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Ayah
Word by Word
وَقُل
And say
لِّلۡمُؤۡمِنَٰتِ
to the believing women
يَغۡضُضۡنَ
(that) they should lower
مِنۡ
[of]
أَبۡصَٰرِهِنَّ
their gaze
وَيَحۡفَظۡنَ
and they should guard
فُرُوجَهُنَّ
their chastity
وَلَا
and not
يُبۡدِينَ
(to) display
زِينَتَهُنَّ
their adornment
إِلَّا
except
مَا
what
ظَهَرَ
is apparent
مِنۡهَاۖ
of it
وَلۡيَضۡرِبۡنَ
And let them draw
بِخُمُرِهِنَّ
their head covers
عَلَىٰ
over
جُيُوبِهِنَّۖ
their bosoms
وَلَا
and not
يُبۡدِينَ
(to) display
زِينَتَهُنَّ
their adornment
إِلَّا
except
لِبُعُولَتِهِنَّ
to their husbands
أَوۡ
or
ءَابَآئِهِنَّ
their fathers
أَوۡ
or
ءَابَآءِ
fathers
بُعُولَتِهِنَّ
(of) their husbands
أَوۡ
or
أَبۡنَآئِهِنَّ
their sons
أَوۡ
or
أَبۡنَآءِ
sons
بُعُولَتِهِنَّ
(of) their husbands
أَوۡ
or
إِخۡوَٰنِهِنَّ
their brothers
أَوۡ
or
بَنِيٓ
sons
إِخۡوَٰنِهِنَّ
(of) their brothers
أَوۡ
or
بَنِيٓ
sons
أَخَوَٰتِهِنَّ
(of) their sisters
أَوۡ
or
نِسَآئِهِنَّ
their women
أَوۡ
or
مَا
what
مَلَكَتۡ
possess
أَيۡمَٰنُهُنَّ
their right hands
أَوِ
or
ٱلتَّـٰبِعِينَ
the attendants
غَيۡرِ
having no physical desire
أُوْلِي
having no physical desire
ٱلۡإِرۡبَةِ
having no physical desire
مِنَ
among
ٱلرِّجَالِ
[the] men
أَوِ
or
ٱلطِّفۡلِ
[the] children
ٱلَّذِينَ
who
لَمۡ
(are) not
يَظۡهَرُواْ
aware
عَلَىٰ
of
عَوۡرَٰتِ
private aspects
ٱلنِّسَآءِۖ
(of) the women
وَلَا
And not
يَضۡرِبۡنَ
let them stamp
بِأَرۡجُلِهِنَّ
their feet
لِيُعۡلَمَ
to make known
مَا
what
يُخۡفِينَ
they conceal
مِن
of
زِينَتِهِنَّۚ
their adornment
وَتُوبُوٓاْ
And turn
إِلَى
to
ٱللَّهِ
Allah
جَمِيعًا
altogether
أَيُّهَ
O believers
ٱلۡمُؤۡمِنُونَ
O believers
لَعَلَّكُمۡ
So that you may
تُفۡلِحُونَ
succeed
وَقُل
And say
لِّلۡمُؤۡمِنَٰتِ
to the believing women
يَغۡضُضۡنَ
(that) they should lower
مِنۡ
[of]
أَبۡصَٰرِهِنَّ
their gaze
وَيَحۡفَظۡنَ
and they should guard
فُرُوجَهُنَّ
their chastity
وَلَا
and not
يُبۡدِينَ
(to) display
زِينَتَهُنَّ
their adornment
إِلَّا
except
مَا
what
ظَهَرَ
is apparent
مِنۡهَاۖ
of it
وَلۡيَضۡرِبۡنَ
And let them draw
بِخُمُرِهِنَّ
their head covers
عَلَىٰ
over
جُيُوبِهِنَّۖ
their bosoms
وَلَا
and not
يُبۡدِينَ
(to) display
زِينَتَهُنَّ
their adornment
إِلَّا
except
لِبُعُولَتِهِنَّ
to their husbands
أَوۡ
or
ءَابَآئِهِنَّ
their fathers
أَوۡ
or
ءَابَآءِ
fathers
بُعُولَتِهِنَّ
(of) their husbands
أَوۡ
or
أَبۡنَآئِهِنَّ
their sons
أَوۡ
or
أَبۡنَآءِ
sons
بُعُولَتِهِنَّ
(of) their husbands
أَوۡ
or
إِخۡوَٰنِهِنَّ
their brothers
أَوۡ
or
بَنِيٓ
sons
إِخۡوَٰنِهِنَّ
(of) their brothers
أَوۡ
or
بَنِيٓ
sons
أَخَوَٰتِهِنَّ
(of) their sisters
أَوۡ
or
نِسَآئِهِنَّ
their women
أَوۡ
or
مَا
what
مَلَكَتۡ
possess
أَيۡمَٰنُهُنَّ
their right hands
أَوِ
or
ٱلتَّـٰبِعِينَ
the attendants
غَيۡرِ
having no physical desire
أُوْلِي
having no physical desire
ٱلۡإِرۡبَةِ
having no physical desire
مِنَ
among
ٱلرِّجَالِ
[the] men
أَوِ
or
ٱلطِّفۡلِ
[the] children
ٱلَّذِينَ
who
لَمۡ
(are) not
يَظۡهَرُواْ
aware
عَلَىٰ
of
عَوۡرَٰتِ
private aspects
ٱلنِّسَآءِۖ
(of) the women
وَلَا
And not
