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women and islamic law 299body, as in 35:33, or can figuratively refer to a state of confusionbecause the truth is hidden or ‘covered’ beneath layers of falsehood,as in 2:42. Finally, it can be used as a metaphor for protection, help,and spousal support, as in 2:187:Gardens of eternity will they enter: therein will they be adorned withbracelets of gold and pearls; and their garments [lib§suhum] there willbe of silk. (F§ãir 35:33)And cover not [la-talbiså] truth with falsehood, nor conceal the truthwhen you know (what it is). ( Al-Baqara 2:42)Permitted to you, on the night of the fasts, is the approach to yourwives. They are your garments [lib§s un ] and you are their garments[lib§s un ]… ( Al-Baqara 2:187)Shame (saw"a)The term saw"a can be understood literally and metaphorically, similarto its antonym lib§s. When Allah asked Moses to press his handto his side, we are told that it came out white (as if being leprous)but ‘without harm’ (ghayr så" in ), not physically ‘disfigured’ (20:22), butwhen Allah sent a raven to show Cain how to hide the nakedness ofhis brother Abel, saw"a is metaphorically used as a metonym (5:31).It certainly does not refer to nudity as such, but rather to shamefulstates of exposure, vulnerability, and intimacy. It pertains to the zoneof #awra, i.e. the intimate parts of the body, which people are forbiddento show in public, that is, the pudenda, the sexual organs of menand women, because if they are exposed, it ‘causes harm’, or, asal-R§zÊ says, it signals ‘corporal decay’ and ‘mortification’.“Now draw your hand close to your side: it shall come forth white (andshining), without harm (or stain) [ghayr så" in ]—as another sign…”(•§-H§" 20:22)Then God sent a raven, who scratched the ground, to show him howto hide the shame [saw"a] of his brother. ( Al-M§"ida 5:31)We tend to follow a more symbolic reading of al-saw"a and define itas a bad act which would, if publicly exposed and thus discovered,bring shame and dishonour and inflict pain on its perpetrators. Thuswe do not understand 20:22, ‘…and so their nakedness (saw"atuhum§)appeared to them…’ literally as the uncovering of their private parts,but rather as a reference to their disgraceful act of having disobeyedGod’s order. It describes more an act of moral denudation than justbodily nudity. One may object to this by asking, if their nakednessis not meant to be understood literally, why did Adam and his wife