Hijab, is it...or what?!

[Mohammed4762]

Salam all,

Sometime ago i was a strong believer that Hijab was Obligatory
and i also thought that all other Mulims share my opinion,
but lately
I was searching the net for something and i was shocked when i saw in a forum, a topic that says Hijab is not obligatory,
Then i searched the net for the topic and found out that a lot of other Muslims Agree with that.
To make it worse i think that they have got some convincing ideas
about that.


Now i ask you nothing but to enlighten me with your ideas about Hijab
is it obligatory, recommended, or none of that?

Regards,

Moh'd

[jia li]

asa

yeah i also read that in some places too, and yeah they did come up with convincing reasons eventhough i looked up on it a long time ago and cant remember much. I have been wearing hijab for a long time so I didnt worry too much on whether its possible that its not obligatory because im obviously in a habit of wearing it anyway.

Well it depends on what sources they are basing their finds on. Are their answers based on the Qu'ran or on the Qur'an and hadith?

Can you provide some of the information you found on this here?

[Mohammed4762]

salam

i think they are based on Holy Quran only (Qurani)

and about the info it is in arabic but i will tell you what i can

it says that the verse on quran is only about the time when there were hypocrites and it is only recommendence from god (swt)


however. the point i think those Qurani people is not so powerful at is
that they say that they pray 5 time a day even though god didnt say that in Quran, but everyone is doing it Mohammed (pbuh) alsahaba,and every Muslim after them is praying 5 times

so cant we say that Hijab is the same??

[Ron]

Salam Mohammed4762,

Please give the proper respect that our beloved Prophet (pbuh) deserves by writing his name rather than some short form of it. You were kind enough to write your name, surely you can extend your kindness to our beloved one.

Regards

[Mohammed4762]

Salam Mohammed4762,

Please give the proper respect that our beloved Prophet (pbuh) deserves by writing his name rather than some short form of it. You were kind enough to write your name, surely you can extend your kindness to our beloved one.

Regards

Well if i wrote his name With a little shortcut does that mean i disrespect him??????
i always write my name like this so i didnt notice anything really LMAO:

however, if someone really respect The prophet (pbuh) he should
follow his Sunnah and hadiths and do what he did do, its not really much about name.......i mean its in the heart not in the way you write his name
.

i will change it anyway but i dont think the beloved Prophet (pbuh) will agree with you if he was here.


**btw when i say ((pbuh)) does that mean i disrespect him??
Shouldnt we show even more respect by saying peace be upon him?


I thank you for your concern and your advice.


regards,

Moh'd

[jyang]

If you aks hijab is cumpusory or not, then you should first define what you mean by hijab. Different cultures among Muslim nations define hijab differently.

I believe there are two reasons for hijab. One is to inculcate modesty, in both male and female. The other is the protection of female. But I personally do not believe the hijab for the second reason is cumpulsory, and I will give my reason, inshallah.

The holy Quran is a guidance for the muttaqin (the God conscious) (verse 2:2). Every civil society has some rules regarding modesty. The dress code is one of them. Even in US and EU countries, there are laws that say you cannot be nude. It is offensive towards others and uncivlized to reveal what we should hide. One part of the hijab covers this aspect, to hide your awra, and to not look at the awra of others if you get a chance.

As for the second part, hijab to protect the women, one should study the historical context of the times the verse was revealed. It was a time of uncivlity and barbarianism. As much as the prophet (s.a.w.) tried or wanted, he could not tame the uncultured bedouins. These bedouins would go around brothels and flirt with prostitutes. When they were out, they would not differentiate betwen prostitutes and non-prostitutes. They used to taunt and tease ladies they saw walking on the streets and doing their daily business. It got so bad that some men started doing this with the 'mothers of the believers', the wives of the prohpet (s.a.w.). Then the verse was revealed to the prophet (s.a.w.):

O Prophet! Tell thy wives and daughters, and the believing women, that they should cast their outer garments over their persons (when abroad): that is most convenient, that they should be known (as such) and not molested. And Allah is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful. (33.59)

Note the tone of the verse (allthough you should look at the arabic for a better idea of the tone). It says the prophet should ask them (not order them) and says it is more convenient or better for them if they do it. There is no order in the statement. So you cannot say this hijab is obligatory, but you can say it is a good thing to do.

