Aisha-Galina Babich - about the features of Islamic holidays and the problem of the burkini
In recent weeks, nature has not pleased the residents of central Russia with sunny days, and many are rushing to the warm sea shores. There are more and more Muslims among vacationers. However, in our country, the halal industry, no matter how much they talk about it, remains undeveloped. Journalist and columnist of Realnoe Vremya Aisha-Galina Babich in today's column shares her thoughts on the tourism segment for adherents of Islam and dwells on such a detail as the burkini - a Muslim swimsuit.
“I swam in a dress, trousers and a scarf...”
Many years ago, in a high mountain village in Dagestan, several of my Muslim friends suggested that I go to the river to swim. I was extremely surprised, because until that moment I believed that a Muslim woman was not destined to swim in a cool pond in this life, since there were men all around, a swimsuit was not allowed, and there were no more ponds and rivers on the planet where no human had ever set foot.
But they brought me to the river: it was narrow, so you could jump over it, and it was shallow. I was swimming in a dress, trousers and a scarf: this whole outfit immediately stuck to my body, stretched out, began to drag along the bottom with me, the scarf slipped down, got into my eyes, the sleeves and trouser legs got tangled together...
I was completely desperate, lay down on the water, arms outstretched, and watched as the boys from afar threw stones at us and laughed: now I had to quietly jump out onto the shore and, dressed in a wide robe, run to the nearest fence. Water was streaming from my clothes, it was cold and disgusting. Truly, it is unforgettable.
So when Lebanese designer Aheda Zanetti invented her first burkini - a Muslim swimsuit whose name arose from a clever combination of the European "bikini" and the Muslim "burqa", it caused a mini-revolution in the Muslim world. Comfortable model - sleeves and trouser legs with elastic bands, a thick hood, quick-drying fabric, everything is thought out to the smallest detail.
But before, Muslim women, following the rule of covering their entire body from prying eyes, except for the face and hands, could not even dream of swimming, surfing, water aerobics, diving, regatta... However, most of them are still about it doesn't dream.
When Aheda Zanetti invented her first burkini, it caused a mini-revolution in the Muslim world. Photo: bbc.com
Burkini of discord
The Muslim swimsuit remains the subject of fierce debate between adherents of strict traditions and democratically minded modern followers of Islam. Trousers and a short tunic, in the opinion of the former, are an impermissible liberty, because the entire body must be carefully covered in such a way that it is impossible to guess how many Muslim women are actually hidden in such a spacious abaya.
Supporters of the burkini, on the contrary, consider the model to be as comfortable and convenient for swimming as it is virtually impossible and even dangerous to make somersaults in the water in a long dress. But, frankly speaking, this can only be called swimming conditionally, since high-speed swims in such clothes are impossible, and only leisurely cruising on the surface of the water is possible. But, say, for surfing and regattas, a burkini is just right.
But representatives of Islam in Arab countries aquatic species sports are not thought about in principle. The sea is a place where you need to splash around the shore, watching the frolicking children. And no newfangled models will change the age-old tradition. Ride the wave or explore depths of the sea- this is not about women. As, in fact, running, cycling, tennis or snowboarding are not about women. European Muslim women, on the contrary, strive to overcome these stereotypes.
High-speed swims in such clothes are impossible, and only leisurely cruising on the surface of the water is possible. But, say, for surfing and regattas, a burkini is just right. Photo by Maxim Platonov
Beach landing
The dreams of active Muslim women about water sports in Russia end exactly where deserted ponds end and crowded beaches begin with the inevitable attributes in the form of nudity and uncontrolled alcohol consumption. This spectacle is difficult and useless for Muslims, and also forbidden.
However, other desperate heroines in black spacious dresses manage to squeeze into the crowd of sunbathing fellow citizens and sit for a couple of hours in the sun, simultaneously swearing at overly curious passers-by who point their fingers at them and make offensive remarks. And then we read about the infringement of the rights of Muslim women and the dissatisfaction of vacationers.
