It is well known that the struggle between mankind and the devil is an old one, which will continue until Allah The Almighty inherits the earth and everything on it. The devil exploits man's weaknesses and uses them in enticing him, inspiring impermissible hopes and wishes in him and whispering to him until man finally responds to him and does what is prohibited by Allah The Almighty.
Satan's story with Aadam and Hawwaa’ (Eve), may Allah exalt their mention, is the first and greatest evidence behind this fact. His enticement was a reason for the uncovering of their private parts and violating their honor. This indicates that it is one of Satan's aims to spread nakedness leading to the subsequent dangerous Consequently, this allegation is refuted by clarifying the concept of the dress that is forbidden under Sharee‘ah out of seeking fame. It includes every garment that a person wears with the intention of becoming famous and reputable among people, whether this garment is precious and expensive for the sake of pride and arrogance, or humble and cheap for the sake of showing asceticism. In both cases, such a person intends that people look at him.
Given that, what is crucial to judge a certain garment that it is worn for reputation or not, is intention and purpose. Consequently, wearing Hijab in a community where such an act is not normal, necessitates that one has a righteous intention which is solely devoted to Allah The Almighty.
When we adhere to our Sharee‘ah-approved Hijab in a community where neglecting the Hijab is widespread, we do not intend to become famous, rather, we do so in obedience to Allah
The Almighty Who Says (what means): {O you who have believed, upon you is [responsibility for] yourselves. Those who have gone astray will not harm you when you have been guided. } [Quran 5: 105]
Likewise, a dress is not judged to be prohibited and intended for gaining good reputation unless people are obedient to Allah and His Messenger, sallAllahu ‘alayhi wa sallam.
Nevertheless, when their innate sound nature is corrupt and they have deviated from the straight path, we do not join them in their deviation under the pretext of avoiding fame.
It is really strange to consider the Hijab a dress for gaining fame and making that a means for abandoning it. How could adherence to the Quranic verses and the prophetic Hadeeths (narrations) be a form of seeking fame and an aberration, while imitating Westerners, non-Muslims and the negligent Muslims is seen as an ordinary and normal matter?
It is nothing but following desires of the Self. Allah The Exalted Says (what means): {And who is more astray than one who follows his desire without guidance from Allah?} [Quran 28: 50]
The sixth allegation:
They say, "The Jilbaab (outer covering garment) includes everything that the women of today wear when they go out including capes, ponchos and similar dresses. These are all called a cloak and they all serve the purpose of covering along with the modest head cover."
This is one of the widespread misunderstandings by women who are fond of wearing beautified, adorned clothes.
To them we say: Do not be deceived by names and slogans. Rather, you have to reflect on facts and realities. Nowadays, almost everything worn by women when they go out is called a "cloak". Nevertheless, can we consider all of them cloaks? This question is answered by comparing such a cloak to the conditions of the Sharee‘ah-approved Hijab. If all the conditions are satisfied, then it is really a cloak. On the contrary, if some of the conditions are not satisfied, then we cannot call it a cloak; rather, it may be called “fashion”.
This calls upon us to mention the conditions of the Sharee‘ah-approved Hijab. But, before mentioning these conditions, we would like to ask every woman who wears a cloak: Are you convinced that this cloak which you wear brings you closer to Allah The Almighty?
If she indeed believes in this, then she has to satisfy all these conditions because they are pre-requisites of an act of worship to Allah The Almighty. On the contrary, if she says that it is just something that she is used to wearing, then the conditions of the Sharee‘ah-approved Hijab will not be important for her because she does not wear it as an act of worship and consequently she will be satisfied with every new innovation which enhances her beauty and adornment. This is evident fom the all-consuming race that we witness today among many foolish women in displaying new fashions of what they claim to be "cloaks".
Here are the conditions of the Sharee‘ah-approved Hijab:
1- It must cover the entire body without leaving any part uncovered.
2- It must not be an adornment in itself, as when it is decorated, embroidered and colorful.
3 – It must be thick so that it does not show the body or adornment underneath it.
4- It must hang loose so that the shape of the body is not apparent.
5- It must be neither scented with incense nor perfumed.
6- It must not resemble men's clothing.
7- It must not resemble the dress of non-Muslim women.
8- It must not be worn for the sole purpose of gaining fame or increasing one's status in society.
When one of these conditions is not fulfilled in the cloak, then it is a form of neglecting Hijab and this indeed violates the Sharee‘ah of Allah The Almighty.
According to the scholars, impermissible exposure of a woman's beauty includes all forms of adornment and beautification with which a woman appears attractive before non-Mahram (marriageable) men. It even includes the woman's veil when it is made of glittering colors and an attractive style in order to please the eyes of the onlookers. This is an aspect of the exposure of ignorant people.
