بِسْمِ اللّٰهِ الرَّحْمٰنِ الرَّحِيمِ

اَلْحَمْدُ لِلّٰهِ رَبِّ الْعَالَمِينَ وَ الصَّلاَةُ وَ السَّلاَمُ عَلَى سَيِّدِنَا مُحَمَّدٍ وَ عَلَى آلِهِ وَ صَحْبِهِ اَجْمَعِينَ

TASATTUR – HIJÂB – COVERING – 2

Tasattur in Sharî’ah

The following are a few explanations on the order of tasattur, the definition of jilbâb according to the Mujtahid Imams and Mufassirs of Ahl al-Sunnah wa'l-Jamâ'ah, and some of the sources where their judgments (ijtihad) were derived; the details can be found in the basic books of Sharî'ah:

The hijâb âyahs, that is, the âyahs concerning tasattur, were revealed to express three degrees.

The first: With the noble âyah (33:591), women were commanded to cover their faces.

The second: Through the requirement of the nobel âyah (33:532), they were commanded to lower the hijâb, that is, drawing down the curtain and staying behind it, and commanded with harem3, that is, separating the places of men and women at home. 

The third: As a requirement of the nobel âyahs (24:314 and 33:335), women were prohibited from leaving their homes unless there was a necessity (dharurah) according to Sharî’ah; some of the mothers of mu’mins abstained from showing the silhouette of their bodies.”

From the explanation of the 120th Hadith from Buhari Volume:1 page140

Some of the tafsirs’ explanations about the commandment of tasattur: 

1. Bediüzzaman Said Nursi - The Risale on Tasattur, which is the tafsir of the âyah (33:59) and one of his risales that was the reason for his twenty-nine-year exile and imprisonment:

…their fitrah truly fears non-mahrams intensely, and their inborn disposition wants to avoid them. And their weak creation commands and severely warns not to excite the appetites of non-mahrams and not to give any opportunity for their aggression, and shows that their shield and fortress is their charshaf (jilbâb).

The Risale on Tasattur - 24th Flash

 

Just as, due to compassion, women do not resemble men in heroism and ikhlas, and men cannot reach them in such heroism, so innocent women can in no way reach men in dissipation. Therefore, they severely fear non-mahrams and know themselves to be obliged to shelter themselves beneath charshaf (jilbâb) due to their fitrah and weak creation.

The Risale on Tasattur - 24th Flash - A conversation with women

While defending tasattur in the Eskişehir High Criminal Court, where a death sentence for him was planned, Hazrat Bediüzzaman said the following:

“Veiled chaste women of Islam who were beneath charshaf for a thousand years preserve their charshaf today too.”

27th Flash/Defence given to the Eskişehir High Criminal Court

Hazrat Bediüzzaman repeatedly asserted in the courts that his tafsir on tasattur and jilbâb is a judgement upon which all Ahl al-Sunnah wa'l-Jamâ'ah Imams agreed rather than the product of his personal views and thinking:

Part of the defence that is written to the Appeal Court, which opposed the Court and silenced it: "I say to this court of law that if there is justice on the face of the earth, it will surely refute this unjust decision and overrule this judgement, which convicts a man who, through relying on the confirmation and consensus of three hundred and fifty thousand tafsirs and following our ancestors’ beliefs they had for one thousand three hundred and fifty years, has made the tafsir of the most sacred, true and right principle of Allah applied in the social life of three hundred and fifty million people, in every age, for one thousand three hundred and fifty years!..."

Twenty-Fourth Flash

 

Thus, I say to the Appeal Court: “I exclaim that if there is any justice on the face of the earth, it will reject and abolish this wrong judgment that convicts a man who made tafsir of a sacred and haqq principle of Allah which in each century for one thousand three hundred and fifty years was applied in the social life of three hundred and fifty million Muslims, by relying on the consensus and affirmation of three hundred and fifty thousand tafsirs and following our ancestors’ beliefs they had for one thousand three hundred and fifty years. The deaf ears of this century, too, should hear!” I wonder, does convicting a man, because of the tafsir of those âyahs, who, both intellectually and scientifically, does not accept certain European laws that are accepted temporarily due to the requirement of certain compulsions of this time and who has abandoned politics and withdrawn from social life, not conclude with the denial of Islam, betraying billions of our religious and heroic forefathers and insulting millions of tafsirs?