Even in countries where they try to treat the presence of Muslim women on beaches and in hotels with loyalty, incidents happen. After all, some women jump into the pool not in any swimsuits, but in exactly the same clothes in which they clean the yard and visit establishments with sewage. Sometimes these women unite into large families, and the rest of the visitors are forced to retreat. It would be stupid to attribute the indignation of tourists to Islamophobia when basic hygiene rules are not observed.
Demonstration of absence
While more and more hotels and resorts targeting Muslims are opening all over the world - with separate swimming pools, mosques inside, halal food, a special women's area, in Russia only in selected regions will they calmly treat the hijab and provide a halal menu. This menu is also not easy: rarely does a hotel refuse to sell alcohol and pork in the summer, so there are some doubts about the halal meat on the next plate.
While more and more hotels and resorts targeting Muslims are opening all over the world - with separate swimming pools, mosques inside, halal food, a special women's area, in Russia only in selected regions will they calmly treat the hijab and provide a halal menu. Photo gid.turtella.ru
Initiatives to create a separate beach for Muslim women have not met with support for many years: it is expensive, difficult, and there is great resistance from society. After all, a certain part of the followers of Islam in Russia are also categorically against Muslim women’s beaches, since they are convinced that it is not right for a woman to have fun in bodies of water, relax at resorts and in other ways become like an idle crowd of unbelievers.
We will also find women in this “camp” who are literally horrified at the thought that a Muslim woman will appear on the shore. It doesn’t matter if she’s wearing an inappropriate burkini, a tight, wide dress or a classic niqab: she should not be shown in public and demonstrate her existence at all. Moreover, “anyone who wants” can take off in a helicopter and from there admire the bathing sinners to their heart’s content. So it's better without the beach.
Quran before bed
But on Muslim swimsuits alone, of course, the light did not converge like a wedge. If beaches with sun loungers are not available, there are, of course, catamarans, jet skis, banana boats, and water trampolines. Rest by the water can be alternated with a trip to the mountains or forest, where women are accompanied by men. While traveling, enjoy the scenery, sightseeing, camel riding and tasting local cuisine.
Halal hotel services are not cheap. Photo oae-tut.ru
It’s possible to do all this without using the services of halal hotels, which, by the way, are not cheap. Muslims only need to follow simple rules: dress in accordance with the requirements of Sharia - and this also applies to men, who should cover the area from the navel to the knee; consume permitted food and non-alcoholic drinks; continue to pray five times a day and not make “easy” acquaintances with the opposite sex.
However, all these resort delights are for spoiled gourmets and those who have been suffocating in industrial everyday life for a whole year. Rural residents have no time for travel, it’s the season of work in the gardens: mowing, sowing, watering, the first harvest... So the most popular form of recreation in religious families is still reading the Koran before bed. Although, hardly anyone will refuse a halal barbecue at their summer cottage in a pleasant company, and for this you do not need to buy vouchers and put on a burkini.
Aisha-Galina Babich
Reference
Aisha-Galina Babich- journalist, writer, blogger.
- Born and raised in Moscow.
- Graduated from the Faculty of Informatics of the Russian State University for the Humanities and the Higher School of Journalism of the International University in Moscow.
- She worked as an editor of the Islam.Ru website, published in various Muslim publications (in the newspaper "Islam-info", magazines "Islam", "Muslim", "Chetki"), as well as in the newspapers "Moskovsky Komsomolets", "Nezavisimaya Gazeta", collaborated With " Russian newspaper" Columnist of Realnoe Vremya.
- Former producer of Russia Today TV channel.
- She headed the editorial board of Muslim Magazine.
- Author of the books “Polygamy: Advice and Comments” and “40 Stories about Islam.”
- Converted to Islam in 2002.
- Married, has a son.
Assalamu alaikum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuhu, dear sisters!
