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جــــلالــة المـلــكـة –
THREE RULES FOR WOMEN DRESS CODE IN ISLAM
FIRST RULE: THE BEST GARMENT
See Quran[7:26]
This is the BASIC rule of DRESS CODE in the Quran. This is the first rule in WOMEN DRESS CODE in Islam.
SECOND RULE: COVER YOUR BOSOMS
The second rule can be found in Quran 24:31. Here God orders the women to cover
their bosoms whenever they dress up. But before quoting 24:31 let us review
some crucial words that are always mentioned with this topic, namely "Hijab" and "Khimar"
THE WORD "HIJAB" in the QURAN
"Hijab" is the term used by many Muslims women to describe their head cover
that may or may not include covering their face except their eyes, and
sometimes covering also one eye. The Arabic word "Hijab" can be translated into
veil or yashmak. Other meanings for the word "Hijab" include, screen, cover
(ing), mantle, curtain, drapes, partition, division, divider.
Can we find the word "Hijab" in the Quran??
The word "Hijab" appeared in the Quran 7 times, five of them as "Hijab" and two
times as "Hijaban,". See Quran 7:46, 33:53, 38:32, 41:5, 42:51, 17:45 and 19:17.
None of these "Hijab" words are used in the Quran in reference to what the
traditional Muslims call today (Hijab) as a dress code for the Muslim woman.
God knows that generations after Muhammed's death the Muslims will use the
word "Hijab" to invent a dress code that He never authorized. God used the
word "Hijab" ahead of them just as He used the word "Hadith" ahead of them.
Hijab in the Quran has nothing to do with the Muslim Women dress code.
HISTORICAL BACKGROUND:
While many Muslims call "Hijab", an Islamic dress code, they completely ignore
the fact that, Hijab as a dress code has nothing to do with Islam and nothing to do with QURAN.
"Hijab" or veil can be traced back to early civilizations. It can be found in
early and late Roman and Greek art. The evidence can be seen in archeological
discoveries whether in pottery fragments, paintings or recorded civil laws. In
Greco-Roman culture, both women and men wore head covering in religious
contexts. The tradition of wearing the veil (by women) and the headcover (by
men) was then adopted by the Jews who wrote it in the Talmud then the
Christians adopted the same. A well respected Rabbi once explained to a group
of Jewish young women, "We do not find a direct command in the Torah mandating
that women cover their heads, but we do know that this has been the continuing
custom for thousands of years." After the prophet Muhammad's death , the
writers of the hadith books adopted and encouraged the ancient tradition of
head covering. Hadith book' writers took after the Jews as they did with many
other traditions , and alleged them to the prophet since the Quran did not command it.
Any student of the Jewish traditions or religious books will see that head cover for the Jewish woman (and men) has been encouraged by the Rabbis and
religious leaders. Observant Jewish women still cover their heads most of the
time and specially in the synagogues, weddings, and religious festivities.
Christian women cover their heads in many religious occasions while the nuns cover their heads all the time.
As we can expect the traditional Arabs, of all religions, Jews, Christians and
Muslims used to wear head cover, or "Hijab," not because of Islam, but because
of tradition. In Saudi Arabia, up to this day most of the men cover their heads , not because of Islam but because of tradition.
North Africa is known for its Tribe (Tuareg) that have the Muslim men
wearing "Hijab" instead of women. Here the tradition has the hijab in reverse.
If wearing Hijab is the sign of the pious and righteous Muslim woman, Mother
Teresa would have been the first woman to be counted.
In brief, hijab is a traditional dress and has nothing to do with Islam or
religion. In certain areas of the world, men are the ones who wear the hijab while in others the women do.
Mixing religion with tradition is a form of idolworship, since the followers of
traditions are following laws from sources other than God's scriptures and
claim it to be from God. Idolworship is the only unforgivable sin if maintained till death.
Ignoring what God asks you to do in His book, or following innovated laws not
stated in the the Quran, is a clear sign of disregarding God and His message.
When tradition supersedes God's commandment, the true religion takes a second
place. God never accepts to be second, God has to be always the FIRST and to HIM there is no second.