يَضۡرِبۡنَ
let them stamp
بِأَرۡجُلِهِنَّ
their feet
لِيُعۡلَمَ
to make known
مَا
what
يُخۡفِينَ
they conceal
مِن
of
زِينَتِهِنَّۚ
their adornment
وَتُوبُوٓاْ
And turn
إِلَى
to
ٱللَّهِ
Allah
جَمِيعًا
altogether
أَيُّهَ
O believers
ٱلۡمُؤۡمِنُونَ
O believers
لَعَلَّكُمۡ
So that you may
تُفۡلِحُونَ
succeed
Translation
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 husband's fathers, their sons, their husbands' sons, their brothers or their brothers' sons, or their sisters' sons, or their women, or the slaves 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 ye Believers! turn ye all together towards Allah, that ye may attain Bliss.
Tafsir
And tell believing women to lower their gaze, away from what is not lawful for them to look at, and to guard their private parts, from what is not lawful for them to do with them, and not to display their adornment except for what is apparent, namely, the face and the hands, which may be seen by a stranger, when there is no danger of [either or both falling into] temptation - this being one of two opinions. The second [of these] is that [even] this is forbidden because there is a presumption that these [parts] will cause temptation - and this is the preferred opinion, if one must settle this topic [with a definitive opinion]; and let them draw their veils over their bosoms, that is, let them cover up their heads, necks and chests with veils, and not reveal their, hidden, adornment, namely, all that is other than the face and the hands, except to their husbands (bu'ool is the plural form of ba'l, 'male spouse') or their fathers, or their husbands' fathers, or their sons, or their husbands' sons, or their brothers, or their brothers' sons, or their sisters' sons, or their women, or what their right hands own, all of whom are permitted to look thereat, except for the part from the navel down to the knees, which is unlawful for any other than their husbands to see; 'their women', however, excludes disbelieving women, for it is not permitted for Muslim women to reveal themselves to these; 'what their right hands own' comprises slaves; or such men who are dependant, on what food may be
The Rulings of Hijab
This is a command from Allah to the believing women, and jealousy on His part over the wives of His believing servants. It is also to distinguish the believing women from the women of the Jahiliyyah and the deeds of the pagan women.
The reason for the revelation of this Ayah was mentioned by Muqatil bin Hayyan, when he said:
We heard -- and Allah knows best -- that Jabir bin Abdullah Al-Ansari narrated that Asma' bint Murshidah was in a house of hers in Bani Harithah, and the women started coming in to her without lower garments so that the anklets on their feet could be seen, along with their chests and forelocks. Asma' said:`How ugly this is!' Then Allah revealed:
وَقُل لِّلۡمُوۡمِنَاتِ يَغۡضُضۡنَ مِنۡ أَبۡصَارِهِنَّ
(And tell the believing women to lower their gaze...).
