The Quran is
the Holy Book of Muslims believed to be the direct and unadulterated
word of God transmitted to the Prophet Mohamed (d. 632 C.E), through the
archangel Gabriel over a 22-year period, beginning in 610 C.E. The
Revelation of the Quran to the Prophet Mohamed is said to have taken
place while he was in meditative retreat in Mt. Hira, at the outskirts
of Mecca in present-day Saudi Arabia. The Quran was revealed in Arabic,
hence the prestigious, sacred, position of the Arabic language among
Muslims until today.
The Quran consists of 114 chapters (known in Arabic as suras) and each chapter is subdivided into verses (known in Arabic as ayat).
The majority of Muslims and non-Muslims believe that the Quran
explicitly and unequivocally prescribes veiling upon Muslim women. In
this section, we propose to present what the Quran says about veiling.
In order to learn what the Quran says about veiling and in what terms
this Book addresses the question of women’s clothing, we must look at
two main types of passages in the Quran:
- Every occurrence of the term hijab (the Arabic word that is regularly translated as veil in English); and
- All Quranic verses that address the question of Muslim women’s proper attire, even though the Quran may not use the term hijab.
The term hijab in the Quran
The term hijab
(in bold in the quotations below) is used in the Quran a total of five
times (Q 7:46; Q 19:16-17; Q 33:53; Q 41:5; Q 42:51). These passages are
listed below for easy reference. The English translations of Quranic
verses provided here are by M.A.S. Abdel Haleem in his new translation
of the Quran (Oxford World’s Classics, 2004).
We invite the reader to explore other Quran translations of the same passages to see how the term hijab
has been rendered by other translators. The following link gives access
to the full Quranic text in Arabic, accompanied by different
translations and oral recitation: Multimedia Quran.
Q 7:46
سورة الأعراف ( آية 46)
وَبَيْنَهُما
حِجابٌ وَعَلَى الْأَعْرافِ رِجالٌ يَعْرِفُونَ كُلًا بِسِيماهُمْ
وَنادَوْا أَصْحابَ الْجَنَّةِ أَنْ سَلامٌ عَلَيْكُمْ لَمْ يَدْخُلُوها
وَهُمْ يَطْمَعُونَ (46)
A barrier
divides the two groups with men on its heights recognizing each group
by their marks: they will call out to the people of the Garden, ‘Peace
be with you!’-they will not have entered, but they will be hoping, etc.”
Q 19:16-17
سورة مريم ( آية 16 و 17)
وَاذْكُرْ
فِي الْكِتابِ مَرْيَمَ إِذِ انْتَبَذَتْ مِنْ أَهْلِها مَكانًا
شَرْقِيًّا (16) فَاتَّخَذَتْ مِنْ دُونِهِمْ حِجابًا فَأَرْسَلْنا
إِلَيْها رُوحَنا فَتَمَثَّلَ لَها بَشَرًا سَوِيًّا (17)
Mention in the Quran the story of Mary. She withdrew from her family to a place to the east and secluded herself away. We sent Our Spirit to appear before her in the form of a perfected man.”
Q 33:53
سورة الأحزاب (آية 53)
يَا
أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا لَا تَدْخُلُوا بُيُوتَ النَّبِيِّ إِلَّا
أَنْ يُؤْذَنَ لَكُمْ إِلَى طَعَامٍ غَيْرَ نَاظِرِينَ إِنَاهُ وَلَكِنْ
إِذَا دُعِيتُمْ فَادْخُلُوا فَإِذَا طَعِمْتُمْ فَانْتَشِرُوا وَلَا
مُسْتَأْنِسِينَ لِحَدِيثٍ إِنَّ ذَلِكُمْ كَانَ يُؤْذِي النَّبِيَّ
فَيَسْتَحْيِي مِنْكُمْ وَاللَّهُ لَا يَسْتَحْيِي مِنَ الْحَقِّ وَإِذَا
سَأَلْتُمُوهُنَّ مَتَاعًا فَاسْأَلُوهُنَّ مِنْ وَرَاءِ حِجَابٍ ذَلِكُمْ
أَطْهَرُ لِقُلُوبِكُمْ وَقُلُوبِهِنَّ وَمَا كَانَ لَكُمْ أَنْ تُؤْذُوا
رَسُولَ اللَّهِ وَلَا أَنْ تَنْكِحُوا أَزْوَاجَهُ مِنْ بَعْدِهِ أَبَدًا
إِنَّ ذَلِكُمْ كَانَ عِنْدَ اللَّهِ عظيم (53)
Believers, do not enter the Prophet’s
apartments for a meal unless you are given permission to do so; do not
linger until [a meal] is ready. When you are invited, go in; then when
you have taken your meal, leave. Do not stay on and talk, for that would
offend the Prophet, though he would shrink from asking you to leave.
