Syllabus in class - provide Islamic plays/works and short stories.
All students who are taking this subject have to do a play based on what the syllabus is during that particular semester. However being a student of IIUM and using materials that are not Islamic like plays from William Shakespeare, Homer etc.
In this blog, we are going to discuss about the execution of the play by the students. This includes before, during and after the play. The aspects that will be touched are the aspects of:
(a) proximity/mingling between the actors and actresses
(b) voice projection of the actresses
(c) make-up/clothing/props
Possible problems
Intermingling (ikhtilat)
There are problems that will occur in regards of these aspects which are mentioned above. The problems will be explained in details of what might occur during the practice and the actual play. In the aspect of proximity/mingling between the actors and actresses, the problem that usually occurs when actors and actresses involved is that they mix freely without observing the boundaries that has been set by shariah. Many BENL students take this matter lightly and they do not observe their proximity (ikhtilat) between male and female students. In many cases, they usually mingle together and chat and talk loudly. It is not possible that they might come across the limit when they are joking, there might be touching, slapping and any act that is associated with those between them. Even if they are talking and discussing about the play, they should have a boundary upon this matter and avoid any close contact with the opposite genders. They do not have to converse in any trivial matters like jokes, gossips and woos. It is not that they cannot crack a joke but the important matters should be the priority and trivial matters such as those should be reduced in order to avoid any fitnah by other people around there.
Dress code
Every actor and actress will usually apply make-up and wear certain clothing to fit the character and characteristics that they are acting on. This is where the problems come especially for the actresses when they apply a heavy make-up on their face which sometimes others cannot recognize them. In Islam, women's beauty is not for any men to see. Only certain men can see it like the husband, the father and the siblings of the actresses. This is worrying because the make-up can attract the male students and might cause the actors to praise and compliment about their make-up. This also might lead to self-pride (riya') in the actresses' self. Besides, the actors also might disturb, woo and flirt the actresses because of the attraction. Even worse, the actresses play along with the actors and this encourages them to flirt the actresses more and again, this might lead to fitnah.
Then, when we touch on the aspect of clothing, the problem occurs when they wear tight, revealing and striking clothes especially the female students. Many BENL students still do not have the awareness to cover their aurah properly be it the male students and female students. This does not apply for BENL students only but to all students of all courses but in this essay, we will discuss on the specific BENL students who take ENGL 1525 (Literary Genre II: Introduction to Drama). Many of them wear tight jeans and shirts and they wear shirts that are transparent and have a striking colour which attract the male students to peep on them. This also happens during the practice and play when they need to wear these kinds of clothing to fit the need of characterization of the specific characters. The consequence of this tight fitting is there are chances the male students might disturb the female students. Feminists claim that the high percentage of rape cases are caused by men's lust but have they checked on how the women dress themselves? We believe that if women wear good clothes and cover their aurah properly, the percentage of disturbance of women and rape cases can be reduced. The same goes to the students where they should cover their aurah according to shariah to prevent any bad consequences by other people.
Voice projection
Now, regarding the voice projection, some people might say that it is not a problem for females to let out their voice with high intonation, but some might also say that it becomes a problem because of the opinion that females' voice is an aurah and need to be preserved by not letting it be heard publicly to non-muhrim. This is due to the fact that females need to voice out their intonation quite highly because in the theater or hall, they do not use any microphone. All the actors and actresses depend solely on their voice projection alone. Besides, this problem can occur from the female students themselves when they are nervous when performing, their voice projection becomes small and they need to put in extra effort to project their voice out loud. Then, the hall itself can contribute to the problem as a big hall will reduce the voice projection of the actors and actresses. If the hall is full with cushions and other absorbent materials, their voice projection is absorbed, thus it will become small and hardly to be heard. However, for the people who stand on the view of this issue is not being a problem, they take the opinion of scholars who say that females' voice is not fully or completely aurah or haram to be heard publicly. This kind of issue needs to be talked and discussed about so that it can be solved. Despite of that, this kind of issue can also become problematic when some people do not want to accept other scholar's opinion and became strict (shadid) in their own point of view. Thus, this can lead to many fitnah and problematic issues.