In modern times in civilized societies, teasing, harassing women and doing catcalls is illegal and perpetrators are stricking penalized. This is true in US, EU countries and most GCC arab countries (in most places). The environment is not like that 1400 years ago where you had ignorant uncivilized bedouins. All though I do not talk of all places today in general, in most civilized countries it is quite safe for ladies to walk out and do work.

On the other hand, in the islamophobic western countries, if you actually do the niqab, burqa or the shottle-**** hijab, you are only attracting more attention to yourself and are more likely to be teased and harassed. Since the burqa is not a religious requirement, I do not know why Muslim ladies will go through this trouble, and get further teased by non-Muslims. It is actually going against the purpose of the verse, which was to prevent them from being harassed. If you are being harassed because of your burqa, you don't need it, all you need to do is dress modestly.

And Allah knows best. This is just my opinion.

[Mohammed4762]

And Allah knows best. This is just my opinion.

it is an opinion but its pretty much convincing, thanks a lot for enlighting me with your words, u changed my view and guided me to the right thing
may allah reward you with his paradise.

Thanks again


regards,
Moh'd

[sheik]

salaam

Dear brother

i would agree with jyang when it comes down to defining hijab. hijab in the islamic context means to dress modestly. it is compulsary for men and women to "wear" hijab. this can be seen in 024:030 - 024:031, where it is decreed that the believing men and women lower their gaze.

however the notion of a scarf or head covering of a female is not compulsary, because it all depends how a female takes the surah 24 ayat 31 in relation to her. if hair would be an ornament then it is recommended that she observe the "hijab." but all in all the hijab as an item, is recomended by several scholars and they deem it mustahab, but it is not fardh.

salaam

[uzersk]

Assalamu Alaikum,

I'd like to strongly request that people respect the deen and not talk about it unless they are absolutely certain. If in doubt ask for daleel.

For one thing, jyang, could you please supply the reference that says that the verse merely "asks" the wives to wear jilbab as oppose to "ordering" them. The word "Tell..." sounds like a lot more than a mere recommendation.

Anyway, I quote an article from al-muhajabah.com.

"
So, what do the Quran and Sunna say about hijab? There are two ayat of the Quran that deal with hijab. These are Surah an-Nur ayah 31 and Surah al-Ahzab ayah 59. Let's look at what these ayat say, and how the Prophet (sAas) has explained them.

Surah an-Nur ayah 31 says:

Wa qul li al-mu'minat yaghdudna min absarihinna wa yahfazna furujahunna wa laa yubdina zenatahunna illa maa zahara min haa wal-yadribna bi khumurihinna ala juyubihinna; wa laa yubdina zenatahunna illa li bu'ulatihinna aw aba'ihinna aw aba'i bu'ulatihinna aw abna'ihinna aw abna'i bu'ulatihinna aw ikhwanihinna aw bani ikhwanihinna aw bani akhawatihinna aw nisa'ihinna aw maa malakat aymanu hunna aw at-tabi'ina ghayri ulu'l-irbat min ar-rijal aw at-tifl alladhina lam yazharu ala awrat an-nisa wa laa yadribna bi arjulihinna li yu'lama maa yukhfina min zenatahinna. Wa tubu ilaAllahi jami'an, ayyuha al-mu'minun la'allakum tuflihun

And say to the faithful women to lower their gazes, and to guard their private parts, and not to display their beauty except what is apparent of it, and to extend their headcoverings (khimars) to cover their bosoms (jaybs), and not to display their beauty except to their husbands, or their fathers, or their husband's fathers, or their sons, or their husband's sons, or their brothers, or their brothers' sons, or their sisters' sons, or their womenfolk, or what their right hands rule (slaves), or the followers from the men who do not feel sexual desire, or the small children to whom the nakedness of women is not apparent, and not to strike their feet (on the ground) so as to make known what they hide of their adornments. And turn in repentance to Allah together, O you the faithful, in order that you are successful

