Another view of hijab based on the Quran

Society Religion & Philosophy
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I have done an enormous cut and paste on “Hijab,” from www.moslem.org which I found and which supports my view on this issue, I am happy to say! It is based on the Quran. I have not included the whole thing, though, because it is very long (I cut parts out here and there). Go there if you want to read the whole thing. My first post includes arguments why only the Quran should be followed. The subsequent posts give verses from the Quran on “Hijab,” and then discussion. I hope the women who have posted questions about the tradition of “Hijab” will read them:

WHY WE SHOULD FOLLOW QURAN ONLY

Quran is a complete book, See 6:19,38,114, 115, 12:111 and 50:45. “We did not leave ANYTHING out of this book.” 6:38 “The word of your Lord is COMPLETE, in truth and justice. Nothing shall abrogate His words. He is the Hearer, the Omniscient.” 6:115

“Shall I seek other than GOD as a source of law, when He has revealed to you this book fully detailed? Those who received the scripture recognize that it has been revealed from your Lord, truthfully. You shall not harbor any doubt.” 6:114, See also, 7:52, 11:1, 41:3, 10:37 and 12:111

God does not need any addition to His book. God teaches us in the Quran that He does not run out of words and that if He so willed He could have given us hundreds, thousands or millions of books besides the Quran (see 18:109). Since the Quran is complete, perfect and fully detailed, God did not give us any more books.

“O you who believe, do not prohibit good things that are made lawful by God, and do not agress; God dislikes the aggressors.” 5:87 "Say, “Did you note how God sends down to you all kinds of provisions, then you render some of them unlawful, and some lawful?” Say, “Did God give you permission to do this? Or, do you fabricate lies and attribute them to God?” 10:59

The TRUE believers KNOW that when God says something, He means it, and when He does not, he means it as well. Everything given to us in the Quran was done deliberately and everything left out was also left out deliberately. God does not forget. See 19:64. We are not to add to this religion what God deliberately left out and claim it to be from Him or His messenger. His messenger has only ONE message, the Quran. God already told us He does not run out of words. 18:109

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THREE RULES FOR WOMEN DRESS CODE IN ISLAM (SUBMISSION)

FIRST RULE: THE BEST GARMENT:
[7:26] "O children of Adam, we have provided you with garments to cover your bodies, as well as for luxury. But the best garment is the garment of righteousness. These are some of GOD's signs, that they may take heed."

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SECOND RULE, COVER YOUR BOSOMS:
The second rule can be found in 24:31. Here God orders the women to cover their bosoms whenever they dress up. But before quoting 24:31 let us review some crucial words that are always mentioned with this topic, namely "Hijab" and "Khimar."

THE WORD "HIJAB" in the QURAN
"Hijab" is the term used by many Muslims women to describe their head cover that may or may not include covering their face except their eyes, and sometimes covering also one eye. The Arabic word "Hijab" can be translated into veil or yashmak. Other meanings for the word "Hijab" include, screen, cover(ing), mantle, curtain, drapes, partition, division, divider.

Can we find the word "Hijab" in the Quran?? The word "Hijab" appeared in the Quran 7 times, five of them as "Hijab" and two times as "Hijaban," these are 7:46, 33:53, 38:32, 41:5, 42:51, 17:45 & 19:17. None of these "Hijab" words are used in the Quran in reference to what the traditional Muslims call today (Hijab) as a dress code for the Muslim woman. Hijab in the Quran has nothing to do with the Muslim Women dress code.

HISTORICAL BACKGROUND:

The traditional Arabs, of all religions, Jews, Christians and Muslims used to wear "Hijab," not because of Islam, but because of tradition. In Saudi Arabia, up to this minute most of the men cover their head , not because of Islam but because of tradition. Thank God this tradition has not been counted as Islamic dress code yet. North Africa is known for its Tribe (Tuareg) that have the Muslim men wearing "Hijab" instead of women. Here the tradition has the hijab in reverse.

