Surah Al-Ahzab, ayah 59: "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..." Read it in Arabic with transliteration and the Sahih International translation, with the ayah before and after it, and listen to it recited.
وَٱلَّذِينَ يُؤْذُونَ ٱلْمُؤْمِنِينَ وَٱلْمُؤْمِنَٰتِ بِغَيْرِ مَا ٱكْتَسَبُوا۟ فَقَدِ ٱحْتَمَلُوا۟ بُهْتَٰنًۭا وَإِثْمًۭا مُّبِينًۭا ﴿٥٨﴾
Wallazeena yu'zoonal mu'mineena almu'manaati bighairi mak tasaboo faqadih tamaloo buhtaananw wa ismam mubeenaa
And those who harm believing men and believing women for [something] other than what they have earned have certainly born upon themselves a slander and manifest sin.
يَٰٓأَيُّهَا ٱلنَّبِىُّ قُل لِّأَزْوَٰجِكَ وَبَنَاتِكَ وَنِسَآءِ ٱلْمُؤْمِنِينَ يُدْنِينَ عَلَيْهِنَّ مِن جَلَٰبِيبِهِنَّ ۚ ذَٰلِكَ أَدْنَىٰٓ أَن يُعْرَفْنَ فَلَا يُؤْذَيْنَ ۗ وَكَانَ ٱللَّهُ غَفُورًۭا رَّحِيمًۭا ﴿٥٩﴾
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.
۞ لَّئِن لَّمْ يَنتَهِ ٱلْمُنَٰفِقُونَ وَٱلَّذِينَ فِى قُلُوبِهِم مَّرَضٌۭ وَٱلْمُرْجِفُونَ فِى ٱلْمَدِينَةِ لَنُغْرِيَنَّكَ بِهِمْ ثُمَّ لَا يُجَاوِرُونَكَ فِيهَآ إِلَّا قَلِيلًۭا ﴿٦٠﴾
La'il lam yantahil munaafiqoona wallazeena fee quloobihim maradunw walmur jifoona fil madeenati lanughri yannaka bihim summa laa yujaawiroonaka feehaaa illaa qaleela
If the hypocrites and those in whose hearts is disease and those who spread rumors in al-Madinah do not cease, We will surely incite you against them; then they will not remain your neighbors therein except for a little.
Arabic: Tanzil, Uthmani script. English: Sahih International. Audio: EveryAyah. Transliteration is a learning aid; read from the Arabic when you can.
Meaning and lessons
This ayah was revealed in Madinah. Allah tells the Prophet ﷺ to instruct his wives, his daughters and the believing women to draw their outer garments (jalabib, the cloak worn over ordinary clothes) over themselves when they go out. Ibn Kathir explains the reason the ayah itself gives: so that they are known as free, believing women and are not harassed. He reports that some troublemakers in Madinah used to accost women who went out at night, and this covering marked the believing women out and protected them.
The ayah ends by reminding that Allah is Forgiving and Merciful, for anything that came before. How much of the face the jilbab must cover is a known difference among the scholars, which Ibn Kathir also reports: some of the early commentators said it covers the face, others that it covers the head and chest.
Summarised in our own words from Tafsir Ibn Kathir, on Quran 33:59. Translation of the ayah: Sahih International.
Hanafi scholars hold that a woman's face and hands are not awrah, but later Hanafi authorities, such as Ibn Abidin, say a young woman should cover her face in front of non-mahram men where there is fear of fitnah.
Ayah 59 of Surah Al-Ahzab (الأَحۡزَابِ), "The Clans", surah 33 of the Quran, a Medinan surah of 73 ayat revealed in Madinah. It is in juz 22 (para 22), hizb 43, on page 426 of the standard Madinah mushaf. People search for it as 33/59, 33 59 or Quran 33 59.
More verses on this theme: Quran verses about women.
The rulings on this page are pending review by the scholars on our team.
Questions
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. (Sahih International)
This ayah was revealed in Madinah. Allah tells the Prophet ﷺ to instruct his wives, his daughters and the believing women to draw their outer garments (jalabib, the cloak worn over ordinary clothes) over themselves when they go out. Ibn Kathir explains the reason the ayah itself gives: so that they are known as free, believing women and are not harassed. He reports that some troublemakers in Madinah used to accost women who went out at night, and this covering marked the believing women out and protected them.
It is in Surah Al-Ahzab, surah 33 of the Quran, in juz 22 (para 22), on page 426 of the Madinah mushaf.
The ayah before, 33:58, says: "And those who harm believing men and believing women for [something] other than what they have earned have certainly born upon themselves a slander and manifest sin." The ayah after, 33:60, says: "If the hypocrites and those in whose hearts is disease and those who spread rumors in al-Madinah do not cease, We will surely incite you against them; then they will not remain your neighbors therein except for a little."