Hijab
Encyclopedia : H : HI : HIJ : Hijab
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Vocabulary of Islam |
Hijab or ħijāb (Arabic: حجاب) is the Arabic term for "barrier". By extension, it can mean clothing or demeanor that protects modesty by creating a barrier between the person wearing that clothing and those around them. For non-Arabic speakers, this is the primary meaning of the word.
In some Arabic-speaking countries and Western countries, the word hijab primarily refers to a headscarf worn by Muslim women. But in Islamic scholarship, hijab is usually taken to take on the wider meaning of dressing modestly. The word used in the Qu'ran for a headscarf or veil is khimar (Arabic: خمار).
Religious considerations
Qur'an
Islam's holy book, the Qur'an, orders Muslims to dress in a "modest" fashion.
- Verse 33:59 orders believing women to "draw their jalābib close round them (when they go out)".
- Verse 24.30 reads: "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 well acquainted with all that they do."
- Verse 24.31 reads: "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 khumūr over their bosoms and not display their beauty except to their husbands, their fathers, their husband's fathers, their sons, their husbands' sons, their brothers or their brothers' sons, or their sisters' sons, or their women, or the (female) slaves whom their right hands possess, or old male servants who lack vigour, 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 ye Believers! turn ye all together towards God, that ye may attain Bliss."
Hadith
The hadith (Arabic plural ahādīth) are oral traditions concerning the practices of the early Muslim community. They were transmitted orally for more than a century before the first collections were written down. The hadith collections, accepted as canonical by Sunni Muslims, took their final form some three centuries after Muhammad's death.In Arabic, the word translated "cloak" in the following passage is jilbab. Contemporary Salafis insist that the jilbab worn today is the same garment mentioned in the Qur'an and the hadith; other translators have chosen to use less specific terms:
- Narrated Umm Atiyya: We were ordered to bring out our menstruating women and screened women to the religious gatherings and invocation of the Muslims on the two Eid festivals. These menstruating women were to keep away from the musalla. A woman asked, "O Messenger of Allah! What about one who does not have a cloak?". He said, "Let her borrow the cloak of her companion". Bukhari, Book 8, Number 347
- Narrated Anas: I know (about) the ħijāb more than anybody else. Ubai ibn Ka'b used to ask me about it. God's Apostle became the bridegroom of Zaynab bint Jahsh whom he married at Medina. After the sun had risen high in the sky, the Prophet invited the people to a meal. God's Apostle remained sitting and some people remained sitting with him after the other guests had left. Then God's Apostle got up and went away, and I too, followed him till he reached the door of ˤA'isha's room. Then he thought that the people must have left the place by then, so he returned and I also returned with him. Behold, the people were still sitting at their places. So he went back again for the second time, and I went along with him too. When we reached the door of ˤA'isha's room, he returned and I also returned with him to see that the people had left. Thereupon the Prophet hung a curtain between me and him and the Verse regarding the order for ħijāb was revealed. Bukhari, Volume 7, Book 65, Number 375 [link] See also Muslim, Book 008, Number 3334
- Narrated ˤA'isha: The Prophet (peace be upon him) said: God does not accept the prayer of a woman who has reached puberty unless she wears a veil. Abu Dawud, Book 2, Number 0641) [link] Abū Dawud is considered the third most authentic collection (after Bukhari and Muslim). However, not all hadiths in Abu Dawud are authentic.
- Narrated ˤA'isha: Asmā', daughter of Abū Bakr, entered upon the Apostle of God (peace be upon him) wearing thin clothes. The Apostle of God (peace be upon him) turned his attention from her. He said: O Asmā', when a woman reaches the age of menstruation, it does not suit her that she displays her parts of body except this and this, and he pointed to her face and hands. Abu Dawud, Book 32, Number 4092) [link]
- It was narrated that Umm Salama said: When the words "draw their cloaks (veils) all over their bodies" were revealed, the women of the Ansār went out as if there were crows on their heads because of the way they covered themselves. Abū Dawud, 4101. Abū Dawud classed this hadith as authentic
- ˤA'isha said: "May God have mercy on the first Muhajir women. When God revealed the words "and to draw their veils all over their bosoms" [an-Nūr 24:31] they tore their aprons and covered their faces with them." Bukhari, 4480; Abū Dawud, 4102. This translation may be problematic; it is unclear what Arabic words have been translated as "veil", "apron", "face" and "bosom"
Scholarly interpretation
Some Muslims who follow the Salafi strand of Sunni Islam insist that the garments known today as jilbab and khimar are the very garments demanded by the Qur'an but this is not accepted by non-Salafis. Instead most Qur'an translators and commentators translate the Arabic into English words with a general meaning - such as veils, head-coverings and shawls See [link] for a collection of Qur'an translations, compared verse by verse.Most scholars agree that the rules of ħijāb can be waived if following them would result in risk of death or extreme hardship. (See the article on ikrah, or physical compulsion.)
