Fathwa, - Good Hijab, Bad Hijab?

Question:
Is it haram or not preferable to wear colorful ornately decorated
hijabs? Should one stick to solid colors? I have oftentimes heard
different views. I was told that wearing solid, colored, undecorated
scarves is "good hijab" because it is more modest. On the other hand,
I have heard others argue that wearing beautiful scarves is being
modest enough, and that although the ornate scarves are obviously more
pleasing to the eye than the solid colored scarves, that is acceptable
because women should not look horrible either. I am confused. What
then really constitutes good hijab?
Answer:
In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful Praise be to Allah.
May the peace and blessings of Allah shower upon our Beloved
Messenger, his family, companions, and those who follow them.
Our understanding of hijab comes from two verses of the Qur'an. The
first, in Surat al-Nur, reads, �And say to the believing women that
they should lower their gaze and guard their modesty; that they should
not display their beauty and ornaments except what must ordinarily
appear thereof; that they should draw their veils over their bosoms
and not display their beauty except to their husbands, their fathers,
their husbands' fathers, their sons, their husbands' sons, their
brothers, or their brothers' sons or their sisters' sons, or their
women or the servants whom their right hands possess, or male servants
free of physical needs, or small children who have no sense of the
shame of sex, and that they should not strike their feet in order to
draw attention to their hidden ornaments. And O you Believers, turn
you all together towards Allah, that you may attain Bliss.� (Quran
24:31).
The other verse in Surat al-Ahzab says, �O Prophet, tell your wives
and your daughters and the women of the believers to draw their cloaks
close round them (when they go abroad). That will be better, so that
they may be recognized and not annoyed. Allah is ever Forgiving,
Merciful.� (Quran 33:59)
One of the most famous hadith proofs for hijab is the following,
"A'isha (may Allah be pleased with her) reported that Asma�, the
daughter of Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him) came to the
Messenger of Allah (may peace and blessings be upon him) while wearing
thin clothing. He approached her and said: 'O Asma�! When a girl
reaches the menstrual age, it is not proper that anything should
remain exposed except this and this. He pointed to the face and
hands." [Abu Dawud]
These are the evidences for hijab. As to what form the hijab takes,
that can vary depending upon local custom. Scholars are unanimous that
the hijab must cover every part of the woman's body, except for the
face and hands. Some Hanafi scholars say that the face, hands, and
feet are all exempted. The clothing used to cover the body should be
opaque and loose-fitting. In other words, the color of the skin and
the contours of the body should not show through the clothing. The
head should be covered with some form of a khimar or head veil. The
head veil should cover the hair, neck, ears, and bosom. Furthermore,
women should not make themselves up or use perfume when they go out.
Using makeup and perfume would defeat the whole purpose of hijab. It
is easy to see how the West has built a whole industry revolving
around making the female as seductive as possible with makeup,
perfume, revealing clothing, and constantly changing hair styles. This
is not an image that we Muslim women want.
As to what fabrics, colors, or styles of clothing you use, that is up
to you, as long as you have satisfied these basic requirements. It is
recommended to wear a jilbab, or over-garment. However, a long,
loose-fitting tunic with a long skirt also satisfies the requirement
for covering the body modestly. If you look at styles in the Muslim
world, you will see everything from an Arab abaya to an Iranian
chador, from Afghani burqas to Malaysian skirt and tunic sets, from
smart business suits to Indo-Pak shalvar qamiz. You will see a
diversity of fabrics, colors, and designs. All of these can fulfill
the basic requirement of hijab, which is the modest covering of the
hair and body. As far as color is concerned, a lot of that is
cultural. While wearing black in Iran or the Arab world is customary,
in Africa and Southeast Asia it is customary to be colorful and this
is not inappropriate. Diversity is one of the strengths of the Umma. I
don't think it's appropriate for people to tell you that if you wear a
black hijab, your hijab is good, but if you wear a hijab with flowers
on it, your hijab is bad. As long as you are modest and have not
dressed in a way that will attract attention to yourself, you are
fine. You can tell if you are wearing something that is showy or
flashy. What colors you wear are entirely up to you. Just use
discretion.
And Allah knows best. And Allah alone gives success.