THE WORD "KHIMAR" in the QURAN:
"Khimar" is an Arabic word that can be found in the Quran in 24:31 While the
first basic rule of Dress Code for the Muslim Women can be found in Quran 7:26,
the second rule of the DRESS CODE FOR WOMEN can be found in Quran 24:31. Some
Muslims quote verse 31 of sura 24 as containing the Hijab, or head cover, by
pointing to the word, khomoorehenna, (from Khimar), forgetting that God already
used the word Hijab, several times in the Quran.
Those blessed by God can see that the use of the word "Khimar" in this verse is
not for "Hijab" or for head cover. Those who quote this verse usually add (Head
cover) after the word Khomoorehenna, and usually between ( ), because it is
their addition to the verse not God's. See Quran 24:31
"Khimar" is an Arabic word that means, cover, any cover, a curtain is a Khimar,
a dress is a Khimar, a table cloth that covers the top of a table is a Khimar,
a blanket can be used as a Khimaretc. The word KHAMRA used for intoxicant in
Arabic has the same root with Khimar, because both covers, the Khimar covers (a
window, a body, a table . . . etc.) while KHAMRA covers the state of mind.
In Quran 24:31 God is asking the women to use their cover (khimar)( being a
dress, a coat, a shawl, a shirt, a blouse, a tie, a scarf . . . etc.) to cover
their bosoms, not their heads or their hairs. If God so willed to order the
women to cover their heads or their hair, nothing would have prevented Him from
doing so. GOD does not run out of words. GOD does not forget. God did not order
the women to cover their heads or their hair.
God does not wait for a Scholar to put the correct words for Him!
The Arabic word for CHEST, GAYB is in the verse (24:31), but the Arabic words
for HEAD, (RAAS) or HAIR, (SHAAR) are NOT in the verse. The commandment in the
verse is clear - COVER YOUR CHEST OR BOSOMS.
The last part of the verse (24:31) show us that the details of the body can be
revealed or not revealed by the dress you wear, not by your head cover.
Notice also the _expression in 24:31,
This _expression may sound vague to many because they have not understood the
mercy of God. Again God here used this very general term to give us the
freedom to decide according to our own circumstances the definition of "What is necessary".
It is not up to a scholar or to any particular person to define this term. God
wants to leave it personal for every woman and no one can take it away from
her. Women who follow the basic rule number one i.e. righteousness, will have
no problem making the right decision to reveal only which is necessary.
THIRD RULE : LENGTHEN YOUR GARMENTS
The first regulation of DRESS CODE for Muslim women is in Quran 7:26, the
second is in Quran 24:31 and the third is in Quran 33:59
In Quran 33:59, God sets the other regulation for the dress code for the Muslim women during the prophet's life.
Although the verse is talking to the prophet which means this regulation
applies to the time of the prophet, just like the order in Quran 49:2, the
description fits the spirit of Islam, and can teach us a great deal.
If you reflect on this verse and how God ordered the prophet to tell his wives,
his daughters and the wives of the believers to lengthen their garments, you
would understand the great wisdom of the MOST WISE, the MOST MERCIFUL. In this
verse, God, DELIBERATELY, (and all the TRUE believers know that everything GOD
says, does, or did is DELIBERATE) said, tell them, to lengthen their garments,
and never said how long is long. God could have said tell them to lengthen
their garments to their ankles or to their mid-calf or to their knees, but HE
DID NOT. He did not, OUT OF HIS MERCY, not because HE FORGOT as God does not
forget. God knows that we will be living in different communities and have
different cultures and insists that the minor details of this dress code will
be left for the people of every community to hammer for themselves.
It is clear from the above verses that the DRESS CODE for the Muslim women
according to the Quran is righteousness and modesty. God knows that this
modesty will be understood differently in different communities and that is why
He left it open to us to decide for ourselves. Decide, after righteousness what
is modesty. Modesty for a woman who lives in New York may not be accepted by a
woman who lives in Cairo Egypt. Modesty of a woman who lives in Cairo, Egypt
may not be accepted by a woman who lives in Saudi Arabia.
Modesty of a woman who lives in Jidda in Saudi Arabia may not be accepted by a
woman who lives in a desert oasis in the same country. This difference in the
way we perceive modesty is well known to God, He created us, and He put NO
hardship on us in this great religion. He left it to us to decide what modesty
would be. For any person, knowledgeable or not to draw a line and make
conclusion for God about the definition of modesty is to admit that he/she knows better than God.
God left it open for us and no-one has the authority to restrict it, it has to
stay open.
