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Hijab: Difference between revisions
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All [[Madh'hab|schools]] of [[Shari'ah (Islamic Law)|Islamic law]] require that Muslim [[Islam and Women|women]] wear observe the '''''hijab'''''. Conceptually, the hijab is a set of requirements which requires both women and men to cover certain parts of their body. While the requirements for men are similar to common expectations of public decency in the modern world, those for women extend to cover the entirety of the body except for their face and hands, with legal schools differing on the requirements for women to cover their feet, face, and wrists. Colloquially, the word "hijab" refers to the headgear employed by Muslim women to cover their hair and neck. There are many cultural variations on the hijab, many of which provide different degrees of coverage, including most famously the ''burqa'', ''niqab'', and ''dupata''. | |||
While the [[Quran]] contains general guidelines on why and how the hijab should be observed, the [[Hadith|hadith literature]] is more particular in its discussion of what the [[Asbab al-Nuzul (Revelational Circumstances of the Quran)|circumstances behind the revelation]] of the hijab requirements were and what precisely its requirements are. The reasoning and requirements found in the Quran and hadith differ, with the account in the hadith suggesting the hijab is intended to protect the anonymity of women, particularly Muhammad's wives who were being targeted and harassed by his close companion [[Umar ibn al-Khattab|Umar]] (also the second of the [[Rashidun Caliphs|rightly-guided caliphs]]), and the account in the Quran suggesting that the hijab is intended to hide women's beauty so as to prevent molestation. | |||
Classically, both of these accounts have been embraced and attempts have been made to reconcile them. But in recent times, both accounts have proven problematic. The Quranic account has been objected to because it suggests that women somehow share responsibility for their harassment on the basis of their attire and the hadith account has proven difficult both because it paints Umar, a highly-revered religious figure and friend of Muhammad's, as an unsavory character and because it suggests that Muhammad was not alone responsible for the formulation of the Sharia, which is supposed to be divinely-revealed and unchanging. | |||
==In the Quran== | ==In the Quran== | ||