” The Imam replied...

” The Imam replied, “Yes, and what is beneath the veil covering the head ( khimar ) is from the beauty [as mentioned in the verse], and also what is beneath the wristbands.”[^3] As one can clearly see in this authentic hadith, the Imam has exempted the face and the hands, but everything else has been counted as “the beauty that should not be displayed except for their husbands...” Abu Nasr al-Bazinli quotes Imam ‘Ali as-Rida (a.s.) as follows: “A woman does not have to cover her head in the presence of a boy who has not yet reached the age of puberty.”[^4] The implication of this statement is obvious that once a boy who is not related to a woman reaches the age of puberty, she has to cover her head in his presence.

Even the founders of the Sunni schools of law are unanimous in this view. According to the Maliki, the Hanafi, the Shafi‘i, and the Hanbali views, the entire body of a woman is ‘awrah and therefore it should be covered with the exception of the face and the hands.[^5] * * * * * The two verses discussed above put together clearly show that hijab **, as a decent code of dress for Muslim women, is part of the Qur’anic teachings.

This is also confirmed by how the (s.a.w.) understood and implemented these verses among the Muslim women. This is further confirmed by how the Imams of the Ahlul Bayt (a.s.), and the Muslim scholars of the early generations of Islam understood the Qur’an.**[^6] It is an understanding that has been continuously affirmed by Muslims for the last fourteen centuries.

And, strangely, now we hear some so-called experts of Islam telling us that hijab has nothing to do with Islam, it is just a cultural issue and a matter of personal choice! [^1]: Sachiko Murata & William C. Chittick, The Vision of Islam (St. Paul, MN: Paragon House, 1995) p. xi. [^2]: For more information on the sunna and also the connection between the Qur’an and the Ahlul Bayt, see my Introduction to Islamic Laws. [^3]: Al-Kulayni, al-Furu‘ mina ’l-Kafi, vol. 2, p. 64.

[^4]: As-Saduq, Man la Yahduruhu ’l-Faqih, vol. 2, p. 140; Qurbu ’l-Asnad, p. 170. See Wasa’ilu ’sh-Shi‘ah, vol. 14 (Beirut: Dar at-Turath al-‘Arabi, n.d.) p. 169. [^5]: ‘Abdu ’r-Rahman al-Juzari, al-Fiqh ‘ala ’l-Madhahibi ’l-Arba‘ah, vol. 5 (Beirut: Daru ’l-Fikr, 1969) p. 54-55. [^6]: Besides the references quoted earlier, also see at-Tabrasi, Majma‘u ’l-Bayan, vol. 7-8, p. 138, 370; at-Tusi, at-Tibyan, vol. 8, p. 361; Fakhru ’d-Din ar-Razi, at-Tafsiru ’l-Kabir, vol. 23, p. 179-180. Previous…