Muslims wear hijabs primarily as a symbol of obedience to Allah. For Muslim women, the hijab represents a medal of honor and a commitment to their faith. While there are numerous reasons for wearing the hijab in Islam, the foremost reason is the adherence to Allah’s command.
In Muslim societies, the hijab also reflects societal values, promoting chastity and the esteemed status of women. It fosters an environment of honor and respect for women.
In the following sections, we will define the hijab and explore its various aspects and significance in Islam.a
hijab definition
Hijab in the Arabic language means a thing that covers another that we can’t see or reach. Muslim women hijab is the robe that will cover the nakedness of a woman’s body, in Islam, it’s all woman’s body except her face and palms.
Some anti-Islamic and Islamophobic people claimed that Muslims created hijab to possess women, but actually, Islam wasn’t the first religion in which hijaps is one of its legislations, Christianity, and many other cultures contain hijab as the wear of women.
what is a hijab?
Hijaab is a cover to all woman’s body except her face and palms, which is called woman nakedness that must be covered when a woman meets foreign men and when she performs prayers.
Although hhijab is important to preserve women and protect them, performing huijab is a sign of obedience to Allah, even if there is any logical reason for performing hijab Muslim women will perform it seeking Allah’s satisfaction and pleasure.
The woman is the Muslim-preserved gem, Islam is keen to preserve her not only by covering her body but by setting legislations that preserve her rights in all life affairs.
what is hijab concept in Islam?
Non-Muslims could think hijaps are just a robe, in fact, this is a robe of deep faith and a sign of obedience. Islamic teachings call for spreading chastity and concealment, Muslim woman has a special place in Islamic society, she is the preserved gem, and hijab was imposed to protect her and society from corruption and prostitution.
Of course, there are many hijab women who are not a good representative of Islam, but that doesn’t mean this is a defect in the concept of hijab it’s a defect in how we perform and live.
surahs that refer the hijab in quran
hijab in quran in ahzab surah verses no 53, and 59, and are:
1- (And when you ask [his wives] for something, ask them from behind a partition. That is purer for your hearts and their hearts)53
That means if you talk to a foreign woman you shouldn’t look at her, that means the woman must cover her body to be preserved and this will keep both men’s and women’s hearts protected.
2- (O Prophet, tell your wives and your daughters and the women of the believers to bring down over themselves [part] of their outer garments. That is more suitable so that they won’t be known and not be abused. And ever is Allah Forgiving and Merciful).59
This is a direct command to Muslim women to wear hijab.
3- the third one in surah Annour verse31:
(And tell the believing women to cast down their gaze, and guard their private parts and not expose their adornment[ except that which [necessarily] appears thereof and to wrap [a portion of] their head covers over their chests and not expose their adornment [i.e., beauty] except to their husbands, their fathers, their husbands’ fathers, their sons, their husbands’ sons, their brothers, their brothers’ sons, their sisters’ sons, their women, that which their right hands possess [i.e., slaves], or those male attendants having no physical desire or children who are not yet aware of the private aspects of women). 31
In this verse, Allah showed us who could see a woman without her Hijab.
what hadith says about hijab?
This hadith was narrated by Abu Dawood that Asmaa bint Abu Bakr entered upon the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) with parchment clothes on her, and the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) introduced her and said:
“O Asmaa, if a woman reaches menstruation, she is not fit to see from her except this and this.” To his face and palms.
Here, the prophet peace be upon him showed two things about the hijab, when women should wear hijabs, after the age of menstruation, and the other thing is how to wear it, covering all her body except the face and palms.
why do women wear hijab?
Imposing hijab in Quran and Sunnah appears in many verses and hadith, now we will mention some of them to show the main reasons for wearing hijab:
1- Allah’s command:
As Allah said in annour surah verse 31:
(And tell the believing women to lower their gaze (from looking at forbidden things), protect their private parts (from illegal sexual acts, etc.), and not to show off their adornment except only that which is apparent (face and palms).
It’s the clear command of Allah to the Muslim women hijab wearing
2-protection:
Allah said in surah Al Ahzab verse no 59:
(O Prophet, tell your wives and your daughters and the women of the believers to bring down over themselves [part] of their outer garments. That is more suitable so that they won’t be known and not be abused. And ever is Allah Forgiving and Merciful).
