CONDITIONS OF HIJAAB

(OR OTHER DRESS FOR MUSLIM WOMEN)

For the Muslim ladies, the following conditions apply:

• THE WHOLE BODY EXCEPT THE EXEMPTED PARTS SHOULD BE COVERED - The commonly cited Hadith, mentioned previously, is worth narrating again: Hazrat Aisha (RA) reported that her sister Asma came to the Prophet (SAW) in a thin dress that showed her body. The Prophet (SAW) turned his eyes away and said, "O Asma! When a woman reaches puberty, it is not lawful that any part of her body can be seen, except this and this and then he pointed to his face and the palms of his hand. - (Abu Dawood). The main consideration of this opinion must be what constitutes the face and hand. The above statement clearly indicates that the hand is the part of the body, which extends below the wrist bone. What constitutes the face is found is another Hadith of the Prophet (SAW). He pointed from his forehead to his chin and from his cheek to his cheek. - (Abu Dawood). It may be of importance to note that ears must also be covered because they are not part of the face, but they are part of head as Prophet (SAW) has said in another Hadith: "The two ears are part of the head." - (Tirmizi) Therefore the ears must be covered. The head cover 'Khumur' should be drawn over the neck slits Joyood. (Khumur is the plural of the Arabic word 'khimar' which means a head cover. 'Juyoob ' is the plural of the word 'jayab' (a derivative of 'jawb' or cutting refers to the neck slit of the dress). This means that the head cover should be drawn so as to cover not only the hair, but it could also be drawn over the neck and be extended so as to cover the bosom.

• ANY VEIL WHICH ITSELF BECOMES AN ATTRACTION SHOULD BE AVOIDED - It should not be flashy or shiny so that everyone notices the dress and the woman.

• THE GARMENT SHOULD NOT BE SEMI-TRANSPARENT - And must be thick enough thick enough as not to show the color of the body. On an occasion when the Prophet (SAW) saw a bride in a thin dress he said: "She is not a woman who believes in Surah - un - Noor who wears this." - Surah – un - Noor outlines requirements of a Muslim woman's dress. In another occasion some women from the tribe of Bani Tameem came to visit Hazrat Aisha (RA) in thin clothes. Upon seeing them, the Prophet (SAW) said, "If you are believers, then these are not believers' clothing."

• THE DRESS SHOULD NOT BE TIGHT FITTING AS TO SHOW THE OUTLINE OF THE BODY - Hazrat Umar (RA) once said, "Do not clothe your women in clothes that are tight-fitting and reveal the shapeliness of the body." The ideal way is to wear hijaab over other clothes.

• GARMENTS SHOULD NOT BE PERFUMED.

• THE FORMS OF WOMEN'S DRESS SHOULD NOT RESEMBLE THAT OF ME - It is narrated in a Hadith by Hazrat Ibn Abbas (RA) that the Prophet (SAW) “cursed the men who act like women and the women who act like men”. - (Bukhari, Abu Dawood,etc.)

• THE DRESS SHOULD NOT RESEMBLE THAT OF THE NON-BELIEVERS - This requirement is derived from the general rule of Shari'ah that Muslims should have their distinct personality and should differentiate their practices and appearances from unbelievers.

• GARMENTS SHOULD NOT REFLECT WORLDLY HONOUR Prophet (SAW) has said in a Hadith: "Whoever wears a dress of fame in this world; Allah will clothe him with a dress of humiliation on the Day of Judgment, and then set it afire". Garments should be modest, not excessively fancy and also not excessively ragged to gain others admiration or sympathy. The Prophet (SAW) has narrated in a Hadith that in the later generations of his ummah there would be "women who would be dressed but naked and on top of their head (what looks like) camel's humps, curse them for they are cursed." - (Muslim).

To quite an extent this narration describes dress of women of this age. May Allah guide us onto His Right Path.?