Hijab Definition and Its Purpose
The hijab is a headscarf worn by Muslim women to cover their head and chest. Muslim women wear the hijab in accordance to Islamic law and tradition. The Quran instructs the believers to dress modestly, without showing any skin or shape of their bodies. Hijab is a form of modesty that both men and women must adhere to.
Muslim women can choose to wear scarves, hats, or other forms of headgear as alternatives for the hijab. The Hijab is an important part of a Muslim woman’s life. It is not a symbol of oppression or of the inferiority of women, but rather it is a symbol of beauty, dignity and modesty.
The Reason Why Muslim Women Wear Hijab in Qur'an
These are two verses in the Qur'an that mention modesty and hijab. These teachings have been taken to be a form of decency and concern for one’s appearance.
- In Surah 33 known as al-Ahzab, verse 59, Allah gives the following command to Prophet Muhammad:
يَا أَيُّهَا النَّبِيُّ, قُلْ لأَزْوَاجِكَ وَ بَنَاتِكَ وَ نِسآءِ الْمُؤْمِنِيْنَ: يُدْنِيْنَ عَلَيْهِنَّ مِنْ جَلاَبِيْبِهِنَّ...
“O Prophet! Say to your wives, your daughters, and the women of the believers that: they should let down upon themselves their jalabib.” (33:59).
Jalabib or jilbab (plural) in Arabic means a loose outer garment. Majma‘u ’l-Bahrayn, jilbab refers to a type of garment that Muslim women can wear. It falls off the head and sits on the shoulders or chest. This means that the Islamic dress code for women does not only consist of a scarf that covers the head, neck and bosom. Women are expected to wear loose clothes, long enough to cover their body from shoulder to ankle.
- In Surah 24 An-Nur, verse 31, Allah said:
And tell the believing women to lower their gaze and be modest, and to display of their adornment only that which is apparent, and to draw their veils over their bosoms, and not to reveal their adornment save to their own husbands or fathers or husbands' fathers, or their sons or their husbands' sons, or their brothers or their brothers' sons or sisters' sons, or their women, or their slaves, or male attendants who lack vigour, or children who know naught of women's nakedness. And let them not stamp their feet so as to reveal what they hide of their adornment. And turn unto Allah together, O believers, in order that ye may succeed.
Women muslim wear hijab because their belief to Allah, they seek for Allah forgiveness, and they do what Allah has instructed in Al-Quran. May Allah always help us.