The 7 Rules of the Right Hijab

Islam honored the woman and preserved her beauty to those who deserve it. Your beauty, your body and your hair are sacred, and this is why Allah imposed hijab on Muslim women to protect them and make them even more appreciated in the eyes of others. One of the main reasons that we came to this life is to worship Allah, and this by itself, has a special form of beauty and comfort. Abiding by his imposed actions will make you closer to him, grant you higher levels in Jannah and will also have a major positive impact on your life in Dunya. For many women, the decision to wear hijab might be very challenging or difficult due to their entourage or lifestyle, but believe me, taking the first step and making the intention will have a major impact on your life and personality! وَقُل لِّلْمُؤْمِنَاتِ يَغْضُضْنَ مِنْ أَبْصَارِهِنَّ وَيَحْفَظْنَ فُرُوجَهُنَّ وَلَا يُبْدِينَ زِينَتَهُنَّ إِلَّا مَا ظَهَرَ مِنْهَا ۖ وَلْيَضْرِبْنَ بِخُمُرِهِنَّ عَلَىٰ جُيُوبِهِنَّ (31) “And tell the believing women to reduce some of their vision and guard their private parts and not expose their adornment except that which necessarily appears thereof and to wrap a portion of their headcovers over their chests” (Surah An-Nour, Verse 31) In this article, we present to you the 7 main rules of the right hijab - which are conditions to be met in your hijab outfit - as a reminder for hijabis and a piece of knowledge for those willing to wear the hijab: 1- The hijab should cover the whole body except the face and the hands A hijabi woman should cover all her body, from head to toe, except her face and hands (that are optional to reveal or not) in front of non mahrams (men whom she can marry). This comprises the neck, the chest, the arms till the hands, the toes and the back of the feet. 2- The hijab should not show any form of decoration that reveals the beauty and brings extra attention The rules are clear in our Quran and Sunnah, and we must obey to meet the conditions and receive the reward that we were promised. Excessive decoration and accessories cannot go in parallel with a rightful hijab. We do not want to be among those whom the prophet (ﷺ) said about them that they will not enter paradise: "صِنْفَانِ مِنْ أَهْلِ النَّارِ لَمْ أَرَهُمَا قَوْمٌ مَعَهُمْ سِيَاطٌ كَأَذْنَابِ الْبَقَرِ يَضْرِبُونَ بِهَا النَّاسَ وَنِسَاءٌ كَاسِيَاتٌ عَارِيَاتٌ مُمِيلاَتٌ مَائِلاَتٌ رُءُوسُهُنَّ كَأَسْنِمَةِ الْبُخْتِ الْمَائِلَةِ لاَ يَدْخُلْنَ الْجَنَّةَ وَلاَ يَجِدْنَ رِيحَهَا وَإِنَّ رِيحَهَا لَيُوجَدُ مِنْ مَسِيرَةِ كَذَا وَكَذَا"(رواه مسلم) Abu Huraira reported Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) having said: “Two are the types of the denizens of Hell whom I did not see: people having flogs like the tails of the ox with them and they would be beating people, and the women who would be dressed but appear to be naked, who would be inclined to evil and make their husbands incline towards it. Their heads would be like the humps of the (bukht) camel inclined to one side. They will not enter Paradise and they would not smell its odor whereas its odor would be smelt from such and such distance” (Muslim) 3- The hijab itself and the outfit should be opaque and not reveal anything from the body Also referring to the previous hadith by our prophet (ﷺ), a rightful hijabi woman should not let her outfit be transparent or revealing what’s under it. In a story that was narrated by Oussama Bin Zayd, he said: “The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) clothed me with a dense Coptic (clothes of thin linen), one that was given to him by Dahiyat Al Kalbi, so I offered it to my wife. The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: Why are you not wearing the Coptic? So I said: O Messenger of Allah, I clothed it to my wife. He said: command her to put a veil under it. I am afraid that it describes the size of her bones” (Musnad Ahmad) عن أسامة بن زيد قال كساني رسول الله (ﷺ) قبطية كثيفة كانت مما أهدى له دحية الكلبي ، فكسوتها امرأتي ، فقال رسول الله (ﷺ) : ما لك لا تلبس القبطية ؟ فقلت : يا رسول الله كسوتها امرأتي ، فقال : مرها أن تجعل تحتها غلالة فإني أخاف أن تصف حجم عظامها (رواه أحمد) The prophet told Oussama to make his wife wear something as inner garment under the thin linen clothes, to cover the body well, and to not show the size and the form of the bones! And this hadith emphasizes the importance of not wearing any thin or transparent clothes. 4- The hijab outfit should be long, loose and undefined A veiled woman’s clothes should not show the details of the body shape. The idea of the hijab relies on ‘Satr’ which is covering in modesty, so it should not give others details on how your body looks like, how your waist is well shaped and how gorgeous is your body form. Keep this beauty to those who are allowed to see it only, such as other women and your mahrams. 5- The hijab outfit must be unperfumed A hijabi woman should not wear perfume that could be smelled by others outside of her house. Indeed, her clothes must be clean and do not have a bad smell, and she is allowed to wear deodorant for example, yet it is prohibited to wear scents that could be smelled by others to avoid the temptation of men. "أَيَّتُكُنَّ خَرَجَتْ إِلَى الْمَسْجِدِ فَلاَ تَقْرَبَنَّ طِيبًا" (سنن النسائي) The Prophet (ﷺ) said: "If any one of you goes out to the Masjid, let her not go near perfume” (An-Nasa’i) 6- The hijab clothes should not be in any way similar to men’s clothes عَنْ أَبِي هُرَيْرَةَ قَالَ: لَعَنَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ (ﷺ) الرَّجُلَ يَلْبَسُ لِبْسَةَ الْمَرْأَةِ وَالْمَرْأَةَ تَلْبَسُ لِبْسَةَ الرَّجُلِ (رَوَاهُ أَبُو دَاوُد) Abu Huraira said “Allah’s messenger (ﷺ) cursed the man who dressed like a woman and the woman who dressed like a man” (Abu Dawud) 7- The hijab outfit should never be like the clothes of disbelievers or an outfit of fame A hijabi women must wear her hijab for ‘Satr’ and modesty and not for fame (to show off and impress people), as recommended by our prophet (ﷺ). Also, her clothes should not be in any form close to those of disbelievers. Hijab is not limited to hair covering only, yet it is a full lifestyle of modesty and respect. It is about wearing clothes that do not reveal the charm and beauty of the woman’s body. Hijab makes you special and gives you confidence in your look and attitude and lifts you so high in life and the afterlife. Our ages are not in our hands, and we do not know when is the moment of truth, the moment of moving to the afterworld, so we cannot guarantee waiting to consider wearing the hijab or improving our modest clothing. A reminder to myself and you to get back to Allah, if you are not a hijabi to think and take action about wearing it (It has its own beauty form) and for those who wear it already to work on improving their relationship with it and to improve their external and internal modesty. 🌹 May Allah steadfast our hijabi women on the right path and honor every Muslim woman with hijab in this life.🌹