Surah al-Ahzab ayah 59 says:

Ya ayyuha an-Nabiyy qul li azwajika wa banatika wa nisa al-mu'minin yudnina alayhinna min jalabib hinna; dhalika adna an yu'rafna fa laa yu'dhayn. Wa kana Allahu Ghafur Rahim

O Prophet! Say to your wives and your daughters and the women of the faithful to draw their outergarments (jilbabs) close around themselves; that is better that they will be recognized and not annoyed. And God is ever Forgiving, Gentle.

Together, these two ayat lay out seven commandments for Muslim sisters:

"to lower their gazes"
"to guard their private parts"
"not to display their beauty except what is apparent of it"
"to extend their headcoverings to cover their bosoms"
"not to display their beauty except to their husbands or their fathers..."
"not to strike their feet (on the ground) so as to make known what they hide"
"to draw their outergarments close around themselves"
It can be seen that three of these commandments relate to behavior. These are:

lowering the gaze
guarding the private parts
not striking the feet on the ground so as to give knowledge of what is hidden
Lowering the gaze means not looking at what is forbidden to be seen of others. Guarding the private parts means that only the husband is allowed to see or touch them. Not giving knowledge of what is hidden means not posturing or strutting around so as to jangle hidden jewelry or make men think about hidden body parts. All of these are part of what Allah SWT has commanded in regard to hijab.

The other four commandments relate to dress, and can really be expressed as three rules:

not displaying the beauty beyond "what is apparent of it" except to the people listed in 24:31
extending the headcovering to cover the bosom
drawing the outergarment close around
What exactly is the meaning of each of these rules? For this, we need to look to the Sunna, because the Sunna shows us how the Prophet (sAas) explained the Quran.

The Prophet (sAas) explained to Asma bint Abu Bakr (rAa) that the phrase "what is apparent of it" refers to the face and hands. This is narrated by Aisha Umm al-Muminin (rAa), Qatada (rAa), and Asma bint Umais (rAa). This has been confirmed as the explanation of the phrase by the following scholars:

Sahaba: Aisha Umm al-Muminin (rAa), ibn Abbas (rAa), Anas ibn Malik (rAa), and Miswar ibn Makhrama (rAa)

Tabi'un: Ata (rAa), Qatada (rAa), Sa'id ibn Jubayr (rAa), Mujahid (rAa), al-Hasan (rAa), and al-Dahhak (rAa)

Commentators on the Quran: Imam Tabari, Imam Zamakhshari, Imam Razi, and Imam Qurtubi

In fact, the majority of scholars have agreed that the phrase "what is apparent of it" refers to the face and hands. For further information, please see Opinions of Scholars in Favor of Displaying the Face and Hands.

Therefore, the first rule can really be phrased as "do not display the beauty except for the face and hands around non-mahram men". This is the basic rule of hijab. You must recognize it. This is where it comes from. It is nothing other than the Prophet's (sAas) explanation of the Quran.

The second rule is to extend the headcovering (khimar) to cover the bosom. The commentators on the Quran have explained exactly what this command entails:

Imam Abu Abdullah Qurtubi: "Women in those days used to cover their heads with the khimar, throwing its ends upon their backs. This left the neck and the upper part of the chest bare, along with the ears, in the manner of the Christians. Then Allah commanded them to cover those parts with the khimar."

Imam Abu'l-Fida ibn Kathir: "'Extend their khimars to cover their bosoms' means that they should wear the khimar in such a way that they cover their chests so that they will be different from the women of the jahiliyyah who did not do that but would pass in front of men with their chests uncovered and with their necks, forelocks, and earrings uncovered."

