “encouraging Muslim boys to marry hijabi girls because we can be just as pretty, if not prettier than the non-hijabi girls” (just for the record, I’ve heard both these excuses)...obviously this will do them more harm than good. It’s also very important to consider how many people we will be “positively influencing” by posting pictures online. Let’s take pictures from the Madressa awards ceremony as an example. We may intend to help encourage others to attend Madressa. But, how many Madressa aged children that don’t attend Madressa would have access to such an album? It really comes down to one’s own judgement but let’s be honest to ourselves, just because something is permissible it doesn’t necessarily mean it’s a fantastic idea. For example, it is permissible to delay our prayers right until the ending time. Yet, by every minute we delay our prayers we are only reducing the amount of rewards we are able to reap. I guess it comes down to how important accumulating as many rewards as possible is to every hijabi sister out there.
Maybe some people deceive themselves about their intentions, and I have not at all disagreed about some people posting inappropriate pics, questionable hijab, no hijab, etc., - but some of the legitimate reasons you mentioned might very well be served via Facebook, and for example, I don't see it as a bad thing that children not attending madressa might see pictures from madressa - that could even be dawah, and depending on the images and context, of no harm to anyone in the photos, and not necessarily more meritorious to keep the picture from being seen.
I think your message of think twice is valid and well received. But personally I wouldn't go so far as to say no hijabi pics should be on Facebook or other social networking sites ever, nor that they are haram, as I mentioned before. I don't think the prayer on time analogy completely fits here, because there are many factors involved that make the underlying assumptions worth more reflection. However, I am not promoting use of photos on these sites nor discouraging anyone from being photo-free.
However, I might suggest that if people have such concerns about security and use of images, etc., they should question if they should be on Facebook or MySpace or other such sites at all. There are many people, particularly unmonitored youth, who are not able to properly distinguish or control themselves about how to use such sites within the realm of permissibility and for good purposes. Other people are able to use them properly and for good purpose, because they are monitored by their families carefully, or they are mature adults secure in the deen, or other factors. Any person should question why are they subscribed to and using such a service and evaluate what they get from it and the spiritual effects.
I'd just like to say that, from what I have seen, more and more people today do not like to be told what to do and what not, even if it is from an Islamic perspective...
Others who might listen, show yo-yo like behaviour...they might follow through for a certain period, and then revert...n then, maybe follow through again
speaking of norms, everyone wants to be part of something since it is accepted ... i'd left facebook and was off for it a good 8-9 months before i joined again once uni was over because i realized i was so out of the loop...i guess this is what new media does...n now guess what?
back to the photos, i think that it depends on the intention of the person. Just like it is with hijab - there are females who cover completely but still have no hijab in the eyes, and there are those who do not cover as much but still guard themselves.. lol, speaking of overzealous matchmakers, really, would knowing this fact matter to that girl who's picture is being rotated around? i think not. This is something that girls are already aware of and it won't really make them change their decision about posting pictures....maybe few might consider it, but not many in my opinion..we've all also heard of several warnings wherein pictures may fall into the wrong hands..but again, we tend to be highly optimistic and think, O that won't happen to me im sure...
also, i don't knw how relevant 'concealing as much as possible' is to hijab (i'm assuming by that the writer also intended intentional loud behaviour and other such aspects) , but i'd like to reiterate, niyyah is highly important as well...
thanks, and once again, very thought-provoking..
I absolutely agree with you that there are some situations where it is necessary to have pictures of Hijabis. One example as you suggested is on a passport or on a driver's license. Similarly, as Sis. Zehrah pointed out in her comment, there are other situations where it might be beneficial to have such pictures, for example, when it comes to the positive portrayal of Islam in the media, etc.
The point that the author is making, as per my understanding, is that 9 out of 10 times, posting pictures on Facebook is neither "necessary" not "beneficial" in any way, nor is it done with that "intention", and hence, it should be avoided. Granted, it is permissible if proper Hijab is observed, and you are quite correct in the jurisprudential points you raised, but the article is not supposed to be about the Halal/Haram aspect of it at all, and I don't see the author (or most of the commenters) saying anything about it being Haram.
