The IDEAL MUSLIMAH [The True Islamic Personality of the Muslim Woman]

She wears correct hijab

She wears correct hijab

The Muslim woman wears correct hijab when she goes out of her house. Hijab is the distinctive Islamic dress whose features have been clearly defined by the Quran and Sunnah. She does not go out of the house, or appear before non-mahram men, wearing perfume, make-up or other fineries, because she knows that this is haram according to the Quran: “And say to the believing women that they should lower their gaze and guard their modesty; that they should not display their beauty and ornaments except what [must ordinarily] appear thereof; that they should draw their veils over their bosoms84 and not display their beauty except to their husbands, their fathers, their husbands' fathers, their sons, their husbands' sons, their brothers or their brothers' sons, or their sisters' sons, or their women, or the slaves whom their right hands possess, or male servants free of physical needs, or small children who have no sense of the shame of sex; and that they should not strike their feet in order to draw attention to their hidden ornaments. And O you Believers! Turn all together towards Allaah, that you may attain Bliss.” [Quran 24:31]
The Muslim woman, therefore, is not one of those dressed-but-naked women who abound in societies which have deviated from the guidance of Allaah . She would tremble with fear at the terrifying picture which the Prophet, sallallaahu 'alayhi wa sallam, draw of those painted and adorned temptresses who have gone astray: "There are two types of the people of Hell that I have not seen: people with whips like the tails of oxen, with which they beat the people, and women who are dressed yet still appear naked, who are inclined to evil and make their husbands incline towards it also. Their heads are like the humps of camels, leaning to one side. They will not enter Paradise, or even smell its scent, although its scent can be discerned from such-and-such a distance."85
The Muslim woman who has been truly guided by her faith and has received a sound Islamic education does not wear hijab just because it is a custom or tradition inherited from her mother or grandmother, as some foolish men and women try to describe it with no evidence or logic whatsoever. The Muslim woman wears hijab on the basis of her belief that it is a command from Allaah , revealed to protect the Muslim woman, to make her character distinct, and to keep her away from the slippery slope of immorality and error. So she accepts it willingly and with strong conviction, as the women of the Muhajirin and Ansar accepted it on the day when Allaah revealed His clear and wise command. According to a report narrated by Al-Bukhaari, 'Aa'ishah
(may Allaah be pleased with her) said: "May Allaah have mercy on the Muhajir women. When Allaah revealed “. . . that they should draw their veils over their bosoms . . .” [Quran 24:31], they tore their wrappers and covered their heads and faces with them." According to another report given by Bukhaari, 'Aa'ishah said: "They took their wrappers and tore them at the edges, then covered their heads and faces with them."86 Safiyyah bint Shaybah said: "When we were with 'Aa'ishah (May Allaah be pleased with her), we mentioned the women of Quraysh and their virtues. 'Aa'ishah (May Allaah be pleased with her) said, 'The women of Quraysh are good, but by Allaah I have never seen any better or more strict in their adherence to the Book of Allaah than the women of the Ansar. When Surat al-Nur was revealed – “ . . . that they should draw their veils over their bosoms . . .” – their menfolk went to them and recited to them the words that Allaah had revealed. Each man recited it to his wife, his daughter, his sister and other female relatives. Every woman among them got up, took her wrapper, and wrapped herself up in it out of faith and belief in what Allaah had revealed. They appeared behind the Messenger of Allaah , sallallaahu 'alayhi wa sallam, wrapped up, as if there were crows on their heads."87
May Allaah have mercy on the women of the Muhajirin and the Ansar: how strong their faith was, and how sincere their Islam! How beautiful was their obedience to the truth when it was revealed! Every woman who truly believes in Allaah and His Messenger cannot but follow the example of these virtuous women, so she herself must wear the distinctive Islamic dress with no regard to the nakedness and wanton display that surrounds her. I remember a young university student who wore hijab, whose attitude was no less admirable than that of the women of the Muhajirin and Ansar, may Allaah be pleased with them: when a journalist who was visiting the University of Damascus asked her about her hijab and whether it was not too hot for her in the extreme heat of summer, she responded by quoting: “Say: 'The fire of Hell is fiercer in heat.” [Quran 9:81].