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Hijab, what the Quran says and how to wear it.

The two ayat on hijab in Arabic with transliteration and translation, what each madhhab says, the conditions of modest dress, and four hijab styles explained step by step.

Square scarf, folded into a triangle

  1. Put on an underscarf or cap first, so the hair stays in and the scarf does not slip.
  2. Fold a large square scarf corner to corner into a triangle.
  3. Place the long edge across your forehead, with the point hanging down your back.
  4. Bring the two ends under your chin and pin them together snugly, but not tight on the throat.
  5. Take the ends over the opposite shoulders, or back around the head, and pin. Spread the front so it covers the chest.

Long rectangular scarf (shayla)

  1. Put on an underscarf.
  2. Drape the scarf over your head so one side hangs much longer than the other.
  3. Pin the two sides together under the chin.
  4. Wrap the long side around the front of the face and over the top of the head, or around the back of the neck.
  5. Pin it at the side of the head or the shoulder, and let the rest fall over the chest. This style is common in the UAE and the Gulf, often with an abaya.

Two-piece (Al-Amira)

  1. Put on the tube cap, which holds the hair.
  2. Pull the second piece, a tube of soft jersey, over the head.
  3. Adjust it so the face opening is neat and the front covers the chest and the back of the neck.
  4. No pins are needed, which makes it good for children, sport and beginners.

Khimar (cape style)

  1. Pull the khimar over the head. It is one piece with a face opening, like a short cape.
  2. Settle it so it falls over the chest, shoulders and back, often to the waist or longer.
  3. It covers the chest fully, as Quran 24:31 describes, and needs no pins. Many women wear it for salah too.

Hijab should

Cover
Hair, neck, ears, chest
Be thick
Not see-through
Be loose
Not shaped to the body
Not draw attention
Modest, unperfumed

Practical tips

  • Jersey grips well and needs fewer pins; chiffon and silk slip, so use an underscarf.
  • Pin away from the throat, or use magnets.
  • Keep a bun low, not piled high on the head.

Pick a style to see the steps. Your choice is saved on this device only.

Guide

Hijab, the verses and the rulings.

Hijab means covering. For a Muslim woman it means covering her hair and body, except what the scholars exclude, in front of men who are not her mahram. All four Sunni madhhabs agree that covering the hair, neck and body is obligatory from puberty. They differ on whether the face and hands must also be covered. The two main ayat are Quran 24:31 and 33:59.

What the Quran says

وَقُل لِّلْمُؤْمِنَٰتِ يَغْضُضْنَ مِنْ أَبْصَٰرِهِنَّ وَيَحْفَظْنَ فُرُوجَهُنَّ وَلَا يُبْدِينَ زِينَتَهُنَّ إِلَّا مَا ظَهَرَ مِنْهَا ۖ وَلْيَضْرِبْنَ بِخُمُرِهِنَّ عَلَىٰ جُيُوبِهِنَّ ۖ وَلَا يُبْدِينَ زِينَتَهُنَّ إِلَّا لِبُعُولَتِهِنَّ أَوْ ءَابَآئِهِنَّ أَوْ ءَابَآءِ بُعُولَتِهِنَّ أَوْ أَبْنَآئِهِنَّ أَوْ أَبْنَآءِ بُعُولَتِهِنَّ أَوْ إِخْوَٰنِهِنَّ أَوْ بَنِىٓ إِخْوَٰنِهِنَّ أَوْ بَنِىٓ أَخَوَٰتِهِنَّ أَوْ نِسَآئِهِنَّ أَوْ مَا مَلَكَتْ أَيْمَٰنُهُنَّ أَوِ ٱلتَّٰبِعِينَ غَيْرِ أُو۟لِى ٱلْإِرْبَةِ مِنَ ٱلرِّجَالِ أَوِ ٱلطِّفْلِ ٱلَّذِينَ لَمْ يَظْهَرُوا۟ عَلَىٰ عَوْرَٰتِ ٱلنِّسَآءِ ۖ وَلَا يَضْرِبْنَ بِأَرْجُلِهِنَّ لِيُعْلَمَ مَا يُخْفِينَ مِن زِينَتِهِنَّ ۚ وَتُوبُوٓا۟ إِلَى ٱللَّهِ جَمِيعًا أَيُّهَ ٱلْمُؤْمِنُونَ لَعَلَّكُمْ تُفْلِحُونَ

Wa qul lilmu'minaati yaghdudna min absaarihinna wa yahfazna furoojahunna wa laa yubdeena zeenatahunna illaa maa zahara minhaa walyadribna bikhumurihinna 'alaa juyoobihinna wa laa yubdeena zeenatahunna illaa libu'oolatihinna aw aabaaa'i hinna aw aabaaa'i bu'oolati hinna aw abnaaa'ihinaa aw abnaaa'i bu'oolatihinnna aw ikhwaanihinnna aw baneee ikhwaanihinna aw banee akhawaatihinna aw nisaaa'i hinna aw maa malakat aimaanuhunna awit taabi'eena ghairi ilil irbati minar rijaali awit tiflillazeena lam yazharoo 'alaa 'awraatin nisaaa'i wala yadribnna bi arjulihinna min zeenatihinn; wa toobooo ilallaahi jammee'an aiyuhal mu'minoona la'allakum tuflihoon

"And tell the believing women to reduce [some] of their vision and guard their private parts and not expose their adornment except that which [necessarily] appears thereof and to wrap [a portion of] their headcovers over their chests and not expose their adornment except to their husbands, their fathers, their husbands' fathers, their sons, their husbands' sons, their brothers, their brothers' sons, their sisters' sons, their women, that which their right hands possess, or those male attendants having no physical desire, or children who are not yet aware of the private aspects of women. And let them not stamp their feet to make known what they conceal of their adornment. And turn to Allah in repentance, all of you, O believers, that you might succeed."

