Hijab - A Refutation of Modernists

Question:

Asalaamu alaikum I hear many modernists, or people who claim to follow Qur'an only that the verses in the Qur'an don't mention that the hijab has to include wearing headcover etc. they say that all it states is that the clothes have to be modest etc.

Alhamdulillah the hadith section is good here so insha Allah we can refute them using that, but what i want to know is the explanation of full hijab using qur'an and authentic sunnah. I know its a simple question, but one which needs some clarification and explanation.




Answer:

Dear questioner:

Al-Salām `Alaykum wa Rahmah Allah wa Barakātuh.


Allah says: "Say to the believing men that they should lower their gaze and guard their modesty. That will make for greater purity for them, and Allah is acquainted with all that they do. And say to the believing women that they should lower their gaze and guard their modesty; that they not display their beauty except what (ordinarily) appears thereof; that they should draw their head coverings 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 slaves whom their right hands possess, or male attendants free of sexual desires or small children who have no carnal knowledge of women..." [ Sūrah al-Nūr: 30-31]

The word for head coverings in this verse is khimār, which is a garment that covers the head. This is evidence that a woman should cover her head.



`Âishah said: as reported in Sahīh Bukhārī: "May Allah bless the first immigrant women, when Allah revealed "that they should draw their head coverings over their bosoms" they cut some pieces of their clothes and use them.

Another verse, known as the verse of hijāb, was reveled in the fifth year after the emigration to Madinah. "O Prophet, tell your wives and daughters and the believing women that they should cast their outer garments over their persons: that is most convenient, that they should be known (as such) and not molested. And Allah is Oft-forgiving, most merciful" [ Sūrah al-Ahzāb: 59]

Please also be aware that hijāb is merely a degree of covering. The word does not mean "head scarf" nor does it refer to a head scarf like some people think. It is not a particular type or style of dress, as some people believe. It is not a "symbol" of Islam, nor is it some abstract religious duty that has no rationale behind it. It is not a mere display of religious identity. It is a question of what Islamic Law defines as indecent exposure.




In most Western countries, there are laws defining what is decent. This usually amounts to the male having to cover his genitals and the female having to cover her genitals and her breasts. If this minimum requirement is not met, the person can be charged with indecent exposure. The reason cited for the difference between men and women in this matter is the real physical differences in their anatomy.


Islam prescribes a more conservative minimum dress code for both men and women. A man should always be covered between his navel and his knee. A woman must cover everything but her face and hands. The wisdom behind this dress code is to minimize sexual enticement as much as possible for both men and women. Obeying this dress code is a form of obedience to Allah.

As long as a woman is covered according to the dictates of Islamic modesty, then she is sufficiently covered, regardless of what style of dress she adopts. She does not have to adopt a dress style that sets her apart from the society in which she lives, as long as she upholds the standards of Islamic modesty and covers everything but her face and hands. A woman should be able to figure out stylish ways to dress modestly and cover her hair and neck that do not make her conspicuous in the society in which she lives.



In fact, Muslims living in non-Muslim countries should not needlessly seek to appear different than the people around them. Doing so simply causes unnecessary conflicts and hardships.

Ibn Taymiyah writes: "If the Muslim lives in a non-Muslim country, regardless of whether or not that country is hostile with the Muslim countries, he will not be obligated to make himself appear different than them. This is on account of the difficulties that doing so can pose. Indeed, it might become preferable or even obligatory for him to conform to their outward standards of appearance if there is a benefit for the faith in doing so like inviting them to Islam, or preventing hardship for the Muslims, or for realizing any other wholesome intention." [ Iqtidā' al-Sirāt al-Mustaqīm (176)]



Some Western observers have assumed that the Muslim woman's covering of her head is meant to show her inferiority to men. This could not be further from the truth. The Qur'ān explicitly states that the reason for her dressing this way is so that she will be respected. The message that the woman gives when she wears Islamic dress is as follows: "Respect me for who I am. I am not a sex object."




And Allah knows best.

Fatwā Department Research Committee of IslamToday.net chaired by Sheikh `Abd al-Wahhāb al-Turayrī