Beauty on a Saturday Afternoon

It is truly amazing the things that man can create. Allah ta'ala gave man an intellect with which he can invent and realize whatever he can imagine. It is interesting that man may make something as practical as a building, but will still desire to put an element of beauty into it. There is an inherent desire to display beauty whenever one has the ability.

This, however, becomes a problem when that beauty that Allah ta'ala has gifted one with is a physical beauty. Men, and especially women, love to display their beauty and to have their beauty appreciated. This is obviously problematic as Allah ta'ala requires from us a certain level of modesty which is legislated within the shari'ah.

Allah ta'ala says in the Holy Qur'an, "And say to the believing women that they should lower their gaze and guard their modesty; that they should not display their beauty and ornaments except what (must ordinarily) appear thereof; that they should draw their veils over their bosoms and not display their beauty except to their husbands..." (24:31).

This desired level of haya (modesty) is not what I saw while downtown this past Saturday. I do not know what was going on in Chicago that necessitated women to walk around dressed in the way they did. It is difficult enough for a young Muslim as myself to live in this society while not being married, but it becomes exponentially more difficult when confronted with situations such as that. It is more difficult then the picture to the left from Cirque Shanghai at Navy Pier (which was AMAZING! Full size here.). May Allah ta'ala grant us the patient and tawfiq to survive in the times that we live and grant us wives who will be the coolness of our eyes and a protection in these difficult times.

On a separate note, I saw a guy wearing a kilt.