This refers to Mr. Ahsan Khan's post where he says:

 

[Courtesy Dr. Shabbir, www.ourbeadon.com]

 

HIJAB - ONCE AND FOR ALL

“Veiling is the biggest impediment in the way of conveying Islam in the
West.” (Murad Hoffman)

IS HIJAB OK? THREE RULES FOR WOMEN’S DRESS CODE:

ONE: The BEST garment is that of nice, modest conduct (7:26). TWO:
Cover your chest in the presence of unrelated men (24:31). THREE: Draw a
shawl around your person when outdoors in public (33:59).

THE WORD HIJAB IN THE QURAN:

Hijab is the term used by many Muslim women to describe their head
cover that may or may not include covering their face except their eyes and
sometimes also covering one eye. The Arabic word Hijab can be
translated into veil or yashmak. Other meanings for the word Hijab include
screen, cover(ing), mantle, curtain, drapes, partition, division, divider
etc.

The word “Hijab” appears in the Quran seven times, five of them as
“Hijab” and twice as “Hijaban”. See 7:46, 17:45, 19:17, 33:53, 38:32, 41:5,
42:51. None of these “Hijab” words are used in the Quran in reference
to what the traditional Muslims call today as the dress code for the
Muslim woman. Hijab in the Quran has nothing to do with the women’s dress
code.

HIJAB AND THE BIBLE:
The wearing of the head covering for women is not part of the Prophet’s
teachings and is not found in the Quran. It is a belief and a practice
that was taken by the early Muslim scholars from the Christian Bible.
1Cor 11:5 — but any woman who prays or prophesies with her head
unveiled dishonors her head-it is the same as if her head were shaven.11:6 For
if a woman will not veil herself, then she should cut off her hair;
but if it is disgraceful for a woman to be shorn or shaven, let her wear
a veil. 11:10 That is why a woman ought to have a veil on her head,
because of the angels. 11:13 Judge for yourselves; is it proper for a
woman to pray to God with her head uncovered? (RSV)
So the commandment for a woman to cover her head is in the Bible. This
belief has seeped into the Muslim belief and has now become part and
parcel of the practice of Islam today. The West has no problem with
Catholicism putting its nuns in head cover. In Europe today Catholic schools
still encourage young girls to take up the wearing of the Catholic
head-cover.
Unfortunately under the guise of modernity, a vast majority of
Christians themselves today are not following the teachings of the Bible - the
large majority of Christian women do not cover the head. Hence, it is
the Muslim Ummah who are very good Christians because they still uphold
these Bible teachings.

HISTORICAL BACKGROUND: While many Muslims call “Hijab”, an Islamic
dress code, they completely ignore the fact that, Hijab as a dress code has
nothing to do with Islam and nothing to do with the Quran.

In reality, “Hijab” is an old Jewish tradition that infiltrated into
the Hadith books like many innovations that contaminated Islam through
alleged Hadith and Sunnah. Any student of the Jewish traditions will see
that head cover for the Jewish woman is encouraged by the Rabbis and
religious leaders. Religious Jewish women still cover their heads most of
the time and especially in the synagogues, weddings, and religious
festivities. This Jewish tradition is a cultural, not a religious one.
Hijab was observed by the women of the civilizations that preceded the
Jews and was passed down to the Jewish culture.
Christian women cover their heads on many religious occasions while the
nuns cover their heads all the time. This religious practice of
covering the head was established from traditions thousands of years before
the Muslim scholars claimed the Hijab as part of the Muslim women’s
dress code. The traditional Arabs of all religions, Jews, Christians and
Muslims used to wear “Hijab,” not because of Islam, but because of
tradition. In Saudi Arabia, up to this minute most of the men cover their
head, not because of Islam but because of tradition. Thank God this
tradition for men has not been counted as Islamic dress code yet!
North Africa is known for its Tribe (Tuareg) that have the Muslim men
wearing “Hijab” instead of women. Here the tradition has the Hijab in
reverse. If wearing Hijab is the exclusive sign of a pious and righteous
woman, why do we see so many Hijabi women completely disregarding other
essentials of modesty, like wearing tight shirts and jeans, showing
the body parts that must be concealed, plus immodest behavior? In brief,
Hijab is a tradition and it has nothing to do with Islam.
Mixing religion with tradition is a form of idol-worship, because not
knowing (or not trying to find out) what God asked you to do in His
Book, the Quran, is a sign of disregarding God and His Message. When
tradition supersedes God’s Commandment, the true religion (Deen) takes a
second place. But God is always the First and never the second.

THE WORD KHIMAAR IN THE QURAN: The word “Khimaar” and the dress code
for women can be found in the Quran 24:31. Some Muslims quote this verse
as a commandment for Hijab, or head cover by pointing to the word,
khomoorehenna, (‘their chest covering’ from Khimaar), forgetting that God
has already used the word Hijab, several times in the Quran. Those
blessed by God can see that the use of the word “Khimaar” in this verse is
not for “Hijab” nor for head cover. Those who quote this verse usually
add (Head cover or veil) after the word Khomoorehenna, and usually
between ( ), because it is their addition to the verse of God. Here is
24:31.