The Fourteenth Ray/To the Judges of the Court of Appeal

 

They also wrote, "One is guilty of irtijâ’ who says that reforms, such as the closure of the takkas6, zaviyes7 and the madrasas, the acceptance of secularism, the establishment of nationalist principles instead of Islam, the wearing of the hat, the abolishment of tasattur, the enforced use of the Latin alphabet in place of the Qur'anic alphabet, the adhan and iqâmah being recited in Turkish, the abolishment of religious instructions in schools, granting women the same inheritance and rights as men and the abolishment of polygamy are bid’ah, dhalâlah and ilhad.”

O unfair committee! If it is possible to deny numerous explicit âyahs of the Qur'an of Miraculous Exposition — the sacred samâwi guide of three hundred and fifty million people in every century, the programme of all their happiness and the sacred treasury of the life of the world and the âkhirah — that do not bear interpretation and are revealed about the tasattur, inheritance, polygamy, dhikr of Allah, instruction and dissemination of ‘ilm about the religion and the preservation of the shaâ’er, and if it is possible to make all mujtahids of Islam and all Shaykhs al-Islam guilty, and if you can abolish and remove the passage of time, the numerous court acquittals, the legal pardons, confidentiality and privacy, the freedom of conscience, the freedom of thought and intellectual and scholarly opposition from this country and governments, you can make me guilty of these things. Otherwise, in the court of haqiqah, haqq and justice, you will be terribly guilty!

The Fourteenth Ray/Short indications of some of the errors in the indictment

2. Muhammad Ali al-Sabuni - Rawai' al-Bayan Tafsir Ayat al-Ahkam Min al-Qur'an: In the discussion about the Sharî’ah ruling on tasattur, he pointed out the following conditions, which we will briefly mention:

Firstly: Jilbab should cover the whole body…

Secondly: It should not be transparent and should not reveal the body figure…

Thirdly: It should not have any shape and colour as a decoration…

Fourthly: It should be loose and should not reveal the body figure…

Fifthly: No scent should be applied to it…

Sixtly: It should not be in the form of a male garment…

3. Elmalılı Hamdi Yazır - Hak Dini Kur’an Dili Tafsiri:

وَلَا يُبْدِينَ زِينَتَهُنَّ “They should not display their ornaments (zînat).” Traditionally, when someone says the word ornament (zînat), earrings, crowns, necklaces, bracelets, etc. come to mind, but in the surah al-a’raf يَـٰبَنِىٓ ءَادَمَ خُذُوا۟ زِينَتَكُمْ عِندَ كُلِّ مَسْجِدٍ8 the word “ornament” (zînat) is used for the meaning of dress. If revealing even these adornments is prohibited, revealing the body that they are placed and worn on is unquestionably and inevitably prohibited as well. In other words, let alone revealing their bodies, they should not even reveal the ornaments on them. However, some of the ‘ulamâ agreed that what is meant by the word “ornament” (zînat) is the place of ornaments on the body. The face is the place of eyeliner and make-up, the head is the place of crowns, the hair is the place of braids and curls, the ears are the place of earrings, the neck and chest are the place of necklaces, the hands are the place of rings and henna, the wrists are the place of bracelets, the arms are the place of armlets, the calves are the place of anklets and the feet are the place of henna, like the hands. The rest of the body parts cannot be opened either… As proof, they expressed that buying and selling and looking at those ornaments when they are not attached to a woman’s body is unanimously permissible (jâiz) and halal. Based on this evidence, some ulamâ, by considering the beautiful creation of a woman’s body and artificial ornament’s (zînat) purpose of adorning the body, agreed that a woman’s real ornament (zînat) and what is meant by the word “ornament” (zînat) is only her body. All women possess a natural beauty in themselves, although most of them lack artificial ornaments. They said that this fact corroborates this definition regarding the judgement that looks to all women; they, therefore, gave the following meaning: women should not leave any part of their bodies uncovered, which is their natural adornment.

