Short answer
A hijab is a scarf covering the hair, neck and chest. A niqab is a face veil that leaves the eyes open. A burqa is a full outer garment covering the face with a mesh over the eyes. An abaya or jilbab is a loose robe worn over clothes. Islam requires the covering, not one particular garment.
Covering the whole body except the face and hands (and, on the relied view, the feet) in front of non-mahram men is fard. The face is not awrah in itself, but later Hanafi scholars say a young woman should cover it before non-mahram men because of fitnah. A burqa is one way of meeting this, not a required garment.
Other madhhabs
- Shafi'i
- On the relied-upon view, covering the face in front of non-mahram men is obligatory.
- Hanbali
- On the relied-upon view, the face is awrah before non-mahram men, so a face veil is obligatory.
- Maliki
- The face and hands need not be covered, though covering is recommended and required where there is fear of fitnah.
Explanation
The Quran sets the goal rather than the garment: women draw their head covers over their chests and draw their outer garments over themselves. Different cultures meet that goal in different ways:
- Hijab or khimar: a scarf over the hair, ears, neck and chest. In everyday English "hijab" means this scarf, though in fiqh it means the whole covering.
- Abaya or jilbab: a loose outer robe over normal clothes, so the shape of the body does not show.
- Niqab: a cloth over the face with an opening for the eyes, worn with a scarf and abaya.
- Burqa: a single garment covering head to foot, including the face, with a mesh panel for the eyes. It is common in Afghanistan and parts of South Asia.
- Chador: a large open cloak held closed by hand, common in Iran.
Which of these is required? Covering the hair, neck, arms, legs and figure is fard by agreement. Whether the face must be covered is where the schools differ, as summarised above. The niqab was worn in the time of the Prophet ﷺ, which is why he told women in ihram not to wear it. See is niqab compulsory for the Hanafi detail.
Whatever you wear, the conditions are the same: it covers the awrah, it is loose and not see-through, and it is not itself an eye-catching display. Our hijab guide shows styles, and awrah for men and women sets out the limits.
The evidence
Quran, Surah An-Noor 24:31
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 ﴿٣١﴾
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.
The khimar covers the head and chest.
Quran, Surah Al-Ahzaab 33:59
يَٰٓأَيُّهَا ٱلنَّبِىُّ قُل لِّأَزْوَٰجِكَ وَبَنَاتِكَ وَنِسَآءِ ٱلْمُؤْمِنِينَ يُدْنِينَ عَلَيْهِنَّ مِن جَلَٰبِيبِهِنَّ ۚ ذَٰلِكَ أَدْنَىٰٓ أَن يُعْرَفْنَ فَلَا يُؤْذَيْنَ ۗ وَكَانَ ٱللَّهُ غَفُورًۭا رَّحِيمًۭا ﴿٥٩﴾
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.
The jilbab is an outer garment drawn over the clothes.
Sahih al-Bukhari 1838
Sahih... لا تنتقب المرأة المحرمة ولا تلبس القفازين ...
"A woman in ihram should not wear the niqab or gloves."
Shows that the niqab was known and worn by Muslim women at the time.
Where the ruling is recorded
- al-Hidaya, Kitab al-Karahiyya, chapter on looking and touching. A free woman's body is awrah except her face and hands.
- Radd al-Muhtar (Ibn Abidin), Kitab al-Salah, conditions of prayer, covering the awrah. A young woman is stopped from uncovering her face before men because of fitnah, not because it is awrah.
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.