Dress Code for Women

WOMEN'S DRESS CODE according to the Quran:

Allah made the Deen easy, practical and enjoyable for humanity. Allah also tells us that those who reject the guidance are making life miserable for themselves and for their loved ones who follow in their footsteps. Allah reminds us in the Quran that He has placed no hardship on us in practicing our Deen (see 22:78). Allah established also several rules in His book, the Quran, for humanity. Breaking any of His rules or refusing any of them means loss, misguidance, misery and suffering. Therefore, to understand a topic like the DRESS CODE for Muslim Women, we need to review quickly some of the rules established by our Creator to whom we will be responsible for our deeds. Every rule is important and every rule is meant to be.

(1) Quran is a complete book, See 6:19,38,114, 115, 12:111 and 50:45. Remember that when Allah says that His book is complete, it means 100% complete.
(2) Quran is perfect; no mistakes, no falsehood, 41:42, 12:40
(3) Quraan is detailed, and when Allah says He detailed His book it means FULLY detailed. 6:114, See also, 7:52, 11:1, 41:3, 10:37 and 12:111
(4) Allah does not need any addition to His book. 18:109
(5) Allah calls His book, the Quran, the BEST HADITH. 7:185, 31:6, 39:23, 45:6, and 77:50.
(6) Allah calls on humanity to make sure not to fall in the trap of idol-worship by following the words of the scholars instead of the words of Allah (see 9:31).
(7) Allah calls those who prohibit what He did not prohibit, aggressors, liars and idol-worshipers. See, 5:87, 9:37, 7:32, 6:119, 6:140 and 10:59.
(8) Muhammad (saw)is represented only by the Quran. The Prophet Muhammad was the last Prophet and a messenger of Allah (33:40). His duty was to deliver to the world what Allah was giving him, the Quran. See 42:48, 13:40, 5:99-100, Muhammad (saw) cannot prohibit things, or make lawful things on his own. Verse 66:1 reminds us that Allah is the only ONE to prohibit or make things lawful. NO ONE can attribute to Muhammad (saw) a prohibition that Allah did not give him in the Quran. Anyone who tries to do so is admitting his/her refusal of Allah's words and commandments in the Quraan.
(9) The TRUE believers KNOW that when Allah says something, He means it, and when He does not, he means it as well. Everything given to us in the Quran was done deliberately and anything left out was also left out deliberately. Allah does not forget. See 19:64. We are not to add to this religion what Allah deliberately left out and claim it to be from Him or His messenger. His messenger has only ONE message, the Qur`aan. Allah already told us He does not run out of words. 18:109
(10) Allah does not need us to improve on His book, the Qur`aan, but we very much need Him for every aspect of our lives. Those who think they have some improvement on the Quran are but asking for recognition of their idols as gods besides the ONE and ONLY ALLAH. Fabricated hadiths tried to add to Islam what the
disbelievers thought Allah forgot to mention in the Qur`aan.
(11) Allah calls on His TRUE believers to verify every piece of information they see, hear or read, see 17:36.

THREE RULES FOR WOMEN DRESS CODE IN ISLAM, THE BEST GARMENT, FIRST RULE:

7:26 The best garment is the garment of righteousness/taqwa.

SECOND RULE, COVER YOUR BOSOMS:

The second rule can be found in 24:31. Here Allah orders the women to cover their bosoms whenever they dress up. But before quoting 24:31 let us review some crucial words that are always mentioned with this topic, namely "Hijab" and "Khimar"

THE WORD "HIJAB" in the QURAN

"Hijab" is the term used by many Muslims women to describe their head cover that may or may not include covering their face except their eyes, and sometimes covering also one eye. The Arabic word "Hijab" can be translated into veil or yashmak. Other meanings for the word "Hijab" include, screen, cover(ing), mantle,
curtain, drapes, partition, division, divider.

Can we find the word "Hijab" in the Quran? The word "Hijab" appeared in the Quran 7 times, five of them as "Hijab" and two times as "Hijaban," these are 7:46, 33:53, 38:32, 41:5, 42:51, 17:45 & 19:17.

None of these "Hijab" words are used in the Quran in reference to what the traditional Muslims call today (Hijab) as a dress code for the Muslim woman.

Allah knows that generations after the Prophet's death the Muslims will use the word "Hijab" to invent a dress code that He never authorized. In fact, Allah used the word "Hijab" ahead of them just as He used the word "Hadith" ahead of them.

