ভূমিকা

Shiavault - a Vault of Shia Islamic Books Hijab, The Muslim Womens Dress,Islamic or Cultural? The Sunna and Hijab The sunna —the sayings and examples of the (s.a.w.)— is the second most important source for Islamic laws. It is impossible to truly understand the Qur’an without studying the Prophet’s life that provided the context in which the holy Book was revealed.

Almighty Allah says, “And We have revealed to you (O Muhammad) the Reminder (i.e., the Qur’an) so that you may clarify to the people what has been revealed to them, and so that they may reflect.” (16:44) “Sunna” is that “clarification” mentioned in this verse. There is a tendency among the so-called progressive and liberated Muslims to claim that they only follow the Qur’an and ignore the sunna of the Prophet. Responding to such Muslims, Drs.

Murata and Chittick write, “We are perfectly aware that many contemporary Muslims are tired of what they consider outdated material: they would like to discard their intellectual heritage and replace it with truly ‘scientific’ endeavors, such as sociology. By claiming that the Islamic intellectual heritage is superfluous and that the Koran is sufficient, such people have surrendered to the spirit of the times.

This is a far different enterprise than that pursued by the great authorities, who interpreted their present in the light of a grand tradition and who never fell prey to the up-to-date—that most obsolescent of all abstractions.”[^1] From the Shi‘i point of view, the authentic sayings of the Imams of Ahlul Bayt portray the true sunna of the Prophet and further clarify the meaning of the Qur’anic verses.

The Prophet himself introduced the Ahlul Bayt as the twin of the Qur’an.[^2] * * * * * The following two sayings from the Imams of the Ahlul Bayt on the issue of hijab are presented here as an example. Al-Fudayl bin Yasar asked Imam as-Sadiq (a.s.) about the forearms of a woman: whether they are included in the “beauty” as described by the Almighty when He says, “ and they should not display their beauty except for their husbands...