Shari‘a Rules on Wearing a Hijab

Abstract

The word Hijab appears in eight verses of the Koran, and all of them mean barriers or partitions separating the two spaces. More than 100 verses that use the word Hijab are found in the six Sunni Hadiths, and they confirm the meaning of the Koran. Although the word Hijab in the Koran and the Hadiths is not directly related to the Muslim women’s clothing, the term cannot be too difficult to understand as a dress for women because it separates Muslim women from the other sides. Although it was mandatory for Muslim women to cover their entire body and head when they go out, it was not clearly stipulated whether they should cover their faces. In response, the Sunni four legal schools (Hanafi, Maliki, Shafi‘i and Hanbali) claim that women should cover their faces in the presence of men other than Mahram, unless inevitable or necessary.