Implication of the Word Khimar for Hijab
Question:
Assalamualaikum,
I understand you agree with those scholars who do not consider hijab to be obligatory. However people argue that Khimar is a head covering which was used in the 14th century, so by using this word the hair become inclusive in the verse. Can you please explain in detail.
Thank you very much.
Answer:
Assalamu Alaykum,
First please bear in mind that as far as I know, all those scholars who argue that hijab is not obligatory, do consider it to be a very good and advisable practice for women.
Before answering your question, it is helpful to understand an important point about the way that people used to wear cloths at the Arab society at the time of the Prophet (pbuh). I think some of the information that can be found in the books of history and Hadith about this subject could be quite shocking for an unfamiliar reader.
What I am referring to is the amount of full or partial nudity that existed in the Arab society at the time and the general acceptance of this as a norm. Based on what we can understand from the available information, it was quite normal at the time to see a fully or partially naked man or woman walking in the public. A number of factors contributed in this, among them poverty and the very basic and simple style of clothes. The situation was such that we read about the concern of the Prophet (pbuh) about people revealing their private parts unintentionally during prostration in the prayers.
Many men had only one piece of cloth which basically was like a piece of sheet (not sewed) with which they would cover their body. At times the cloth was not long enough to easily cover up with it. Some had two pieces of cloth like what people wear during Hajj at our time. Women who had reached the age of puberty generally used to wear a cloth like a shirt, called Dir' (درع) which would cover from about the middle of their chest down to their knees or lower than the knees. Many would also use Khimar, a rather long cloth normally covering their head that was tied behind it or left loose on the shoulders (in both cases generally their bosom was uncovered).
The simplicity of the clothes of both men and women would make it very easy for the body (even the private parts) to be revealed occasionally when they were engaged in their routine activities and in particular if a sudden movement would occur (like falling down). There were no concepts of under wears or skilfully sewed shirts in the society.
Of course with the advance of Islam the Prophet (pbuh) gradually corrected this situation and men and women gradually became more conscious about covering themselves appropriately.
Understanding the above norms is important for two reasons. First to appreciate that wearing Khimar was not a religious act, it did not even have anything to do with modesty, it was simply part of the culture of the society, probably inspired by the weather conditions. A woman who would wear a Khimar could very easily walk with a cloth that would reveal her private parts in some situations. Second, that full, partial or occasional nudity was often visible in the society. Overall it appears that people were not that conscious about carefully covering themselves in the public. Therefore any religious directives about cloths needed to be worded very strict and definite to affect this society.
*********
With the above introduction, I now proceed to answer your question. You wrote: "people argue that Khimar is a head covering which was used in the 14th century, so by using this word the hair become inclusive in the verse".
We are in no position to derive Shari'ah based on the work of guessing and estimating. Shari'ah is a very serious matter. It is meant to bring serious obligation to those who follow it and therefore has to be without any ambiguity or vagueness, just as all the other directives of Shari'ah in the Qur'an are. If the Almighty intended to direct women to cover their head, then this would have been explicitly included in the verse of the Sura of Nur.
If head covering was a religious act by the women then there could be a point worthy of consideration in the argument you quoted, however, as explained above, this was not the case (1).
In fact the wording of the verse clearly shows that the objective and the concern of the verse is only to instruct covering the bosom not that what should be used to cover it. For the Arab women at the time Khimar was the most obvious cloth to use for the purpose of covering bosom therefore this word has been used. Other pieces of clothing could have been used for the same cause if they were fit for the purpose and were regularly used at the time. If a woman would cover her bosom with any other cloth she could say that she had followed the directive of Shari'ah in this verse.
------------------
Footnotes:
1.The word 'Hijab', in the meaning of religious clothing for women, was not used by the Arab at the time and has not been used in this meaning in either the Qur'an or the Hadith.
