Mu' meneen Brothers and Sisters,

As Salaam Aleikum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh.  (May Allah's Peace, Mercy and Blessings be upon all of you)

One of our brothers/sisters has asked this question:

Bhai, I would like to know why is Hijab necessary for a woman and Is it mentioned in the Quran.

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Answer:

Why is Hijab necessary for Women?

In the name of Allah, We praise Him, seek His help and ask for His forgiveness. Whoever Allah guides none can misguide, and who-ever He allows to fall astray, none can guide them aright. We bear witness that there is no one (no idol, no person, no grave, no prophet, no imam, no dai, nobody!) worthy of worship but Allah Alone, and we bear witness that Muhammad (saws) is His slave-servant and the seal of His Messengers.

Allah says in the Holy Quran Chapter 33 Surah Al Ahzaab verse 59: O Prophet! Tell your wives and daughters, and the women of the believers, that they should cast their outer garments over their persons. It is expected that they will be recognized and that they will not be molested. And Allah is Oft Forgiving, Most Merciful.

Allah says in the Holy Quran Chapter 24 Surah An-Noor verse 31: And O Prophet, enjoin the believing women to restrain their gaze and guard their private parts and not to display their adornment except that which is displayed of itself (their face and hands), and to draw their veils over their bosoms and not to display their adornment except before their husbands, their fathers, the fathers of their husbands, their sons and the sons of their husbands, their brothers, their brothers sons, their sisters’ sons, their female associates, and those in their possession and male attendants incapable of sexual desire, and those boys who have not yet attained knowledge of sexual matters. Also forbid them to stamp their feet on the ground lest their hidden ornaments should be displayed.

The above commandments are not for every woman to cover up! These commandments are only for the women who believes in Allah and fears the Last Day. For any woman, who indeed believes in Allah and fears the Last Day, the above commandments of Allah should be enough reason for her to cover herself, with her outer garments.

Some ‘modern’ and ‘educated’ woman today have a problem with the above commandment of Allah and argue that this is a discrimination against woman in this day and age. Allah is the One who created both man and woman, and everything else that exists. When We recognize Him as our Creator, and we submit our wills to Him, then He Alone has the right to guide us to the Straight Path of Mercy. Since He is our Creator, He alone knows what is best for us and what is evil for us. In His Divine Wisdom, Allah did not create man and woman as equal, but He created them as balanced, with each gender having its own set of responsibilities and duties. That is the Divine Wisdom of the All-Wise, All-Knowing, Allah.

YES, we are allowed to search for the wisdom in His commandments, so that we can follow them with conviction. And NO, we are not allowed, under any circumstances, to challenge His Commandments in the least, for they are indeed from the All Wise, All Knowing, Allah.

Allah, The All Knowing, All-Wise, has placed a definite physical attraction between man and woman. He has allowed mankind to fulfil this attraction through legal means of marriage, and made adultery and fornication a major sin in Islam.

When something is deemed ‘haraam’ in Islam, The Prophet (saws) said that all roads or ways leading to the ‘haraam’ thing are also ‘haraam’. And not wearing the ‘hijaab’ of the woman is a thing that leads to illegal attraction between man and woman.

Allah, in His Divine Wisdom, indicates two reasons why should a believing woman cover herself: 1. So that she is recognized and 2. So that she will not be molested!. Wearing a ‘hijaab’ is a sort of a ‘red-light’ or ‘stop-signal’ to the on-looker. It indicates to him, that the woman wearing the ‘hijaab’ is not a loose woman, but a pious and God-fearing slave of Allah, so stay away. The ‘hijab’ of the woman indicates to the onlooker that his stares and comments are not welcome here … ‘I am not public property like the other half-naked woman, but I fear Allah and the Last Day”.

I agree that not every woman who wears the ‘hijab’ is pious, and not every woman who does not wear the ‘hijab’ is astray. The ‘hijab’ is only a sign that this woman has submitted her will to the Will of Allah, fears Allah and the Last Day, and wants to adhere to every commandment sent down by her Lord and Creator. Just like an officer in the army considers it an honor to wear his army uniform, this woman should be honored and proud to be in the uniform commanded by Allah, if indeed she believes in Allah and fears meeting Him on the Last Day.

Allah says in the Holy Quran Chapter 33 Surah Al-Ahzaab verse 32-33: O Wives of the Prophet, you are not like the other woman. If you are God-fearing, do not talk in a soft voice lest the man of the diseased heart should cherish false hopes from you, but speak in an unaffected (or business-like) manner. Stay in your houses, and do not go about displaying your fineries as women used to do in the days of ‘jaahileeya’ (ignorance).

Who is Allah talking to? Some loose women? No, my brothers and sisters, Allah is talking to some of the most chaste women on this planet earth. He is admonishing the noble wives of our beloved Prophet (saws)! He is commanding some of the purest woman on earth to talk, if needed, firmly to other men. And not to display their fineries in public like in the days of ignorance. Are the days of ‘ignorance’ today any different than before the advent of Islam, where women are all dressed up, with full make-up and fineries, in public?

May Allah bless our wives, our daughters, our sisters, and our mothers to fear Allah and the Last Day. May Allah bless them to understand that the commandments of Allah are for their own protection and a means of honor, from Allah. May Allah honor the women of the Islamic Ummah in this world and hereafter, who adhere to Allah’s commandments, and consider it an honor to be dressed in Allah’s uniform. May Allah bless our women to realize that Shaitaan is trying to dishonor them in the name of fashion and modernization, and Allah’s commandments are meant to honor them in this world as well as the hereafter. May Allah guide all of us to the Straight Path of Islam. Ameen.

May Allah guide you and us all to the Straight Path of Islam.

Whatever written of Truth and benefit is only due to Allah’s Assistance and Guidance, and whatever of error is of me. Allah Alone Knows Best and He is the Only Source of Strength.

Your Brother in Islam,

Burhan