THE WORD "HIJAB"' IN ISLAMIC PRACTICE VS ITS USE IN THE QURAN
Hijab is the term used by many Muslim women today to describe their head cover.
The Arabic word 'hijab' literally means barrier or veil. Other meanings for the word 'hijab' include, screen, cover(ing), mantle, curtain, drapes, partition, division, divider, barrier.
THE WORD HIJAB' IS USED in 7 QURANIC VERSES.
THE VERSES ARE: 7:46, 33:53, 38:32, 41:5, 42:51, 17:45 and 19:17.
None of these occurrences of the word 'hijab' mean a head cover for women.
فَاسْأَلُوهُنَّ مِنْ وَرَاءِ حِجَابٍ
faisaloohunna min warai hijabin
And when ye ask of them (the wives of the Prophet) anything, ask it of them from behind a curtain.
The term Hijab, which means to "hide" or "separate", which you will see in all the verse which mention it.
MANIPULATION of 24:31
And say to the believing women to lower their gaze and to guard their private parts, and not to show their beauty spots except that of it which is normally shown. They shall also cover their cleavage with their 'khimars'.24:31
The starting point for this inquiry is to address the following questions:
1- Do we see the Arabic words 'shaar' (hair) or (head) in 24:31?
The Answer is no.
2- Are there any words in 24:31, or anywhere in the Quran, which address women with the words 'cover your hair' or 'cover your head'?
The answer once again is no.
The Arabic word khimar means cover. Any cover is a khimar. A curtain is a khimar, a table cloth that covers the top of a table is a khimar, a blanket can be called a khimar and so on. Equally, an item of clothing, be it a dress, a blouse, a scarf or any other item of clothing can be called a khimar, because it covers the body. The word khamr, which is used in the Quran for intoxicants, has the same root as khimar. Khamr (intoxicants) is given that name since it covers the mind.
Traditional translators, influenced by hadith and culture, claim that khimar in 24:31 has only one meaning, and that is veil or hijab! As a result, they mislead women into believing that 24:31 commands them to cover their hair!
The fact that the word khimar can mean any cover, and not just head cover, is a matter which can be verified by consulting any Arabic dictionary.
In 24:31 God is telling women to use their khimar (cover/garment), which could be a dress, a coat, a shawl, a blouse, a scarf and so on to cover their cleavage/bosoms.
The command in 24:31, regardless of the meaning of the word khimar, is to cover the bosom and not to cover the hair.
Is there a command in 24:31 for women to cover their hair?
As mentioned, the words 'head' and 'hair' are not found in 24:31. In addition, the word 'hair' is not found anywhere in the Quran.
It makes little sense to claim that God made it compulsory for women to cover a part of their body (hair), yet that part of the body is not mentioned anywhere in the Quran!
The law of God in the Quran is given in clear straightforward words. The Quran does not have any crookedness or ambiguity:
An Arabic Quran without any crookedness so that hopefully they may be reverent. 39:28
If God had made it a law for women to cover their hair, and that they will be accountable on the Day of Judgement to obeying such a law, God would have without any doubt said: 'cover your hair'.
The law in 24:31 = cover the cleavage
The tool = with the khimar
The Quran, as always, provided us with all the evidence and clues we needed to better understand the meaning of what is "normally shown".
God knows that there would come a time when Muslims will use the word 'hijab' to invent a dress code that God Himself never authorised. God used the word 'hijab' ahead of them just as He used the word 'hadith' ahead of them (45:6).
HISTROLICAL BACKGROUND
While many Muslims call 'hijab' an Islamic dress code, they are in fact oblivious of the fact that the concept of 'hijab' has nothing to do with Islam, nor with the Quran.
In fact, the 'hijab' is an old Jewish tradition that infiltrated the hadith books like many innovations that contaminated Islam through the hadith. Any student of Jewish traditions would know that the 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, especially in the synagogues, at weddings and religious festivities.
This Jewish tradition is a cultural not a religious one. Hijab was observed by women of the civilisations that preceded the Jews and was passed down to the Jewish culture.
Some Christian women cover their heads on many religious occasions while the nuns cover their heads all the time.
The tradition of covering the head was practiced thousands of years before Muslim scholars claimed the 'hijab' as a Muslim 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 for example, all men cover their heads, not because of Islam but because of tradition.
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 sign of the pious and righteous Muslim woman, Mother Teresa would have been the first woman to be counted.
In brief, 'hijab' is a traditional dress and has nothing to do with Islam or religion. In certain areas of the world, men are the ones who wear the 'hijab' while in others the women do.
Mixing religion with tradition is a form of idol-worship since it implies setting up other sources of religious laws besides the law of God.
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