In today's article I want to talk about how we visited Maldives a couple of weeks ago. I usually write about the hotel, public places and attractions. But today I want to write about something completely different.
I was about 6 years old when I first watched the program “In the World of Animals”, they showed the Maldives and the underwater life of this place. How these shots surprised me, subhanAllah! Time passed, but the dream of visiting these islands did not leave me. Pictures from the Maldives have always fascinated me, and I wondered if there were such places on Earth created by Allah? And now my dream has come true, glory to Allah!
What kind of country is the Maldives?
Just imagine, a state in which more than 99.66% of the territory is occupied by ocean waters. The remaining 0.34% of the land is 1190 coral islands, and only 1/6 of them are inhabited by people.
Such a unique geographical location could not but affect the development of infrastructure and culture. After all, the Maldives are nothing more than a cluster of isolated territories surrounded by water. Each (!) inhabited island, even if it is the smallest, has its own mosque, power plant, sewage treatment system, water desalination system, television tower and a huge refrigerator for storing food supplies.
By religion, 98% of the inhabitants of the Maldives belong to the Sunnis, the largest and most traditional Islamic movement, that is, almost all the inhabitants are Muslims.
So, we arrived early in the morning by plane, flying through Dubai. This time the children stayed with their beloved grandparents, so my husband and I enjoyed the flight and the views from the window and didn’t think about anything. We flew to the capital of the Maldives - the city of Male. I can’t say anything about it, since we immediately left for the island that we had chosen in advance for a week’s stay - the island of Maafushi.
In general, there are two types of islands for tourists: resort islands and islands where the local population lives.
The island resort is a small island that can be leisurely walked around the perimeter in 15-20 minutes, and there is only one hotel on this island. And areas for service personnel. All. In general, for the majority of those leaving Russian tourists-non-Muslims in the Maldives, the big surprise is the fact that the country is deeply Muslim. But another fact comes as an even greater surprise - there are no rules for the import of alcohol at all, that is, it is impossible to bring alcohol to the Maldives, just as you cannot buy it on the island where the local population lives. Except for these resort islands. There, alcohol is served freely - specifically for tourists. There are also animation programs and music discos. There are a lot of Russian tourists on such islands.
And the second type of islands are the islands where the local Muslim population lives. We lived on one such island - Maafushi Island.
SubhanAllah, frankly speaking, for the first time I experienced incredible surprise from everything I saw. I'll start in order:
1. White sandy beaches, coconut palms and crystal clear water, lush green greenery - all this left a colossal shock in my memory. Mashallah, looking at all this, my heart literally “burst” with delight. It is impossible to describe, these miracles of Allah must be seen with your own eyes at least once in your life! “Allahu Akbar” was all I could say, looking at all this beauty.
Of course, having arrived from a country where it was -15C, we immediately wanted to swim, but the most interesting thing happened when we asked where the Muslim beach was.
We were told that the beach is everywhere for Muslims, but for non-Muslims there is a separate area with a high, opaque fence. And what’s more, you can only swim in an open swimsuit on this beach, but in other areas it is prohibited - only in a burkini.
Mashallah, I’m used to the fact that Muslims are fenced off separately, I was surprised that on this island I can swim wherever I want and will not be afraid to meet women with bare aura, subhanAllah!
The water in the ocean is very warm, and the shores seem to be created for the convenience of human swimming. The sun is high, almost always at its zenith. The air is warm and the wind is pleasant. The weather is very comfortable, mashaAllah.
2. Maafushi Island is home to approximately 2,500 indigenous Muslim residents. And 2 mosques were built for 2500 people. Azan can be heard everywhere: in a hotel, on the beach, in a store, on the street. I didn’t even open the application with prayer times, it’s simply not needed there. Only the deaf will not hear the adhan, which comes simultaneously from the minarets of two mosques.
