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Hijab: Difference between revisions
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{{Quote|{{Quran|33|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 [ḥijābin حِجَابٍ]. 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, ever. Indeed, that would be in the sight of Allah an enormity.}} | {{Quote|{{Quran|33|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 [ḥijābin حِجَابٍ]. 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, ever. Indeed, that would be in the sight of Allah an enormity.}} | ||
Traditions about the occasion of revelation for this verse are mentioned in a number of hadiths, and are covered later in this article. | Traditions about the occasion of revelation for this verse are mentioned in a number of hadiths, and are covered later in this article. {{Quran-range|33|32|33}} is another command specifically addressed to Muhammad's wives ("O wives of the Prophet, you are not like anyone among women [...]"). | ||
===Quran 33:59=== | ===Quran 33:59=== | ||
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{{quote |{{Quran|24|31}}|And tell the believing women to reduce [some] of their vision and guard their private parts and not expose their adornment [zīnatahunna إِخْوَٰنِهِنَّ] except that which [necessarily] appears thereof and to wrap [a portion of] their headcovers [bikhumurihinna بِخُمُرِهِنَّ] over their chests [juyūbihinna جُيُوبِهِنَّ] and not expose their adornment 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, or those male attendants having no physical desire, or children who are not yet aware of the private aspects [ʿawrāti عَوْرَٰتِ] of women. And let them not stamp their feet to make known what they conceal of their adornment. And turn to Allah in repentance, all of you, O believers, that you might succeed.}} | {{quote |{{Quran|24|31}}|And tell the believing women to reduce [some] of their vision and guard their private parts and not expose their adornment [zīnatahunna إِخْوَٰنِهِنَّ] except that which [necessarily] appears thereof and to wrap [a portion of] their headcovers [bikhumurihinna بِخُمُرِهِنَّ] over their chests [juyūbihinna جُيُوبِهِنَّ] and not expose their adornment 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, or those male attendants having no physical desire, or children who are not yet aware of the private aspects [ʿawrāti عَوْرَٰتِ] of women. And let them not stamp their feet to make known what they conceal of their adornment. And turn to Allah in repentance, all of you, O believers, that you might succeed.}} | ||
Bucar notes that unlike the above two verses, only late traditions provide an occasion of revelation for Q. 24:30-31. Believing women are told to draw their ''Khumar'' (singular: ''Khimar'') over their bosoms (''juyub''). | Bucar notes that unlike the above two verses, only late traditions provide an occasion of revelation for Q. 24:30-31. Believing women are told to draw their ''Khumar'' (singular: ''Khimar'') over their bosoms (''juyub''). Bucar comments that the word khimar, which some Quran commentators glossed as a veil, mainly meant a kerchief worn on the head, and that the root of the word juyub meant a space between, so probably meant cleavage. Thus she argues that the purpose of this part of the verse is that the cleavage must be covered.<ref name="Bucar40-45">Elizabeth Bucar, ''The Islamic Veil'', pp. 40-45</ref> In the same year (2012) a PhD thesis by Sheikh Mustapha Mohamed Rashed at al-Azhar University similarly concluded that the verse only commands that the bosom be covered.<ref>[https://www.moroccoworldnews.com/2012/06/45564/hijab-is-not-an-islamic-duty-scholar Hijab is Not an Islamic Duty: Muslim Scholar] - Morocco World News, 24 June 2012</ref> | ||
Except in specifically defined company, the verse also says that women must not reveal their adornment (''zina'', which besides illicit sexual activity is a word used in a few verses for stars adorning the heavens). It seems to essentially mean a woman's attractiveness, though Quran commentators have always disagreed on the meaning of hidden zina in this verse. Some suggested it meant ankle bracelets due to the final part of the verse telling women not to stamp their feet. {{Quran|24|60}} later in the same surah exempts older women from the command to wear garments hiding their adornment. Some Quran commentators like al-Tabari thought it allowed a woman's face to show, based on a hadith in which Muhammad defines what a woman can reveal of herself when she reaches the age of menstruation ({{Abu Dawud|33|4092}}, quoted in the next section below). For al-Zamakhshari, adornment in this context meant jewelry and makeup. Ibn Taymiyyah and al Baydawi said that even a woman's face and hands must be covered in public except during prayer.