And Allah says:
وَقُل لِّلۡمُوۡمِنَاتِ يَغۡضُضۡنَ مِنۡ أَبۡصَارِهِنَّ
And tell the believing women to lower their gaze,
meaning, from that which Allah has forbidden them to look at, apart from their husbands.
(Some) scholars said that it is permissible for women to look at non-Mahram men without desire, as it was recorded in the Sahih that the Messenger of Allah was watching the Ethiopians playing with spears in the Masjid on the day of `Id, and A'ishah the Mother of the believers was watching them from behind him and he was concealing her from them, until she got bored and went away.
وَيَحۡفَظۡنَ فُرُوجَهُنَّ
and protect their private parts.
Sa`id bin Jubayr said:
From immoral actions.
Abu Al-Aliyah said:
Every Ayah of the Qur'an in which protecting the private parts is mentioned means protecting them from Zina, except for this Ayah --
وَيَحۡفَظۡنَ فُرُوجَهُنَّ
(and protect their private parts), which means protecting them from being seen by anybody.
وَلَا يُبۡدِينَ زِينَتَهُنَّ إِلاَّ مَا ظَهَرَ مِنۡهَا
and not to show off their adornment except that which is apparent,
means, they should not show anything of their adornment to non-Mahram men except for whatever it is impossible to hide.
Ibn Mas`ud said:
Such as clothes and outer garments,
Meaning what the Arab women used to wear of the veil which covered their clothes and whatever showed from underneath the outer garment. There is no blame on her for this, because this is something that she cannot conceal. Similar to that is what appears of her lower garment and what she cannot conceal.
Al-Hasan, Ibn Sirin, Abu Al-Jawza', Ibrahim An-Nakha`i and others also had the same view as Ibn Mas`ud.
وَلۡيَضۡرِبۡنَ بِخُمُرِهِنَّ عَلَى جُيُوبِهِنَّ
and to draw their veils all over their Juyub,
means that they should wear the outer garment in such a way as to cover their chests and ribs, so that they will be different from the women of the Jahiliyyah, who did not do that but would pass in front of men with their chests completely uncovered, and with their necks, forelocks, hair and earrings uncovered. So Allah commanded the believing women to cover themselves, as He says:
يَا أَيُّهَا النَّبِيُّ قُل لاَِّزۡوَاجِكَ وَبَنَاتِكَ وَنِسَاء الۡمُوۡمِنِينَ يُدۡنِينَ عَلَيۡهِنَّ مِن جَلَابِيبِهِنَّ ذَلِكَ أَدۡنَى أَن يُعۡرَفۡنَ فَلَا يُوۡذَيۡنَ
O Prophet! Tell your wives and your daughters and the women of the believers to draw their cloaks all over their bodies. That will be better, that they should be known, so as not to be annoyed. (33:59)
And in this noble Ayah He said:
وَلۡيَضۡرِبۡنَ بِخُمُرِهِنَّ عَلَى جُيُوبِهِنَّ
(and to draw their (Khumur) veils all over their Juyub.
Khumur (veils) is the plural of Khimar, which means something that covers, and is what is used to cover the head. This is what is known among the people as a veil.
Sa`id bin Jubayr said:
وَلۡيَضۡرِبۡنَ
(and to draw), means to pull it around and tie it securely.
بِخُمُرِهِنَّ عَلَى جُيُوبِهِنَّ
(their veils all over their Juyub), means, over their necks and chests so that nothing can be seen of them.
Al-Bukhari recorded that A'ishah, may Allah be pleased with her, said:
May Allah have mercy on the women of the early emigrants, when Allah revealed the Ayah:
وَلۡيَضۡرِبۡنَ بِخُمُرِهِنَّ عَلَى جُيُوبِهِنَّ
(and to draw their veils all over their Juyub), they tore their aprons and Akhtamar themselves with them.
