She
Wants To Wear Hijab And Her Family Don't Want Her To.
Should She Obey Them?
Islamic Rulings -
Living Shariah Verdicts
Islamic Questions & Answers
I am a muslimah & am hoping 2 get married in a
few mths Insha'Allah. My parents are from Pakistan &
would like me 2 wear a traditional bridal outfit which
consists of an embroidered scarf, tunic & long, baggy
skirt (lengha). Initially,I had no qualms about
wearing this outfit as I would be covered according 2
the Islamic requirements 4 a woman. However, I was
talking 2 a few sisters who have commented that 4 me 2
wear such an outfit would not be acceptable in Islam
as it would be bright & some non-mahrem men would c me
in it. I am confused now as 2 what 2 do, because in my
whole family I am the only one who wears hijaab & 2
refuse 2 wear this outfit would cause major distress &
upheaval in my family,especially as I am already
getting married outside the family. But I also am
aware that obedience 2 Allah (s.w.t)come first &
therefore am asking u 4 advice.
I would appreciate a reply from yourselves at the
earliest oppurtunity with advice,evidences etc.
Praise be to Allaah.
We appreciate your keenness and your efforts to seek
advice. We ask Allaah to make things easy for you and
to give you a way out.
Women are commanded to conceal their adornment from
strange men who are not their mahrams, because Allaah
says (interpretation of the meaning):
"And tell the believing women to lower their gaze
(from looking at forbidden things), and protect their
private parts (from illegal sexual acts) and not to
show off their adornment except only that which is
apparent (like both eyes for necessity to see the way,
or outer palms of hands or one eye or dress like veil,
gloves, headcover, apron), and to draw their veils all
over Juyoobihinna (i.e. their bodies, faces, necks and
bosoms) and not to reveal their adornment except to
their husbands, or their fathers, or their husband's
fathers, or their sons, or their husband's sons, or
their brothers or their brother's sons, or their
sister's sons, or their (Muslim) women (i.e. their
sisters in Islam), or the (female) slaves whom their
right hands possess, or old male servants who lack
vigour, or small children who have no sense of
feminine sex. And let them not stamp their feet so as
to reveal what they hide of their adornment. And all
of you beg Allaah to forgive you all, O believers,
that you may be successful"
[al-Noor 24:31]
Hence it is required that the clothes with which a
woman covers herself should not be an adornment in
themselves, because she is commanded to conceal her
adornment as stated above.
It is also essential that the clothing be wide and
loose so that it covers all the body, and it should be
thick so that it is not see-through.
You should advise your family and explain to them the
necessity of adhering to that which Allaah has
prescribed and enjoined. Explain that to your husband
also, for he is responsible before Allaah and is
required to protect you and have protective jealousy
concerning you.
Ask Allaah to protect you and to guide your family to
that which is good; remain steadfast in what you are
doing even if that makes them angry and upset. For
there is no obedience to any created being if it
involves disobedience towards the Creator, and it is
not permissible for you to obey your parents or
husband in wearing that which Allaah has forbidden, or
neglecting to do something that Allaah has enjoined,
either at your wedding or afterwards.
The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon
him) said: "There is no obedience if it involves sin,
rather obedience is with regard to that which is good
and proper." Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 7257; Muslim,
1840.
See also questions no. 11967, 6408, 6991, 5393; these
questions explain the ruling on hijab and the
description of hijab. You should read them and choose
whatever is appropriate to show to your parents so
that they will be convinced of the shar'i ruling.
We ask Allaah to make you steadfast until death. And
Allaah knows best.
Do women have to wear niqaab?
Is wearing niqaab one of the conditions of
Islamic dress for women?
Praise be to Allaah.
Hijaab in Arabic means covering or concealing. Hijaab
is the name of something that is used to cover.
Everything that comes between two things is hijaab.
Hijaab means everything that is used to cover
something and prevent anyone from reaching it, such as
curtains, door keepers and garments, etc.
Khimaar comes from the word khamr, the root meaning of
which is to cover. For example, the Prophet (peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: "Khammiru
aaniyatakum (cover your vessels)." Everything that
covers something else is called its khimaar.
But in common usage khimaar has come to be used as a
name for the garment with which a woman covers her
head; in some cases this does not go against the
linguistic meaning of khimaar.
Some of the fuqahaa' have defined it as that which
covers the head, the temples and the neck.
The difference between the hijaab and the khimaar is
that the hijaab is something which covers all of a
woman's body, whilst the khimaar in general is
something with which a woman covers her head.