Today we observe many features of temptation and disobedience in the so-called “cloak” that many women wear when they go out, showing their beauty and displaying their arms through the wide sleeves, besides decorating the cloak with glittering adornments, that constitute impermissible exposure of women's beauty.
If each Muslim woman adhered to the ideal Sharee‘ah-approved Hijab when going out, many temptations would not occur in our life and we would keep our honor and youth safe.
We remind our sisters who wear such cloaks of the Hadeeth in which the Prophet, sallAllahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, says: "The best of your women is the affectionate, the fertile, the comforting, the agreeable, if they fear Allah. The most evil of your women are those who expose and display themselves, and those who strut (to show off) and they are the hypocrites. Those who enter Paradise of them are like the red-beaked crow." [As-Silsilah As-Saheehah] The simile of the red-beaked crow is to show that those who enter Paradise from among women will be as rare as this kind of crows is rare, due to their violations. We ask refuge in Allah The Almighty from this.
Let any woman who indifferently wears a tight cloak that shows the details of her body listen to incidents about the attitudes of the true believing women. One of them disliked that the garment would show her body even after her death. Therefore, she looked for a way to properly cover her body after her death. How keen do you think she was to maintain this during her life?
It was narrated that Faatimah, may Allah be pleased with her, daughter of the Messenger of Allah, sallAllahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, said, "O Asmaa’, I hate how women are treated after death for one is covered with a garment which shows the details of her body." Asmaa’, may Allah be pleased with her, said, "O daughter of the Messenger of Allah, I will show you something that I saw in Abyssinia!" She brought some fresh palm branches, bent them and then covered them with a garment. Having seen that, Faatimah, may Allah be pleased with her, remarked, "How good and beautiful this is!"
We often encounter women who argue, "Bring forth evidence that it is impermissible to wear a shoulder cloak and that it must descend from over the head?"
This question is answered by another question, "Do you seek the truth or do you seek the impossible?" If she is a seeker of the truth, we say to her that the evidence is in the conditions and criteria of the Sharee‘ah-approved Hijab for Muslim women. There is authentic evidence behind each condition. Evidence is also concluded from Fatwas (religious verdicts) of the trustworthy and reliable scholars whom we are commanded by Allah The Almighty to obey. Allah The Exalted Says (what means): {O you who have believed, obey Allah and obey the Messenger and those in authority among you.} [Quran 4: 59]
If she is not a seeker of the truth, then she really seeks what is impossible, which is providing a Quranic verse or prophetic Hadeeth that explicitly state the permissibility of wearing a shoulder cloak. We say to her, a person who conditions his response to the command of Allah The Almighty upon the occurrence of an impossible thing, actually follows his desires and will never respond even if his request is fulfilled. That is because making the occurrence of an impossible thing a condition for responding to a ruling indicates that one has an untruthful will and that he turns away from the truth. This even marks stubbornness and rejection just like the habit of the Children of Israel with their prophets, as they used to ask for impossible and extraordinary things in return for their obedience. They used to do so out of stubbornness and reluctance. When such matters materialized, they declined to believe in them. In this respect, Allah The Exalted Says (what means): {But if they do not respond to you - then know that they only follow their [own] desires.} [Quran 28: 50]
Many people quote an argument which indicates ignorance about the proofs behind Hijab (Islamic covering) as well as ignorance about the consensus of the scholars of the different schools of jurisprudence, that it is obligatory to cover the face at times when temptation and corruption are widespread. Undoubtedly, our current age is worthy of this description. This argument is, “The veil (face-cover) is a disputed issue among the scholars.”
This allegation is refuted from several aspects:
1- A true Muslim is required to seek the soundest view in Sharee‘ah (Islamic legislation) issues and rulings by looking for the strongest argument, abandoning following one's desires and inclinations and seeking the help of Allah The Almighty in order to be guided to the truth. A person who fulfills these requirements will inevitably be guided to the truth and it will be facilitated for him. Allah The Exalted Says (what means): {If Allah knows [any] good in your hearts, He will give you [something] better than what was taken from you, and He will forgive you.} [Quran 8: 70]
The argument “It is a disputed issue” is adopted by many people today in their acts of worship and thereby they got what they wanted and satisfied their desires through a scholar's slip, an ungrounded concession, an irregular opinion or a mistaken understanding, without giving the least importance to the contradiction of all that to the words of the infallible Prophet, sallAllahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, who does not speak from his own inclination; rather, through revelation. The Messenger of Allah, sallAllahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, prescribed for us a healing medicine whenever the disease of difference in opinion occurs. In a Hadeeth (narration), he said: "Those who live (after me) from among you will witness many differences . You have to follow my Sunnah (tradition) as well as that of the rightly-guided Caliphs."
Allah The Almighty considered consensus an argument that is immune to error. It is unsound to consider the opposite, which is difference in opinion, as being above error in argument as well.