He also narrated from Safiyyah bint Shaybah that A'ishah, may Allah be pleased with her, used to say:
When this Ayah:
وَلۡيَضۡرِبۡنَ بِخُمُرِهِنَّ عَلَى جُيُوبِهِنَّ
(and to draw their veils all over their Juyub) was revealed, they took their Izars (waist sheets) and tore them at the edges, and Akhtamar themselves with them.
وَلَا يُبۡدِينَ زِينَتَهُنَّ إِلاَّ لِبُعُولَتِهِنَّ أَوۡ ابَايِهِنَّ أَوۡ ابَاء بُعُولَتِهِنَّ أَوۡ أَبۡنَايِهِنَّ أَوۡ أَبۡنَاء بُعُولَتِهِنَّ أَوۡ إِخۡوَانِهِنَّ أَوۡ بَنِي إِخۡوَانِهِنَّ أَوۡ بَنِي أَخَوَاتِهِنَّ
and not to reveal their adornment except to their husbands, or their fathers, or their husband's fathers, or their sons, or their husband's sons, or their brothers or their brother's sons, or their sister's sons,
All of these are a woman's close relatives whom she can never marry (Mahram) and it is permissible for her to show her adornments to them, but without making a wanton display of herself.
Ibn Al-Mundhir recorded that Ikrimah commented on this Ayah,
وَلَا يُبۡدِينَ زِينَتَهُنَّ إِلاَّ لِبُعُولَتِهِنَّ أَوۡ ابَايِهِنَّ أَوۡ ابَاء بُعُولَتِهِنَّ
(and not to reveal their adornment except to their husbands, or their fathers, or their husband's fathers...),
The paternal uncle and maternal uncle are not mentioned here, because they may describe a woman to their sons, so a woman should not remove her Khimar in front of her paternal or maternal uncle.
With regard to the husband, all of this is for his sake, so she should try her best when adorning herself for him, unlike the way she should appear in front of others.
أَوۡ نِسَايِهِنَّ
or their women,
this means that she may also wear her adornment in front of other Muslim women, but not in front of the women of Ahl Adh-Dhimmah (Jewish and Christian women), lest they describe her to their husbands.
This is prohibited for all women, but more so in the case of the women of Ahl Adh-Dhimmah, because there is nothing to prevent them from doing that, but Muslim women know that it is unlawful and so, would be deterred from doing it.
The Messenger of Allah said:
لَاا تُبَاشِرِ الۡمَرۡأَةُ الۡمَرۡأَةَ فَتَنۡعَتَهَا لِزَوۡجِهَا كَأَنَّهُ يَنۡظُرُ إِلَيۡهَا
No woman should describe another woman to her husband so that it is as if he is looking at her.
It was recorded in the Two Sahihs from Ibn Mas`ud.
أَوۡ مَا مَلَكَتۡ أَيۡمَانُهُنَّ
or their right hand possessions.
Ibn Jarir said,
This means from among the women of the idolators. It is permissible for a Muslim woman to reveal her adornment before such a woman, even if she is an idolatress, because she is her slave-girl.
This was also the view of Sa`id bin Al-Musayyib.
Allah says;
أَوِ التَّابِعِينَ غَيۡرِ أُوۡلِي الاِۡرۡبَةِ مِنَ الرِّجَالِ
Tabi`in among men who do not have desire,
such as hired servants and followers who are not at the same level as the woman and are feeble-minded and have no interest in or desire for women.
Ibn Abbas said,
This is the kind of person who has no desire.
Ikrimah said,
This is the hermaphrodite, who does not experience erections.
This was also the view of others among the Salaf.
It was narrated in the Sahih from A'ishah that a hermaphrodite, used to enter upon the family of the Messenger of Allah and they used to consider him as one of those who do not have desire, but then the Messenger of Allah came in when he was describing a woman with four rolls of fat in front and eight behind. The Messenger of Allah said,
أَلَا أَرَى هَذَا يَعۡلَمُ مَا هَهُنَا لَا يَدۡخُلَنَّ عَلَيۡكُمۡ
Lo! I think this person knows what is they are; he should never enter upon you.