Anti-Islamic claimed that Islam lustfully looked to women, in this verse Allah showed us the truthful vision of Islam to the woman she is a precious gem that should be protected and respected.
3-piety:
Allah said in al-ahzab surah in verse 53:
O you who have believed, do not enter the houses of the Prophet except when you are permitted for a meal, without awaiting its readiness. But when you are invited, then enter; and when you have eaten, disperse without seeking to remain for conversation. Indeed, that [behavior] was troubling the Prophet, and he is shy of [dismissing] you. But Allah is not shy of the truth. And when you ask [his wives] for something, ask them from behind a partition. That is purer for your hearts and their hearts. And it is not [conceivable or lawful] for you to harm the Messenger of Allah or to marry his wives after him. Indeed, that would be in the sight of Allah an enormity.
Here, Allah commanded the companions of the prophet to keep their eyes away from his wives, and this showed us that women must cover their bodies also in the way that Allah ordered them to do.
Is the hijab mandatory?
As we previously mentioned, Allah frankly gave Muslims the command to wear hijaab, many times in Quran and the prophet peace be upon him did too.
Islam for Muslims is not only about praying, but Islam for Muslims is also a way to live, eat, work, marriage, how wear and work, and in many things in our life affairs, there are many mandatory things to do.
Hijab is one of those mandatory things that Muslim women should do and respect, even if she couldn’t do it for any reason, she should believe that it’s an order from Allah and respect it.
is hijab fard or sunnah?
As we previously said that hijab is mandatory which means it’s fard, fard in Islam is the obligatory actions and worship that we have to do, not optional which means Sunnah, which means things we could do seeking more deeds.
So in this case hijabs is fard not Sunnah.
are Muslim women required to wear a hijab?
For Muslim men or women, any mandatory order of Allah should be done, so Muslim women should wear hijab according to the conditions that Allah revealed to them.
There are many Muslim women not wearing hijaab for many reasons, this is a sinful thing, but Allah is forgiving and merciful, if they repent he will forgive.
when did Muslim women start wearing hijabs?
A Muslim girl must wear higap by reaching puberty when she has menstruation, but if she doesn’t have menses till 15 years old she has to wear it.
why some muslim don’t wear hijab?
Although Muslim women must wear hijap, you could see many who don’t, this is a sin that he should repent of, and now we would talk about some reasons that make women don’t wear hijab.
what is the purpose of wearing the hijab?
1- religious literacy:
Many Muslim societies and families have religious ignorance and literacy not only of the imposition of hijab but many other religious aspects, so they think that hijap is optional, and they could wear it when they get older, or they mustn’t do it at all.
2-worldly purposes:
Another woman knows that the hijab is mandatory, but she could have some reasons not to wear it, and actually, all these reasons won’t be an excuse when they meet Allah on the resurrection day.
Some of them think that hijab will reduce their chances of working or getting married, this is not true because if this work or marriage will be built on the disobedience of Allah, so there is no good in it.
Others could say that they are in a very hot region, actually, this is a very weak claim. The mothers of believers and the companions of the prophet were in a very hot climate in the deserts and mountains, and they went to war with the prophet and his companions. Actually, Jahanam will be hotter.
3- Anti-Islamic campaigns:
Nowadays, Muslims are preoccupied with worldly struggles, they lost their way and here the anti-islamic enemies launch fierce campaigns against Islam. They spread false allegations and narrations, they wanted to destroy the basics of Islam, and scatter the efforts of Muslims, so Muslims will fight against each other although instead of this, they could spread Islamic legislation in other societies.
Here, you could hear that hijab is one of the ignorant habits, but actually in the ignorant era hijab was prohibited.
Allah said in surah al ahzab verse 33:
And abide in your houses and do not display yourselves as [was] the display of the former times of ignorance. And establish prayer and give zakah and obey Allah and His Messenger. Allah intends only to remove from you the impurity [of sin], O people of the [Prophet’s] household, and to purify you with [extensive] purification.
Here, Allah forbade the Muslim women to wear like the women in the ignorant era, that they didn’t cover their bodies, so hijab is not an ignorant habit.
what are the rules of wearing a hijab?
As with all other worship that Allah imposed over Muslims, there are conditions which they have to follow and achieve, we should obey Allah as he commanded not by following our whims.
