The Dress Code for Muslim Women: A Linguistic Analysis of the Qurānic Verses and the Prophetic Traditions

It is not uncommon to find cases of Muslim women being harassed or bullied in many of the Muslim-minority countries because of their dress. These Islamophobic attacks, unfortunately, are not merely conducted by radicalised individuals; but the subjugation of the rights of Muslim women also comes from institutional bodies and governments. Secular nations, such as France, Germany, Italy, Belgium, Netherlands, Bulgaria, Switzerland, USA, UK, Canada, China, and Russia have either imposed restrictions on Muslim women regarding their dress code. They see veil as a non-acceptance of progressive or cumulative values which is unsurprisingly not welcomed by the Muslim community. In such environment, it is inevitable for the Muslims to understand what the Qur’ān and Sunnah really say about the dress code for Muslim women in order to explain what their religion really requires from them and to communicate it appropriately to the government officials, journalists, politicians, and other relevant stakeholders. It is also essential from the perspective of segregating cultural aspects from the religious aspects. Many of the commonly used words for the dressing of Muslim women are more rooted in culture than the religion. It is accordingly vital to understand what the Qur’ān and Sunnah really command about the women dressing and how it has been interpreted in various Islamic societies and cultures. This paper accordingly presents an analysis of all the relevant Qur’ānic verses and the prophetic traditions (from the 6 most renowned books of ahadith). The linguistic analysis employed in this paper results in the identification of items of dress that were worn by Muslim women to safeguard their modesty during the times of Prophet Muhammad (ﷺ). The same principles are relevant for today’s age and time and the Muslims can use those guidelines to delineate cultural practices from the religious injunctions.

Production of Xylooligosaccharides from Agricultural Wastes for Preparation of Syniobotic Food

Xylooligosaccharides (XOs) were produced from four indigenous agricultural by-products including corncob, rice husk, almond shells and sheesham wood (Dalbergia sissoo) dust through chemical and enzymatic hydrolyses to evaluate potential of local agricultural wastes for XOs production. The methodology comprised of preparation of xylanase enzyme using Trichoderma harzianum with optimum reaction conditions found at pH 5.5 and temperature 28°C. When compared with commercially available enzyme, no significant difference was observed in xylan hydrolysis. Two types of chemical pre-treatment with acid and alkali were performed to enhance enzymatic hydrolysis. The pre-treatment with alkali improved the process in terms of lower yield of by-products. Resultant slurries were subjected to steaming at 145 ̊C for 30 min and the substrates were pulverized to facilitate enzymatic hydrolysis with xylanase (5 U/g) at 50 ̊C, pH 5.5. After refining, the XOs solution was spray dried. Both crude and refined XOs were determined with HPLC. Highest yield of the XOs was obtained from corncobs followed by sheesham wood dust, almond shells and rice husk. Asserted health effects of the XOs intake were evaluated through biological studies. XOs supplemented diet improved the body weight gain and serum biochemical profile of normal and diabetic rats. Also gastrointestinal health got better after 3 weeks study period indicated by low fecal pH, augmented CFU of Bifidobacteria. The XOs were incorporated in yoghurt by replacing CHO at different ratios for preparation of synbiotic food product. The pH, titratable acidity, total solids, fat, viscosity and whey separation with sensory characteristics of yoghurt samples were determined at 0, 7, 14 days interval. No significant difference (P<0.05) in sensory characteristics was observed with XOs incorporation up to 2.5% level; however physicochemical properties were affected