Quran 24:31, translation by Sahih International. The khimar (headcover) is drawn over the chest (jayb), so the neck and chest are covered too.

يَٰٓأَيُّهَا ٱلنَّبِىُّ قُل لِّأَزْوَٰجِكَ وَبَنَاتِكَ وَنِسَآءِ ٱلْمُؤْمِنِينَ يُدْنِينَ عَلَيْهِنَّ مِن جَلَٰبِيبِهِنَّ ۚ ذَٰلِكَ أَدْنَىٰٓ أَن يُعْرَفْنَ فَلَا يُؤْذَيْنَ ۗ وَكَانَ ٱللَّهُ غَفُورًۭا رَّحِيمًۭا

Yaaa aiyuhan Nabiyyu qul li azwaajika wa banaatika wa nisaaa'il mu'mineena yudneena 'alaihinna min jalaabee bihinn; zaalika adnaaa ai yu'rafna falaa yu'zain; wa kaanal laahu Ghafoorar Raheemaa

"O Prophet, tell your wives and your daughters and the women of the believers to bring down over themselves [part] of their outer garments. That is more suitable that they will be known and not be abused. And ever is Allah Forgiving and Merciful."

Quran 33:59, translation by Sahih International. The jilbab is an outer garment worn over the clothes.

Is hijab obligatory?

Yes, in all four madhhabs and by the consensus of the classical scholars, based on these ayat and the practice of the women of the Companions. Aishah praised the first women who emigrated to Madinah: when 24:31 was revealed, they tore their wraps and covered themselves with them.1 It begins at puberty. Not wearing it is a sin, not disbelief, and a woman who is still working towards it should be helped kindly, not shamed.

The face and the hands

Hanafi position

The face and hands (and the feet) are not awrah, following Ibn Abbas, who explained "except that which appears" as the face and the hands. But later Hanafi scholars, such as Ibn Abidin, say a young woman should cover her face in front of non-mahram men because of the fear of fitnah, and many Hanafi scholars in South Asia hold covering the face to be necessary in our times.2

Other madhhabs
Shafi'i
In the relied-upon view, covering the face and hands in front of non-mahram men is obligatory, because of looking, even though they are not awrah in salah.
Maliki
The face and hands are not awrah, and covering them is not required, though it is recommended, and required where there is fear of fitnah.
Hanbali
In the relied-upon view, the face and hands are awrah in front of non-mahram men, so covering them (the niqab) is obligatory.

The conditions of hijab

  • It covers all of the awrah: the hair, ears, neck and chest, the arms to the wrists, and the body to the ankles.
  • It is thick, not see-through.
  • It is loose, not tight enough to show the body's shape.
  • It is not an attraction in itself, loud or flashy, and is not perfumed when going out among men.
  • It does not imitate men's clothing.

The Prophet ﷺ described women "clothed yet naked" whose heads are like the humps of camels, warning against clothing that reveals and hair piled up high on the head.3

Where hijab is not needed

At home among women and in front of her mahram relatives, such as her father, brothers and sons, a woman does not need hijab, though she still covers from the navel to the knees and the stomach and back. In salah she covers everything except the face, hands and feet, even when alone. See awrah for men and women.

Hijab is also for men

Modesty is asked of men first: the ayah before 24:31 tells believing men to lower their gaze and guard their private parts. Men cover from the navel to the knees, and dress decently.

  1. Sahih al-Bukhari, from Aishah, in the tafsir of Surah an-Nur.
  2. Ibn Abidin, Radd al-Muhtar 1/406; al-Haskafi, ad-Durr al-Mukhtar; the tafsir of Ibn Abbas is reported by at-Tabari and Ibn Abi Shaybah. The other madhhabs' positions are summarised from their standard manuals.
  3. Sahih Muslim 2128, from Abu Hurayrah.

The rulings on this page are pending review by the scholars on our team.

Questions

Good to know.

Where does the Quran mention hijab?

Mainly in Surah An-Nur 24:31, which tells believing women to draw their headcovers over their chests, and Surah Al-Ahzab 33:59, which tells them to draw their outer garments over themselves.

Is hijab mandatory in Islam?

Yes. All four madhhabs agree that a Muslim woman must cover her hair and body in front of non-mahram men from puberty. They differ only on the face and hands.

Is the niqab compulsory?

In the Hanafi and Maliki schools the face is not awrah, but later Hanafi scholars say it should be covered where there is fear of fitnah. In the relied-upon Shafi'i and Hanbali views, covering the face is obligatory.

At what age should a girl wear hijab?

From puberty it is obligatory. Many families encourage girls to start a little earlier, gently, so it feels natural.

Can I read the Quran without hijab?

Covering the head is not a condition for reading the Quran, though it is good manners. It is required for salah.

How do I keep my hijab from slipping?

Wear an underscarf or cap, choose a fabric with grip such as jersey, and pin it at the side of the head as well as under the chin.