Sartorial hijab
Muslim communities across the world have interpreted hijab in many ways and different Muslims have different practices according to their interpretation circumstances.
Women's dress
Detailed scholarly attention has been focused on prescribing female dress. Most scholars agree that the basic requirements are that when in the presence of someone of the opposite sex (other than a close family member - mahram), a woman should cover her body, and walk and dress in a way which does not draw sexual attention to her. Some scholars go so far as specify exactly which areas of the body must be covered. In many cases, this is everything save the face and hands but others require everything save the eyes to be covered.
- The Saudi Arabian version of modest dress is composed of an abaya or loose robe, ħijāb or headcovering and niqāb or face veil. The Saudi niqāb usually leaves a long open slot for the eyes; the slot is held together by a string or narrow strip of cloth. Roaming religious police enforce female modesty. Abaya and ħijāb are required; the niqāb is optional.
- While Pakistan has no laws enforcing ħijāb, there are many parts of the country where there is strong social pressure for women to observe ħijāb, or purdah, as it is called in Persian. Many Pakistani women who observe purdah wear a garment called the pak-chadar, a headscarf with attached veil. However, there are also many Pakistani women who simply wear a dupatta or chunari to cover their heads. These are long scarves, often made of a light material, that match the woman's garments.
- There are no laws enforcing ħijāb in India, but in some conservative, Muslim-majority areas, there is social pressure to cover. Some Indian women wear the burqa, although many content themselves with dupatta or chunari.
- A relatively less strict (though still considerably restrictive) interpretation is that of the current Iranian government, which requires women to wear loose-fitting coats or cloaks in public, as well as a head scarf that covers the hair.
- Afghanistan's burqa is the most extreme example of this belief: not even a woman's eyes are visible. Typically, a burqa is composed of many yards of light material pleated around a cap that fits over the top of the head. There is an embroidered openwork grille where the burqa passes over the eyes. Under the Taliban, the burqa was obligatory. Under the current government, it may or may not be worn.
- In Malaysia the headscarf is known as a tudung
Men's dress
Although certain general standards are widely accepted, there has been little interest in narrowly prescribing what constitutes modest dress for Muslim men. Most mainstream scholars say that men should cover themselves from the navel to the knees; a minority say that the hadith that are held to require this are weak and possibly inauthentic. They argue that there are hadith indicating that the Islamic prophet Muħammad wore loose clothing that uncovered his thigh when riding camels, and hold that if Muħammad believed that this was permissible, then it is surely permissible for other Muslim males.As a practical matter, however, the opinion that Muslim men must cover themselves between the navel and the knees is predominant, and most Muslims believe that a man who fails to observe this requirement during salat must perform the prayer again, properly covered, in order for it to be valid. Three of the four madhabs, or schools of law, require that the knees be covered; the Maliki school recommends but does not require knee covering.
Modesty
Some Muslims argue that hijab, as modesty, requires more than just modest dress [link]. For instance, some say that women should avoid speaking to men who are not their relatives, unless it is strictly necessary and done in a business-like manner. They might also argue that the Quranic injunction not to stamp one's feet or jangle jewellery (such as heavy gold or silver anklets and bangles) should be followed. [link] [link]Others argue that speaking to men outside of the family is permitted as long as the women's voice does not come across as alluring or flirtatious[link]. They would say that a woman's voice is not awrah.
Debate and controversy
Some commentators question whether Muslim men and women are freely able to make decisions regarding their interpretation of hijab, or whether they are under coercive pressure to wear certain clothes and behave in certain ways. They maintain that the social pressures to conform to the rules of hijab are too strong. In particular, they cite cases in which honor killings have been carried out on family members seen as violating the rules. Furthermore, in Saudi Arabia and Iran women must wear the national version of Islamic dress or face punishment by religious police. Critics of conservative dress point out that while many claim the hijab does not signify oppression, those for whom it does are not necessarily free to state their true views on the matter.
Yet other commentators would see this line of argument as guilty of cultural imperialism (because many of those that argue it are themselves not Muslim). The French law on secularity and conspicuous religious symbols in schools and recent banning of the niqab in Belgium[link] are seen by some to be part of a general trend of Islamaphobia in the Western world.
Women can of course also choose to wear styles that are more ostentatiously modest than local mores might require - perhaps as a sign of Islamic enthusiasm and or piety. Some Western converts to Islam, such as Sultaana Freeman, have taken such enthusiasm to extremes. They refuse to show their faces for identity-card photos even though they face fines and jail sentences as a result.
See also
- Veil
- List of hats and headgear
- Tzeniut
- Habit, the distinctive clothing of certain religious orders
References
- El Guindi, Fadwa -- Veil: Modesty, Privacy, and Resistance, Berg, 1999.
External links
- [Another introduction to hijab]
- [The Question of Hijab: Supression or Liberation?] By Mary C. Ali
- [Liberation by the Veil] By Sehmina Jaffer Chopra
- [Styles of hijab]
- [Hijab - An Expression of Freedom?]
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