Khimaar & Jilbaab

Khimaar & Jilbaab

What Is The Hijaab?
The hijaab is an inner and outer cover of oneself. It doesn’t just mean to cover your hair so that others see you as a ‘Hijaabi’ – it doesn’t mean you are showing off to other people. The Arabic meaning of Hijaab is to cover oneself.

The term hijaab not only includes dressing and covering the body, but methods of behaviour before members of the same and / or opposite gender. Promoting privacy for females and prohibiting loose intermingling between males and females (i.e. free-mixing), and thereby encouraging modesty, decency, chastity and above all, respect and worship of Allah.

In other words, the meaning of hijaab is to have your whole outlook (the way you cover yourself in front of others) and your whole personality (your behaviour towards others) – both in accordance with Islaam. Some people don’t realise this when they start wearing the hijaab. Some people don’t realise that along with changing their appearance, they must also change the way they behave, act, speak and manners in front of other people. Some people continue to act the same un-Islamic way as before wearing the hijaab. This doesn’t portray a good Islamic image when other people see a hijaabi behaving like this. In fact this behaviour brings the decent Islamic image down.

We should all understand that the hijaab is fard (i.e. compulsory) upon all Muslim women. The hijaab becomes fard upon a person when she has reached maturity (i.e. once she has started her periods).

“…If the woman reaches the age of puberty, no part of her body should be seen but this – and he (saw) pointed to his face and hands.”
HADEETH

The evidence telling us that we, the believing woman, should cover ourselves is the following ayah.

Surah-al-Ahzab [33:59]
“O Prophet (saw)! 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 (swt) is Ghafoor, Raheem.”

As I mentioned earlier the hijaab can be split into two types:
- The inner
- And the outer

Conditions Of The Outer Hijaab
The dress worn in public must cover the entire body except what has been specifically excluded; based upon evidences from the Qur’an and Sunnah.

There are four main requirements with the hijaab:

1) Extent of covering
The clothing should cover the whole body except for the areas specially exempted.

Surah-an-Nur [24:30-31]
“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 (swt) is well acquainted with all that they do.
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 veils 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 brothers sons, or their sisters sons, or their women, or the slaves whom their right hand possess, or males servants free of physical needs, 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 you believer! Turn all towards Allah (swt) that you may attain bliss.”

In the ayah mentioned above, the word zeenah literally means “adornments”, and includes both:
(a) That which Allah (swt) has adorned (i.e. the woman’s natural and / or physical beauty)
(b) That with which they adorn themselves (i.e. jewellery, eye shadow, attractive clothing, hand dye, etc)

The majority of scholars say that the face & hand appear naturally therefore these do not need to be covered. The evidence for this is the following hadeeth:

Abu Dawood narrated that ‘Aishah (ra) said: “Asmaa’ the daughter of Abu Bakr (ra) came to see the Messenger of Allah (saw) wearing a thin dress; so Allah’s Messenger (saw) turned away from her and said: ‘O Asmaa’, once a woman reaches the age of menstruation, no part of her body should be seen but this – and he pointed to his face and hands.”

Therefore, by looking at the above evidences, what needs to be covered is:
- Everything but the hands and face
- The khimaar (head scarf) needs to cover the hair, neck, ears and chest

The ayah of Surah-an-Nur lists in detail those with whom a woman is permitted to be more at ease with (i.e. mehram). The ayah from Surah-al-Ahzab orders Muslim women to draw their outer garments about themselves when they go out. Abu Dawood related that ‘Aisha (ra) said: “After this ayah was revealed the women of the Ansar appeared like crows.” (This was because of the colour and shape of the cloaks they wore.)

Hence, a Muslim woman must wear an outer garment or cloak whenever she goes out in public. Slight differences have arisen amongst scholars concerning the precise meaning of “…except that which is apparent…” from Surah-an-Nur which according to Ibn ‘Abaas (ra) includes “the face, the two hands, and rings.” This view is shared by Ibn ‘Umar, ‘Ata’a. and others from the Tabi’een.

2) Looseness
The clothing (dress) must be loose enough so as not to show or imitate the shape of your body. The clothing should not show the natural beauty (zeenah) of a woman’s body – i.e. the bust line, waist, buttocks, back and thighs. The reason for wearing the type of garment (i.e. wide and loose fitting) is to eliminate the lure and beauty of her body from the eye of the beholder.

Skin tight body suits, etc may conceal the skin colour, yet they display the size and shape of the limbs and body. The following hadeeth proves this point clearly:

Usamah ibn Zaid said: “Allah’s Messenger (saw) gave me a gift of thick Coptic cloth he had received as a gift from Dahiah Al-Kalbi, and so I gave it to my wife. Thereafter the Prophet (saw) asked me: ‘Why didn’t you wear the Coptic cloth?’ I replied: ‘I gave it to my wife.’ The Prophet (saw) then said: ‘Tell her to wear a thick gown under it (the Coptic garment) for I fear that it may describe the size of her limbs’.” [Narrated by Ahmad, Al-Bayhaqi, and Al-Haakim]

3) Thickness of Material
The dress should be thick and opaque so as not to display the colour of the skin it covers, and the shape of the body that it hides.

The purpose of the jilbaab is to hide the Muslim woman’s body; therefore the Khimaar and Jilbaab cannot be transparent.

Abu Dawood narrated that ‘Aishah (ra) said: “Asmaa’ the daughter of Abu Bakr (ra) came to see the Messenger of Allah (saw) wearing a thin dress; so Allah’s Messenger (saw) turned away from her and said: ‘O Asmaa’, once a woman reaches the age of menstruation, no part of her body should be seen but this – and he pointed to his face and hands.”

