Short answer
There is no age at which hijab ends. The Quran gives older women, past menopause and with no expectation of marriage, an easing: they may set aside their outer garment, such as the cloak, as long as they do not show adornment. The head and body stay covered, and the Quran says that keeping covered is still better for them.
An elderly woman who is no longer desired may lay aside the outer covering (the jilbab, and the face veil where it is worn) before non-mahram men, but her hair, neck and body remain awrah. In prayer her awrah is the same as any woman's.
The four schools agree on this.
Explanation
Allah says that older women who are past menstruation and have no desire for marriage are not blamed for putting aside their outer garments, as long as they do not display their adornment, and that holding back is better for them. This is a mercy for women whose age and situation make fitnah unlikely.
What can be set aside. The early commentators explained the garments in this verse as the outer cloak (jilbab) worn over normal clothes. So the scholars say an elderly woman may go without the outer layer and, where the face veil is worn, may relax it. They do not read the verse as allowing her to uncover her hair, arms or body before strangers, because those are awrah at every age.
The conditions in the verse:
- Past menopause, with no expectation of marriage. A woman in her fifties who is still sought for marriage is not in this group.
- No display of adornment: no makeup, jewellery or styled hair on show.
- Keeping covered is better: the verse itself ends by saying restraint is better for them.
Prayer does not change. A woman's awrah in salah is the same at every age, so an older woman still covers her hair and body to pray. See do you need hijab to pray at home. For when hijab begins, see at what age should a girl wear hijab.
The evidence
Quran, Surah An-Noor 24:60
وَٱلْقَوَٰعِدُ مِنَ ٱلنِّسَآءِ ٱلَّٰتِى لَا يَرْجُونَ نِكَاحًۭا فَلَيْسَ عَلَيْهِنَّ جُنَاحٌ أَن يَضَعْنَ ثِيَابَهُنَّ غَيْرَ مُتَبَرِّجَٰتٍۭ بِزِينَةٍۢ ۖ وَأَن يَسْتَعْفِفْنَ خَيْرٌۭ لَّهُنَّ ۗ وَٱللَّهُ سَمِيعٌ عَلِيمٌۭ ﴿٦٠﴾
And women of post-menstrual age who have no desire for marriage - there is no blame upon them for putting aside their outer garments [but] not displaying adornment. But to modestly refrain [from that] is better for them. And Allah is Hearing and Knowing.
Gives elderly women an easing in the outer garment, while keeping covered is better.
Where the ruling is recorded
- Tafsir al-Qurtubi, Commentary on Surah al-Nur 24:60. Reports from Ibn Masud and others that the garments set aside are the outer cloak and wrap.
- al-Hidaya, Kitab al-Karahiyya, chapter on looking and touching. Rulings on looking that are lighter for the elderly where desire is absent.
Checked by our team. For a more accurate answer to your own situation, consult a scholar. Quran translation by Sahih International. Hadith Arabic from the standard editions of the six books and the Muwatta, with gradings as recorded there; the English is our own rendering. Spotted a mistake? Tell us.