<ref name="Bucar40-45" /> | Except in specifically defined company, the verse also says that women must not reveal their adornment (''zina'', which besides illicit sexual activity is a word used in a few verses for stars adorning the heavens). It seems to essentially mean a woman's attractiveness, though Quran commentators have always disagreed on the meaning of hidden zina in this verse. Some suggested it meant ankle bracelets due to the final part of the verse telling women not to stamp their feet. {{Quran|24|60}} later in the same surah exempts older women from the command to wear garments hiding their adornment. Some Quran commentators like al-Tabari thought it allowed a woman's face to show, based on a hadith in which Muhammad defines what a woman can reveal of herself when she reaches the age of menstruation ({{Abu Dawud|33|4092}}, quoted in the next section below). For al-Zamakhshari, adornment in this context meant jewelry and makeup. Ibn Taymiyyah and al Baydawi said that even a woman's face and hands must be covered in public except during prayer.<ref name="Bucar40-45" /> | ||
Bucar notes that there was similarly no consensus on the meaning of the word 'awra in the verse. For men, hadiths made clear that a man's 'awra was from his navel to his knees. As for a woman's 'awra, there is an isolated hadith collected by al-Tirmidhi quoted in the next section on hadiths below. For some scholars it referred to a woman's bosom, neck and head, for others everything except her face and hands, or for others just the genital region (as with men).<ref name="Bucar40-45" /> | |||
==Hadiths== | ==Hadiths== | ||
Bucar observes that there are no explicit references in hadiths to women being required to cover the face or hair (a popular translation of {{Bukhari|6|60|282}} mentions women covering their faces, but this is not clear in the Arabic text). Bucar observes that hadiths distinguish a time before and after the revelation of the hijab verse concerning Muhammad's wives, particularly narrations about the event of the slander (al-ifk) in which 'Aisha was accused of adultery. By the time of these narrations, ''hijab'' had come to be transformed from a literal screen in the home of Muhammad's wives to a complex ideology of segregation, privacy and social status, perhaps reflecting post-Muhammad cultural practices of specific Muslim communities.<ref>Elizabeth Bucar, ''The Islamic Veil'', pp. 47-48</ref> | Bucar observes that there are no explicit references in hadiths to women being required to cover the face or hair (a popular translation of {{Bukhari|6|60|282}} mentions the women of Ansar covering their faces, but this is not clear in the Arabic text and another version of the narration in {{Abu Dawud|32|4089}} refers only to them making Khimars). Bucar observes that hadiths distinguish a time before and after the revelation of the hijab verse concerning Muhammad's wives, particularly narrations about the event of the slander (al-ifk) in which 'Aisha was accused of adultery. By the time of these narrations, ''hijab'' had come to be transformed from a literal screen in the home of Muhammad's wives to a complex ideology of segregation, privacy and social status, perhaps reflecting post-Muhammad cultural practices of specific Muslim communities.<ref>Elizabeth Bucar, ''The Islamic Veil'', pp. 47-48</ref> | ||
A few hadiths refer specifically to Muhammad's wives covering their heads and faces with jilbab in public such as {{Bukhari|5|59|462}}, which is the above mentioned event of the slander. It mentions Aisha drawing her jilbab over her face, though it also says this was after the verse of hijab had come down, which was a requirement specifically for Muhammad's wives. | A few hadiths refer specifically to Muhammad's wives covering their heads and faces with jilbab in public such as {{Bukhari|5|59|462}}, which is the above mentioned event of the slander. It mentions Aisha drawing her jilbab over her face, though it also says this was after the verse of hijab had come down, which was a requirement specifically for Muhammad's wives. | ||
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As she comes in front four folds appear on her front side and as she turns her back eight folds appear on the back side. Thereupon Allah's Apostle (ﷺ) said: I see that he knows these things; do not, therefore, allow him to cater. She (" A'isha) said: Then they began to observe veil from him.}} | As she comes in front four folds appear on her front side and as she turns her back eight folds appear on the back side. Thereupon Allah's Apostle (ﷺ) said: I see that he knows these things; do not, therefore, allow him to cater. She (" A'isha) said: Then they began to observe veil from him.}} | ||
