Hijaab: definition and conditions:

Hijaab is an Arabic word that describes the Muslim woman's entire
dress code, which includes a veil and whatever else is needed to cover
everything except the face and hands. It is adopted at puberty - an
age when, according to Islam, people become accountable for their
actions.
This essay will attempt to brieflyenumerate the basic requirements
regarding the Hijaab as stipulated by the Sharee'ah (Islamic Law). The
term Hijaab includes not only dress and the covering of the body, but
also the methods of behaviour that one has before members of the same
and/or opposite sex, promoting privacy for females and prohibiting
loose intermingling between males and females; it is, therefore, an
encouragement of modesty, decency, and chastity.
The following requirements represent the ones agreed uponby the
overwhelming majority ofIslamic scholars and are all solidly backed by
firm evidence taken from the Quran, the Sunnah (Prophetic traditions)
and the practice of the Companions of the Prophet .
1. The Extent of Covering
The dress worn in public must cover the entire body except what has
been specifically excluded, based upon the following verse:
Allaah Says (what means): "And tell the believing women to reduce
[some] of their vision andguard their private parts and not display
their adornment [Zeenah] except only that which [ordinarily] appears
thereof and to draw their headcovers [Khumur] over their chests and
not display their adornment [i.e.,beauty] except to their husbands,
their fathers, their husbands' fathers, their sons, their husbands'
sons, their brothers, their brothers' sons, their sisters' sons, their
female slaves, their women [i.e., their sisters in Islam], or those
male attendants having no physical desire, or children who are not yet
aware of the private aspectsof women. And let them not stamp their
feet to make knownwhat they conceal of their adornment. And turn to
Allaah inrepentance, all of you, O Believers, in order that you might
succeed." [Quran 24:31]
The word Zeenah in the above verse literally means adornment, and includes both:
(a) That which Allaah has adorned (i.e., the woman's natural and/or
physical beauty), and,
(b) That with which they adorn themselves (i.e., jewellery, eye
shadow, attractive clothing, hand dye, etc). The word 'Khumur' (pl. of
'Khimaar') refersto a cloth that covers the head (including the ears),
hair, neck and bosom.
2. Thickness
The garment should be thick andopaque so as not to display the skin
colour and form of the body beneath it. Delicate or transparent
clothing does not constitute a proper covering. Imaam Al-Qurtubi
reported anarration from 'Aa'ishah that some women from the tribe of
Banu Tameem came to see her wearing transparent clothing. 'Aa'ishah
said to them: "If you are believing women, these are not the clothes
of believing women." He also reported that on another occasion, a
bride came to see her wearing a sheer, transparent Khimaar, whereupon
'Aa'ishah remarked: "A woman who wears such clothing does not believe
in Soorah An-Noor (i.e., the chapter in the Quran that contains the
abovementioned verse regarding the Hijaab)." Moreover, the following
Hadeeth makes this point graphically clear. Prophet Muhammad said:
"There will be among the last of my Ummah(Nation), scantily dressed
women; they will wear their hairon top of their heads, like a camel's
hump. Curse them - for verily they are cursed."
3. Looseness
The clothing must hang loosely and not be so tight and fitting asto
show the shape and size of the woman's body. This obviously prohibits
such things as skin-tight body suits and the like. The following
Hadeeth proves this point clearly. Usaamah bin Zayd said: The Prophet
once gave me a gift of thick Coptic cloth that he had received as a
gift from Dahiyyah Al-Kalbee, so I gave it to my wife. Afterwards, he
asked me: "Why haven't you worn the Coptic cloth? I replied: 'I gave
it to my wife.' The Prophet then said: "Tell her to wear a thick gown
under it (i.e., the Coptic garment) for I fear that it may describe
the size of her limbs." [Narrated by Ahmad, Al Bayhaqi & Al-Haakim]
4. Colour, Appearance and Demeanour....

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