God does not shrink from the truth. When you ask his wives for
something, do so from behind a screen: this is purer both for your hearts and for theirs.
Q 41:5
سورة فُصلت (آية 5)
وَقالُوا
قُلُوبُنا فِي أَكِنَّةٍ مِمَّا تَدْعُونا إِلَيْهِ وَفِي آذانِنا وَقْرٌ
وَمِنْ بَيْنِنا وَبَيْنِكَ حِجابٌ فَاعْمَلْ إِنَّنا عامِلُونَ (5)
They [the unbelievers] say “Our hearts are encased against [the faith] you call us to; our ears are heavy; there is a barrier between us and you. So you do whatever you want, and so shall we.”
Q 42:51
سورة الشورى (آية 51)
وَمَا
كَانَ لِبَشَرٍ أَنْ يُكَلِّمَهُ اللَّهُ إِلَّا وَحْيًا أَوْ مِنْ
وَرَاءِ حِجَابٍ أَوْ يُرْسِلَ رَسُولًا فَيُوحِيَ بِإِذْنِهِ مَا يَشَاءُ ۚ
إِنَّهُ عَلِيٌّ حَكِيمٌ (51)
It is not granted to any mortal that God should speak to him except through revelation or from behind a veil, or by sending a messenger to reveal by His command what He will: He is exalted and wise.
Comment
Interestingly, those Quranic verses that use the word hijab
do not address the question of Muslim women’s clothing. In order to
continue to explore Quranic discourses on proper Muslim women’s attire,
we must look at other Quranic verses that deal specifically with this
topic.
The Quran on women’s clothing
There are three references to women’s clothing in the Quran that are made without the use of the term hijab. All three references listed below. In these three Quranic passages about women’s clothing, the Quran uses the Arabic word khimar to refer to women’s headscarves (Q 24:31), jilbab to their outer garments (Q 33:59), and zinah to refer to their “finery” (Q 32:33).
Q 24:30-31
سورة النور (آية 30) و (آية 31)
قُلْ
لِلْمُؤْمِنِينَ يَغُضُّوا مِنْ أَبْصَارِهِمْ وَيَحْفَظُوا فُرُوجَهُمْ
ذَلِكَ أَزْكَى لَهُمْ إِنَّ اللَّهَ خَبِيرٌ بِمَا يَصْنَعُونَ (30)
وَقُلْ لِلْمُؤْمِنَاتِ يَغْضُضْنَ مِنْ أَبْصَارِهِنَّ وَيَحْفَظْنَ
فُرُوجَهُنَّ وَلَا يُبْدِينَ زِينَتَهُنَّ إِلَّا مَا ظَهَرَ مِنْهَا
وَلْيَضْرِبْنَ بِخُمُرِهِنَّ عَلَى جُيُوبِهِنَّ وَلَا يُبْدِينَ
زِينَتَهُنَّ إِلَّا لِبُعُولَتِهِنَّ أَوْ آبَائِهِنَّ أَوْ آبَاءِ
بُعُولَتِهِنَّ أَوْ أَبْنَائِهِنَّ أَوْ أَبْنَاءِ بُعُولَتِهِنَّ أَوْ
إِخْوَانِهِنَّ أَوْ بَنِي إِخْوَانِهِنَّ أَوْ بَنِي أَخَوَاتِهِنَّ أَوْ
نِسَائِهِنَّ أَوْ مَا مَلَكَتْ أَيْمَانُهُنَّ أَوِ التَّابِعِينَ غَيْرِ
أُولِي الْإِرْبَةِ مِنَ الرِّجَالِ أَوِ الطِّفْلِ الَّذِينَ لَمْ
يَظْهَرُوا عَلَى عَوْرَاتِ النِّسَاءِ وَلَا يَضْرِبْنَ بِأَرْجُلِهِنَّ
لِيُعْلَمَ مَا يُخْفِينَ مِنْ زِينَتِهِنَّ وَتُوبُوا إِلَى اللَّهِ
جَمِيعًا أَيُّهَا الْمُؤْمِنُونَ لَعَلَّكُمْ تُفْلِحُونَ (31)
“[Prophet], tell believing men to lower
their glances and guard their private parts: that is purer for them. God
is well aware of everything they do. And tell believing women that they
should lower their glances, guard their private parts, and not display their charms beyond what [it is acceptable] to reveal; they should let their headscarves fall to cover their necklines and not reveal their charms except
to their husbands, their fathers, their husbands’ fathers, their sons,
their husbands’ sons, their brothers, their brothers’ sons, their
sisters’ sons, their womenfolk, their slaves, such men as attend them
who have no sexual desire, or children who are not yet aware of women’s
nakedness; they should not stamp their feet so as to draw attention to any hidden charms. Believers, all of you, turn to God so that you may prosper.”
