Hijab

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What does Hijab mean?

Hijab (حِجَاب) literally means "barrier," "screen" or "partition." It comes from the Arabic root ḥ-j-b, to block from view or keep apart. In the Quran the word describes curtains and dividing walls. In everyday use today it usually means the headscarf many Muslim women wear, and more broadly the Islamic standard of modest dress and conduct.

So when someone asks "what does hijab mean," there are two honest answers: the dictionary meaning (a screen) and the modern meaning (a head covering).

Hijab root and related words

You can see every Quranic word from this root on the Quranic Arabic Corpus. The idea running through all of them is something that stands between you and what is behind it.

How the Quran uses the word hijab

In the Quran, hijab is never the name of a garment. It is a barrier between people, places or even light:

• A screen in the Prophet's home. "And when you ask [his wives] for something, ask them from behind a partition. That is purer for your hearts and their hearts." (Quran 33:53) This is often called "the verse of hijab."
• A wall in the Hereafter. "And between them will be a partition [i.e., wall]" between the people of Paradise and the Fire. (Quran 7:46)
• Maryam's seclusion. "And she took, in seclusion from them, a screen." (Quran 19:17)
• How Allah speaks to people. Allah speaks to a human only "by revelation or from behind a partition or that He sends a messenger." (Quran 42:51)
• Nightfall. In Sulaiman's story, daylight ends "until it [i.e., the sun] disappeared into the curtain [of darkness]." (Quran 38:32)

The same root appears in Quran 83:15, where the deniers "from their Lord, that Day, they will be partitioned" (maḥjūbūn).

Verses about women's covering

The verses scholars cite for how women dress use two other words, khimar and jilbab.

Quran 24:31 tells believing women "not expose their adornment except that which [necessarily] appears thereof and to wrap [a portion of] their headcovers over their chests." The word for headcovers is khumur, the plural of khimar. The verse then lists the relatives, the mahram, in front of whom this adornment may show.

Quran 33:59 tells the Prophet's wives, daughters and the believing women "to bring down over themselves [part] of their outer garments. That is more suitable that they will be known and not be abused." Outer garments here is jalabib, the plural of jilbab.

Aisha described how the early women responded to 24:31: when it was revealed, "they tore their Murut (woolen dresses or waist-binding clothes or aprons etc.) and covered their heads and faces with those torn Muruts," in the sunnah.com translation of Sahih al-Bukhari 4758. Scholars read "faces" in that report differently, which feeds into the niqab discussion below.

A hadith often quoted on this topic has the Prophet ﷺ tell Asma that after puberty nothing should be seen of a woman "except this and this," pointing to his face and hands (Sunan Abi Dawud 4104). Abu Dawud himself notes the chain is broken (mursal). Al-Albani graded it sahih through supporting routes, while Zubair Ali Zai graded it da'if, so scholars weigh it differently.

Hijab for men

Modesty in Islam is not only for women. The verse before the khimar verse speaks to men: "Tell the believing men to reduce [some] of their vision and guard their private parts. That is purer for them." (Quran 24:30) Men also have an awrah to cover and are asked to dress and behave with haya, the inner modesty that the outer dress is meant to reflect.

Types of hijab and modest garments

The words below get used loosely, and styles vary by country. These are general descriptions, not rulings.

For how these are worn day to day, see hijab styles and modest fashion.

What scholars say about hijab

Covering the hair. The four Sunni madhabs, Hanafi, Maliki, Shafi'i and Hanbali, agree that an adult woman covers her hair in front of non-mahram men, and scholars often describe this as a matter of consensus (ijma). They treat it as fard. The same covering is required in salah.

Covering the face. Here the schools differ. The Hanafi and Maliki schools generally hold that the face and hands are not awrah, so a niqab is recommended rather than required. A well-known Hanbali position, and many Shafi'i scholars, hold that the face should also be covered in front of non-mahram men.

Modern views. Some contemporary writers argue that 24:31 and 33:59 set a general standard of modesty without specifying hair. This is a minority view that departs from the classical schools.

However people land on these questions, wearing or not wearing a hijab is between a person and Allah, and judging someone by their scarf is not part of the teaching. For the fuller picture, read hijab in Islam: meaning, purpose and practice.

Related terms

• Niqab: the face veil, and where scholars differ.
• Awrah: the parts of the body men and women cover.
• Mahram: the relatives listed in 24:31. See also what mahram means in Islam.
• Modest dress in Islam: clothing guidelines for men and women.
• What is haya in Islam?: the modesty behind the dress.
• Women in Islamic history: the women of the first generations.

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