Hijab in the Quran has nothing to do with the Muslim Women dress code.

HISTORICAL BACKGROUND:

While many Muslims call "Hijab", an Islamic dress code, they completely ignore the fact that, Hijab, as a dress code has nothing to do with Islam and nothing to do with QURAN. In reality "Hijab" is an old Jewish tradition that infiltrated into the hadith books like many innovations that contaminated Islam through alleged Hadith and Sunna. These in reality came from Jewish origin. Any student of the Jewish traditions or religious books will see that 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 and especially in the synagogues, weddings, and religious festivities. Christian women cover their heads in many religious occasions while the nuns cover their heads all the time. This religious practice of covering the head was established from traditions thousands of years before the 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, up to this minute most of the men cover their head, not because of Islam but because of tradition. THE WORD "KHIMAR" in the QURAN: "Khimar" is an Arabic word that can be found in the Qur`aan in 24:31 While the first basic rule of Dress Code for the Muslim Women can be found in 7:26, the second rule of the DRESS CODE FOR
WOMEN can be found in 24:31. Some Muslims quote verse 31 of sura 24 as containing the Hijab, or head cover, by pointing to the word, khomoorehenna, (from Khimar), forgetting that Allah already used the word Hijab, several times in the Qur`aan.

Those blessed by Allah can see that the use of the word "Khimar" in this verse is not for "Hijab" or for head cover. Those who quote this verse usually add (Head cover) (veil) after the word addition to the verse not Allah's.

"Khimar" is an Arabic word that means, cover, any cover, a curtain is a Khimar, a dress is a Khimar, a table cloth that covers the top of a table is a Khimar, a blanket can be used as a Khimar, etc. The word KHAMRA used for intoxicant in Arabic has the same root with Khimar, because both covers, the Khimar covers (a window, a body, a table. etc.) while KHAMRA covers the state of mind. Most of the translators, obviously influenced by Hadith (fabrications) translate the word as VEIL and thus mislead most people to believe that this verse is advocating the covering of the head.

In verse 24:31 Allah is asking the women to use their cover (khimar)(being a dress, a coat, a shawl, a shirt, a blouse, a tie, a scarf . . . etc.) to cover their bosoms, not their heads or their hair.

If Allah so willed to order the women to cover their heads or their hair, nothing would have prevented Him from doing so. ALLAH does not run out of words. ALLAH does not forget. Allah did not order the women to cover their heads or their hair. He was not waiting for a Scholar to insert the words for Him. The Arabic word for CHEST, GAYB is in the verse (24:31), but the Arabic words for HEAD, (RAAS) or HAIR, (SHAAR) are NOT in the verse.

According to the language used during the time of the Revelation, "jayb" means chest or bossom. It may also mean "collar" when used with shirt, that is, "jayb al qamees". It may also mean "heart" when used as "huwana sihu jayb" or "he has pure heart". Elsewhere in the Quran, that is, 27:12 and 28:32, "jaybika" is used for
Moses (as) for "your heart". Many Hadith-following translators have translated it as "your collar". But with the above examples it is clear that "jayb" corresponds to areas of human body between neck and chest. "Juyub" is plural of "jayb". The commandment in the verse is clear - COVER YOUR CHEST OR BOSOMS, but also the fabrication of the scholars and most of the translators is clear by claiming- cover your head or hair.

The last part of the verse (24:31) translates as, "They shall not strike their feet when they walk in order to shake and reveal certain details of their bodies." The details of the body can be revealed or not revealed by the dress you wear, not by your head cover.

Notice also the expression in verse 24:31, "They shall not reveal any parts of their bodies, except that which is necessary." This expression may sound vague to many because they have not understood the mercy of Allah. Again Allah here used this very general term to give us the freedom to decide according to our own Circumstances the definition of "Which is necessary". It is not up to a scholar or to any particular person to define this term. Allah wants to leave it personal for every woman and no one can take it away from her.

Women who follow the basic rule number one i.e. righteousness, will have no problem making the right decision to reveal only what is necessary. The word "zeenatahunna" in this verse refers to the woman's body parts (beauty) and not to ornaments and decorations as some people interpret or translate it.

At the end of the verse, Allah told the women not to strike with their feet to show their "zeenatahunna". You do not need to your feet while walking can expose or shake certain parts of the body that do not need to be emphasized.