Mixing religion with tradition is a form of idol-worship, because not knowing (or not trying to find out) what God asked you to do in His book, the Quran, is a sign of disregarding God and His message. When tradition supersedes God's commandment, the true religion takes a second place. God never accepts to be second, God has to be always the FIRST and to HIM there is no second..

THE WORD "KHIMAR" in the QURAN:

"Khimar" is an Arabic word that can be found in the Quran in 24:31 While the first basic rule of Dress Code for the Muslim Women can be found in 7:26, the second rule of the DRESS CODE FOR WOMEN can be found in 24:31. Some Muslims quote verse 31 of sura 24 as containing the Hijab, or head cover, by pointing to the word, khomoorehenna, (from Khimar), forgetting that God already used the word Hijab, several times in the Quran.

Those blessed by God can see that the use of the word "Khimar" in this verse is not for "Hijab" or for head cover. Those who quote this verse usually add (Head cover) (veil) after the word Khomoorehenna, and usually between ( ), because it is their addition to the verse not God's.

Here it is 24:31;
"And tell the believing women to subdue their eyes, and maintain their chastity. They shall not reveal any parts of their bodies, except that which is necessary. They shall cover their chests, (with their Khimar) and shall not relax this code in the presence of other than their husbands, their fathers, the fathers of their husbands, their sons, the sons of their husbands, their brothers, the sons of their brothers, the sons of their sisters, other women, the male servants or employees whose sexual drive has been nullified, or the children who have not reached puberty. They shall not strike their feet when they walk in order to shake and reveal certain details of their bodies. All of you shall repent to GOD, O you believers, that you may succeed." 24:31 Khalifa's translation

"Khimar" is an Arabic word that means, cover, any cover, a is a Khimar, a dress is a Khimar, a table cloth that covers the top of table is a Khimar, a blanket can be used as a Khimar..etc. The word KHAMRA used for intoxicant in Arabic has the same root with Khimar, because both covers, the Khimar covers (a window, a body, a table . etc.) while KHAMRA covers the state of mind. Most of the translators, obviously influenced by Hadith (fabrications) translate the word as VEIL and thus mislead most people to believe that this verse is advocating the covering of the head.

In 24:31 God is asking the women to use their cover (khimar)( being a dress, a coat, a shawl, a shirt, a blouse, a tie, a scarf . . . etc.) to cover their bosoms, not their heads or their hairs. If God so willed to order the women to cover their heads or their hair, nothing would have prevented Him from doing so. GOD does not run out of words. GOD does not forget. God did not order the women to cover their heads or their hair. He was not waiting for a Scholar to put the words for Him.

The Arabic word for CHEST, GAYB is in the verse (24:31), but the Arabic words for HEAD, (RAAS) or HAIR, (SHAAR) are NOT in the verse. The commandment in the verse is clear - COVER YOUR CHEST
OR BOSOMS, but also the fabrication of the scholars and most of the translators is clear by claiming- cover your head or hair.

The last part of the verse (24:31) translates as, "They shall not strike their feet when they walk in order to shake and reveal certain details of their bodies." The details of the body can be revealed or not revealed by the dress you wear, not by your head cover. Notice also the expression in 24:31, "They shall not reveal any parts of their bodies, except that which is necessary." This expression may sound vague to many because they have not understood the mercy of God. Again God here used this very general term to give us the freedom to decide according to our own circumstances the definition of "Which is necessary". It is not up to a scholar or to any particular person to define this term. God wants to leave it personal for every woman and no one can take it away from her.

Women who follow the basic rule number one i.e. righteousness, will have no problem making the right decision to reveal only which is necessary. The word "zeenatahunna" in this verse refers to the woman's body parts (beauty) and not to ornaments and decorations as some people interpret it or translate it. At the end of the verse, God told the women not to strike with their feet to show their "zeenatahunna". You do not need to strike your feet to show your ornaments but the way you strike your feet while walking can expose or shake certain parts of the body that do not need to be emphasized.

