The Hijaab

Lots of people ask me why are wear the hijaab (head cover). The answer is not complicated and it is juts a matter of belief of the heart. However, this was an article that I wrote approximately 6 years ago and revised a few times….

The term Hijaab has a literal meaning of something close to a veil or covering. Its Islamic concept however is much greater in depth and perhaps forms an important corner stone of human social life. The western media has been extremely quick and ruthless in tainting the Hijaab as a vivid expression of suppression of women in Islam. The truth is far from it.

The Hijaab is not only a covering of ones head or body. It is not a camouflage either, but it is a bold expression of female modesty and submission to the will of Allah. It elevates the status of women from being an item of exhibition or a source of lust, to a pinnacle of dignity. It epitomizes the highest levels of respect a woman can reach. As the Quran says “Say to the believing women that they should not display their beauty and ornaments except what (must ordinarily) appear there of”(24: 31)

The Hijaab is a loose garment worn over one’s usual clothing. It should conceal the shape of the female form. A woman in Hijaab must have her body covered from head to toe except what must ordinarily appear thereof: the hands and the face. Her gaze should be towards the ground. Her posture or walk should not attract undue attention. Allah says in the Quran in Sura 33:59, “O Prophet, tell your wives and daughters and the women of the believers to draw upon their over-garments. That is more appropriate so that they may be recognized and not molested”

The human female form is a work of divine art. It is to be respected. It is to be protected from eyes that roam and evils that linger. When the requirements are met, the woman is naturally elevated to a very high pedestal of dignity and virtue. The roots of a dignified society spring forth from the womb of the woman in Hijaab, who commands everyone’s respect.

The lack of understanding Islam or the deliberate refusal to do so by the west and those who ape the western culture, will never accept that the fact that when a woman covers herself in the true spirit of Islam that is a supreme act of sacrifice as well as satisfaction of pleasing none but Allah. It is really impossible for them to understand that while a woman in Hijaab physically closes herself to the world, she opens to herself the Gates of Paradise.

The commercial exploitation of women in the form of models and advertisements, even upto the level of complete nakedness shows that if there is no proper dress code for a woman she becomes an article valued in money. In contrast the woman in Hijaab becomes a symbol of female dignity and purity.

If every woman adheres to the spiritual and physical concept of Hijaab and every man accepts this divine decree, the world would definitely be a better place to live in.