The History of the Hijab

Yesterday was is the very first World Hijab Day! As a Religious Studies PhD who specialises in gender in Hinduism and Islam, I thought I’d for once use my student brain and attempt to give you a brief history of the hjiab – and why it continues to be so controversial in contemporary discourse. [Disclaimer: I am not a Muslim hijabi so am very aware that I have a tenuous right to write on this topic, but I’ll try to include as many hijabi voices as I can.

What is the hijab?

“Hijab” is an Arabic word meaning barrier or partition. In Islam, however, it has come to develop a broader meaning, connoting modest dress and behaviour. 

The most recognisable form of hijab is the head covering that many Muslim women wear. Hijab however goes beyond the head scarf. However, “Modesty” is a very subjective term and thus has come to have very different interpretations across time and place. Some Muslim women wear full-body garments that only expose their eyes (niqab) – or not even their eyes (burqa). Some believe only their hair or their cleavage is compulsory to hide, while others do not observe any special dress rules. In the English speaking world, use of the word hijab has become limited to mean the covering on the head of Muslim woman. (1/9)

Qur’anic Basis

In the Qur’an, both men and women are instructed to act and dress modestly:

“Say to the believing men/That they should lower/Their gaze and guard/Their modest: that will make/For greater purity for them/ 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 [shawl] over/Their bosoms and not display/Their beauty except to…[husbands and male and female family]. W34:30-31 [Ali 904-5).  

In the Qur’an, ‘taking the veil’ means to become Muhammad’s wife  and the custom probably only spread due to the wives’ status as the prime example of good Muslim women. When the Qur'an first mentioned the concept of hijab, it was not as a veil or headscarf, but rather as a barrier or screen: “And when ye ask (the Prophet’s wives) for anything ye want, ask them from before a screen: that makes for greater purity for your hearts and for theirs.” Taken in context, this verse seems to have been primarily intended to give the Prophet's wives some protection against visitors and gossipers.  Gossip and slander were a great concern at the time the verses relating to hijab were revealed. One set of verses (24:1 onwards) came immediately after the Prophet's wife Aisha was accused and acquitted of adultery. 

“O Prophet! Tell/ Thy wives and daughters/And the believing women/That they should cast/Their cloak over/Their persons (when abroad):/ That is most convenient/That they should be known/(As Such) and not molested…” Q33:59-60, Ali 1126-27

The above verse also suggests a very historical reason that the Quran recommends women to be veiled. As Shadaab Rahemtulla notes, when the Quran was being revealed, non-Muslims were ‘harassing women on the streets. This was in large part due to the culture of a slave-owning society, as slaves (who were traditionally uncovered) were seen as open to sexual approach. The Quranic commandment to cover was thus meant to make Muslim women visible to non-Muslim (Jahili) men as sexually unavailable.’ This is supported by verse Q33:59-60. 

The variation in what is considered “appropriate” Islamic attire for women comes in large part due to the ambiguity of the wording (and especially in translation) of verse Q24:31: “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….they should not strike their feet in order to draw attention to their hidden ornaments”. The most basic interpretation of "guard their modesty" is to cover the private parts, which includes the chest in women. However, many scholars interpret this injunction in a more detailed way and use Hadith (recorded sayings of the Prophet Muhammad) to support their views. Zeenah (ornaments) is another word with numerous meanings. It has been interpreted to mean body parts, beauty, fine clothes or literal ornaments like jewellery. The jewellery interpretation is supported by the instruction to women not to stamp their feet to draw attention to themselves. It used to be the practice among Arabian women to wear ankle chains to attract men. Similarly, "what must ordinarily appear thereof" has been interpreted in many different ways. 

Among Muslims who take the word zeenah (ornaments) to refer to body parts, a popular interpretation of this phrase is that women should only show the body parts that are necessary for day-to-day tasks. This is usually taken to be the face and the hands. However, others argue that nothing must be shown as it is possible to do everything (outside of the home) without revealing any part of the body. One example of this is the style of burqa worn by Afghan women even hides the eyes (although note that the second picture is also of historical Afghanistani women). 

 However, others oppose full concealment by arguing that if Allah wanted women to hide their entire bodies, there would have been no need to tell male Muslims to lower their gaze (a part which has unsurprisingly been forgotten in male exegesis). 

The Arabic word awrah refers to the parts of the body which must be covered with clothing. Awrah is any part of the body, for both men and women, which may not be visible to the public. Awrah is interpreted differently depending upon the sex of the company one is in. Most Muslims accept that for men everything between the navel and the knee is awrah and therefore should be covered at all times. Islam highly values modesty even in private, and thus flaunting one’s nakedness is not recommended even in private (except when bathing etc, obviously).  

It is well accepted by most scholars that while praying, women must cover everything except the hands and face and men must be covered at least from the navel to the knee. It is forbidden to cover the face while praying, and while on Hajj – the most holy Islamic pilgrimage. However, some Muslims dispute this and cite hadith in which the Prophet's wives pulled their head coverings over their faces in the presence of unrelated men while on Hajj.

Thus, there is great evidence to support Barlas in arguing that the Quranic concept of veiling applies primarily to the Prophet’s wives and should not be forced upon all women: (Q2:256 “Let there be no compulsion in religion.”). Even where the Qur’an can be seen to advocate the veiling of all women, it is clear that this is largely for the protection of women and the encouragement of modesty among both sexes, rather than for the oppression of women. Similarly, Amina Wadud suggested that in the Quran, hijab is not mandated as a form of dress but rather an encouragement to act with modesty in our behaviour and treatment with others. For example: Q7:6  “The best dress is the dress of taqwa [piety].” 

