Paradise Under Your Feet — Page 123
Chapter 7: College Years and Beyond 123 not be a hindrance to her fitting into college life, but will provide her protection and respect. More importantly, she will gain blessings by obeying Allah ’ s command. The Promised Messiah (as) says: “ The Islamic system of the veil does not require that women should be enclosed as in prison. The Holy Qur ’ an directs that women should not display their beauty and should not gaze at strange men. Those women who may be under the necessity of going out of their homes may do so, but they must restrain their looks. ” 7. 6 As always, providing a good example is the best way to achieve any goal. The example of family and friends can have tremendous impact on our children; their positive outlook towards Purdah and practice can make it so much easier for our children to confidently follow the right path. One of the challenges that Muslim students will have to face in this area is having to work on a group project with members of the opposite gender. When assigned by the professors, these groups are usually coed. One should be careful and make sure that discussions are always held in a public and academic setting and not in homes, nor for that matter in dorm rooms or apartments. Conversation should be dignified when dealing with the opposite sex and limited to the assignment as much as possible. No doubt the college years are a high-risk period in many ways and boys or girls may get involved in relationships with the opposite gender if the guidelines of restraint and Purdah have not been instilled in their Tarbiyat. During college, children are often far from home without parental supervision and may easily fall into the temptations of the campus social scene. They may even find themselves embroiled in a relationship without having had the