Indeed, the âyahزُيِّنَ لِلنَّاسِ حُبُّ الشَّهَوَاتِ مِنَ النِّسَٓاءِ وَالْبَن۪ينَ وَالْقَنَاط۪يرِ الْمُقَنْطَرَةِ مِنَ الذَّهَبِ وَالْفِضَّةِ وَالْخَيْلِ9 indicates that the meaning of the term ornament (zînat) includes both natural and artificial ornaments, even though the term ornament is typically used to refer to artificial objects that are attached to the body for adornment and the term beauty is mostly used to define natural beauty. Adornment and beauty deserve that their manifestation should be reserved for close family members and be kept hidden from others.

Even beauty is the manifestation of Al-Wâjib;

Beneath the niqab, Al-Haqq hides it.

Does the sun ever show its face

To the others in such effulgence?

اِلاَّ مَا ظَهَرَ مِنْهَا10  even though the external ones among those ornaments are covered, the ones that normally appear, such as hands, faces and the outer part of the cover, are exempted from this judgment and subjected to another judgment because the cover itself is an adornment, and normally its outer part will appear, and the hands and face appear in salâh. Abu Dawud narrated that the Prophet (asm) said, “O Asma, when a girl is old enough to menstruate, any part of her should not be seen but this and this,” pointing to his blessed face and hands. The hands will inevitably open as she is working, holding the necessary objects, and even when covering her jilbâb on herself. It is also difficult to cover the face, unlike other parts, due to necessities such as seeing and breathing, and it is necessary to open it when witnessing, in court and for marriage purposes. According to the degree of necessity (dharûrah), there is no harm in opening them, as is determined by Sharîah. However, if there is no necessity (dharûrah), opening them, their being looked at and being seen are haram; they should be hidden from non-mahrams.

It is decreed that 11 مِنْهَا وَلْيَضْرِبْنَ بِخُمُرِهِنَّ عَلٰى جُيُوبِهِنَّ  they should not let their heads, hairs, ears, necks and bosoms open and should cover them tightly, so they should use a head cover (khimar) to fulfil this order. 

Mufassirs narrated that the women of the jahiliyyah12 used to use a head cover (khimar). However, they would tie their head covers (khimar) only around their necks or leave them behind; their bosoms would be opened from the front, and their necks, necklaces and ornaments would be visible. It means that revealing necks and bosoms, which is considered modernity at the present time, was an old symbol (shaâ’er) of the jahiliyyah. Islam prohibited such immodest clothing and commanded women to draw their head covers (khimar) over their bosoms. It is understood that, with this order, a particular form of tasattur is shown, not the form that is wâjib. The order of tasattur is the expression of the woman’s courtesy, grace and purity that sits in the heart. It is also understood that this command does not specify whether this is inside or outside the house; from this aspect, it was commanded in its widest sense. However, after mentioning the exceptional situations and permissible (halal) look to the hidden adornments, in order to express that tasattur is wâjib before non-mahrams and to demonstrate the importance of this wâjib order, it is commanded by reiterating that they should cover themselves; وَلَا يُبْدِينَ زِينَتَهُنَّ they should not show their adornments - not leave them uncovered; اِلاَّ لِبُعُولَتِهِنَّ only their husbands اَوْ اٰبَٓائِهِنَّ  or their fathers, that is, their fathers and grandfathers, and also uncles, since they are unmarriageable اَوْ اٰبَٓاءِ بُعُولَتِهِنَّ or their father-in-laws  اَوْ اَبْنَٓائِهِنَّor their sons اَوْ اَبْنَٓاءِ بُعُولَتِهِنَّ or their husbands’ sons اَوْ اِخْوَانِهِنَّ or their brothers اَوْ بَن۪ٓى اِخْوَانِهِنَّ or their brothers’ sons اَوْ بَن۪ٓى اَخَوَاتِهِنَّ or their sisters’ sons  اَوْ نِسَٓائِهِنَّ or women among them, the mu’min women, that is, Muslim women or women who serve them or women they have a kin relationship with. It means that it is not permissible (jâiz) for them to uncover themselves in front of the stranger women who they do not know well. Most of the former mufassirs said that for the mu’min women, the phrase “women among them” denotes the women who have the same belief with them, so Muslim women should not show themselves to the non-Muslim women.

