اﻟﺮﺣﯿﻢ اﻟﺮﺣﻤﻦ ﷲ ﺑﺴﻢ
We begin by praising our Lord Who, our of his mercy sent guidance for all of mankind. May the best
benedictions and peace be upon the one sent forth to perfect good character, Muhammad, the Seal of
Prophethood ملسو هيلع هللا ىلص. To proceed;
“Covering One’s Adornments”
There are certain issues that arise in cycles. They raise their head, are responded to, disappear for some
time and then arise once again. From those issues is the matter of the woman’s modesty in Islam. This
very brief paper is intended to address the issue clearly and succinctly so as to leave no room for doubt.
To do this, we seek the aid of our Lord and ask Him for success, knowing that all success is with Him
alone.
To set out on this endeavor we want to say that the foundation for evidence must first and foremost be the
clear ayat of the Qur’an about which there is no room for a believer to reject. Only after that will we look
at vigorously authenticated hadith which will only be utilized to support what has been said…although
the hadith are an evidence in and of themselves. If reference is made to the exegesis of the Qur’an or to
the opinions of scholars, it will only be done in order to facilitate clarity and ease and not as a form of
argument in themselves. To be clear, this paper is established on the Qur’an itself and anything else is but
supplemental.
As believers in Allah and the Last Day we must believe in and follow the words of Allah and He has said,
ٍﻣُﺆْﻣِﻨَﺔ َ وَﻻ ٍۢ ﻟِﻤُﺆْﻣِﻦ َ ﻛَﺎن وَﻣَﺎ
أَﻣْﺮًا ٓ وَرَﺳُﻮﻟُﮫُۥ ُ ﱠ ٱD ﻗَﻀَﻰ إِذَا
ْأَﻣْﺮِھِﻢ ْ ﻣِﻦ ُ ٱﻟْﺨِﯿَﺮَة ُ ﻟَﮭُﻢ َ ﯾَﻜُﻮن أَن ۗ
وَرَﺳُﻮﻟَﮫُۥ َ ﱠ ٱD
ِ
ﯾَﻌْﺺ وَﻣَﻦ
ﻣﱡﺒِﯿﻨًۭﺎ ًۭ ﺿَﻠَـٰﻼ ﱠ ﺿَﻞ ْ ﻓَﻘَﺪ
“It is not for a believing man or woman—
Once Allah and His Messenger decree a matter—
to have any other opinion regarding that matter.
Indeed, whoever disobeys Allah and His Messenger
They have clearly gone astray”
(33:36)
After mentioning this, let me be very clear and say that the ayat of “Hijab” pertains ONLY to te wives of
the Prophet ملسو هيلع هللا ىلص as Allah has said,
ﱢٱﻟﻨﱠﺒِﻰ َ ﺑُﯿُﻮت
۟
ﺗَﺪْﺧُﻠُﻮا َ ﻻ
۟
ءَاﻣَﻨُﻮا َ ٱﻟﱠﺬِﯾﻦ ﯾَـٰٓﺄَﯾﱡﮭَﺎ
ُإِﻧَٮٰﮫ َ ﻧَـٰﻈِﺮِﯾﻦ َ ﻏَﯿْﺮ ٍ طَﻌَﺎم ٰ إِﻟَﻰ ْ ﻟَﻜُﻢ َ ﯾُﺆْذَن أَن
ﱠ
إِﻵ
ٍﻟِﺤَﺪِﯾﺚ َ ﻣُﺴْﺘَـْٔﻨِﺴِﯿﻦ َ وَﻻ
۟
ﻓَٱﻧﺘَﺸِﺮُوا ْ طَﻌِﻤْﺘُﻢ ﻓَﺈِذَا
۟
ﻓَٱدْﺧُﻠُﻮا ْ دُﻋِﯿﺘُﻢ إِذَا ْ وَﻟَـٰﻜِﻦ ۚ
ْﻣِﻨﻜُﻢ ِۦﻓَﯿَﺴْﺘَﺤْﻰ ﱠ ٱﻟﻨﱠﺒِﻰ ﯾُﺆْذِى َ ﻛَﺎن ْ ذَٰﻟِﻜُﻢ ﱠ إِن ۖ
ﱢٱﻟْﺤَﻖ َ ﻣِﻦ ِۦﯾَﺴْﺘَﺤْﻰ َ ﻻ ُ ﱠ وَٱD ۚ
