Whyhijab.org
What is Hijab?
Hijab - A controversial piece of cloth!
Hijab has to be the most controversial piece of clothing out there. People have always had something to say about it or say about the women who choose to wear it. Most of the time, we get confused about the hijab and misunderstand the real purpose of it. With all the negative propaganda in the media, it gets hard to step away from its controversy.
Essentially, hijab is a covering of the hair for women. But there is so much more to that. Some women wear it out of custom/cultural norms and they are others who wear it because they really truly know the meaning behind it. But what does wearing hijab really, truly mean? Why do women choose to wear the hijab? What does it really represent?
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Hijab is an Arabic word meaning “to cover up,” and by definition is the covering up of the hair, chest, and neck by Muslim women. Its fundamental purpose is to ensure that women maintain modesty, privacy from unknown men. But, is that the primary reason women choose to observe the hijab? Answer is No.
The reason why muslim women wear the hijab is to demonstrate their submission to the command of Allah (the Omnipotent God) willingly and to appear modest in front of unrelated men. Allah commands in the Quran as follows:
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“O Prophet, tell your wives and your daughters and the women of the believers to bring down over themselves [part] of their outer garments. That is more suitable that they will be known and not be abused. And ever is Allah Forgiving and Merciful.” [Quran 33:59]
Manifesting to the world that a women is Muslim (submitter to Allah) through the clothing she wears is the essence of why she wears the hijab. The other prime reason is not to display her beauty and ornaments to unrelated men which may cause or arouse desires or temptations for her in other men. These unrelated men are defined in Quran in Chapter 24 verse 31. Islam is not a religion but a way of life. The Hijab is part of the way of life for women to protect her and other men from falling prey to their desires and commit sins. Hijab is a prevention as the saying goes "prevention is better than cure".
Hijab FAQ
Do all Muslim women wear the hijab?
Though it is a divine command from God to all believing women to wear hijab, not all Muslim women wear the hijab. Hijab is a command to be fulfilled but is not forced on anyone. The Quran tells believing women to wear the hijab but women chose to wear it or not based on their strength of belief in the command of God.
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Do women wear it at home?
Hijab is worn by women in front of unrelated men. If there is a direct blood relationship to a man, the women is not required to cover up in front of him. If there is an un related man around her, she is required to wear the hijab to cover up. Most of the time, in a women’s home, there are only related men, and therefore she will not wear the hijab in her home. For more information about the list of unrelated men for a women read the Quran Chapter 24 Noor - verse # 31
What age do women start wearing hijab?
This really depends on when the women herself wants to wear it, some wear it early on in their childhood, some choose to wear it later in their life. Ideally, hijab is required to be worn by a women when she enters puberty. This is when most women start to wear the hijab
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What is the hijab for men?
As we read above hijab means a cover. So men also need a cover to their eyes by lowering their gaze from looking at unrelated women. For women the hijab is to cover their bodies as their bodies when exposed trigger desires among men. Whereas for men they have to lower their eyes because the moment their eyesight or gaze falls on an unrelated women it might trigger a desire. So Islam says the men to lower their gaze (which is their niqab).
The Quran commands to men in Chapter 24 verse 30 as follows:
"Tell the believing men that they must lower their gazes and guard their private parts; it is more decent for them. Surely Allah is All-Aware of what they do." (24:30)