…

The First: It is halal for the husband to look at the entire body of his wife since it is her ornament (zinat).

The Second: They can show their mahrams the place of their ornaments (zinat), such as their face, hand and feet, and the parts that might be uncovered while working and serving, such as their head, hair, ears, neck, arms and shin. It is halal for her mahrams to look at those parts since they frequently mingle because of kinship, and fitnah is not expected. But showing the belly and the back is not permissible (jâiz); it is being shameless.13

Thirdly: Just like a man's ‘awrah in front of a man, a woman's ‘awrah in front of a woman is from the navel to the knees.

…

Thus, it is very important for the protection of free women as well as for their ‘iffat and frugality that they do not display their ornaments (zinat) except their mahrams. It is also very important from the aspect of affecting the non-mahram men, not causing them to commit sin, and instilling adab and ‘iffat in non-mahram men. Therefore, in order to indicate this point and remind the comprehensiveness of the strength of the command of tasattur again, for correcting the manner of women’s walk, it was decreedوَلاَ يَضْرِبْنَ بِاَرْجُلِهِنَّ لِيُعْلَمَ مَا يُخْف۪ينَ مِنْ ز۪ينَتِهِنَّ , that is, other than covering themselves from head to toe, women should walk with modesty and dignity. They should not move their legs exaggeratingly and tap their feet on the floor in order to reveal their artificial or fitrî ornaments, which they covered and hid. They should not attract the looks to themselves with their attractive walk because it excites men and makes them suspicious.

Âyah (24:31)

 

وَإِذَا سَأَلْتُمُوهُنَّ مَتَـٰعًا  when you need to ask them something necessary and enter their home after asking their permission فَسْـَٔلُوهُنَّ مِن وَرَآءِ حِجَابٍ do it behind a hijâb, that is, a curtain or something that will prevent them from being seen. With the revelation of this âyah, harem, which was not a custom among Arabs until that time, became fardh. ذَٰلِكُمْ entering after asking permission, not staying long and asking your need from behind hijâb أَطْهَرُ لِقُلُوبِكُمْ وَقُلُوبِهِنَّ is purity for the hearts of men and women; that is, you will be protected from the waswasas and thoughts prompted by shaytan; women and men’s feelings such as ‘iffah and chastity will rise; adab, purity, taqwâ and respect increase more.

Âyah (33:53)

 

Jilbab is the name of a robe or outer garment that covers the whole body, like charshaf,

اَلَّذِى يَسْتُرُ مِنْ فَوْقٍ اِلَى اَسْفَلَ  

كُلُّ ثَوْبٍ تَلْبَسُهُ الْمَرْاَةُ فَوْقَ ثِيَابِهَا

اَلْمِلْحَفَةُ وَالْمِقْنَعَةُ

كُلُّ مَا تَسْتُرُ بِهِ مِنْ كِسَاءٍ اَوْغَيْرِه14

It is charshaf and niqab.

يُدْن۪ينَ عَلَيْهِنَّ15  The meaning of the word ادنى is to bring closer, but because it is connected with the word على with a preposition, it includes and expresses the meaning of drawing down and means to cover over one’s self firmly; the expression of covering jilbâb has two aspects: one is to coverthe entire body firmly with jilbâb, and the other is to cover the face with a part of jilbâb.

…

In the riwâyât, it was mentioned that Ummu Salama (ra) said, “When the âyah  يُدْنِينَ عَلَيْهِنَّ مِنْ جَلاَبِيبِهِنَّ16 was revealed, the women of Ansar came out as if they had crows over their heads by wearing outer garments from head to toe.”