A person who seeks irregular concessions and differences in his religion will end up with imperfect worship and weak faith. He could even lose his religiousness altogether. It was said, "A person who excessively looks for concessions has left the fold of religion."
2- The ascertained and transmitted reality is that the Muslim women remained veiled throughout the different stages of Islamic history. The aforesaid statements of the scholars assert that wearing the Hijab was one of the characteristics of the Muslim women throughout the ages.
Shaykhul-Islam, Ibn Taymiyyah, may Allah have mercy on him, said, "It was the Sunnah (way) of the believers during the lifetime of the Prophet, sallAllahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, that a free woman would be concealed from non-Mahram (marriageable) men while a bondmaid would not."
It was narrated on the authority of ‘Aasim Al-Ahwal, may Allah have mercy on him, that he said, “We used to enter upon Hafsah bint Seereen while she had made her cloak as a veil. We would say to her, may Allah be merciful to you, Allah The Exalted Says (what means): {And women of post-menstrual age who have no desire for marriage - there is no blame upon them for putting aside their outer garments [but] not displaying adornment.} [Quran 24: 60] She would reply, “What (part of the verse) comes after that?” We would say, “{But to modestly refrain [from that] is better for them.}” She would say, "This asserts wearing the Hijab.”
3- We can summarize the opinions of the scholars of the four schools of jurisprudence regarding the issue of the woman's Hijab as follows:
They unanimously agree that a woman is required to cover her body as a whole before non-Mahram men -- including both, those who are of the view that the face and hands are a part of the ‘Awrah (part of the body that must be covered), as well as those who are of the view that they are not a part of the ‘Awrah but make it obligatory to cover them in this age, due to the corruption of most people, the weakness of their faith and the lack of piety in their inability to abandon looking at women which is prohibited.
In his book ‘Awdat Al-Hijab (Part One), Shaykh Muhammad Al-Muqaddim, may Allah preserve him, said, "The majority of scholars of the schools of jurisprudence in this age unanimously agree that it is obligatory to cover a woman's face and hands to block the way before corruption and eliminate the reasons for temptation."
Finally:
Having mentioned some of the allegations that the advocates of neglecting Hijab and impermissible exposure of women's adornment raise against Hijab, we give the following advice to the woman who wears the Hijab disapproved by the Sharee‘ah:
Beware of believing that you wear the Hijab commanded in the Quran and the Sunnah. Do not be deceived that you are better than those who are not adhering to Hijab at all. That is because evil cannot be taken as a role model and there are [various] levels in the Hellfire, some of which are under some others.
Do not be deceived by those who bless your attitude from among those who are after satanic purposes, lustful interests and material benefits, who plan in order to popularize the Sharee‘ah-disapproved Hijab, make it, display it, buy it, and sell it. Such people are similar to the Jews and Christians who disobeyed Allah The Almighty and His Messenger, sallAllahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, and met the command of Allah The Almighty and His Forbiddance by their saying: {we hear and disobey} . In return, Allah The Exalted Said (what means) concerning them: {So do you believe in part of the Scripture and disbelieve in part?} [Quran 2: 85]
Such people are as if they did not receive a revealed Quran. It is as if they did not hear the verses in which Allah The Exalted Says (what means):
• {O Prophet, tell your wives and your daughters and the women of the believers to bring down over themselves [part] of their outer garments.} [Quran 33: 59]
• {and not expose their adornment except that which [necessarily] appears thereof.} [Quran 24: 31]
• {And do not display yourselves as [was] the display of the former times of ignorance.} [Quran 33: 33]
It is as if these verses were revealed to women other than Muslim women.
As for the blessed sister who fulfills the command of her Lord, we ask Allah The Almighty to safeguard her and grant her steadfastness. I say to her: Be pleased and rejoice with the glad tidings of the Prophet, sallAllahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, for you as well as similar women are patient and persevering for the sake of Allah The Almighty. In a Hadeeth, the Prophet, sallAllahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, said: "Give glad tidings to the strangers." It was said, "Who are the strangers, O Messenger of Allah?" He said: "They are a small group of righteous people among a large evil population. Those who oppose them are more than those who follow them."
In a community where negligence and non-adherence to Hijab prevail, you often hear people who say, "You look strange and abnormal." Be patient and persevering and keep steadfast in the face of temptations. There are just a few days after which you will enjoy the bliss of Paradise and the garments of honor with the mercy of Allah The Almighty. It was narrated on the authority of Al-Hasan Al-Basri, may Allah have mercy on him, that he said, "If Satan looks at you and finds you permanently obedient to Allah and he tries time after time to seduce you and you remain steadfast, he gets bored and abandons you. But if you are not steadfast all the time, he will try seducing you [again and again]."
The best thing to conclude with is the last portion of the verse in which Allah The Almighty commands women to wear the Hijab. Allah The Exalted Says (what means): {And turn to Allah in repentance, all of you, O believers, that you might succeed.} [Quran 24: 31]
