The
Obligatory Conditions For An Islamic Hijab
1.
Covering ALL Of The Body
It is an agreed position by many
respected scholars that the face and hands of the woman must be
covered. Some scholars say it is permissible to uncover the face and
the hands of the woman as long as there is no fitna (infatuation)
caused by this action. Two things must be taken into consideration
a) if she is beautiful and beautifies her face and hands with
external substances, or
b) the society around her is corrupt
where men do not lower their gaze, then it is prohibited for her to
uncover her face and hands.
On the authority of the wife of
the prophet (pbuh), Umm Salama (RA) said:
"When the
verse was revealed that they should cast their outer garments over
their bodies' was revealed, the women of Ansar came out as if they
had crows over their heads by wearing outer garments.
2.The
hijab must not be a display
The hijab itself must not be a
display. Allah ordained it so as to cover the beauty of women and not
for showing off. Allah (swt) says `And not show of their adornment
except only that which is apparent.' (S24:31).
AND
`And
stay in your houses and do not display yourselves like that of the
times of ignorance.' (S33:33).
It is in no way logical that
the hijab itself be a source of display.
3. The hijab must
not be transparent The purpose of wearing hijab must be achieved. In
order for the hijab to be a cover, it must not be made of transparent
material making the woman covered only by name, while in reality she
is naked. The prophet (pbuh) is quoted as saying: "In the latest
part of my Ummah (nation of Muslims) there shall be women who would
be naked in spite of being dressed, they have their hair high like
the humps of the Bukht camel, curse them, for they are cursed. They
will not enter Al-Jannah and would not even perceive its odour,
although it's fragrance can be perceived from a distance of 500 years
travelling by camel" This indicates that a woman could cause
herself a grave and destructive sin if she puts on a garment that is
thin and transparent and which clearly shapes her body's features.
4.Hijab must be roomy, and not tight.
The hijab
is a safeguard against fitna. If it is tight, it will be descriptive
of the woman's body and this violates and defeats the whole purpose
of hijab.
5.The hijab must not be perfumed
On the
authority of Ad'Diya Al-Maqdisi, the prophet (pbuh) said:
"Any
woman who perfumes herself and passes by some people that they smell
her scent, then she is a Zaniyah (adulteress)."
6. The
hijab shouldn't resemble the dress of a man
Imam Ahmed,
an-Nissa'ee reported the prophet (pbuh) to have said: "Women who
assume the manners of men are not from us and also those of men who
assume the manners of women." Abu Huraira narrated that: "The
Prophet (pbuh) CURSED the man who wears the dress of a woman and the
woman who wears the dress of a man."
7.The hijab must
not resemble the garments of the kuffar
Abu Dawoud and Ahmed
have related the prophet (pbuh) said: "The one who take the
similitude (manner) of a certain people, then he/she becomes one of
them."
Abdullah bin Ummar (RA) said: "The Prophet
(pbuh) saw me wearing two garments dyed in saffron (orange),
whereupon he said: these are the clothes (usually worn) by the
kuffar, so do not wear them."
8.The hijab should not be
for fame
Abu Dawoud and Ibn Majah have related the prophet to
saying: "The one who wears a garment designed for a worldly
fame, Allah will make them wear a garment of humility on the Day Of
Resurrection then he will be set ablaze." The garment of fame is
any garment a person wears to make themselves look famous. This
applies whether the garment is highly precious and shows admiration
to the life of this world or if it is chosen of a low quality to show
lack of interest to this worldly life. The person may put on clothes
with distinct colours so as to draw attention, act proudly and/or
arrogantly.
9.Concealed ways of display
Examining the
various conditions about the hijab one can clearly recognise that
many of the young Muslim women are not fulfilling these conditions.
Many just take "half-way" measures, which not only mocks
the community in which she lives, but also mocks the commands of
Allah (swt). They consider what they put on now wrongly as "hijab"
So, O muslimoon, be mindful to Allah (swt) and His Messenger (pbuh),
and do not deceived by those who "bless" this action of
yours and conceal their true intentions. Do not be deceived, and
there is no excuse to follow the evil.
If you are sincere in
achieving Al-Jannah, then be mindful of these things, insha'allah
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