Niqaab is that with which a woman veils her face (tantaqib)…
The difference between hijaab and niqaab is that the
hijaab is that which covers all the body, whilst
niqaab is that which covers a woman's face only.
The woman's dress as prescribed in sharee'ah ("Islamic
dress") is that which covers her head, face and all of
her body.
But the niqaab or burqa' – which shows the eyes of the
woman – has become widespread among women, and some of
them do not wear it properly. Some scholars have
forbidden wearing it on the grounds that it is not
Islamic in origin, and because it is used improperly
and people treat it as something insignificant,
demonstrating negligent attitudes towards it and using
new forms of niqaab which are not prescribed in Islam,
widening the opening for the eyes so that the cheeks,
nose and part of the forehead are also visible.
Therefore, if the woman's niqaab or burqa' does not
show anything but the eyes, and the opening is only as
big as the left eye, as was narrated from some of the
salaf, then that is permissible, otherwise she should
wear something which covers her face entirely.
Shaykh Muhammad al-Saalih al-‘Uthaymeen (may Allaah
have mercy on him) said:
The hijaab prescribed in sharee'ah means that a woman
should cover everything that it is haraam for her to
show, i.e., she should cover that which it is
obligatory for her to cover, first and foremost of
which is the face, because it is the focus of
temptation and desire.
A woman is obliged to cover her face in front of
anyone who is not her mahram (blood relative to whom
marriage is forbidden). From this we learn that the
face is the most essential thing to be covered. There
is evidence from the Book of Allaah and the Sunnah of
His Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon
him) and the views of the Sahaabah and the imams and
scholars of Islam, which indicates that women are
obliged to cover all of their bodies in front of those
who are not their mahrams.
Fataawa al-Mar'ah al-Muslimah, 1/ 391, 392)
Shaykh Saalih al-Fawzaan (may Allaah preserve him)
said:
The correct view as indicated by the evidence is that
the woman's face is ‘awrah which must be covered. It
is the most tempting part of her body, because what
people look at most is the face, so the face is the
greatest ‘awrah of a woman. This is in addition to the
shar'i evidence which states that it is obligatory to
cover the face.
For example, Allaah says (interpretation of the
meaning):
"And tell the believing women to lower their gaze
(from looking at forbidden things), and protect their
private parts (from illegal sexual acts) and not to
show off their adornment except only that which is
apparent (like both eyes for necessity to see the way,
or outer palms of hands or one eye or dress like veil,
gloves, headcover, apron), and to draw their veils all
over Juyoobihinna (i.e. their bodies, faces, necks and
bosoms)…"
[al-Noor 24:31]
Drawing the veil all over the juyoob implies covering
the face.
When Ibn ‘Abbaas (may Allaah be pleased with him) was
asked about the aayah (interpretation of the meaning):
"O Prophet! Tell your wives and your daughters and the
women of the believers to draw their cloaks (veils)
all over their bodies"
[al-Ahzaab 33:59] –
he covered his face, leaving only one eye showing.
This indicates that what was meant by the aayah was
covering the face. This was the interpretation of Ibn
‘Abbaas (may Allaah be pleased with him) of this aayah,
as narrated from him by ‘Ubaydah al-Salmaani when he
asked him about it.
In the Sunnah there are many ahaadeeth, such as: the
Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him)
said: "The woman in ihraam is forbidden to veil her
face (wear niqaab) or to wear the burqa'." This
indicates that when women were not in ihraam, women
used to cover their faces.
This does not mean that if a woman takes off her
niqaab or burqa' in the state of ihraam that she
should leave her face uncovered in the presence of
non-mahram men. Rather she is obliged to cover it with
something other than the niqaab or burqa', on the
evidence of the hadeeth of ‘Aa'ishah (may Allaah be
pleased with her) who said: "We were with the Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) in ihraam,
and when men passed by us, we would lower the khimaar
on our heads over our faces, and when they moved on we
would lift it again."
Women in ihraam and otherwise are obliged to cover
their faces in front of non-mahram men, because the
face is the center of beauty and it is the place that
men look at… and Allaah knows best.
Fataawa al-Mar'ah al-Muslimah, 1/396, 397
He also said:
It is OK to cover the face with the niqaab or burqa'
which has two openings for the eyes only, because this
was known at the time of the Prophet (peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him), and because of
necessity. If nothing but the eyes show, this is fine,
especially if this is customarily worn by women in her
society.
Fataawa al-Mar'ah al-Muslimah, 1/399
And Allaah knows best.
Sheikh Muhammed Salih Al-Munajjid
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