He expelled him, and he stayed in Al-Bayda' and only came on Fridays to get food.
أَوِ الطِّفۡلِ الَّذِينَ لَمۡ يَظۡهَرُوا عَلَى عَوۡرَاتِ النِّسَاء
or children who are not aware of the nakedness of women.
Because they are so young they do not understand anything about women or their `Awrah or their soft speech or their enticing ways of walking and moving.
If a child is small and does not understand that, there is nothing wrong with him entering upon women, but if he is an adolescent or approaching adolescence, so that he knows and understands these things, and can make a distinction between who is beautiful and who is not, then he should not enter upon women.
It was recorded in the Two Sahihs that the Messenger of Allah said:
إِيَّاكُمۡ وَالدُّخُولَ عَلَى النِّسَاءِ
Avoid entering upon women.
It was said, O Messenger of Allah, what do you think about the male in-laws!
He said:
الۡحَمۡوُ الۡمَوۡتُ
The male in-law is death.
The Etiquette of Women walking in the Street
Allah's saying:
وَلَا يَضۡرِبۡنَ بِأَرۡجُلِهِنَّ لِيُعۡلَمَ مَا يُخۡفِينَ مِن زِينَتِهِنَّ
And let them not stamp their feet...
During Jahiliyyah, when women walked in the street wearing anklets and no one could hear them, they would stamp their feet so that men could hear their anklets ringing. Allah forbade the believing women to do this.
By the same token, if there is any other kind of adornment that is hidden, women are forbidden to make any movements that would reveal what is hidden, because Allah says:
وَلَا يَضۡرِبۡنَ بِأَرۡجُلِهِنَّ لِيُعۡلَمَ مَا يُخۡفِينَ مِن زِينَتِهِنَّ
And let them not stamp their feet so as to reveal what they hide of their adornment.
From that, women are also prohibited from wearing scent and perfume when they are going outside the home, lest men should smell their perfume.
Abu `Isa At-Tirmidhi recorded that Abu Musa, may Allah be pleased with him, said that the Prophet said:
كُلُّ عَيۡنٍ زَانِيَةٌ وَالۡمَرۡأَةُ إِذَا اسۡتَعۡطَرَتۡ فَمَرَّتۡ بِالۡمَجۡلِسِ فَهِيَ كَذَا وَكَذَا
Every eye commits fornication and adultery, and when a woman puts on perfume and passes through a gathering, she is such and such -- (meaning an adulteress).
He said,
And there is a similar report from Abu Hurayrah, and this is Hasan Sahih.
It was also recorded by Abu Dawud and An-Nasa'i.
By the same token, women are also forbidden to walk in the middle of the street, because of what this involves of wanton display.
Abu Dawud recorded that Abu Usayd Al-Ansari said that he heard the Messenger of Allah, as he was coming out of the Masjid and men and women were mixing in the street, telling the women:
اسۡتَأۡخِرۡنَ فَإِنَّهُ لَيۡسَ لَكُنَّ أَنۡ تَحۡقُقۡنَ الطَّرِيقَ عَلَيۡكُنَّ بِحَافَّاتِ الطَّرِيقِ
Keep back, for you have no right to walk in the middle of the street. You should keep to the sides of the road.
The women used to cling to the walls so much that their clothes would catch on the walls.
وَتُوبُوا إِلَى اللَّهِ جَمِيعًا أَيُّهَا الۡمُوۡمِنُونَ لَعَلَّكُمۡ تُفۡلِحُونَ
And all of you beg Allah to forgive you all, O believers, that you may be successful.
means, practice what you are commanded in these beautiful manners and praiseworthy characteristics, and give up the evil ways of the people of Jahiliyyah, for the greatest success is to be found in doing what Allah and His Messenger command and avoiding what He forbids.
And Allah is the source of strength.
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