Delicate or transparent clothing does not constitute a proper covering. The Sahabah were very stern on this and regarded scanty clothing in public an indicator of a woman’s lack of belief.

Al-Qurtabi reports a narration from ‘Aishah (ra) that some woman from Banu Tamim came to see her wearing transparent clothing. ‘Aishah (ra) said to them: “If you are believing women, these are not the clothes of believing women.” He also reports that a bride came to see her wearing sheer, transparent khimaar, whereupon ‘Aishah (ra) said: “A woman who wears such clothing does not believe in Surah-an-Nur.”

Moreover, the following hadeeth makes this point graphically clear. Allah’s Messenger (saw) said: “There will be in the last of my Ummah (nation of believers), scantily dresses women, the hair on the top of their heads like a camel’s hump. Curse them, for verily they are cursed.”

In another version he (saw) said: “…scantily dressed women, who go astray and make others go astray; they will not enter Paradise nor smell its fragrance, although it can be smelled from afar.” [At-Tabarani and Sahih Muslim]

4) Overall Appearance
The clothing should not be such that it attracts the attention of men towards the woman’s beauty. It is clearly stated in the Qur’an that the purpose of the hijaab is to hide the seenah (beauty) of the woman; it cannot enhance the beauty of the woman.

How can the dress hide the seenah if it is designed in such a way as to attract the attention of men?

The garment cannot contain bright colours, bold designs or shiny and reflective material that draw men’s attention to the wearer. Iman Adh-Dhahabi says in his book Kitaab Al-Kaba’ir (The Book of Major Sins): “Amongst the deeds which a woman is cursed for are displaying the adornments she wears, wearing perfume when she goes out, and wearing colourful clothes…” Hence, the Muslim woman is encouraged to wear muted colours and to avoid bright designs, patterns and colours.

Surah-Al-Ahzab [33:32]
“O wives of the Prophet! You are not like any other women; if you fear (Allah), then do not be too pleasant of speech, lest one in whose heart is a disease should feel desire (for you).”

The reason for the revelation of this verse is not the fear of distrust nor misbehaviour on the part of the woman, but rather to prevent them from speaking invitingly, walking seductively, or dressing revealingly so as to arouse sexual desire in the heart of lecherous and evil men. Seductive dressing and enticing speech are the characteristics of ill-intentioned women, not Muslims.

Al-Qurtabi mentions that Mujahid (ra) said: “Women (before the advent of Islaam) used to walk about (alluringly) among men.”

Qatadah (ra) said: “They used to walk in a sensuous and seductive manner.”

Maqatil (ra) said: “The women used to wear an untied cloth on their heads, while provocatively toying with their necklaces, earrings, and other ornamental jewellery.”

Allah has commanded women not to display their beauty, meaning both natural and acquired beauty.

Allah commands the believing woman thus in Surah-Al-Ahzab [33:33]:
“…and do not make a display of yourselves like the displaying of the ignorance of long ago…”

Conditions Of The Inner Hijaab
Surah-Al-Ahzab [33:32-33]
“O Consorts of the Prophet (saw)! Ye are not like any of the (other) women: If ye do fear (Allah). Be not too complaisant of speech, lest one in whose heart is a disease should be moved with desire: but speak ye a speech (that is) just.”

It is very important how we act towards other, including how we act towards people of the opposite gender. In the ayah it is mentioned ‘be not soft in speech’. By this it means that when you are talking to a man you should not sweeten your voice and thus make it sound more attractive, as this is a form of attaining attention. When speaking to a person of the opposite gender (if necessary) you should speak the one tone and in a suitable manner. If is forbidden for a female to have a male companion as Allah (swt) has forbidden this, therefore we (the Muslim woman) should not speak to men unless totally necessary.

The way you speak is very important. You should not raise your voice or shout. The language that you use (the same goes for men) should not be like the Kufar, it should be of the language that the Prophet (saw) and his companions used. In other words, a person shouldn’t swear, curse or anything similar to this, as this is what the Kufar does. A person should speak in a nice gentle manner, using the words of the Prophet (saw); like bismillah, subhan’Allah, alhumdulilah, masha’Allah, etc.

As stated in the ayahs above, both men and women must lower their gaze. If is not only ruling for women, but also for men. The woman should have ‘Haya, this is to have shame and modesty, she shouldn’t be loud and cause others to look at her (i.e. attract attention).

To finish off:
The Western concept of freedom calls you to abandon your obedience to Allah (swt), only to become enslaved by the greed and the desires of man. When you look to the Western woman, it is clear to see her misery and inferior position in society, which has resulted from the capitalist ideas of freedom. This type of Kufr should be rejected. When a Muslim woman covers herself with the Khimaar and Jilbaab, it is only for the sake of Allah (swt) and not because you have personal freedom of choice. Do not seek to pollute the pure reason for following the order of Allah (swt) as He (swt) says:

Surah-al-Ahzab [33:36]
“It is not fitting for a believer, man or woman, when a matter has been decided by Allah (swt) and His Apostle, to have any opinion about either decision: if one disobeys Allah (swt) and His Apostle, he is indeed on a clearly wrong path.”

Surah-al-Furqan [25:43]
“Have you (oh Muhammed) seen him who has taken his ilah (god) his own desire? Would you then be a wakil (disposer of his affairs) over him? Or do you thing that most of them hear or understand? They are only like cattle; nay, they are even further astray from the Path.”