And now, we will mention these conditions:
1-not adornment in itself:
The main purpose of wearing a hijab is to protect the woman from the gaze of foreign men so it must be simple so that won’t attract them to look at her.
2-not transparent :
The clothes must be loose and wide, and a long hijab that doesn’t describe the body beneath it.
3-not perfumed or fumigated:
The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: “Whatever woman was perfumed, she passed by the people to find her wind, she is an adulterer.”
4-not imitate men:
The prophet peace be upon him cursed the women who imitated men.
5-not imitate the infidels
when did Muslim women start wearing hijabs?
A Muslim hijab girl wearing must be started while reaching puberty when she has menstruation, but if she doesn’t have menses till 15 years old she has to wear it.
The first time the Muslim women wear hijab after the revelation of verse no 31 of annour surah.
do children have to wear hijabs?
Hijabs are not mandatory for girls before menstruation, or 15 years old, but some families force their daughters before this age and this is not commendable.
what age can a woman stop wearing hijab?
Allah said in surah alnour verse 60:
Such elderly women are past the prospect of marriage,- there is no blame on them if they lay aside their (outer) garments, provided they do not make a wanton display of their beauty: but it is best for them to be modest: and Allah is One Who sees and knows all things.
This means older women can stop wearing the hijab.
does the color of the hijab mean anything?
As we mentioned before, the conditions of hijab said that hijab must not attract the gaze of foreign men, so the colors must not be very bright.
how to wear hijab step by step?
After we mention the conditions of Hijab, now we will mention how to wear it according to the shape of hijab:
The square hijab:
Here we will fold the veil into two equal parts diagonally.
then we will put it on our heads and leave the ends of hijap on the chest.
Finally, we will put a pin to fasten it under the chin.
Rectangular hijab:
We will apply the long hijab on our heads but we will take into account that one end will be twice the other.
Then we will fasten it under the chin by using a pin.
Then we will let the shortest end on the shoulder, then wrap the long end around the head, then we will fasten it by pin over the head.
is it ok to show a little hair with hijab?
it’s not permissible to do that, the whole hair is dormant of the woman, so the little hair can’t be shown.
punishment for not wearing hijab in Quran
The woman who doesn’t wear hijab which is a command of Allah, is disobedient and she has to repent to Allah, and if she denies the obligation of hijap, she denies a duty of Islam so she got a great sin, and if she doesn’t repent she will be punished in the life after.
ِallah said in surat al ahzab verse 36:
(It is not for a believing man or a believing woman, when Allah and His Messenger have decided a matter, that they should [thereafter] have any choice about their affair. And whoever disobeys Allah and His Messenger has certainly strayed into clear error)
Allah imposed hijabs and this is a clear command for Muslims, so whoever disobeys his order will be disobedient and deserve the punishment of the disobedient.
related question
what happens if you dont wear hijab?
You could see a young woman who didn’t wear hijab and if you ask her why she will respond that she is still young and she shouldn’t wear it.
Here, if she doesn’t know the obligation of hijap, and after we tell her she starts to wear it, Allah will forgive inshallah, and if she doesn’t repent after she knows she will be disobedient of Allah till she repents.
can a man see a woman without hijab before marriage?
Scholars differed in this case. Most of them went to the opinion that the fiance could see her face and palms only, and others went to the opinion that he could see her hair for the first time but after that, he couldn’t till marriage.
do hijabis wear hijab to sleep?
Women mustn’t wear hijap in their sleeping and house if there are no foreign men.
can I pray without hijab?
Women cannot pray without hijab, all their bodies will be covered except their face and palms.
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how to do wudu with hijab on?
The Islamic scholars differed if it is permissible to wipe over the hijab or it’s not:
The first opinion goes to not permissible because the order of Allah was to wipe the head so the woman should have to remove hijap to perform wudu. The other group went to the opinion of wiping over hijap if she couldn’t remove it.
Summary
Muslim women’s hijab is not just a robe, it’s a worship, a sign of obedience to Allah, and the protection aura of Muslim women who has a special place.
Allah imposed hijab with conditions that every Muslim woman must be keen to do, such as not being transparent, long, and wide.
As hijab is worship and direct command from Allah, a woman who doesn’t wear hijab will be disobedient and must repent asking Allah to forgive her.