Accepting orders from anybody but Allah, means idol-worship. That is how serious the matter of Hijab/ khimar is. Women who wear Hijab because of tradition or because they like it for personal reasons commit no sin, as long as they know that it is not part of this perfect religion. Those who are wearing it because they think Allah ordered it are committing Idol-worship, as Allah did not order it, the scholars did. These women have found for themselves another god than the One who revealed the Quran, complete, perfect and FULLY detailed to tell them they have to cover their heads to be Muslims.

THIRD RULE OF DRESS CODE FOR WOMEN:

The first regulation of DRESS CODE for Muslim women is in verse 7:26, the second is in verse 24:31 and the third is in verse 33:59.

In 33:59, Allah sets the other regulation for the dress code for the Muslim women during the prophet's life. Although the verse is talking to the prophet which means this regulation applies to the time of the prophet, just like the order in verse 49:2, the description fits the spirit of Islam, and can teach us a great deal.

If we reflect on this verse how Allah ordered the prophet to tell his wives, his daughters and the wives of the believers to lengthen their garments, we will understand the great wisdom of the MOST WISE, the MOST MERCIFUL.

In this verse, Allah, DELIBERATELY, (and all the TRUE believers know that everything ALLAH says, does, or did is DELIBERATE) said, tell them, to lengthen their garments, but never said how long is LONG.

Allah could have said tell them to lengthen their garments to such and such a length. But Allah did not, OUT OF HIS MERCY, not because Allah FORGOT as Allah knew that different communities and have different cultures and thus the minor details of this dress code will be left for the people of every community to hammer out for themselves.

It is clear from the above verses that the DRESS CODE for the Muslim women according to the Quran is righteousness and modesty. Allah knew that this modesty will be understood differently in different communities and that is why Allah left it open to us to decide for ourselves.

Decide, after righteousness what is modesty. Modesty for a woman who lives in Cape Twon may not be accepted by a woman who lives in Cairo Egypt. Modesty of a woman who lives in Cairo, Egypt may not be accepted by a woman who lives in Saudi Arabia. Modesty of a woman who lives in Jidda in Saudi Arabia may not be accepted by a woman who lives in a desert oasis in the same country.

This difference in the way we perceive modesty is well known to Allah, he created us, and He put NO hardship on us in this great religion. He left it to us to decide what modesty would be. For any person, knowledgeable or not to draw a line and make a conclusion for Allah about the definition of modesty is to admit that he/she knows better than Allah. Allah left it open for us and no one has the authority to restrict it, it has to stay open.

RELAXING THE DRESS CODE:

In the family setting, Allah put no hardship on the women, and permitted them to relax their dress code. If you reflect on the verses, 33:55 and 24:60, you will see that Allah did not give details of what this relaxation is, because every situation is different. A woman may relax her dress code in front of the four-year-old son of her brother but not as much in front of the 16-year-old son.

HARDSHIP IN DEEN:

Allah declares that those who will reject His complete book and go look for other sources for guidance will suffer in this life and in the HEREAFTER by their choice. Allah never put any hardship on the believers, but the clergy do, they invented their own laws in defiance of Allah, to regulate everything from the side of bed you sleep on, to which foot should step in the house, to what to do with a fly in your soup, to what to say when having intercourse with your spouse.

Those who believe Allah and believe that His book is COMPLETE, PERFECT AND FULLY DETAILED, will have everything easy for them as Allah promised, See verses 10:62-64. and 16:97 while those who do not believe Allah and have been seeking other sources than the Quran will have all the hardship of this life and the life to come. In the Hereafter they will complain to Allah, "we were not idol-worshipers," but Allah knows best, He knows they were See 6:22-24

CONCLUSION:

Allah, the Most Merciful, gave us THREE basic rules for the Dress Code for Women in Islam, (1) The BEST garment is the garment of righteousness. (2) Whenever you dress, cover your chest (bosoms). (3) Lengthen your garment. While these three BASIC rules may not sound enough for those who do not trust Allah, the TRUE believers know that Allah Alone is ENOUGH.

Allah could have given us more details to the point of having graphs, designs and colour rules, but He, Ar-Rahman, wants to give us exactly these very basic rules and leave the rest for us.

After these three basic rules every woman is more aware of her circumstances and can adjust her dress for her situation. Any addition to these basic Quranic rules is an attempt to correct Allah or improve on His merciful design.