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What is Hijab, Really?
Author: Jokima Hamidullah  | Posted: 14-05-2008 | Comments: 0 | Views: 24 | Rating: (204)  (?) 
 Hijab is a highly misunderstood word, but it is a word that many people are interested in. If one is not Muslim, she'll most likely have a few (or many) misconceptions about what hijab is and about why Muslim women wear it. The misconceptions range from the idea that Muslim women are forced to wear hijab, to the idea that hijab is hot and restrictive, to the idea that hijab must be comprised of a specific color or specific clothing from, typically, an eastern region.
When I try to explain to someone about what hijab really is, I like to break the word down letter by letter.
H is for Headscarf.
This may or may not be an obvious answer because some people think that proper hijab includes a face veil. That couldn't be farther from the truth. In order to properly observe hijab, a Muslim woman must ensure that her hair, neck, and bosom are completely covered, but she is free to leave her face open. In fact, there is absolutely no evidence to suggest that Muslim women are to cover their faces, and some would say that it's against Islam to do so.
I is for Intentions.
What good is it to do something that you don't believe in doing? Muslim women wear hijab primarily because we believe that God (Allah in Arabic) tells us to do so. But, we should also have good intentions behind wearing it. When wearing hijab, we should know that by doing so, we are pleasing God (hopefully), we are guarding our modesty, and we are respecting ourselves and our communities by not showing off body parts that nobody should see unless that person is our husband or very close relative.
J is for Jilbab.
Now we are getting into the clothing part of hijab. It is important to understand that hijab is not just a headscarf, it is a complete way of covering your entire body. The only parts of a woman's body that should show are her hands, face, and some say, feet.
A jilbab is an outer garment. Contrary to popular belief, a jilbab does not describe any particular style of clothing. Rather, it describes a garment that we wear on top of our underclothes. Prophet Muhammad (may God's peace be upon him) preferred that Muslim women and men wear two layers of clothing. In essence, if you're wearing leggings and a tank top underneath your clothing, you can put on any other set of garments (i.e. a long dress, a shirt and pants, a jacket and long skirt, etc.) over top of that and completely meet the Prophet's preferred method of dressing.
It is important to note, however, that while two layers of clothing is a preferred method of dressing, it is not a requirement. But if you have ever seen someone's body-shape through their clothes (due to the lack of an undergarment), you can probably appreciate why the Prophet preferred that a person wears two layers of clothing rather than one.
A is for Attire.
Well as we stated in the paragraphs above, hijab is not just about covering your hair. It's about the way you cover your body as well. A Muslim woman's attire must meet four requirements primarily. 1. Her clothing must not be tight. 2. Her clothing must not be sheer. 3. Her clothing must not reveal the shape of her body. 4. Her clothing must not resemble clothing that is primarily worn by men.
If a woman meets these basic requirements and makes sure that only her face, hands, and feet are visible to outsiders, she is meeting the requirements of hijab.
B is for Beauty.
Some people would have you think that Muslim women are supposed to be completely hidden from men so that they do not attract men to them. This is not the case. A Muslim woman should not go to extremes to beautify herself, but Muslim women know that God loves beauty and so a Muslim woman can do things to make herself feel beautiful and look presentable to the outside world. She can wear clothing that is colorful (although it shouldn't be extravagant), she can wear jewelry that pleases her (although she should make sure that her jewelry isn't so noisy that it attracts attention), and she can use beauty products that give her a polished look. A Muslim woman should always look neat, clean, and beautiful. Not for the purpose of attracting men, but for the purpose of being a wonderful example of what a Muslim woman is and in my opinion, she will also feel uplifted in presenting herself this way.
To find out more about Muslim women's dress or to find out where you can buy hijabs, please visit WeLoveHijab.com.
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