Q 32:32-33
سورة الأحزاب (آية 32 و 33)
يَا
نِسَاء النَّبِيِّ لَسْتُنَّ كَأَحَدٍ مِّنَ النِّسَاء إِنِ اتَّقَيْتُنَّ
فَلا تَخْضَعْنَ بِالْقَوْلِ فَيَطْمَعَ الَّذِي فِي قَلْبِهِ مَرَضٌ
وَقُلْنَ قَوْلاً مَّعْرُوفًا (32)
وَقَرْنَ
فِي بُيُوتِكُنَّ وَلا تَبَرَّجْنَ تَبَرُّجَ الْجَاهِلِيَّةِ الْأُولَى
وَأَقِمْنَ الصَّلاةَ وَآتِينَ الزَّكَاةَ وَأَطِعْنَ اللَّهَ وَرَسُولَهُ
إِنَّمَا يُرِيدُ اللَّهُ لِيُذْهِبَ عَنكُمُ الرِّجْسَ أَهْلَ الْبَيْتِ
وَيُطَهِّرَكُمْ تَطْهِيرًا (33)
“Wives of the Prophet, you are not like
any other woman. If you are truly mindful of God, do not speak too
softly in case the sick at heart should lust after you, but speak in an
appropriate manner; stay at home, and do not flaunt your finery as they used to in the pagan past; keep up the prayer, give the prescribed alms, and obey God and His Messenger.”
Q 33:58-59
سورة الأحزاب (آية 58) و(آية 59)
وَالَّذِينَ
يُؤْذُونَ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ وَالْمُؤْمِناتِ بِغَيْرِ مَا اكْتَسَبُوا
فَقَدِ احْتَمَلُوا بُهْتانًا وَإِثْمًا مُبِينًا (58)
يا
أَيُّهَا النَّبِيُّ قُلْ لِأَزْواجِكَ وَبَناتِكَ وَنِساءِ
الْمُؤْمِنِينَ يُدْنِينَ عَلَيْهِنَّ مِنْ جَلابِيبِهِنَّ ذلِكَ أَدْنى
أَنْ يُعْرَفْنَ فَلا يُؤْذَيْنَ وَكانَ اللَّهُ غَفُورًا رَحِيمًا (59)
“And those who undeservedly insult
believing men and women will bear the guilt of slander and flagrant sin.
Prophet, tell your wives, your daughters, and women believers to make their outer garments hang low over them so as to be recognized and not insulted: God is most forgiving, most merciful.”
The term hadith refers
to the tradition of Sayings by the Prophet Mohamed, and of actions he
did. This tradition is viewed by Muslims as a key resource of practical
information on how Muslims are supposed to behave on a daily basis.
There are six canonical hadith collections believed to
contain the most authentic reports of the Prophet’s sayings and doings,
the most famed being those by Bukhari (d. 870), by Muslim (d. 875), by
Abu Dawud (d. 888) and the Musnad by Ibn Hanbal (d. 855).
Veiling according to the hadith tradition
Of the thousands of reports included in the canonical hadith collections, only one can be said to address explicitly the requirement of women’s covering. This hadith is reported by the ninth-century hadith compiler Abu Dawud (d. 888).
This hadith is narrated by Aisha (the youngest wife of the Prophet)
and reports an incident involving an encounter between the Prophet and
Asma who is the daughter of Abu Bakr, the Prophet’s closest friend and
first Caliph at the death of the Prophet:
Asma, daughter of Abu Bakr, entered upon
the Apostle of Allah (peace_be_upon_him) wearing thin clothes. The
Apostle of Allah (peace_be_upon_him) turned his attention from her. He
said: O Asma’, 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.
This hadith is included only in Abu Dawud’s late
ninth-century compilation and is considered to be the single most
explicit and authoritative source for the belief that women are required
to veil in Islam.
Islamic law is oftentimes used as a synonym for sharia.
However, we must understand this Islamic law to be a law created by
men, and not the law of God which itself is perforce unknown and
unknowable. In fact, the Arabic term sharia literally means “path,” and is used in the Quran to refer to God’s law.
