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Is traditional women Hijab/Burqa/Niaqb authorize by Almighty GOD?

Union

Well-Known Member
th
:no:
th
:no:
th
:no:

‘Hijab’ is the term used by the Muslim to understand the dress code of Muslim women . It refers to a dress which covers almost the whole body of a Muslim woman . Firstly , we need to look at the word ‘Hijab’ in Qur’an ; what it means and what Almighty GOD has used it for . Literally , the ‘Hijab’ means veil or yashmak. Other meanings for the word 'hijab' include, screen, cover(ing), mantle, curtain, drapes, partition, division, divider. It is used in the Qur’an 07 times in the verses namely 7:46, 33:53, 38:32, 41:5, 42:51, 17:45 & 19:17.None of these 'hijab' words are used in the Quran in reference to what the traditional Muslims call today 'hijab' as a dress code for the Muslim woman.

Knowing the fact now that ‘Hijab’ is not authorized by Almighty GOD as women dress code in Qur’an , let us now move forward to know what HE , the Exalted , really said about this issue . We find in Qur’an , the very general rule for dressing for men and women in the following verse :

[007:026] O ye Children of Adam! We have bestowed raiment upon you to cover your shame , as well as to be an adornment to you. But the raiment of righteousness,- that is the best. Such are among the Signs of God, that they may receive admonition!

Hence , the first and foremost rule/purpose for dressing is to cover our shame (saw-atikum) . It is unnecessary to describe what it means because as human being , we all exactly know what are the shameful parts of our body and how to cover it . This verse left us with one simple question , is head/hair is a shameful part of a human body ? The answer is very clear , ‘NO’ . Therefore verse 7.26 excludes the head/hair to be covered by garment both for men and women .
Verse 24.31 is crucial in this subject of women’s dressings :

[024:031] And tell the believing women to lower their gaze and guard their modesty, and to display of their adornment only that which is apparent, and to draw their veils over their bosoms, and not to reveal their adornment save to their own husbands or fathers or husbands' fathers, or their sons or their husbands' sons, or their brothers or their brothers' sons or sisters' sons, or their women, or their slaves, or male attendants who lack vigour, or children who know naught of women's nakedness. And let them not stamp their feet so as to reveal what they hide of their adornment. And turn unto Allah together, O believers, in order that ye may succeed.

This verse is exclusively addressing believing women’s issues . Several points to ponder here :

01- They are to guard their modesty (wayahfathna furoojahunna)- dress is a tool to achieve this purpose , at least as per the context of the verse here .

02- Not to display their beauties apart from what is apparent . Worthy to mention here that From the above verse it can be deduced that for the purposes of women's dress code two types of beauty are described:

a) What is apparent (this can be revealed in public)
b) What is hidden (this type must be covered in public, but could be revealed by a striking of feet or walk/stride which is revealing)

Such a striking of feet or walk could only reveal a limited number of parts of the body, e.g. the private parts, buttocks, thighs, breasts, hips, thus any part not revealed by such an action should not be considered part of hidden beauty and therefore part of apparent beauty. Of course, this means such things as face, hair, hands, feet etc would not clearly fall into the category of beauty that is meant to be hidden. Furthermore, the verse clearly brackets what beauty it is referring to by saying "...the child who has not yet understood the composition of women" implying it is relating to what is specific to a woman (i.e. what is different between man and woman) nothing else.
This understanding would also fit with The Quran's instruction on the body parts that are to be cleansed during daily ablution (hands, arms, face, head and feet), see 5:6, 4:43.

03- And the most important part of the verse is :

‘walyadribna bikhumurihinna AAala juyoobihinna’

This verse is needed to be broken up into English from their original Arabic wordings for the convenience and to avoid misunderstanding (as some biased translation did) :

walyadribna =And let them draw
bikhumurihinna= with covers (not head covering/veil/burqa as mistranslated )
AAala = Over (not down across as mistranslated)
Juyoobihinna = their bosoms (not their bodies, faces, necks and bosoms, etc as mistranslated).