I would like to talk separately about mosques. These are the most beautiful and clean buildings on the island. Nowhere else have I seen such a reverent attitude towards the “house” of Allah. People walk barefoot in mosques, even in toilets (!). Toilets are a separate matter. Cleanest, with all amenities. This became a revelation for me, aroused incredible respect for the people of the Maldives, and I felt incredibly ashamed of the state of our toilets in the mosques of Kazan.
The whole island smells delicious everywhere, whether it’s air fresheners, or whether it’s flowers and greenery that smell so fragrant, I still don’t understand.
There are a lot of people in the mosques; there are 3-4 rows of believers for morning prayers. We went to prayers in mosques, they beckon us with their beauty, cleanliness and peace.
3. Lack of music on the island. At all. We were in a “halal” hotel in Turkey a couple of years ago, and the loud music gave me a headache almost every day. Immediately I was surprised at my calmness and tranquility. There is only one “music” on the island - azan. There are no discos, animation programs, or musical evenings in hotels; even on the beach, non-Muslims have no music.
4. Complete absence of alcohol and “halal” food. The import of alcohol and pork is prohibited on the island. All meat on the island is halal. Separately, I wanted to talk about food. Basically, the menu has a lot of fish - tuna, reef fish and seafood. Wonderful, tasty fish and cheaper than beef or chicken. Here it’s the other way around in Russia, such fish is very expensive, so for almost a week I ate only fish, for future use. Lots of vegetables and fruits. Very tasty fruits: mango, papaya, coconut. Exotic fruits are inexpensive (when compared with prices in Russia). Everything else - clothes, souvenirs, cosmetics - are a little expensive, it’s better to take your own. The food is fresh and clearly prepared with care. There were no stomach upsets, alhamdulillah.
5. Excursions. The main entertainment in the Maldives is traveling to different islands. We went to the island of Biadu and Vada. These are resort islands.
Biadu- beautiful island with a lot of greenery, rich in various birds, crabs and other animals. With a very beautiful underwater view. There I had to go snorkeling for the first time.
Snorkeling is swimming with a mask and snorkel over the water. Incredible views, mashaAllah! I swam next to such beautiful fish! Purple, pink, black, silver and even light green! I didn’t see what kind of creatures of Allah there, subhanAllah! This is such beauty!
Vadu Island is a typical resort island, with a small area but a large fresh water pool.
You arrive for the excursion early in the morning by boat and are picked up in the evening, after sunset. 
6. Local residents. In general, all week I was busy watching them. Calm, measured, smiling and hospitable. All women wear hijabs, and even girls aged 7-8 years already wear headscarves. Every day I watched schoolgirls running to classes, wearing colorful headscarves, and for the first time I regretted that my daughter was not with me, she would have seen that there are schools where all the girls are in hijabs, and even outside in 30C heat, they play and run with their heads covered. Women are mainly involved in raising children and at home; mostly men work.
In general, for the first time I saw how people live and rely on Allah. We are running somewhere, trying to earn more money, buy a bigger apartment, a dacha, better than our neighbor’s, a more expensive fur coat, a more modern car. And somewhere people live on small island and they thank Allah 5 times a day all together, for the fact that they were not flooded, for the fact that they have fish, tourists who bring at least a small income. Women protect their aura, avoid unfamiliar men, give birth a lot, and raise conscientiously. The men work diligently, behave very reservedly with tourists (unlike the Turks or Egyptians), and do not deceive. Everyone prays 5 times a day, avoiding forbidden things as best they can, subhanAllah. Living there, I was once again convinced that happiness lies in living according to the laws of Islam. The laws of Islam are the most correct laws established by God. It's impossible not to love them. And the people of the Maldives proved this to me once again.
After a trip to the Maldives to the island of Maafushi, where local Muslims live, I realized that this is a holiday in accordance with Sharia. There you relax not only with your body, but also with your soul! Once again you are convinced of the greatness of our Creator! After all, no one else could create a more harmonious and beautiful world! This place cannot be compared with Turkey, Egypt, or Dubai! This is a completely different vacation.