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THIRD RULE OF DRESS CODE FOR WOMEN:

"O prophet, tell your wives, your daughters, and the wives of the believers that they shall LENGTHEN their garments. Thus, they will be recognized and avoid being insulted. God is Forgiver, Most Merciful." 33:59

In 33:59, God sets the other regulation for the dress code for the Muslim women during the prophet's life. Although the verse is talking to the prophet which means this regulation applies to the time of the prophet, just like the order in 49:2, the description fits the spirit of Islam (Submission in English), and can teach us a great deal. If you reflect on this verse and how God ordered the prophet to tell his wives, his daughters and the wives of the believers to lengthen their garments, you would understand the great wisdom of the MOST WISE, the MOST MERCIFUL. In this verse, God, DELIBERATELY, (and all the TRUE believers know that everything GOD says, does, or did is DELIBERATE) said, tell them, to lengthen their garments, and never said how long is long.

God could have said tell them to lengthen their garments to their ankles or to their mid-calf or to their knees, but HE DID NOT. He did not, OUT OF HIS MERCY, not because HE FORGOT as God does not forget. God knows that we will be living in different communities and have different cultures and insists that the minor details of this dress code will be left for the people of every community to hammer for themselves.

It is clear from the above verses that the DRESS CODE for the Muslim women (Submitters) according to the Quran is righteousness and modesty. God knows that this modesty will be understood differently in different communities and that is why He left it open to us to decide for ourselves.

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Zara I've also read this article a long time back :)

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Oh, so you've read it too, Hum Sa! I thought I was special...(-8
What did you think of it?

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Interesting arguement that i've heard before also.

I find to many people are into the "look" of hijab then actually the behavior.

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Zara
what is your argument? God is merciful and would not mind if women wear hijab or are u arguing that hijab is in fact an icon of modesty and the concept of modesty changes with culture???? i agree with you to some extent. realization of the concept is the most important thing. i suggest that don't go into another debate. relegion is beyond reason. it is belief. belief does not require any reason. just let your belief strengthen by sticking to your thoughts and don't debate...everyone has a different thinking process and if we debate, we would come up with thousands of different views of relegion, each one denying each other. so better leave it to God and strengthen your belief in God and His Prophet. i hope you would pay an ear to my suggestion.

MOON

[This message has been edited by YASIR NAWAZ (edited July 29, 1999).]

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Yasir Nawaz,

An excellent suggestion! and very well put across.
I was wondering if it would be appropriate for me to present a secular / non-religious view on the question of hijab on this forum?
May be one the moderators can adivise me on that?

Cheers,
Fairdinkum

[This message has been edited by fairdinkum (edited July 30, 1999).]

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Asalamu Alaikum Sister,

I realize that you haven’t written this article, but did you read it carefully? I ask this because of the following quote:

The traditional Arabs, of all religions, Jews, Christians and Muslims used to wear “Hijab,” not because of Islam, but because of tradition. In Saudi Arabia, up to this minute most of the men cover their head , not because of Islam but because of tradition. Thank God this tradition has not been counted as Islamic dress code yet. North Africa is known for its Tribe (Tuareg) that have the Muslim men wearing “Hijab” instead of women. Here the tradition has the hijab in reverse.

Mixing religion with tradition is a form of idol-worship, because not knowing (or not trying to find out) what God asked you to do in His book, the Quran, is a sign of disregarding God and His message. When tradition supersedes God’s commandment, the true religion takes a second place. God never accepts to be second, God has to be always the FIRST and to HIM there is no second..

Not only does your article try to make hijaab out to be a tradition that is being followed in the name of religion, which would then make it a bidah, but also by adding this line:

“Mixing religion with tradition is a form of idol-worship”

it also implies that wearing hijaab is a form of kufar!!! This is ridiculous. You’ve offended me and and I’m sure a great percentage of Muslims on this forum by posting such things. Sister, have some respect for your fellow Muslims.

You and I don’t agree about hijab, thats fine. Both of us have consulted the Qur’an for our proofs, I also look to the Hadiths of the Prophet (SAW). See the post on hijaab:

http://www.pak.org/gupshup/Forum13/HTML/000612.html

If you think that is wrong, that’s your perogative, but I’d prefer to take it up with Allah (SWT) on the Day of Judgement then to continue argueing with you here.