24:31 And tell the believing women to lower their gaze, and guard their
modesty. They should not show off their adornment beyond what may be
decently and spontaneously apparent. Let them cover their chest area
with a light covering. …

Most of the translators, obviously influenced by fabricated Hadith
translate the word as VEIL and thus mislead people into believing that this
verse is advocating the covering of the head and face.
In 24:31, God is telling the women to use their cover (Khimaar, being a
dress, a coat, a shawl, a shirt, a blouse, a tie, a scarf . . . etc.)
to cover their bosoms, not their heads or their hair. If God willed to
order the women to cover their heads or their hair, He would have
simply said, “Cover your head and hair.” God is neither vague nor forgetful!
God does not run out of words. He does not wait for a scholar to put
the correct words for Him!
The Arabic word for Chest (Jayb) is in the verse 24:31, but the Arabic
words for Head (Raas) or Hair (Sha’r) are NOT in the verse. The
Commandment in the verse is clear - Cover your chest.
The last part of the verse 24:31 translates as, “They shall not strike
their feet when they walk in order to shake and reveal certain details
of their bodies. The details of the body can be revealed or not
revealed by the dress you wear, not by your head cover. The word Zeenatahunna
in this verse refers to the woman’s body parts (hidden beauty). At the
end of the verse, God tells the women not to strike their feet to show
their Zeenat. A woman does not need to strike her feet to show her
ornaments but the way she strikes her feet while walking can reveal certain
parts of the body.
Accepting orders from anybody but God means idol-worship. That is how
serious the matter of Hijab/Khimaar is. Women who wear Hijab because
they think God ordered it are committing idol-worship as God did not order
it, the ‘Imams’ did. These women have found for them another god than
the One who revealed the Quran, complete, perfect and fully detailed.

JALBAB IN THE QURAN: DRAW A SHAWL OVER YOUR PERSON
The first regulation of the Dress Code for Muslim women is in 7:26, the
second in 24:31 as we have seen and the third is in 33:59.

7:26 O Children of Adam! We have provided you with garments to cover
your bodies as well as to adorn you. The best garment for you to wear, in
addition, is good conduct. (Your character decorates you inside out.)
These are the verses of God that they must take to heart.
24:31 And tell the believing women to lower their gaze, and guard their
modesty. They should not show off their adornment beyond what may be
decently and spontaneously apparent. Let them cover their chest area
with a light covering. …
33:59 O Prophet! Tell your wives, your daughters, and women of the
believers that they should draw their shawls over their person (when in
public). This is easy and proper, so that they may be recognized and not
be bothered. God is Absolver of imperfections, Merciful.

Here God sets the other regulation for the dress code for women during
the Prophet’s life. This verse does not only address the wives of the
Prophet, but also wives of the believers, and therefore, to all
believing women.
HARDSHIP IN RELIGION: God ordains that those who would reject His Book
and go look for other sources for guidance will suffer in this life and
in the Hereafter by their own choice. We repeatedly find in the Quran
that God never desires any hardship in religion. But the ‘Imams’, in
their inflated egos, invented their own laws in defiance of God and made
Islam impossible to practice. They enslaved Muslims by regulating
everything in their daily lives. Only a few examples out of the countless:
Which side you must sleep on, which foot you must step in and out of the
house, what to recite on entering and exiting the toilet, which foot
would enter the toilet and which one will exit, what to do with a fly in
your soup, using the left hand in most situations would be accursed,
what to say and recite when having intercourse with your spouse etc etc!
Those who believe that The Quran is complete, perfect and fully
detailed, will have everything easy for them as God promises, while those who
seek sources other than the Quran will suffer all the hardship in this
life and in the life to come. In the Hereafter they will complain to
God, “We were not idol-worshipers,” but God knows best, they were. (See
6:21-24)
CONCLUSION: God, the Most Merciful, gave us three basic rules for the
Dress Code for Women in Islam.
ONE: The best garment is that of nice, modest conduct (7:26).
TWO: Cover your chest in the presence of unrelated men. (24:31)
THREE: Draw a shawl around your person when outdoors in public. (33:59)
While these three basic rules are not enough for those who do not trust
God, the true believers know that God is ENOUGH. After these three
basic rules every woman can adjust her dress according to a particular
situation. Any addition to these basic Quranic rules is an attempt to
correct God or improve on His Infinite Wisdom. We have no obligation to
follow but God’s Rules, just as His Messenger did all the time.
Innovations and fabrications that add countless rules to the women dress code are
nothing but idol-worship and should be vehemently rejected. Stay with
God; that is where the winners go.
DR. SHABBIR’S LITMUS TEST: Anyone who PREACHES the non-Quranic Hijab,
Veil, Burka or Beard belongs to the Ajami, Counterfeit, False, Manmade,
‘Imamist’ Mullah-peddled, Number Two Islam (N2I), period.

Shabbir, a life-long student