I didn’t write anything about the hotel where we lived. Simply because it really doesn’t matter what hotel you live in, it becomes so secondary. But our hotel was very clean, the breakfasts were delicious and filling, and the staff were very friendly!
Many people write to me and ask how we went there, because regular operators don’t sell tickets to local islands, but only to resort islands? I answer: we traveled through. Now, a trip per person costs 59,900 rubles, this price includes:
Flight
- accommodation in a 3* hotel;
- breakfast " Buffet»;
- meeting at the airport.
- transfer to the hotel after arrival.
A boat will pick you up right at the airport and take you to Maafushi.
Why do I advise you to go to Maafushi and not to the resort island:
- no alcohol or pork, all food is halal.
- lack of entertainment with music.
- two mosques.
- Muslim beaches.
- few Russian-speaking tourists.
- women in a closed aura.
- beautiful beach and nature.
- many restaurants with inexpensive and fresh food (lunch or dinner on the ocean will cost you around 500 rubles per person).
- friendly locals. An opportunity to see and study the life and everyday life of ordinary Maldivians. Indeed, in the Koran (49:13), it is said: “O people, Verily We have created you from male and female and made you nations and tribes so that you may recognize each other, and the most revered of you is the most God-fearing Verily, Allah is the Knower "Knowing."
MashaAllah!
©Rimma Kashapova specially for Maidenly
It often happens that the acquisition of some kind of movable or immovable property for a person or an entire organization is unprofitable. Sometimes prices can be high; in some cases, purchasing an object does not make sense due to the constant volatility of the market situation. And here an economic and legal instrument such as rent comes to the rescue. Islam, being a system that helps people in all spheres of life, imposes its own framework on this form of property relations between the parties.
In Arabic, rent is denoted by the word "ijar" , which can be translated as “sale of right of use”, “benefit”. The Shariah definition of this phenomenon is as follows: the conclusion of a transaction between the parties for a certain time regarding some property, aimed at obtaining benefit, on the basis of mutual consent.
In fact, in Islamic law, rent is divided into two types: 1 - lease aimed at obtaining some benefit (we are talking about real estate, vehicles, clothes, household appliances and so on); 2 - hiring a person to perform a specific job (for example, construction, tailoring, website development, writing texts, etc.).
Qur'an and Noble Sunnah on Rent
The Holy Qur'an mentions tenancy relations between parties in two places, but in these cases the references are sporadic.
Surah At-Talaq says the following:
“Provide shelter for divorced women for a certain period of time...” (65:6)
In the surah, rental relations are mentioned in the context of the story of the prophet Musa (a.s.):
“One of Shugaib’s daughters said: “Father, hire him as a shepherd!” He will be the best among those who can handle it." To this Shugaib replied: “I would like you to marry one of my daughters. As a bride price, you can offer me hired work in my interests for 8 years...” (28:26-27)
In the collection of hadiths of Imam al-Bukhari, you can find the saying of the Final Messenger of the Almighty Muhammad (s.a.w.) about how he told his companions about his past. His work activity in the form of hiring did not stand aside either: “Whoever was sent by Allah to this world, he still tended sheep. And me too. I did this for the people of Mecca, they paid me several carats for this work.”
Rental conditions in Islam
Lease relations presuppose the presence of two fundamental points. This, as in the case, is about proposal(ijab) and consent(Kabul).
The conditions for concluding a lease agreement come down to several points:
1) The person must be reasonable, that is, he must be at least 7 years old. At such a young age, he can act as a subject of such property relations only after receiving permission from the guardian.
2) Rented property must have an owner. Lease is not made in respect of those things whose owner or guardian is unknown.
3) The agreement must describe in detail the nature of the leased property, the duration of the lease or hire (if we are talking about people invited to carry out some type of work). There should be no understatement between the parties in order to avoid related conflicts.