Now we can see that , Almighty GOD has instructed women to cover their bosoms with ‘Khumur’ . ‘Khumur’ is the plural of ‘Khimar’ . The Arabic word khimar means cover. Any cover can be called a khimar such as a curtain, a dress, a table cloth that covers the top of a table is a khimar, a blanket can be called a khimar and so on. The word khamr, which is used in the Quran for intoxicants, has the same root as khimar. Both words mean that which covers. The khimar covers a window, a body, a table and so on, while khamr is that which covers the mind. Traditional translators, obviously influenced by Hadith and culture, claim that khimar in 24:31 has only one meaning, and that veil or hijab, and thus mislead women into believing that 24:31 commands them to cover their hair! This fact that the word khimar can mean any cover is a matter that can be verified by consulting any Arabic dictionary.

In 24:31 God is telling women to use their khimar (cover/garment) which could be a dress, a coat, a shawl, a shirt, a blouse, a scarf and so on to cover their bosoms.
We can see that there is not even a remote instruction of GOD , the Almighty , to cover a woman’s head . Head (raas in Arabic) and/or hair (saar in Arabic) is absent there. Hence , verse 24.31 never authorized the headscarf and facecover to be a part dress code for the believing women .

The other important verse about women dress code is 33.59 :

[033:059] O Prophet! say to your wives and your daughters and the women of the believers that they let down upon them their over-garments; this will be more proper, that they may be known, and thus they will not be given trouble; and Allah is Forgiving, Merciful.

This verse serves the same purpose as of 24.31 apart from the fact that this verse is more related with women living in hostile community . If we read the context of the verse , it appears that women are instructed to draw additional clothing to guard themselves from harm and in the same time should be identified . One way to identify a woman to look at her face . Hence face covering is again uprooted as per this verse . Drawing around from the clothing is to serve the purpose of clothing in 24.31 and 7.26, e.g. , to cover the shameful parts , e.g. , bosoms , backside , thighs , navels , cleavage etc. which is more attractive for men to excite the illicitly in him .





 
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safdar.dushantappeh

simpleislam.weebly.com
Thanks Union for the rational analysis. Most of the presented analysis makes perfect sense to me. There is still a bit of ambiguity left, which I am still unclear about. Note that I do not expect all the ambiguities to be clarified but I still think it is good to remember them.

You translated " وَلْيَضْرِ*بْنَ" (walyadribna) as "and let them draw".
I am not very clear what this translation means. Does it mean to closely attach the cover on the chest? Does it mean to let the cover fall down and cover the chest? If the latter is the case, then it kind of refers to something attached to neck or head that by letting it to fall, it would also cover the chest. And what that would be?

I did a bit of research on other usages of the verb (ضرب) "darb" in Quran and they did not help much in finding the right translation here. It is mostly used for presenting examples, sometimes for "to strike", and sometimes exploring on earth or on a path. It would have been great to reach an understanding of the verb "darb" that covers all these usages. Specially that the very same verse at its end is reusing the verb "وَلْيَضْرِ*بْنَ" (walyadribna) in a very similar form to say "not to stamp their feet". It makes sense to seek an understanding of this verb that is consistent in this verse.

So, my questions are:
1) Can you explain a bit the translation that you presented?
2) Can you backup your translation with some examples in Quran or some old Arabic texts, or an Arabic dictionary?
3) Is it possible to have a translation that is consistent for both usages of the verb in this verse?
 

safdar.dushantappeh

simpleislam.weebly.com
I would like to present an argument that not all of you might agree with. In this case, I appreciate if you notify me so that we can open a new topic to discuss that.

In short, it seems that verse (24:31) targets a particular audience which are the female believers at the time. I believe we can learn from the particular instructions given to them, understand the rational (حکمت) behind it, and apply it to our life as well. But to generalize the exact same instructions to all the Mulsims in all times and places, we need some strong arguments.

In detail, there are many verses in Quran that directly address a particular group of believers and there are obvious evidences from those verses that generalizations of the exact instruction is not rational. My understanding is that we also should treat the verses that starts with قل "Tell [them]", or یا ایها الذین آمنو (O you who have believed) the same. The first part of this Sura is full of such references which encourages such understanding. In the first part of the Sura, we also see Aya (24:12):
Why, when you heard it, did not the believing men and believing women think good of one another and say, "This is an obvious falsehood"? (12)
That obviously is referring to a gossiping event (whatever it was) that had already occurred, and thus impossible to generalize.

