The Error of Making Adornments and Accessories Unlawful

Some people maintain that the “ornaments” in the verse are things like “beads, jewels and other accessories.” This is significant in grasping the error and oddity of various interpretations based on false hadiths. According to this astonishing claim, a man's instincts are so primitive that the sight of a single bead is enough to drive him out of control. So according to that mindset, beads should be banned at once in order to keep “men,” supposedly barbaric entities, reined in!

This frightening way of thinking in point of fact is very revealing regarding the fanatics' view of the Muslim male. Yet a Muslim man is an entity that fears God and the reason he will refrain from unlawful actions is not because some things have been banned, but because they will be unpleasing to God. A Muslim man is not a being who will lose all control when he sees an uncovered woman or a handful of beads, or who lives in the light of animal instincts; to claim that he is represents a worst slander of a Muslim male.

The interpretations in question are actually highly significant in terms of exposing the barbaric mentality of the fanatics. When we set aside the interpretations of the fanatics and limit ourselves solely to the Qur'an we can quite clearly see what the word “ornament” means.