The viral image of a cultural performance in the United Arab Emirates during US President Donald Trump’s visit where rows of women are seen tossing their uncovered hair side to side in a coordinated display reflects the daur e jahilliya (era of ignorance of Makkan period).
Such practices that commodify women’s beauty under the guise of cultural tradition and hospitality with “hair-flip” performance is described as part of the traditional Al-Ayyala dance, where women’s hair is made the centerpiece of the spectacle. SubhanAllah! What is being witnessed is not the preservation of culture but the violation of Islamic sacred values.
The covering of a woman in Islam is not oppression, it is empowerment. It is obedience, and submission to Allah Al-Ahad alone! And removing it for a spectacle is pure regression, disobedience to Allah Al-Azeem!
These muslim majority nations claim to uphold Islamic values, and but in reality they are doing in practical terms everything that is against Islam, from aiding the oppressor, not stopping the ongoing genocide despite all the might and mains, and doing everything which suits their selfish “national interest”, and even commodifying women by putting them on public display, have publicly shown how they are mere muslim majority countries with no ruling as per Islamic laws!
In Islam, the concept of modesty (haya) is deeply rooted in both faith and practice, with the covering of a woman’s hair being a key aspect of her honor and dignity. The command to cover is not cultural but Divine, instructed clearly in the Holy Qur’an.
This instruction is further emphasized through numerous hadees, where modesty is regarded as a core part of faith.
There is one remarkable hadees on haya, I would like to share. The Prophet Muhammad ﷺ said,
“If you feel no shame (haya), then do whatever you like.”
(Sahih al-Bukhari, 3483)
This statement is not a license, but a warning when one loses the inner sense of shame (haya), there is no limit to how far one might go in violating the boundaries set by Islam.
What is more troubling is how such displays are organized to honor a political figure like President Donald Trump, a man who not only upheld Islamophobic rhetoric during his tenure but also facilitated oppressive regimes and arms deals that have fueled violence and suffering in the Muslim world. The same Arab governments who remain silent on genocide and occupation are now parading their daughters for political validation and economic contracts.
This reflects the daur e Jahilliya (era of ignorance), where women were objectified. Islam abolished all such practices, granting women honor, dignity, and protection. Yet now, in the name of “culture,” that veil of modesty is being lifted.
But what else to expect from them about whom Allah Al-Hakam has said in Holy Quran’s surah ma’ida ayah 45
وَمَن لَّمْ يَحْكُم بِمَآ أَنزَلَ ٱللَّهُ فَأُو۟لَـٰٓئِكَ هُمُ ٱلظَّـٰلِمُونَ
“…And those who do not legislate by what Allah has revealed are the zaalimoon.”