Let me end by asking you one question. When you pray to Allah (SWT) do you cover your head? If you do, why? According to you it’s not required.

[This message has been edited by Yacoob (edited July 30, 1999).]

[This message has been edited by Yacoob (edited July 30, 1999).]

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fairdinkum:

[quote]
if it would be appropriate for me to present a secular / non-religious view on the question of hijab on this forum?
[/quote]

Please, go ahead by all means.

[This message has been edited by Roman (edited July 30, 1999).]

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Yacoob,

I agree with you that calling the traditional hijab kufr is not appropriate. My opinion is that, according to the Quran, women are not required to cover their heads, faces, or even their arms.

And yes, I did read through the article before I posted it. I think that the person who wrote it is going to extremes to try to scare people into following his view. This is not an uncommon tactic in our religion. I'm sorry if I offended anyone by this post, I did not intend to.

I posted the article to encourage people to think about this issue and about what the Quran really says. This might ease the guilt of women who don't wear Hijab, although they believe the religion requires it.

I wanted to get in a discussion about this issue. I have gotten comments from people (here and in other threads) along the lines of "Oh, no, don't let's talk about this kind of thing, just let everyone believe what they believe, and that's it!" This surprises me a lot. What's wrong with exploring our beliefs and understanding why we have them?

Zara

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zara
there is a big difference in exploring beliefs and changing beliefs and when i say about not debating it, its not because i don't like it, its because of a REASON given above in my post. the problem is simple, no one one can be cinvinced to change his beliefs that easily and everyone would bring quotes from Quran in support of their evidence, which would contradict each other's ideas and that can really be the end of the relegion. believe me, i have some astonishing facts that can shake your entire belief but i won't tell...as a very few people in the world know about it, and i don't want to talk about it for the sake of my and your belief.

Moon

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What happens to the hijab if a muslim women is selected to conduct some experiments on the space shuttle ??

Get over it! Hijab is plainly stupid and outdated.

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Reagan since you don't have any knowledge on Quran and Hadith, I would advise you to not to use offensive attitude about anything related to ANY religion.

[This message has been edited by Roman (edited July 31, 1999).]

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You said it Reagan, but I don't think a muslim, hijab wearing woman will be going into space for a veeeeery long time, their husbands won't let them.

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slm Guys ...

I just want to say that Ive lived in a city where women are under so much pressure to look and dress fashionably that any woman seen wearing a Hijab is stared at..

I think that goes against the basic premises of what Hijab aught to accomplish. But i do have alot of respect for women that do wear the Hijab because its a true testament of their faith.

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Yasir,

I certainly wouldn't want anyone to lose their faith, but I wouldn't mind if people reevaluated their beliefs and became a little more broadminded. ;)

allstar,

Hey, fellow-Houstonian! I wonder if we have ever run into each other? Everyone is influenced by society's pressures, male and female. I haven't seen many Pakistani men in Houston wearing the tradition shalvar kameez, but I have seen many wearing shorts.

Wearing hijab may be a testament of faith or morality for some women, whereas other women practice their faith and morals in other ways. I don't want to condemn it, I just want to say it's not required.

Zara

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slm Zara...

Fraid their is no way youve met me because truth of the matter is im not in Houston as of yet but i will be. And the city I was referring to was not Houston. You shouldnt read into that 'who is' thing too much. You didnt answer to the situation I presented, you know with the Hijab doing the opposite of what its meant to achieve in certain societies. Never mind though.

Salam

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allstar,

Alright, alright, so we haven't met, I didn't think so. Anyway, good luck in Houston, I think it is a good place for Pakistanis, and the job market is good.

I didn't think you meant Houston, because lots of women wear Hijab here. And I think that women wearing Hijab are stared at here, too, because they are still in the extreme minority among all women.

I guess that you are right. Under such circumstances a woman would attract less male attention and curiosity if she were to take off her Hijab.

Zara