ٍۢﺣِﺠَﺎب ِ وَرَآء ﻣِﻦ ﱠ ﻓَﺴْـَٔﻠُﻮھُﻦ ﻣَﺘَـٰﻌًۭﺎ ﱠ ﺳَﺄَﻟْﺘُﻤُﻮھُﻦ وَإِذَا ۚ
ﱠوَﻗُﻠُﻮﺑِﮭِﻦ ْ ﻟِﻘُﻠُﻮﺑِﻜُﻢ ُ أَطْﮭَﺮ ْ ذَٰﻟِﻜُﻢ ۚ
1
ٱDﱠِ َ رَﺳُﻮل
۟
ﺗُﺆْذُوا أَن ْ ﻟَﻜُﻢ َ ﻛَﺎن وَﻣَﺎ
أَﺑَﺪًا ٓ ِۦﺑَﻌْﺪِه ۢ ﻣِﻦ أَزْوَٰﺟَﮫُۥ
۟
ﺗَﻨﻜِﺤُﻮٓا أَن َ وَﻵ ۚ
ﻋَﻈِﯿﻤًﺎ ِ ﱠ ٱD َ ﻋِﻨﺪ َ ﻛَﺎن ْ ذَٰﻟِﻜُﻢ ﱠ إِن
“O you who believe!
Do not enter the homes of the Prophet without permission
and if invited for a meal,
do not come early and linger until the meal is ready.
But if you are invited, then enter on time.
Once you have eaten, then go on your way, and do not stay for casual talk.
Such behavior is a source of difficulty upon the Prophet,
yet he is too shy to ask you to leave.
But Allah is never shy of the truth.
And when you ask his wives for something, ask them from behind a barrier.
This is purer for your hearts and theirs.
And it is not right for you to annoy the Messenger of Allah,
nor ever marry his wives after him.
This would certainly be a major offense in the sight of Allah.”
(33:53)
This ayat, of course, was revealed in relation to the wedding night of the Prophet ملسو هيلع هللا ىلص and our Mother, lady
Zaynab (may Allah be pleased with her). However, the pertinent part of this ayat from which a legal
ruling was made governing the wives of the Prophet ملسو هيلع هللا ىلص is the words,
ﻣَﺘَـٰﻌًۭﺎ ﱠ ﺳَﺄَﻟْﺘُﻤُﻮھُﻦ وَإِذَا
ٍۢﺣِﺠَﺎب ِ وَرَآء ﻣِﻦ ﱠ ﻓَﺴْـَٔﻠُﻮھُﻦ ۚ
ﱠوَﻗُﻠُﻮﺑِﮭِﻦ ْ ﻟِﻘُﻠُﻮﺑِﻜُﻢ ُ أَطْﮭَﺮ ْ ذَٰﻟِﻜُﻢ
“And when you ask his wives for something,
ask them from behind a barrier.
This is purer for your hearts and theirs.”
Only here is the word “Hijab” used and it is used to mean a barrier or a veil placed between the wives of
the Prophet ملسو هيلع هللا ىلص specifically and any non-relative males. Due to this, when the wives of the Mothers of the
Believers would leave their homes for any reason, they were ordained to cover themselves fully, including
their faces.
Regarding this matter as I have presented it – there is NO difference of opinion. However, this meaning of
“Hijab” is not the usage the common person understands when they use the word and that is the source of
confusion. In common usage the word is used to denote “covering” rather than “veiling” or using a
barrier. And so, let me be very clear before moving on – that verse using the specific word “Hijab” in the
Qur’an only addresses the wives of the Prophet ملسو هيلع هللا ىلص and meant that they were commanded to maintain a
physical barrier (most often a curtain) between them and non-relative males.