Every problem will come with its own solution and we have suggested several solutions for the discussed problems. We divide it into categories to ease the reading.
Suggested solutions:
Intermingling (ikhtilat)
In terms of the ikhitilat between male and female students
before the play, it is suggested that everyone behaves accordingly and observes
the guide line in communicating and socializing with the opposite genders. If
they cannot manage to follow the guide line, they should appoint an advisor who
can observe their rehearsal. Suggested advisor for them is someone who has a
good Islamic background and can give advice to them how to manage the ikhtilat.
They should focus on their training and discuss important matters without too
much trivial matters raised like gossiping. There are limitations in intermingling with different genders and from Surah an-Nur:31, Allah states that:
"And
say to the believing women that they should lower their gaze and guard their
modesty; that they should not display their beauty and ornaments except what
must ordinarily appear thereof; that they should draw their veils over their
bosoms and not display their beauty except to their husbands, their fathers,
their husbands' fathers, their sons, their husbands' sons, their brothers, or
their brothers' sons or their sisters' sons, or their women or the servants
whom their right hands possess, or male servants free of physical needs, or
small children who have no sense of the shame of sex, and that they should not
strike their feet in order to draw attention to their hidden ornaments. And O
you Believers, turn you all together towards Allah, that you may attain
Bliss".
Voice projection
For this problem, the best way to solve it is by observing
the voice projection of the actresses. Actresses should project her voice
normally with medium pitch; not too low or high. They also should avoid
projecting seductive voice and encourage projecting a ‘strict’ voice so the
others know how to respect them. This
problem also involves external factor such as the setting of the hall. In order
to prevent this problem, the restriction of not using microphone should be
loosened. When performing plays, students are not allowed to use microphone and
they depend entirely on their voice. This can cause problem to actresses who
should observe her voice projection. To solve this, lecturers should permit the
use of microphone on the stage. The suggested solution is there should be
several microphones with their stands at the front of the stage. However,
students do not have to hold the microphones instead, they just perform as
usual but with the help of the static microphones, their voices can be
projected and heard in the entire hall. This way, actresses should not have to
shout or project their voices out loud.
The Qur'an
clearly forbids women from being soft of speech while talking to men. Allah
says: "Be not too complaisant of speech, lest one in whose heart is a
disease should be moved with desire: but speak with a
speech (that is)
proper." [Surah al-Ahzab: 32].
Thus, it is
forbidden for a woman to make her voice very pleasant and attractive so as to
cause confusion in
a man whereby a man who has a sickness in his heart hears
her voice, and gets attracted to it through lust.
Dress code
The actors and actresses should wear clothes that are proper
and cover their aurah. Tight fitting and transparent clothes should be avoided
as these clothes can attract the males to peep them. The suggested clothes are
the clothes which are not tight, not too striking and they should be loose and
long especially for the actresses. In the aspect of make-up, the actresses
should not apply make-up that is ‘thick’ and striking to make the themselves looking more beautiful than ever. This might also attract the males to peep on them.
In Surah al-Ahzab: 59, Allah says, "O prophet, tell your wives, your daughters, and the wives of the
believers that they shall lengthen their garments. Thus, they will be
recognized (as righteous women) and avoid being insulted. God is Forgiver, Most
Merciful."
Likewise,
Islam also has forbidden a woman from putting on perfume and passing in front of
men. It has prohibited her from striking her feet on the ground when she walks
to reveal the jingle of her hidden ornaments.
In conclusion, it is not that BENL students cannot perform the plays in front of the audiences regardless of male and female audiences but the guidelines must be followed. As Muslims, we must adhere to the rules of Islam and we cannot break the law as free as we like. Allah has given us Al-Quran and Prophet Muhammad has left us with his sunnah and insyaallah we will be safe as long as we follow these two. Whatever we do, we must remember the consequences of our actions whether our actions will lead to good or bad consequences. Islam is the way of life and to neglect it is like living without faith that can destroy us in whatever we do.
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