In Islam, we have both the Fiqhi (jurisprudentia l ) as well as the Akhlaqi (ethical/spiritual) side to all issues. According to the former, posting pictures might be fine, but according to the latter, it is certainly not a good idea. In other words, a Marja will say that it is definitely permissible to post Hijab-appropriate pictures on Facebook, but the question is: if his own daughter wanted to post her Hijabi pictures online, would he be ok with that?
As the author states, the purpose of Hijab is to conceal as much as possible and only reveal what is necessary. Indeed, when the Prophet [saww] asked his companions, "What is the best thing for a woman?", and Imam Ali [as] posed this question to Lady Fatima [as], she replied, "It is best for a woman that a man doesn't see her and that she doesn't see a man."
Furthermore, narrations tell us that when Imam Ali, Hasan, and Hussain [as] returned from the burial of Lady Fatima, Lady Zainab told her father that she wanted to go visit her mother's grave. Since it was almost time for Fajr prayers, and there would be non-mahrams walking around in the streets, Imam Ali told Lady Zainab to wait till later that night, when there would be no men present in the streets. When it came time for Isha, Imam Ali told her they would wait until midnight, when they could be 100% certain that streets were completely deserted. Finally at midnight, Imam Ali took Lady Zainab to visit her mother's grave, but only such that Imam Hasan walked in front of her, Imam Ali on the side, and Imam Hussain behind her. When they arrived, Lady Zainab wanted to drop herself on her mother's grave, but Imam Ali held her back and asked Imam Hasan to extinguish the lamp near the grave, in case a wandering traveler might walk by and see Lady Zainab's figure. Only after the lamp was extinguished was Lady Zainab allowed to pay her respects to her mother.
This is how much precaution Imam Ali observed when it came to the issue of Hijab, even though his daughter was barely five years old at the time and was fully clad in black from head to toe...
Also, God forbid something happens to your fb account (it gets hacked etc) and some weirdo has your pics. Good luck getting help from Fb who relies on automated email systems :D.
Sounds like a bigger problem to me - if they're posting photos that illicit such comments, why do they have male friends on fb, or why are they on fb at all? Maybe they shouldn't be.
http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#/topic.php?uid=31699041580&topic=8065
Another tentacle of this problem of posting personal information on facebook is not only that ANYONE, EVEN NON FB MEMBERS can see your profile pic and several profile pics of your friends just by googling your FB name, but the accessibility of your information and photos by the media.
When our husbands were arrested in 2006 under a terrorism setup, the media combed the internet for information about us through social networking. They found several of our personal blogs, and they had links to other blogs. They found comments everywhere we typed on the internet by following the dots with our online or real names.
The media had a field day with our comments. Alhamdulillah, we didn't have photos of ourselves, but some of the guys arrested had photos of themselves on their blogs or each other's blogs. That is where the media got their pics from.
One newspaper had a reporter who just happened to be the brother of a girl I went to High School with and he printed my high school album photo in the local paper. I wasn't muslim then...
They took our comments out of context to portray us as monsters. It turned the Muslim community against us when we needed their support the most. None of us used bad language or were backbiting anyone. We were always giving each other naseeha or making jokes, planning picnics or fundraisers and alot of the teenagers were posting about news events around the world that were of great concern and pain for them.
Just take a minute and think about the media OF THE ENTIRE WORLD (my name could elicit almost 1 million hits 3 years ago, it still comes up over 5000 today and Wikipedia has a page about my husband).
Just think about what the whole world would say about you if all of your networking sites were discovered and a REAL public profile of you were splashed across the newspapers, with your most controversial statements and your photos. Just google my name and read the vile gossip and hatred people spread about me.
If you are going to be "out there" then at least use the internet responsibly. You never know when your name might be connected to a big media story.
Please comment or send me details to mohamed.hashem@mediaint l.net we need to hear your voice and talk about our opinions on radio. Th eprogram will part of islamonline.net and will be broadcast soon. Please be a part of our discussion.
best of all this article is very informational and very interesting for the upcoming generation. I mean i totally understand.
EXCELLENT JOB!
Be wise start thinking outside the box. Be ware of all those social media networking sites.
RSS feed for comments to this post