However, when it comes to the common usage, that is, when “Hijab” is used to mean “covering”, Allah
has said in the Qur’an,
2
ٱﻟﻨﱠﺒِﻰﱡ ﯾَـٰٓﺄَﯾﱡﮭَﺎ
َوَﺑَﻨَﺎﺗِﻚ َ َزْوَٰﺟِﻚ
ﱢ
ﻷ ﻗُﻞ
َٱﻟْﻤُﺆْﻣِﻨِﯿﻦ ِ وَﻧِﺴَﺂء
ﱠﺟَﻠَـٰﺒِﯿﺒِﮭِﻦ ﻣِﻦ ﱠ ﻋَﻠَﯿْﮭِﻦ َ ﯾُﺪْﻧِﯿﻦ ۚ
َﯾُﺆْذَﯾْﻦ َ ﻓَﻼ َ ﯾُﻌْﺮَﻓْﻦ أَن ٰٓ أَدْﻧَﻰ َ ذَٰﻟِﻚ ۗ
رﱠﺣِﯿﻤًۭﺎ ﻏَﻔُﻮرًۭا ُ ﱠ ٱD َ وَﻛَﺎن
“O Prophet!
Tell your wives and daughters,
and the believing women,
to draw their cloaks over their bodies.
In this way they will be recognized and not molested.
And Allah is All-Forgiving, Most Merciful”
(33:59)
This command is thus extended, not only to the wives and daughters of the Prophet ملسو هيلع هللا ىلص but, to all
believing women…every Muslimah. The command is that they draw their “Jilbab” over their bodies.
Jilbab is translated here as “cloak” but it means a woman’s dress. It can mean cloak or gown, but it really
refers to any garment that covers the skin and shape of the woman’s body. From the beauty of this is that
Muslim women of every different tribe and culture have their own expression of clothing and Islam
honors that. This ayat is not asking women to wear an extra garment over their garments such as we see in
Arabia and other lands, nor is it asking them to wear what is called “Jilbab” culturally by these people or
those. It is a command for women to cover their bodies with clothes by which their skin and their shapes
are concealed. If an American woman wore an oversized sweat suit which covered her in such a way as to
hide her shape, she would be in accord with this ayat.
But this is the body. What about covering the head?
Allah has said,
ِﻟﱢﻠْﻤُﺆْﻣِﻨَـٰﺖ وَﻗُﻞ
ﱠأَﺑْﺼَـٰﺮِھِﻦ ْ ﻣِﻦ َ ﯾَﻐْﻀُﻀْﻦ
ﱠﻓُﺮُوﺟَﮭُﻦ َ وَﯾَﺤْﻔَﻈْﻦ
ﻣِﻨْﮭَﺎ َ ظَﮭَﺮ ﻣَﺎ ﱠ إِﻻ ﱠ زِﯾﻨَﺘَﮭُﻦ َ ﯾُﺒْﺪِﯾﻦ َ وَﻻ ۖ
ﱠﺟُﯿُﻮﺑِﮭِﻦ ٰ ﻋَﻠَﻰ ﱠ ﺑِﺨُﻤُﺮِھِﻦ َ وَﻟْﯿَﻀْﺮِﺑْﻦ ۖ
ﱠزِﯾﻨَﺘَﮭُﻦ َ ﯾُﺒْﺪِﯾﻦ َ وَﻻ
ﱠءَاﺑَﺂﺋِﮭِﻦ ْ أَو ﱠ ﻟِﺒُﻌُﻮﻟَﺘِﮭِﻦ ﱠ إِﻻ
ﱠﺑُﻌُﻮﻟَﺘِﮭِﻦ ِ أَﺑْﻨَﺂء ْ أَو ﱠ أَﺑْﻨَﺂﺋِﮭِﻦ ْ أَو ﱠ ﺑُﻌُﻮﻟَﺘِﮭِﻦ ِ ءَاﺑَﺂء ْ أَو
ﱠأَﺧَﻮَٰﺗِﮭِﻦ ٓ ﺑَﻨِﻰ ْ أَو ﱠ إِﺧْﻮَٰﻧِﮭِﻦ ٓ ﺑَﻨِﻰ ْ أَو ﱠ إِﺧْﻮَٰﻧِﮭِﻦ ْ أَو
ﱠأَﯾْﻤَـٰﻨُﮭُﻦ ْ ﻣَﻠَﻜَﺖ ﻣَﺎ ْ أَو ﱠ ﻧِﺴَﺂﺋِﮭِﻦ ْ أَو
ِٱﻟﺮﱢﺟَﺎل َ ﻣِﻦ ِ ٱﻹِْرْﺑَﺔ أُو۟ﻟِﻰ
ِ
ﻏَﯿْﺮ َ ٱﻟﺘﱠـٰﺒِﻌِﯿﻦ ِ أَو
ِٱﻟﻨﱢﺴَﺂء ِ ﻋَﻮْرَٰت ٰ ﻋَﻠَﻰ
۟
ﯾَﻈْﮭَﺮُوا ْ ﻟَﻢ َ ٱﻟﱠﺬِﯾﻦ ِ ٱﻟﻄﱢﻔْﻞ ِ أَو ۖ