The Aya of our discussion also starts with "And tell the believing women", which means that the audience are the female at the time that this verse was being descent. The spirit of the Aya is to encourage women not to have a sexy appearance in the society: not showing off the hidden beauty, covering the chest (which is included in the category of hidden beauty), and a way of walking that does not show off the parts that is already hidden [by the dress]. The particular instruction to make use of their cover (بِخُمُرِهِنَّ) (bikhumurihinna) to fulfill this purpose is probably weaved into the culture of the time and the very particular cover that they have been using. Using the exact same cover (whatever it was) is not something that is instructed to all female believers of all times. So, my understanding is that we need not to figure out what (بِخُمُرِهِنَّ) (bikhumurihinna) was and there is a reason that there is not much explanation in the Aya about it. The take that is important for us is the eventual purpose of that cover, which is covering the chest.
 

Union

Well-Known Member
Thanks Union for the rational analysis. Most of the presented analysis makes perfect sense to me. There is still a bit of ambiguity left, which I am still unclear about. Note that I do not expect all the ambiguities to be clarified but I still think it is good to remember them.

You translated " وَلْيَضْرِ*بْنَ" (walyadribna) as "and let them draw".
I am not very clear what this translation means. Does it mean to closely attach the cover on the chest? Does it mean to let the cover fall down and cover the chest? If the latter is the case, then it kind of refers to something attached to neck or head that by letting it to fall, it would also cover the chest. And what that would be?

I did a bit of research on other usages of the verb (ضرب) "darb" in Quran and they did not help much in finding the right translation here. It is mostly used for presenting examples, sometimes for "to strike", and sometimes exploring on earth or on a path. It would have been great to reach an understanding of the verb "darb" that covers all these usages. Specially that the very same verse at its end is reusing the verb "وَلْيَضْرِ*بْنَ" (walyadribna) in a very similar form to say "not to stamp their feet". It makes sense to seek an understanding of this verb that is consistent in this verse.

So, my questions are:
1) Can you explain a bit the translation that you presented?
2) Can you backup your translation with some examples in Quran or some old Arabic texts, or an Arabic dictionary?
3) Is it possible to have a translation that is consistent for both usages of the verb in this verse?

This verse may play instrumental :

Fa darabna AAala athanihim fee al kahfi sineena AAadadan = So We sealed/covered on/over their ears in the cave some years
[18:11]

The verse is literally saying the effect of "DRB on/over their ears in the cave" lasted several years. This seems to suggest God kept them isolated in the cave, when they were hiding out, thus cut off from the outside world. Mustansir Mir in "Verbal Idioms of The Qur'an" says it is an idiom meaning to prevent someone from hearing something, sealing off, or put to sleep. The only other related example in which DRB with something is done on/over something else is 24:31, when covers are cast over chests.

For more info on the root DRB , please hit here .
Thanks .
 

Union

Well-Known Member
I would like to present an argument that not all of you might agree with. In this case, I appreciate if you notify me so that we can open a new topic to discuss that.

In short, it seems that verse (24:31) targets a particular audience which are the female believers at the time. I believe we can learn from the particular instructions given to them, understand the rational (حکمت) behind it, and apply it to our life as well. But to generalize the exact same instructions to all the Mulsims in all times and places, we need some strong arguments.

In detail, there are many verses in Quran that directly address a particular group of believers and there are obvious evidences from those verses that generalizations of the exact instruction is not rational. My understanding is that we also should treat the verses that starts with قل "Tell [them]", or یا ایها الذین آمنو (O you who have believed) the same. The first part of this Sura is full of such references which encourages such understanding. In the first part of the Sura, we also see Aya (24:12):
Why, when you heard it, did not the believing men and believing women think good of one another and say, "This is an obvious falsehood"? (12)
That obviously is referring to a gossiping event (whatever it was) that had already occurred, and thus impossible to generalize.

