Even before we speak to someone in a meeting, or at a party or on the street, our clothes express important information (or misinformation) about our occupation, origin, personality, opinions, and tastes. We unconsciously (or consciously) register the information, and judge one another based on our perceptions.
In the scriptures of all three of the Abrahamic faiths, there are guidelines regarding matters of a woman’s dress. In the Bible in Timothy 2.9-10.NIV women are instructed to dress modestly: “I also want women to dress modestly, with decency and propriety, not with braided hair or gold or pearl or expensive clothes, but with good deeds, appropriate for women who profess to worship God.”
The Qur’an also lays down principles of modesty regarding dress. In chapter 24 verses 30 and 31, the concept of modesty is enjoined on both men and women:
“Say to the believing men that they should lower their gaze and guard their modesty; that will make for Greater purity for them; and God is well acquainted with all that they do. And say to the believing women That they should lower their gaze and guard their modesty; and they should not display beauty and ornaments except what (most ordinarily) appears thereof; that they must draw their veils over their bosom and not display their beauty except to their husbands, fathers, their husband’s father, their sons, their husband’s sons, or their women…”
Chapter Ahzab verse 59 of the Qur’an says: “O prophet Tell Thy wives and daughters with the Believing women, that they should cast their outer garment over their person (when outside); that they should be known (As such) and not molested”
The Qur’an does not specifically mention that women should cover their hair as it does that they should cover their breast. Verse 31 of chapter 24 is most frequently quoted by scholars in support of wearing a headscarf, hijab, but not all Muslim scholars agree that the head scarf is ordained for women. In his book, “The Message of Qur’an”, Mohammad Asad explains how the headscarf became attributed to modest dress for women. Asad writes that the female head covering (khamir the Arabic term for headscarf) was customarily used by Arab women in the pre-Islamic era and was considered a stylish garment (fashion statement), which hung loose on the head. According to Asad, the fashion during this period was for women to wear low-neck lines that exposed their breasts. It is in this context that the headscarf is mentioned in this verse, and women are asked to pull their scarf over the chest. It will be correct to say that the scarf is recommended for women by the majority of Muslim scholars.
In the ideological struggle surrounding the definition of Islam’s nature and its role in the modern world the scarf, or hijab, has become a symbol of Muslim identity.
Regardless of whether the Qur’an ordains Muslim women to wear the scarf or not, if one decides to wear it as an expression of her modesty (Tuqwa), or family tradition or Islamic identity, we have no right to deny her the choice to do so in a free society.
However, the covering of the face by wearing a veil (niqab) is an all-together different issue. The veil in Muslim society did not appear until the tenth century. The Qur’an does not suggest that women should be veiled or that they should be kept apart from the world of men. On the contrary, the Qur’an is very clear about the full participation of women in society and in the religious practices prescribed for men.
In his book, “Sunnah between Fiqh and Hadith,” Sheikh Mohammad al-Ghazali argues that women are not to cover their face during the performance of Hajj and when performing daily prayers. Then how can it be justified to ask women to cover their faces in every day life. An overwhelming number of Islamic scholars both past and present are of the opinion that women should not veil their face or cover their hands.
Recently the learned Islamic scholar of Egypt’s Al-Azhar University, Sheikh Mohammad Sayyid Tantawi, criticized women for covering from head to toe, and veiling their faces in public places. Tantawi referred to the women’s dress as a Wahabi tradition and denounced it as having nothing to do with the Islamic faith. He also announced that he would issue a Fatwa condemning the practice of covering the face with a veil (niqab).
The recent trend of adopting the veil (niqab) is part of the growing sense among some Muslim women that they no longer wish to identify with the West and that they reaffirm their Muslim identity by wearing a visible sign such as the veil (niqab).
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