ﱠزِﯾﻨَﺘِﮭِﻦ ﻣِﻦ َ ﯾُﺨْﻔِﯿﻦ ﻣَﺎ َ ﻟِﯿُﻌْﻠَﻢ ﱠ ﺑِﺄَرْﺟُﻠِﮭِﻦ َ ﯾَﻀْﺮِﺑْﻦ َ وَﻻ ۚ
َٱﻟْﻤُﺆْﻣِﻨُﻮن َ أَﯾﱡﮫ ﺟَﻤِﯿﻌًﺎ ِ ﱠ ٱD إِﻟَﻰ
۟
وَﺗُﻮﺑُﻮٓا
َﺗُﻔْﻠِﺤُﻮن ْ ﻟَﻌَﻠﱠﻜُﻢ
3
“And tell the believing women –
Lower their gaze and guard their chastity,
And not to reveal their adornments except what normally appears.
Let them draw their veils over their chests,
And not reveal their ˹hidden˺ adornments
Except to their husbands, their fathers,
Their fathers-in-law, their sons, their stepsons,
Their brothers, their brothers’ sons or sisters’ sons,
Their fellow women, those ˹bondwomen˺ in their possession,
male attendants with no desire, or children who are still unaware of women’s nakedness.
Let them not stomp their feet, drawing attention to their hidden adornments.
Turn to Allah in repentance all together, O believers,
That you may be successful.”
(24:31)
We see in this ayat a clear command for all believing women – every Muslimah- that they should lower
their gazes, guard their chastity, cover their heads to their bosoms and not display anything of their
adornments other than what is normally unavoidable. Let’s begin with the words,
ﱠﺟُﯿُﻮﺑِﮭِﻦ ٰ ﻋَﻠَﻰ ﱠ ﺑِﺨُﻤُﺮِھِﻦ َ وَﻟْﯿَﻀْﺮِﺑْﻦ
“Let them draw their veils over their chests”
We should begin by pointing out the word َ ﻟْﯿَﻀْﺮِﺑْﻦ has the “Lam of Emphasis” preceding it so as to do just
that, emphasize the matter. After that, the word ﱠ ﺧُﻤُﺮِھِﻦ (Khumoorihinna – their head coverings). The root
word, khamara (KH-M-R), means to cover, hide or conceal. From this we get the words which mean to
ferment and wine which covers and conceals the intellect. The Kheymar was (and is) a scarf or cloth used
to cover the head. This is what it meant and was understood to mean at the time of revelation as we see in
the hadith where, when this ayat was revealed, the women immediately responded by using any available
cloth they could, even using sheets and curtains, in order to cover themselves properly – to such an extent
that the next day, when they went to pray, it was said that, due to the way they had covered, it appeared as
if crows were sitting upon their heads. The narration is on the authority of Ibn Abbas (may Allah be
pleased with him) and can be found in Tafsir Ibn Kathir in relation to this very ayat.