Historical evolution

Lynn Reese highlights that for the first century of Islam, Muslims were relaxed about female dress. When the son of a prominent companion of the Prophet asked his wife Aisha bint Talha to veil her face, she answered, "Since the Almighty hath put on me the stamp of beauty, it is my wish that the public should view the beauty and thereby recognized His grace unto them. On no account, therefore, will I veil myself."

Historians argue that veiling became widespread largely because the fact that Islam flourished in countries where the veil for women was already customary.  As Islam reached other lands, regional practices, including the covering of the faces of women, were adopted by the early Muslims.  This is supported by Leila Ahmed who points out that veiling and gender segregation were common practice in all middle eastern societies at the time – including Jewish and Christian ones. 

Asma Barlas suggests that Women prayed unveiled in mosques until mosques until the ninth century, while Wadud stresses that the veil was originally worn as a symbol of wealth and power in particular early Muslim contexts. 

While Malise Ruthven suggests that veiling was not a common practice until the 1970-80s  and thus cannot be a fundamental Islamic principle. While this is perhaps a rather late estimation, the Iranian Revolution is one such example of an Islamic nation belatedly trying to enforce veiling on its women. Above, you can see pictures of women rejecting and protesting against this legislation, showing that Muslim women are not subservient and oppressed passive subjects who are easily forced into covering themselves by their husbands or patriarchal society (as the Western media would have you believe). 

The Hijab today

TW: Islamophobia. (I have included some examples of media and political Islamophobia in the photos, but please do not swipe if you feel triggered by this. I feel disgusting even sharing it but I think it’s important to highlight the mainstream discrimination that Muslim women continue to face in Britain and around the world). 

Hijabis are gaining increasing representation in the mainstream media (although this in itself is a really interesting and contentious topic which could be a whole other post.)

The hijab (veil) is often seen as the ultimate symbol of female oppression in Islam, an idea which is greatly disseminated by the British media and far-right politicians such as Nigel Farage (and our dear PM, who referred to women in burqas as “letter boxes”). The Gendered anti-Muslim Attacks: 2018 Report by TellMama  showed that at a street level, women remain the number one victim of anti-Muslim hatred with 58%  of victims being female, re-affirming previous findings over the years, that anti- Muslim hate or Islamophobia at a street level is also male on female abuse in addition to anti-Muslim hatred and bigotry. These attacks are undoubtedly enabled by institutional Islamophobia within the government, media, legal institutions, and international politics. 

However, as we have seen in my previous posts, the idea that the veil symbolises female oppression and an inherent patriarchy in Islam some falls apart under even the slightest scrutiny. Such rhetoric also ignores the fact that there is also a tradition of men covering their faces. There is substantial evidence that the Prophet himself covered his face (Fadwa El Guindi). In certain Islamic cultures, such as the veil-cum-turban of the Tuareg tribes of North Africa, a male veil is a sign of maturity. When a boy becomes a man -  the cloth is wound around his face and head until only his eyes are visible. Sufi mystics in Cairo continue a long tradition of veiling when they go into retreat, to isolate themselves from the world.

As Asma Barlas argues, it was not until around 1285 that Islamic scholars such as al-Baydawi decided that women should be completely covered as the female body and even gaze was a “messenger of fornication”. She writes: ‘While none of the ideas espoused by these exegetes about female bodies derives from the Quran’s teachings, the fact that conservatives continue to cling to them demonstrates their tendency to sacralise works by early Muslim commentators and to universalize what in the Quran can be shown to be specific’. 

Thus, to view the hijab as a symbol of female oppression not only shows a religious and historical ignorance of facts, but also diminishes a woman’s agency in deciding how to dress and how to express her religiousity, Muslim women choose to wear the veil for a number of reasons, of which religious obligation may only be one. As Barlas and Rahemtulla suggest, the hijab should be viewed as having “become an empowering symbol of protest, of asserting ‘independence, visibility, and difference”. In short: STOP TELLING WOMEN WHAT TO WEAR. A woman’s wardrobe (and her relationship with God) is her choice and her business alone - no religion, culture, historical tradition, fake feminism, or nationalist agenda changes that. 

As I said in post #1, I do not wish to speak for Muslim women for whom their relationship with their hijab, other form of veil, or decision not to wear one at all is a deeply personal and individual matter. I hope that this has shed some light on the history of the hijab and the struggles that Muslim women continue to face as their attire continues to be judged by their religious scholars, their communities, their governments, and their societies at large. I am lucky enough to have some amazing Muslim women in my life who have shaped me and who I continue to learn from on a daily basis, but I have included a list below of some great books which informed this series and which I found really inspiring and enlightening in seeking to understand the hijab in its spiritual, historical, and cultural forms:

Ahmed, Leila (1992).  Women and Gender in Islam: Historical Roots of a Modern Debate. New Haven: Yale University Press.

Barlas, Asma (2019). Believing Women in Islam: Unreading Patriarchal Interpretations of the Quran (Revised Edition). London: Saqi Books.

Khan, Miriam (2019). It's Not About the Burqa: Muslim Women on Faith, Feminism, Sexuality and Race.

Rahemtulla, Shadaab (2018). Qur’an of the Oppressed: Liberation Theology and Gender Justice in Islam. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Wadud, Amina (1999). Qur’an and Women Reading the Sacred Text From a Woman’s Perspective. Oxford: Oxford University Press.