----------------------
Related Topics:
- Hijab (Follow Up: Verse 33:59)
- Hijab (Follow Up: While Praying)
------------------
March 2013
Assalamualaikum,
I understand you agree with those scholars who do not consider hijab to be obligatory. However people argue that Khimar is a head covering which was used in the 14th century, so by using this word the hair become inclusive in the verse. Can you please explain in detail.
Thank you very much.
Answer:
Assalamu Alaykum,
First please bear in mind that as far as I know, all those scholars who argue that hijab is not obligatory, do consider it to be a very good and advisable practice for women.
Before answering your question, it is helpful to understand an important point about the way that people used to wear cloths at the Arab society at the time of the Prophet (pbuh). I think some of the information that can be found in the books of history and Hadith about this subject could be quite shocking for an unfamiliar reader.
What I am referring to is the amount of full or partial nudity that existed in the Arab society at the time and the general acceptance of this as a norm. Based on what we can understand from the available information, it was quite normal at the time to see a fully or partially naked man or woman walking in the public. A number of factors contributed in this, among them poverty and the very basic and simple style of clothes. The situation was such that we read about the concern of the Prophet (pbuh) about people revealing their private parts unintentionally during prostration in the prayers.
Many men had only one piece of cloth which basically was like a piece of sheet (not sewed) with which they would cover their body. At times the cloth was not long enough to easily cover up with it. Some had two pieces of cloth like what people wear during Hajj at our time. Women who had reached the age of puberty generally used to wear a cloth like a shirt, called Dir' (درع) which would cover from about the middle of their chest down to their knees or lower than the knees. Many would also use Khimar, a rather long cloth normally covering their head that was tied behind it or left loose on the shoulders (in both cases generally their bosom was uncovered).
The simplicity of the clothes of both men and women would make it very easy for the body (even the private parts) to be revealed occasionally when they were engaged in their routine activities and in particular if a sudden movement would occur (like falling down). There were no concepts of under wears or skilfully sewed shirts in the society.
Of course with the advance of Islam the Prophet (pbuh) gradually corrected this situation and men and women gradually became more conscious about covering themselves appropriately.
Understanding the above norms is important for two reasons. First to appreciate that wearing Khimar was not a religious act, it did not even have anything to do with modesty, it was simply part of the culture of the society, probably inspired by the weather conditions. A woman who would wear a Khimar could very easily walk with a cloth that would reveal her private parts in some situations. Second, that full, partial or occasional nudity was often visible in the society. Overall it appears that people were not that conscious about carefully covering themselves in the public. Therefore any religious directives about cloths needed to be worded very strict and definite to affect this society.
*********
With the above introduction, I now proceed to answer your question. You wrote: "people argue that Khimar is a head covering which was used in the 14th century, so by using this word the hair become inclusive in the verse".
We are in no position to derive Shari'ah based on the work of guessing and estimating. Shari'ah is a very serious matter. It is meant to bring serious obligation to those who follow it and therefore has to be without any ambiguity or vagueness, just as all the other directives of Shari'ah in the Qur'an are. If the Almighty intended to direct women to cover their head, then this would have been explicitly included in the verse of the Sura of Nur.
If head covering was a religious act by the women then there could be a point worthy of consideration in the argument you quoted, however, as explained above, this was not the case (1).
In fact the wording of the verse clearly shows that the objective and the concern of the verse is only to instruct covering the bosom not that what should be used to cover it. For the Arab women at the time Khimar was the most obvious cloth to use for the purpose of covering bosom therefore this word has been used. Other pieces of clothing could have been used for the same cause if they were fit for the purpose and were regularly used at the time. If a woman would cover her bosom with any other cloth she could say that she had followed the directive of Shari'ah in this verse.
------------------
Footnotes:
1.The word 'Hijab', in the meaning of religious clothing for women, was not used by the Arab at the time and has not been used in this meaning in either the Qur'an or the Hadith.
----------------------
Related Topics:
- Hijab (Follow Up: Verse 33:59)
- Hijab (Follow Up: While Praying)
------------------
March 2013