So, without a doubt, the understanding and application of this command according to those who first
received it was that they were to cover their heads. But not only their heads. Some scarves cover
themselves heads but leave the ears and/or neck exposed but this ayat made it explicitly clear that the
kheymar used to cover the head should extend down and cover all the way to the chest area. This then
brings us directly to the words,
ﻣِﻨْﮭَﺎ َ ظَﮭَﺮ ﻣَﺎ ﱠ إِﻻ ﱠ زِﯾﻨَﺘَﮭُﻦ َ ﯾُﺒْﺪِﯾﻦ َ وَﻻ
“And not to reveal their adornments except what normally appears”
As well as the words,
ﱠزِﯾﻨَﺘَﮭُﻦ َ ﯾُﺒْﺪِﯾﻦ َ وَﻻ
“And not reveal their adornments”
4
What was understood and discussed about this is two fold. As for the first line, it indicates that nothing
should be shown other than the face and hands (and some scholars mention the portion of the feet which
are seen while walking) and the outline of the shapely woman which is difficult to conceal with their
garments. As for the second line, it indicates jewelry such as bracelets, anklets and necklaces, as well as
makeup. In other words, those parts of the woman’s body (face, hands, feet) which are utilized in
everyday interactions and the outline of a larger woman who has difficulty concealing it, are excluded.
But every other part of the woman’s body, from head to toe (or at least ankle), are considered her private
adornments and should be covered. What is more, the woman should not seek to enhance her beauty in
public by adding adornments such as makeup or jewelry.
This, of course, is only outside of the home or around non-related males within the home as is clearly
delineated by the list of exceptions.
But let us say that someone is reading this and they are still unconvinced that this is what the words are
actually saying. Perhaps a convincer for them would be the dispensation Allah has given to the elderly
when he said,
ﻧِﻜَﺎﺣًۭﺎ َ ﯾَﺮْﺟُﻮن َ ﻻ ٱﻟﱠـٰﺘِﻰ ِ ٱﻟﻨﱢﺴَﺂء َ ﻣِﻦ ُ وَٱﻟْﻘَﻮَٰﻋِﺪ
ٍۢ
ﺑِﺰِﯾﻨَﺔ
ٍۭ
ﻣُﺘَﺒَﺮﱢﺟَـٰﺖ َ ﻏَﯿْﺮ ﱠ ﺛِﯿَﺎﺑَﮭُﻦ َ ﯾَﻀَﻌْﻦ أَن ٌ ﺟُﻨَﺎح ﱠ ﻋَﻠَﯿْﮭِﻦ َ ﻓَﻠَﯿْﺲ ۖ
ﱠﻟﱠﮭُﻦ
ٌۭ
ﺧَﯿْﺮ َ ﯾَﺴْﺘَﻌْﻔِﻔْﻦ وَأَن ۗ
ٌۭﻋَﻠِﯿﻢ ٌ ﺳَﻤِﯿﻊ ُ ﱠ وَٱD
“As for elderly women past the age of marriage,
There is no blame on them if they take off their garments,
without revealing their adornments.
But it is better for them if they avoid this.
And Allah is All-Hearing, All-Knowing.”
