Inculcating the Sense of Modesty (Al-Haya’) in Youth from the Perspectives of the Quran and Sunnah
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.33102/jmqs.v16i2.230Keywords:
Al-haya’ (Shame), Values, Muslims, YouthAbstract
This paper discusses the concept of al-haya’ (modesty). Moral emotions are seen as fundamental in promoting adherence to ethical and social norms. This paper argues that modesty is an affective disposition that is important in the development of a Muslim’s sense of moral self. Al-haya’ inhibits a person from engaging in undesirable behaviour by creating a sense of shame. It differs from embarrassment (khajal) which refers to something that has already happened. Shame is based on what may occur in the future. Al-haya’ is also a fear of social disapprobation or disgrace ensuing from the scrutiny of others, or some imagined or internalized audiences. This paper considers the nature of modesty in exploring its characteristics from the Islamic perspective, and whether it is an adaptive or maladaptive trait. The method used in conceptualizing modesty and identifying its characteristics and types is through a document analysis of Quranic verses and authentic hadith from the classical Islamic works of Sahih al-Bukhari, Sahih Muslim, Sunan al-Tirmizi, Sunan an-Abu Dawud, and Sunan Ibn Majah. Classical and contemporary Muslim scholarship are also consulted. After analysing the philosophical and psychological aspects of modesty, the researchers found it to be adaptive rather than maladaptive from the perspective of Islamic teachings. Thus, modesty should be promoted as one of the core values in shaping the character of Muslim youth.
References
Al-Quran al Karim
Abd Al-Fattah Abu Ghuddah. (2001). Nabi Muhammad Guru dan Pendidik Terunggul. Seremban: al-Azhar Media Ent.
Al-Bukhari, Muhammad bin Ismail. (1996). Sahih al- Bukhari. Beirut: Dar ibn Kathir.
Al-Ghazali, Abu Hamid. (t.th.) Ihya' Ulum Al-Din. Kaherah: al-Masyad.
Al-Mawardi, Abu Hasan Ali. (1996). Adab al-dunya wa-al-din. Beirut: Dar alFikr.
Al- Tirmizi, Muhammad ibn Isa. 1996. Sunan al-Tirmidhi. Beirut: Dar Algharb Islami.
Aristotle. (1976). Nicomachean ethics. Translated by Thomson, J.A.K. London: Penguin Books.
Boulanouar, A.W. (2006). The notion of modesty in Muslim women’s clothing: an Islamic point of view. New Zealand Journal of Asian Studies, 8(2), 134-156.
Christel, D.A., O’Donnell, N.H., & Bradley, L.A. (2016). Coping by crossdressing: An exploration of exercise clothing for obese heterosexual women. Fashion and Textiles, 3(11), 1-19.
Darwin, C. (1872). Chapter 13: Self-attention, shame, shyness, modesty, blushing. The Expression of the Emotions in Man and Animals. New York: D. Appleton & Company. 309-346.
Dumitrescu, C. (2005). Shame and honor: Biblical understandings and Islamic cultural reflections. Journal of Adventist Mission Studies. 1(1), 14-39.
Deem, M. J., & Ramsey, G. (2016). Guilt by association? Philosophical Psychology, 29(4), 570-585.
El Guindi, F. (1999). Veil: Modesty, Privacy and Resistance, Dress, Body and Culture Series. Oxford and New York: Berg.
Emery, N. J. (2000). The eyes have it: The neuroethology, function and evolution of social gaze. Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews, 24, 581–604.
Faidh, H. (2008). Mengobati penyakit lisan. Jakarta Selatan: Cahaya.
Fatimah, A. (2012). Teaching Islamic ethics and ethical training: Benefiting from emotional and spiritual intelligence. International Journal of Humanities and Social Science. 2, 3, 224-232.
Fisher, W. A., & Barak, A. (2001) Internet pornography: A social psychological perspective on Internet sexuality. Journal of Sex Research, 38, 312–23.
Gobel, M.S., Kim, H.S & Richardson, D.C. (2015). The dual function of social gaze. Elsevier, 136, 359-364.
Harwood T.G. & Garry T. (2003). An overview of content analysis. The Marketing Review, 3, 479-498.
Hoseini, S.S. (2013). Masturbation: Scientific evidence and Islam’s view. Journal of Religion and Health, 56, 6, 2076–2081.
Ibn Kathir, al-Hafiz Abi al-Fida Ismail. (1998). Tafsir al-Qur‘an al-‘Azim. Beirut: Dar al-Kutub al-Ilmiyyah.
Ibn Khaldun, Zaid 'Abdul Rahman Ibn Muhammad. (1993). Mukaddimah Ibn Khaldun. Kuala Lumpur: Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka.
Ibnu Miskawayh, A. M. (2002). The refinement of character: A translation from Arabic Tahdhib Al-Akhlaq (C. Zurayk, Trans.). K. Beirut: American University of Beirut.
Katz, M. H. (2014). Shame (al-haya’) as an affective disposition in Islamic legal thought. Journal of Law, Religion and Thought. 139-169.
Merriam, S.B. (1988). Case study research in education: A qualitative approach. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, pp. 23-24.
Mohd Kamal Hassan. (2011). Pendidikan yang membentuk syakhsiah bangsa dan proses Islamisasi. Kertas kerja Kongres Pendidikan Islam Kebangsaan 2011. Anjuran Kementerian Pelajaran Malaysia. Kuala Lumpur, 4-7 Disember 2011.
Muhammad Ismail, al-Muqaddim. (2015). Fiqh Al-haya’: Understanding the Islamic concept of modesty. IIPH.
Muslim ibn Hajjaj. (2006). Sahih Muslim. Saudi: Dar Taibah.
Noornajihan Jaafar. (2015). Pengaruh Efikasi Kendiri dan Faktor Luaran Terhadap Kualiti Guru Pendidikan Islam Sebagai Murabbi. Unpublished Doctoral Thesis. Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia.
Rezki Perdani Sawai. (2019). Development and validation of Muslim Moral Emotion Inventory among Malay youth in the Klang Valley. Unpublished Doctoral Thesis. Universiti Putra Malaysia.
Silfver, M., Helkama, K., Lönnqvist, J.-E., & Verkasalo, M. (2008). The relation between value priorities and proneness to guilt, shame, and empathy. Motivation and Emotion, 32(2), 69-80.
Stompe, T., Bauer, S., Ortwein-Swoboda, G., Schanda, H., Karakula, P.H., Rudalevicienne, H. R. Chaudhry, E. S. Idemudia, & S. Gschaider. (2006). Delusions of Guilt: The attitude of Christian and Muslim schizophrenic patients toward good and evil and the responsibility of men. Journal of Muslim Mental Health, 1(1), 43-56.
Teh Fui Khim (2001). Pengaruh kecerdasan emosi (EQ) dan amalan keibubapaan ibu terhadap EQ remaja. Unpublished Master’s Thesis. Universiti Putra Malaysia.
Wahid, Abdus Salam, B. (2005). 40 dosa lisan perosak iman. Solo: Al-Qowan.
Yusof, H., Noor, M. A. M., Jalil, N. A., Mansor, M., & Awang, M. (2018). Nurturing moral values in primary school. International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences, 8(7), 1144–1156.
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
Copyright (c) 2020 Rezki Perdani Sawai, Noornajihan Jaafar, Sidek Mohd Noah, Steven Eric Krauss
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
The copyright of this article will be vested to author(s) and granted the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) license, unless otherwise stated.
Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.
Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work.