From this we can see that the jahili women wore their khimars kaffiyah-style, with the ends tossed over their backs. This covered most of the hair, but left the forelock (front of the hair), the ears, the neck, and the upper chest uncovered. Then when the commandment, "Extend their khimars to cover their bosoms," was revealed, the women secured their khimars around the circles of their faces, fastened them at the chin, and let the ends drape down toward their bosoms. This would cover the forelock, the ears, the neck, and the upper chest, just as Imam Qurtubi and Imam ibn Kathir have indicated. And the end result is clearly a headscarf.

So what we have is that all of the body except the face and hands is commanded to be covered around non-mahram men (by the clause "not to display their beauty except what is apparent of it"), and the covering of the hair, ears, neck, and upper chest is specifically to be accomplished by the khimar (headscarf).

These are the two rules indicated by Surah an-Nur ayah 31, and once we understand how the Prophet (sAas) explained the meaning of the ayah, we can see that it clearly and explicitly sets out the dress of the Muslim sister around non-mahram men: a headscarf and conservative clothing that together cover everything but the face and the hands.

There is also the commandment in Surah al-Ahzab ayah 59 to wear a jilbab (outergarment). According to the majority of the scholars, this commandment applies when a sister is outdoors or in open public places (like the market or the masjid). The jilbab is thus the modest Islamic coat that goes over our modest Islamic clothes whenever we would wear a coat.

To learn more about the jilbab, please read my article Evidences for Jilbab. This sets out dalils from the Quran and Sunna, and the opinions of the scholars regarding the jilbab. To summarize the information in that document, the jilbab is any garment that meets the following conditions:

it is an outergarment, an extra layer, something worn over the clothes
it is thick and opaque and loosely cut so that it conceals what is underneath it
if it is worn with a khimar and with socks and shoes, it should cover from the shoulders to the ankles; if it is worn without these, it must cover everything but the face and hands, like a cloak
Again, the jilbab is to be worn outdoors and in open public places. The purpose of wearing the jilbab is to assert our Islamic identity and to provide protection from harassment for us. It is part of our hijab for these locations.

Summary
According to the Quran and Sunna, hijab consists of modest behavior in lowering the gaze, guarding the private parts, and avoiding showing off, and of modest dress. The modest dress includes a headscarf and must cover all of the body except the face and the hands. Outdoors and in open public places, a long coat (jilbab) should be worn in addition to the modest dress commanded by Surah an-Nur ayah 31. Each of these obligations is clearly set out in the Quran and has been explained by the Prophet (sAas).

http://www.muhajabah.com/whyhijab.htm

This is the main portion. There are related articles on the main site. Do yourselves a favor and read the entire collection.

Jazzakum Ullahu Khair

Wassalamu Alaikum,
Uzer

[Shaan]

There is also the commandment in Surah al-Ahzab ayah 59 to wear a jilbab (outergarment). According to the majority of the scholars, this commandment applies when a sister is outdoors or in open public places (like the market or the masjid). The jilbab is thus the modest Islamic coat that goes over our modest Islamic clothes whenever we would wear a coat.

Assalam-o-alaikum,


YUSUFALI: And those who annoy believing men and women undeservedly, bear (on themselves) a calumny and a glaring sin. (033.059)

YUSUFALI: O Prophet! Tell thy wives and daughters, and the believing women, that they should cast their outer garments over their persons (when abroad): that is most convenient, that they should be known (as such) and not molested. And Allah is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful. (033.060)

The verses can have different possible implications.

1). It commands women to wear jilbab when going out in public places.

2). It commands women to wear jilbab when going out in public places alone.

3). It commands women to wear jilbab when the situation demands so even if she is at her home.

4). It commands women to wear jilbab when slavery is prevalent in the society.

5). It commands women,of the times when slavery was prevalent,to wear jilbab because the verse is not related to the general social directives of Islam, but was actually a directive for a particular situation, which the pious women were faced with, due to the prevalence of slavery in the society. The verse had directed the women to wear a Jilbaab (a sheet of cloth), when they had to go out of their houses alone, so that it would create a distinction between them and slave girls.


Which possibility is correct and why ?