Some observe that a eunuch could not pose any threat to the chastity or safety of Muhammad's wives, which distinguishes the purpose of hijab in Q. 33:53 from that of jilbab or | Some observe that a eunuch could not pose any threat to the chastity or safety of Muhammad's wives, which distinguishes the purpose of hijab in Q. 33:53 from that of jilbab or khimar for protection or modesty in the other verses discussed above. | ||
==In Islamic Law== | ==In Islamic Law== | ||
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She writes that "Early ''fiqh'' discussed veiling in the context of prayer, and in general saw veiling as an issue of social status and physical safety". Later, it was not a central concern of medieval legal scholars, though their reasoning remains relevant to modern discussions about veiling. Regarding the concept of 'awra mentioned in Q. 24:31 and discussed above, the majority view was that it excluded a woman's hands and face (the main Maliki and Hanafi view), though a minority view was that everything should be covered except her eyes despite no mention of this in the Quran, while hadiths indicate this was not common practice for early Muslim communities. Ibn Taymiyyah (d. 1328 CE) who inspired modern day Salafism said that her face should be covered in public, which became the standard Shafi'i and Hanbali legal position. Legal scholars also commonly linked 'awra with the concept of fitnah mentioned separately in the Quran. Bucar quotes the prominent jurist al-Nawawi (d. 1278) as an exemplar of this view, which is a motivation argued by some emerging Islamic governments in modern times: | She writes that "Early ''fiqh'' discussed veiling in the context of prayer, and in general saw veiling as an issue of social status and physical safety". Later, it was not a central concern of medieval legal scholars, though their reasoning remains relevant to modern discussions about veiling. Regarding the concept of 'awra mentioned in Q. 24:31 and discussed above, the majority view was that it excluded a woman's hands and face (the main Maliki and Hanafi view), though a minority view was that everything should be covered except her eyes despite no mention of this in the Quran, while hadiths indicate this was not common practice for early Muslim communities. Ibn Taymiyyah (d. 1328 CE) who inspired modern day Salafism said that her face should be covered in public, which became the standard Shafi'i and Hanbali legal position. Legal scholars also commonly linked 'awra with the concept of fitnah mentioned separately in the Quran. Bucar quotes the prominent jurist al-Nawawi (d. 1278) as an exemplar of this view, which is a motivation argued by some emerging Islamic governments in modern times: | ||
{{Quote|al-Nawawi quoted by Elizabeth | {{Quote|al-Nawawi quoted by Elizabeth Bucar (transl. El Fadl)<ref>Elizabeth Bucar, ''The Islamic Veil'', pp. 56</ref>|Since God made men desire women, and desire looking at them and enjoying them, women are like the devil in that they seduce men towards the commission of evil, while making evil look attractive [to men]. We deduct from this that women should not go out in the midst of men except for a necessity.}} | ||
Some modern Islamic jurists such as Khaled Abou El Fadl (d. 1963) have criticised this linking of a woman's 'awra with the concept of fitna and preventing illicit intercourse. He argues that modesty is a Quranic ethical command in and of itself and the relevant verses do not link it to fitna. The medieval jurists invocation of fitna in addition thereby shifted the blame for potential sin from men to women (whereas the hypocrites are blamed in Q. 33:59-60 for violating women's modesty). Thirdly, since even medieval jurists allowed exemptions (for example slaves labouring in fields), he argued that the rules must be "contigent and contextual in nature". In the late 19th and early 20th century a renewed juridical interest in veiling led to a wide range of debates and opinions.<ref name="Bucar49-58" /> | Some modern Islamic jurists such as Khaled Abou El Fadl (d. 1963) have criticised this linking of a woman's 'awra with the concept of fitna and preventing illicit intercourse. He argues that modesty is a Quranic ethical command in and of itself and the relevant verses do not link it to fitna. The medieval jurists invocation of fitna in addition thereby shifted the blame for potential sin from men to women (whereas the hypocrites are blamed in Q. 33:59-60 for violating women's modesty). Thirdly, since even medieval jurists allowed exemptions (for example slaves labouring in fields), he argued that the rules must be "contigent and contextual in nature". In the late 19th and early 20th century a renewed juridical interest in veiling led to a wide range of debates and opinions.<ref name="Bucar49-58" /> | ||