Hijab
Hijab is a redirect to this article. For the Syrian politician see Riyad Farid Hijab.
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Hijab, hijab or hijab (Arabic حجاب, DMG ḥiǧāb) is an Arabic term that encompasses various meanings (cover, curtain, veil, headscarf, umbrella), and denotes different forms of seclusion of women, specifically in the form of veiling or covering the head. The segregation of women is widely believed to be an essential part of the social and normative order of Islam.
Women with Hijāb from the USA (top left), Iran (top right), Afghanistan (bottom left) and Indonesia (bottom right).
Woman with headscarf and ʿAbāya in Berlin.
Forms of the Hijjāb
Probably the best known variant is the veiling and shielding of the woman by a headscarf. Therefore, the term hijab is often understood to mean a specially tailored, hood-like headscarf that is suitable for covering the hair, neck, shoulder and chest area more or less completely, but leaving the face free, usually in combination with a loosely falling dress (abaya).
A version more rarely encountered in public in the German-speaking world is the chimar, a garment which, apostrophized especially as a prayer garment, combines hood and cloak, covers the head, neck, and upper body, or even the legs down to the lower legs, with loosely falling material, but also leaves the face free; underneath is worn a long skirt or the pluder trousers sirwal.
However, the term hijab in a broad sense also includes veils that cover the body and face more or less completely, such as the niqab or the burqa. These and other forms can be found in the section "see also".
Measures beyond dress that the Islamic Hijjāb usually includes include:
- the accessibility of the woman only to those men who are in a relationship (Mahram relationship) to her that excludes marriage,
- the veiling of the woman from all men who are not in a Mahram relationship with her,
- the woman's retreat to the women's chamber in the house when visited by men who belong to this circle,
- the veiling of the woman when going out in the street and in public.
In India and Pakistan, these regulations are also referred to by the Persian word parde, which has the same common language meaning as the Arabic word hijāb ("curtain", "veil").
Non-compliance with the Hijāb regulations and uncovering the veil are called Sufūr (سفور) in Arabic.
Hijāb in the Koran
The word hijab occurs in the Qur'an in different places and in different meanings. In Sura 7:46 it denotes the partition between the inmates of Hell and the inhabitants of Paradise, in Sura 17:45 and 41:5 the partition between Muhammad and the disbelievers, in Sura 42:51 the partition between God and man in the process of revelation. In connection with women, the word is mentioned in Sura 19:17 and 33:53. The Qur'anic verse Sura 33:53, also called the Hijāb verse (آية الحجاب / āyat al-ḥiǧāb), serves as the basis for the Islamic command to veil and shield women. It states:
"And when you ask the Prophet's wives (w. them) for (anything) that you need, do so behind a curtain! In this way your heart and theirs will remain pure (w. That is purer for your heart and theirs)."
- 33:53 after R. Paret
The central passage of the Koran from which the veiling of women by a headscarf is derived as a religious duty is found in Sura 24:31. It states:
"And tell the believing women that they should (rather than stare at anyone) cast down their eyes, and keep their chastity, not show openly the ornaments which they wear (on their bodies), so far as they are not (normally) visible, draw their shawls over the slit (of the dress) going down (from the neckline to the front), and not show openly the ornaments, They shall not show the ornaments they wear openly to anyone except their husbands, their fathers, their fathers-in-law, their sons, their stepsons, their brothers, their brothers' sons, their sisters' sons, their wives, their female slaves, the male servants who have no sexual instinct, and the children who do not yet know about female sexual organs. And let them not strike together with their legs, calling attention to the ornaments which they wear concealed (on them) (by their clothing). And turn all of you (repentantly) back to Allah, O believers! Perhaps it will be well with you (then)."
- 24:31 after R. Paret
Questions and Answers
Q: What is hijab?
A: Hijab is a type of clothing worn by Muslim females over the age of puberty that covers their chest, head and hair.
Q: When is hijab worn?
A: The headscarf or hijab is worn in the presence of adult males outside their immediate family.
Q: What is the Arabic word for hijab?
A: The Arabic word for hijab is "khimār".
Q: What are the different types of hijab?
A: There are several different types of hijab, such as an ordinary veil (which only covers the head), a niqab, a burka also known as an abayah, which covers the entire body, and any form of covering used to veil.
Q: Do Muslim men also have to observe standards of modest dress?
A: Yes, Muslim men must also observe standards of modest dress.
Q: Does the Quran require women to cover their faces with a veil or their bodies with a full-body burqa or chador?
A: No, the Quran has no requirement that women cover their faces with a veil or cover their bodies with the full-body burqa or chador.
Q: Is hijab necessary when a female or male is within their immediate family?
A: No, it is not necessary when females or males are within their immediate family.