Hazrat Aisha (ra) said, “May Allah grant His rahmah to Ansar women. When the âyah  يُدْنِينَ عَلَيْهِنَّ مِنْ جَلاَبِيبِهِنَّ was revealed, they ripped their skirts, wrapped them over their heads and performed salâh behind the rasûl of Allah as if they had crows over their heads.

Âyah (33:59)

As it is well known, all shapes and colours are attractive to the eyes, and the eyes were designed to see, recognise and respond to shapes and colours. As a consequence of this fact, using shapes, colours and decorations on jilbab isprohibited bySharî’ah since they attract attention to themselves.

4. Ibn Jarir Al-Tabarî narrated in his tafsir;

Muhammad bin Sirin said, "I asked ‘Ubaydah As-Salmani about the âyah: 17 يُدْنِينَ عَلَيْهِنَّ مِن جَلَـبِيبِهِنَّ He described the way of covering as follows:

“He held his outer garment and covered his whole body from head to toe. He covered his face and head with it. He just left his left eye showing.”

…

Although non-Muslim women are not obliged to follow the order of tasattur according to the Sharî’ah in the Islamic communities, they are prohibited from engaging in actions that would corrupt social life.

…

The Islamic government applies the rules of Islamic âdâb for social life to everyone, Muslim and non-Muslim, in order to protect social life from fitnah and corruption.

5. Tafsir Al-Jalalayn, the âyah (33:59);

O Prophet! Tell your wives and daughters and the women of the believers to draw their covers closely over themselves (jalâbîb is the plural of jilbâb, which is a wrap that covers a woman totally) — in other words, let them pull part of it (also) over their faces, leaving one eye (visible), when they need to leave (the house) for something.

6. Tafsir of Ibn Al Kathir, the âyah (33:59);

The Command of Hijâb (Tasattur): Here Allah tells His rasûl to command the believing women, especially his wives and daughters, because of their position of honour, to draw their jilbâbs over their bodies, so that they will be distinct in their appearance from the women of the jahiliyyah and from slave women. The Jilbab is a Rida', worn over the Khimar. This was the view of Ibn Mas’ud, ‘Ubaydah, Qatadah, Al-Hasan Al-Basri, Sa‘id bin Jubayr, Ibrahim An-Nakha‘i, ‘Ata' Al-Khurasani and others. It is like the Izar used today. Al-Jawhari said, "The jilbâb is the outer wrapper. ‘Ali bin Abi Talhah reported that Ibn ‘Abbas said that Allah commanded the believing women, when they went out of their houses for some need, to cover their faces from above their heads with the jilbâb, leaving only one eye showing. Muhammad bin Sirin said, “I asked ‘Ubaydah As-Salmani about the âyah يُدْنِينَ عَلَيْهِنَّ مِن جَلَـبِيبِهِنَّ , he covered his face and head, with just his left eye showing.”

Some explanations about the tasattur from fiqh books: ‘Ulamâ of the Four Madhab unanimously agreed that the face is the centre of a woman’s beauty and her most attractive adornment. They stated that the face and hands are not 'awrah unless there is fitnah. But if there is fitnah, Imams of the Four Madhab accepted that the face and hands are 'awrah, and they agreed on opening them to be haram by basing their judgments (ijtihad) upon the many evidences from the Qur’an and the Sunnah, some of which are included in this compilation. In the books of the Four Madhab, fitnah was categorised into two kinds:

1. Fitnah in the community: If the Islamic community is corrupted, immorality is common, unchaste people are widespread and sins are committed openly and freely, covering the face and hands becomes fardh for all Muslim women since the nafs of men who live in such a community would easily incline to sins. It is the principle of Sharî’ah that when fitnah or its signs appear in the community, the rulings based on ‘azimah are applied and rukhsah rulings are abandoned because the first aim of Sharî’ah is to protect the community by reigning individuals’ nafs and protecting them from sinning through forming a barrier against the transgression of fitrah. Bediüzzaman expresses this fundamental principle of Sharî’ah as follows:

The careless and sinners are not to be indulged with rukhsah rulings but are severely warned with ‘azimah rulings.