The Aya of our discussion also starts with "And tell the believing women", which means that the audience are the female at the time that this verse was being descent. The spirit of the Aya is to encourage women not to have a sexy appearance in the society: not showing off the hidden beauty, covering the chest (which is included in the category of hidden beauty), and a way of walking that does not show off the parts that is already hidden [by the dress]. The particular instruction to make use of their cover (بِخُمُرِهِنَّ) (bikhumurihinna) to fulfill this purpose is probably weaved into the culture of the time and the very particular cover that they have been using. Using the exact same cover (whatever it was) is not something that is instructed to all female believers of all times. So, my understanding is that we need not to figure out what (بِخُمُرِهِنَّ) (bikhumurihinna) was and there is a reason that there is not much explanation in the Aya about it. The take that is important for us is the eventual purpose of that cover, which is covering the chest.

I do appreciate your insightful though on the verse 24.31 . Why this verse should not be limited in between a particular female community of Prophet's time because the verbs used in the verse are imperfect in jussive mood , which means these instruction are continuous .
 

safdar.dushantappeh

simpleislam.weebly.com
I do appreciate your insightful though on the verse 24.31 . Why this verse should not be limited in between a particular female community of Prophet's time because the verbs used in the verse are imperfect in jussive mood , which means these instruction are continuous .

Sounds reasonable but I am still curious to know more about the foundation behind it. So the principle is that "jussive mood => continuous application". Perhaps I should open a new topic dedicated to this subject, but before that do you may be know of some references about this topic that I can read in more detail. In particular, I am curious to know:
1) What are the supporting examples/facts in Quran for this principle?
2) How about the verses that are in jussive mood but their applicability is obviously limited to their time: e.g., O you who have believed, do not ask about things which, if they are shown to you, will distress you. But if you ask about them while the Qur'an is being revealed, they will be shown to you. Allah has pardoned that which is past; and Allah is Forgiving and Forbearing. (101)
 

Union

Well-Known Member
Sounds reasonable but I am still curious to know more about the foundation behind it. So the principle is that "jussive mood => continuous application". Perhaps I should open a new topic dedicated to this subject, but before that do you may be know of some references about this topic that I can read in more detail. In particular, I am curious to know:
1) What are the supporting examples/facts in Quran for this principle?
2) How about the verses that are in jussive mood but their applicability is obviously limited to their time: e.g., O you who have believed, do not ask about things which, if they are shown to you, will distress you. But if you ask about them while the Qur'an is being revealed, they will be shown to you. Allah has pardoned that which is past; and Allah is Forgiving and Forbearing. (101)

It is not only the jussive mood (حالَة الجزم) which made that verse's actions to be continuous but the imperfect verbs which denote present and future tense (الفِعْلُ المُضَارِع) .

Hence الفعل المضارع that we need to ponder upon .
 

safdar.dushantappeh

simpleislam.weebly.com
So, my questions are:
3) Is it possible to have a translation that is consistent for both usages of the verb in this verse?

For more info on the root DRB , please hit here .

Thanks for the link Union. It was certainly helpful. After studying that I reached to the translation of "to highlight/to mark" for DRB in its general from and the following translations for its specific usages in this verse:

[2x] e) ZRB with s.t (ضرب بشیء).: to highlight the intention with something
[1x] e.1) yaZReBna with their covers on their chest(يَضْرِبْنَ بِخُمُرِهِنَّ عَلَىٰ جُيُوبِهِنَّ): indicate that [the act of not showing the adornments] with having their covers on their chest
And say to the believing women that they should lower their gaze and guard their modesty; that they should not display their beauty and ornaments except what (must ordinarily) appear thereof; and should indicate that with having their covers on their chest … (24:31)

[1x] e.2) Not yaZReBna with their feet (وَلَا يَضْرِبْنَ بِأَرْ*جُلِهِنَّ): do not highlight that [the bad intention of showing off] with their feet
… and that they should not indicate (highlight) with their feet to make known what they have hidden from adornment... (24:31)
More details can be found here:
http://www.religiousforums.com/foru...-mark-core-meaning-drb-quran.html#post3620008
 
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