(24:60)
In this ayat, Allah uses the word ﱠ ﺛِﯿَﺎﺑَﮭُﻦ (Thiyaabahunna – their clothes). Surely Allah does not mean
elderly women can take their clothes off. Rather, it is conditioned with the words,
ٍۢ
ﺑِﺰِﯾﻨَﺔ
ٍۭ
ﻣُﺘَﺒَﺮﱢﺟَـٰﺖ َ ﻏَﯿْﺮ
(without revealing their adornments). Through this, our scholars understood that the Kheymar, that cloth
used to cover their head and shoulders, could be relaxed. And yet, even in the case of the woman who is
beyond the age of seeking marriage or being sought for it, Allah tells them it would be better if they
avoided this dispensation. So what then of the rest?
Thus, using the Qur’an as our evidence, we can see that women are commanded to cover their bodies, the
forms of their bodies and their heads (including their necks and shoulders). Indeed, everything is to be
covered with the exclusion of the face and hands (and perhaps feet) for all believing women – based solely
on the clear text of the Qur’an. This allows for the woman to uphold and protect her chastity, to be
recognized as decent and virtuous and protects her dignity while also affording her the opportunity to
participate fully in society and care for any responsibilities she may have.
While the clothes should be moderate and “culturally appropriate”, there is no fixed style or color that a
Muslimah is required to wear. Again, from the beauty of Islam is the vast diversity of cultural expressions
found in our women upholding the command upon them to cover. The only requirements that absolutely
must be met is that it covers the entire body with the exception of the face and hands, that it be loose and
not tight fitting (in order to hide the outline of the shape of the body), the fabric be thick enough to not be
translucent and that it not resemble the clothing of men. Outside of that, find your style!
5
Having come to the end of the discussion, let me add two final thoughts – the first is that the Prophet ملسو هيلع هللا ىلص
taught that Modesty and faith are as two threads of the same braid such that, if one comes loose, the other
will follow. Often times we find that the enemies of Islam attack the covering of the Muslim woman, not
as a form of liberation but, as a direct attack on the faith of the Ummah. Our women are the vanguards of
the next generation and if the enemies of Islam can attack the modesty of the women, they are attacking
their faith as well as that of the next generation.
What is more, we can see that when a woman becomes weakened in her faith, her covering takes a hit and
vice versa, when a woman chooses to disobey Allah with regard to these ayat, their faith tends to take a
serious hit. The good news is, as a woman strengthens her modesty, her faith increases and too, from the
best of ways to help a woman begin to cover is by strengthening her faith. This was the model seen by the
first generation and Allah knows best.
But among with this, we see steps and stages which the Shayateen use to attack the woman. First they
begin wearing tighter clothes before wearing garments that have “sinchers” meant to accentuate their
forms rather than conceal them. The women then begin to ease their Kheymars and then they wear them
“part time”. What is amazing to me is, when a woman chooses to not cover properly (meaning no
Kheymar), they seem to nearly always add to this low cut tops and make up. It becomes not just about
“not covering” but Tabaruj – actually flaunting the very adornments Allah has called them to conceal. In
the final stages, they are “made up” just as a faithless woman with no indication that they are from the
Ummah of Muhammad ملسو هيلع هللا ىلص.
If the reader has been duped by Shaytaan, preyed upon by the enemies of Islam or became victim of their
own nafs – notice what Allah has said at the end of the verse from Surah An-Nur above (24:31),
َٱﻟْﻤُﺆْﻣِﻨُﻮن َ أَﯾﱡﮫ ﺟَﻤِﯿﻌًﺎ ِ ﱠ ٱD إِﻟَﻰ
۟
وَﺗُﻮﺑُﻮٓا
َﺗُﻔْﻠِﺤُﻮن ْ ﻟَﻌَﻠﱠﻜُﻢ
“And turn back to Allah (in repentance) altogether,
O Believers,
So that you be from amongst the felicitous”
We have completed this with the help of our Lord and we pray that He allow this effort to reach those
who are in need of hearing it, that He allow it to hit its mark, that He put benefit in it and that he make it a
means of good for the author, his family and all who read it, in this life and the Hereafter…ameen.
Wm. Halim Breiannis
November 26, 2025
Jumada Al-Ukhra 5, 1447
Baltimore, Md.
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