4) The rented item or service must be such that it actually has the properties that the tenant expects. In addition, these qualities must comply with Shariah. For example, if the administration of a mosque is looking for a cleaner and finds her, then she must be in a clean state (absence of menstruation) at the time of work. Otherwise, she will be prohibited from entering the mosque, and she will not fulfill the terms of the concluded rental agreement.
5) The benefit of renting or hiring must be fully consistent with Islamic law. In this sense, it is prohibited to hire people to commit any crime or produce haram products and services.
6) A person cannot be hired if he is expected to perform actions that are obligatory on him according to Islamic law. For example, taking money for performing namaz is unacceptable. However, if we are talking about conducting classes, for example, on Islamic law, or on the construction of Muslim temples, then this prohibition does not apply.
7) A person who is hired to do some work should not directly benefit from the result of the work, since the latter does not relate to him, but to the employer. Legal scholars interpret this case as meaning that a worker cannot be paid as a result of his work. For example, if a person was supposed to produce wooden figurines, then he cannot be paid with the same toys.
8) If the leased object is movable property, then the lessor must provide it to the lessee personally.
9) The leased property must not have any defects that make it impossible to use all available properties.
Cases of cancellation of lease agreements:
- in connection with the death of one of the parties to the contractual relationship;
- if the parties are unanimous in their opinion that it is necessary to terminate the agreement for some reason;
- if under certain circumstances the rented item has lost its essence (it was, for example, destroyed);
- the lease agreements expired and the parties decided not to renew them.
To whom Muslims cannot rentproperty for rent
The lease conditions listed above are distinguished by the fact that their implementation is relatively simple in a homogeneous Islamic environment, where the issue of compliance of business activities with Shariah is not so acute. But what to do when Muslims are forced to enter into business relationships in a secular society, in regions where representatives of Islam do not dominate? What if the tenant is going to open a strip bar, a credit institution or a store that sells alcoholic beverages in the premises owned by a Muslim?
The answer to these questions, according to Islamic law, is not as simple as it seems. The students and founders of other madhhabs of Sunni Islam believed that the provision of property for rent for such purposes is prohibited. Abu Hanifa believed the same, but with some reservations, which will be discussed below. Economic benefit as a criterion in the above situations is completely ignored. Banking institutions and microfinance organizations, which, as a rule, do not have problems with money, can offer an attractive price for rented space, but a devout Muslim must resist the temptation and refuse such a potential tenant.
Classic Western-style insurance companies that deal with uncertainty are also subject to the ban. What does it mean? Insurers take contributions from the client, the return of which may not occur even in the case of the conditions specified in the contract. As a result, a person pays money to the insurer, and he, thanks to his own legal resourcefulness, can do nothing at all and subsequently avoid material payments in favor of the insured. In addition, it is very risky to rent out premises for hotels, massage studios, saunas and baths, which in certain areas are often used, in addition to their direct purpose, as a place for committing carnal sin.
It is worth noting that the owner of the premises may not be responsible for the actions of the tenant if the latter deliberately misleads the owner of the property. For example, it was initially agreed that in the same massage parlor women would serve exclusively women and vice versa, but in reality it turned out that the tenant organizes a “zina festival” on an ongoing basis - in this case the owner does not bear any responsibility to the Almighty. The situation is interpreted similarly if the store initially agreed on a ban on the sale of alcoholic beverages, but the tenant does not comply with this clause of the agreement. However, of course, it is better to prevent such a situation and keep the tenant’s activities under control for compliance with the agreement.
Imam Abu Hanifa believed that in conditions where a Muslim lives in a country where his fellow believers are a minority, renting out premises or some items to open a liquor store is not prohibited. However, doing this in a Muslim country is strictly prohibited.
Entering into rental relationships with representatives of other religions, for example, Christians or Jews, is allowed by all reputable scientists. Imam Abu Hanifa believed that they could even open their own temples and other religious sites in rented premises, while his students and the imams of other Sunni madhhabs considered such agreements to be contrary to Sharia.
