بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم

Praise be to Allah, Lord of all worlds, and peace and blessings be upon our Prophet Muhammad, and upon his family and all his companions. To proceed: Some people have raised a question: If Yusuf (peace be upon him) was given such great beauty that Allah said about the women who saw him: "When they saw him, they were amazed and cut their hands, and said, 'God forbid! This is not a human being; this is no less than a noble angel.'" [Surah Yusuf, 12:31] Then why was Yusuf not commanded to cover his face or hide his beauty, while women were commanded to wear the veil? Does this show that the difference between men and women in this matter is not consistent? This question is based on reasoning that is not sound in several ways. In fact, it is a type of opposing clear texts with a comparison that has no support from the Qur'an or the Sunnah. The first thing that should be established is that Islamic rulings are not built simply on what seems logical to the mind. They are taken from revelation. Because Allah is the Creator, and He knows best about what He has created. He said: "It is not for a believing man or a believing woman, when Allah and His Messenger have decided a matter, to have any choice in their matter." [Surah Al-Ahzab, 33:36] And He said: "Does He who created not know? And He is the Most Subtle, the All-Aware." (Surah Al-Mulk, 67:14) It is a settled principle among scholars of Islamic jurisprudence that analogy cannot be used when there is a clear text. It is not allowed to oppose a correct text with an analogy, especially when the Lawgiver Himself has made a distinction between the two cases. So when a ruling is proven by a clear text, it is not allowed to oppose it with an analogy that assumes equality between two situations, while the wise Lawgiver has differentiated between them. One of the principles of scholars is that if the text shows a difference between two cases, that difference itself is a legal proof that prevents it from being cancelled by analogy. Because analogy is only used when there is no text, not to oppose it or ignore the differences that the Lawgiver considered. There is no doubt that the temptation caused by women to men is a great temptation. It is the greatest trial that men face in their lives. The truthful and trusted Prophet (peace be upon him) said: "I have not left after me any trial more harmful to men than women." [Agreed upon, from Usama ibn Zayd]. The Prophet did not only explain the severity of this temptation, but he also described the woman as something to be covered, and that Satan looks at her with desire when she leaves her home. He said: "The woman is a 'awrah (something to be covered). When she goes out, Shayṭān seeks her." Narrated by at-Tirmidhi from Ibn Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him). Al-Mubarakfuri, in his explanation of the hadith, said: "When she goes out, Shayṭān seeks her" means he makes her appear attractive in the eyes of men. It is also said that he looks at her to lead her astray and to lead others astray through her. The original meaning of "looking at" is raising the gaze to look at something and placing the hand above the eyebrow. The meaning is that a woman's going out and appearing is considered improper, so when she goes out, he stares at her to lead her astray through others and to lead others astray through her, so that he causes one or both of them to fall into temptation. Or he means by "Shayṭān" the human devils from among the immoral people, calling them by this name as a comparison. [Tuhfat al-Ahwadhi, 4/283]. From here came the wise legislation of commanding the veil, and forbidding showing off adornment and revealing beauty. This is to block the means to temptation, protect honour, and preserve society. As Allah said: "O Prophet, tell your wives and your daughters and the believing women to draw their outer garments close around them. That is more suitable that they will be known and not be harmed." [Surah Al-Ahzab, 33:59]. And He said: "And not to reveal their adornment except what is apparent of it." And He said: "And not to reveal their adornment except what is apparent of it" to the end of the verse [Surah An-Nur, 24:31]. Among the things that some scholars mention as a way of deriving some wisdom, not as a legal reason for the ruling, is what Ibn 'Adil al-Hanbali (may Allah have mercy on him) pointed out regarding the secret behind mentioning the adulteress before the adulterer in Allah's saying: "The adulteress and the adulterer, flog each one of them one hundred lashes." [Surah An-Nur, 24:2]. Ibn 'Adil said: "If it is asked: Why was the adulteress mentioned before the adulterer at the beginning of the surah, and here the opposite is the case? The answer is: That verse came first for her punishment because of her betrayal, for the woman is the main source in adultery. As for here, it is mentioned in the context of marriage, and men are the main party in it, because he is the one who desires and seeks." [Al-Lubab fi 'Ulum al-Kitab, 14/289]. He did not mean that the man is not a cause of adultery, or that the woman bears the sin more than him. Allah made them equal in the punishment. He only meant to explain one aspect of the wisdom in mentioning the adulteress first: that when a woman shows her beauty, makes herself available, and arouses desire, she becomes one of the greatest causes of temptation. This is consistent with the many texts that command the veil, forbid showing off, and block every path that leads to corruption, in order to fulfill the aims of Islamic law in preserving religion and honour, and protecting hearts from causes of temptation. Furthermore, this reasoning is based on the assumption that beauty alone is the reason for legislating the veil. This is an assumption with no evidence. In fact, the texts show otherwise. The Lawgiver did not make the veil obligatory based on whether a woman is beautiful or not. He did not differentiate between a beautiful woman and one who is not. He made it obligatory for all women. This shows that the reason for the ruling is not simply beauty, but rather what women contain in terms of causes of temptation that the texts take into consideration, to block the means to corruption and preserve honour. This is confirmed by the fact that Allah forbade the woman even from an action in which nothing of her body is seen, but only the sound of her adornment is heard. He said: "And let them not stamp their feet so that what they hide of their adornment becomes known." [Surah An-Nur, 24:31]. He forbade stamping the feet if it causes the sound of anklets to be heard, even though the adornment itself is covered and only its sound is heard. This is to block the means of temptation. Imam al-Qurtubi (may Allah have mercy on him) said: "Meaning, the woman should not stamp her foot while walking to make the sound of her anklets heard. Making the sound of adornment heard is like showing the adornment itself, and even more severe. The aim is concealment... Hearing this adornment is more stirring to desire than seeing it." (Al-Jami' li Ahkam al-Quran, 12/229). So reflect on how the law considered even the sound of covered adornment, and forbade the woman from making it heard, because of what it might lead to in stirring desire and causing temptation. If this is the case with the sound of an anklet, even though the adornment itself is not seen at all, then this is clear evidence that the legislation of the veil was not based merely on the beauty of the face. Rather, it is based on what Allah knows about the strength of men's attraction to women and the resulting harms. Therefore, the rulings in this matter came in a way that is not similar to what was legislated for men. Allah knows best about what He created, and He is the Most Subtle, the All-Aware. Moreover, this objection is based on another assumption with no evidence: that we actually know what the rulings regarding women were in the law of Yusuf (peace be upon him).