13.07.2015 Views

booke

booke

booke

SHOW MORE
SHOW LESS

Create successful ePaper yourself

Turn your PDF publications into a flip-book with our unique Google optimized e-Paper software.

308chapter fivewith Sårat al-Nis§", which provides additional information aboutwomen’s maȧrim (forbidden marriage partners), which is vital for acomplete analysis of the verse.A woman’s beauty/ornament, charms, or finery, can be dividedinto two parts: an outer (visible) part and an inner (invisible) part.Beauty is of three kinds: 1) beauty of things or material beauty; somethingthat is added to the basic substance of a thing, for exam -ple, special decoration to rooms, hairclips to hair, make-up to theface, and such; these external additions make something more attractiveand enhances its basic beauty. Material beauty is describedin:And (He has created) horses, mules, and donkeys, for you to ride anduse for show [wa-zÊna]… ( Al-NaÈl 16:8)O children of Adam! Wear your beautiful apparel [zÊnatakum] at everytime and place of prayer… ( Al-A#r§f 7:31)2) beauty of places, or spatial beauty; this beauty can be seen in thepublic parks, zoological gardens, or herbaceous borders that onefinds in big cities. These gardens and parks are that part of naturethat has been cultivated for the benefit and recreation of everyone.People cultivate gardens by planting shrubs, bushes, and trees, orthey establish a nature reserve, all for the purpose of a well-controlledinteraction with nature, avoiding the excess and devastation thatharm the environment. We propose to interpret zÊna 56 , as describedin verse 31, as spatial beauty (the space of the human body), not asmaterial beauty (jewellery, rings, bracelets, etc.), as it was oftenthought to be. 573) beauty that combines material and spatial beauty, as described in:Say: ‘Who has forbidden the beautiful (gifts) of God [zÊnat All§h], whichHe has produced for His servants, and the things, clean and pure(which He has provided) for sustenance?...’ ( Al-A#r§f 7:32)(It grows) till the earth is clad with its golden ornaments and is deckedout (in beauty) [wa-"zayyanat]: the people to whom it belongs think theyhave all powers of disposal over it… (Yånus 10:24)56ZÊna, not to be confused with zin§ (adultery) as discussed in chapter 4.57YA: ‘ornaments’; MF, AhA: ‘finery’; AA, MP, AB: ‘adornment(s)’; AH:‘charms’.

Hooray! Your file is uploaded and ready to be published.

Saved successfully!

Ooh no, something went wrong!