Bashfulness is the asset of the believing woman that helps her preserve her honor, dignity and status. All righteous wives are bashful in their behavior and in everything else - their clothing, their movement, their speech, their dealings and their manners. The bashfulness of the believing wife makes her more adherent to the Islamic dress code, whether it be Hijab or the face cover. She does not wear anything that is transparent, tight, similar to men’s clothes, ostentatious, scented or enticing. It is an obligation on her to do all these as she would be sinful if she does not abide by these rules? Allah, The Almighty, Says (what means):
• {and to wrap [a portion of] their head covers over their chests} [Quran 24:31]
• {O Prophet, tell your wives and your daughters and the women of the believers to bring down over themselves [part] of their outer garments. That is more suitable that they will be known and not be abused.} [Quran 33:59]
• {and do not display yourselves as [was] the display of the former times of ignorance} [Quran 33:33]
How can a woman display herself as righteous while she displays her charms to every eye in order to attract attention? What would she then keep special for her husband? The Prophet said: “Bashfulness and faith are inseparable; if one of them is missing, the other will be missing as well.” The woman who exposes her beauty is not bashful as she does not have this essential characteristic of Islam. The Prophet said: “Every religion has distinctive morals and bashfulness is the distinctive moral in Islam.” Moreover, the bashfulness of the believing woman makes her lower her gaze. Allah, The Almighty, Says (what means): {And tell the believing women to lower their gaze (from looking at forbidden things), and guard their private parts and not expose their adornment except that which [necessarily] appears thereof.} [Quran 24:31]
The righteous believing woman also knows what Allah, The Almighty, says through the words of the Prophet : “The [forbidden] gaze is one of the poisonous darts of Iblees [Satan]. The one who avoids it out of fear of Me will be granted such faith that he feels its sweetness in his heart.”
Giving free rein to the gaze brings nothing but harm as the forbidden gaze is the seed of all evil and can only lead to evil as it is one of the gates of the devil. The righteous woman does not underestimate this. The Prophet said to Umm Salamah and Maymoonah : “Are you blind? Do you not see him?” when they were looking at ‘Abdullaah ibn Umm Maktoom, who was a blind man.
The bashfulness of the righteous woman is also exhibited in the way she speaks. Allah, The Almighty, Says (what means): {Then do not be soft in speech [to men], lest he in whose heart is disease should covet.} [Quran 33:32]
The bashfulness of the believing woman is clear in her behavior, movement and way of walking. Thus, every Muslim woman should be an embodiment of bashfulness. The best example of bashfulness is that of the two girls who met Moosa (Moses) .
Their bashfulness prevented them from mixing with men at the well of Madyan. They said (what means): {“We do not water until the shepherds dispatch [their flocks.]”} [Quran 28:23] This is the example of the righteous woman who stays at home, and if she leaves it for a dire necessity, then she does so while being bashful.