Wicked women are for wicked men. (Q 24:26)

A lot of exegetes like Maulana Shafi Usmani, Dr. Tahir and the author of Tafseer-e Sa’di have used the present tense as reflected in the above translation. Maulana Islahi however has used future tense which means that this ayah refers to people in the hereafter. Kindly explain this difference.

Nowadays a lot of people quote this ayah of Quran and argue that in this world a man will get a wife of his own moral character. If we accept this statement, then we can see a lot of couples which do not satisfy this Qur’anic verse. Kindly explain.

2) My second question is regarding veil for women. We notice that in western countries and some of the eastern countries as well, showing legs and even thighs is considered normal and people (men) are used to such dressing, (may be it does not provoke them the way it does to a person living in a country like Pakistan. So will the boundaries of pardah (as accepted in Pakistan covering the whole body) will be changed in such countries? This I ask because in those countries such dressing (for example, wearing shorts, keeping the shoulders naked, wearing quarter pants) is considered normal. A lot of Muslim girls also wear such dress in these countries by saying that here it is normal and nobody notices it. Kindly shed some light.

3) My third question is regarding democracy. In your opinion in democracy will the people have the right to make laws? And if not then how law will be made keeping the qur’anic directives in mind as well. Because in a society like Pakistan where the majority is less educated and at the same time there is a lot of western influence on our values, how would people be able to make decisions within qur’anic guidance?

Here are my answers to your questions.

1. It is imperative to interpret a verse in the light of its context. The context is enough to show that that verse 26 of the surah relates to the Hereafter. A simple reading of verse 24 and 25 would be enough to show that it is Hereafter which is under discussion and not the Herein. Kindly look it up.

2. In the last few decades, promiscuity has become so rampant in many western countries that it has become the rule and not the exception as it always was since the beginning of mankind. Large scale perversion in one era does not mean that the standards of modesty and chastity that were in currency for a greater part of the history are no longer applicable. You have to judge the veracity of such standards not by the number of people who follow them in a particular era but by the collective attitude of mankind over the centuries.

3. The parliament or the people who will enact Islamic laws do not need to be Islamic scholars because they are not going to form an opinion themselves. They will only examine the arguments of contesting opinions and then give preference to the view which convinces them. For this one does not require to become a scholar. He should just have the basic intellect to judge an opinion on the basis of arguments proffered.