The Letters-The Seeds of Haqiqah-103

2. Fitnah of a woman’s beauty: If a woman is beautiful to the degree that can attract feelings of passion or desire, it is fardh for her to cover her face even if there is no fitnah in the Islamic community.

Therefore, covering the face and hands is the prevalent viewpoint according to the correct opinion of the Four Mazhab. Uncovering the face is, hence, regarded as lacking tasattur.

1. Al-Hajj Mahmad Zihni - Nimet ül-Islam – The Part on Tasattur and Women:

Tasattur of women is a protection for them; it is their honour and siyadet18. (For a man, siyadet is being a gentleman, lord and master, and for a woman, it is being a lady. It comprises the meanings of khayr and fadhîlah.) The opposite of siyadet is debaseness, falling from being held precious into common goods, being the object of contempt and despise and being morally insignificant because women are the place of men’s transgression, attack and abuse. Being subjected to transgression, attack and abuse is the worst insult. Women’s dignity arises from their chastity; the degree of a woman’s chastity is correlated with how much she avoids from men’s transgression, attack and abuse. There is no other way easier and safer than tasattur for this avoidance.

Tasattur and modesty, that is, veiling and covering, are of two sorts:

First is tasattur in the house, which is women not intermingling (ikhtilat) with non-mahrams and not being seen by them.

Second is tasattur outside of the house, which is to cover and hide her face, whole body from top to bottom (in a way that will hide her beauty and figure) and the dress that she wears at home so as not to be seen by anyone.

The opposite of it is called takashshuf, which means being unveiled, uncovered, exposed and displayed; the extreme degree (ifrât) of takashshuf is called tabazzul, which means being valueless and common, falling underfoot and becoming everyone’s toy.

Women are prohibited from falling into these two states and displaying the figure of their bodies with tight covers to men’s desirous eyes. They can leave their faces, hands and even their feet uncovered while performing the salâh, but they cannot show them to non-mahrams unless there is a dharûrah. It is against the command of Shar’i’ah to uncover the face and reveal the sleeve or skirt from under jilbâb. Tasattur is the commandment of the Qur’an. Undervaluing or negligence about tasattur is a great sin. The expression “Face is not 'awrah” is wrong unless it is used for salâh.

Before Islam and even at the beginning of the period of Islam, Arab women were covering their bodies and using a veil on their heads, but were intermingling with men and were carelessly showing their bosoms and wrists; even women wearing veils would make the anklets on their legs perceived as they walked and stroked their feet on the ground. With the coming of hijâb (tasattur) âyah in the illustrious surah al-ahzab, these were prohibited and women were prohibited from intermingling with men, and they were protected beneath their covers.19 They were ordered to cover and hide from men their dresses, which are considered their adornments; they started to wear charshaf (jilbâb) and cover their faces with niqabs, leaving only their eyes uncovered.

2. Ömer Nasuhi Efendi - Büyük İslâm İlmihali - The discussion on the 'awrah of women:

The whole body of free women except their faces and hands is 'awrah. As for their faces and hands, they are not 'awrah while performing the salâh, and if there is no possibility of fitnah.

3. Konyalı Mehmed Vehbi - Hülasat-ül Beyan:

When a woman who does not wear charshaf (jilbâb) goes out due to necessity, immoral men fall into covetousness. Since they will chase and harass a woman who violates her chastity, Janâb-i Haqq commanded that the women should cover themselves with charshaf (jilbâb) and should be veiled. He declared the hikmah of tasattur as the covered women being shielded from the bad thoughts of people and immoral men’s harassment since a covered woman cannot be identified and recognised20.

For instance, the benefits deduced from this âyah:

1. Tasattur is wâjib for women.

2. They will be saved from harassment and transgressions since non-mahram men cannot identify the woman beneath the cover.

3. The doors to fitnah will be closed through tasattur.

4. Imam Abu Bakr Ibn al-‘Arabi - Arizatul-Ahwathi:

It is wâjib for a woman to cover her face except in Hajj. Therefore, she should let down the veil on her face without letting it stick directly to her face and should turn away from men.

 

اَلْعَارِفُ تَكْفِيهِ اْلاِشَارَةُ

A hint is enough for the wise