Loading AI tools
Long loose garment worn by some Muslim women From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The term jilbāb (also jilbaab, jubbah or jilaabah) (Arabic: جِلْبَاب) refers to any long and loose-fit coat or outer garment worn by some Muslim women. Wearers believe that this definition of jilbāb fulfills the Quranic choice for a hijab. The jilbāb is also known as chador by Persian speakers in Iran and Afghanistan. The modern jilbāb covers the entire body. Some women will also cover the hands with gloves and the face along with a niqāb. In recent years, a short visor is often included to protect the face from the tropical sun.
 | This article contains too many or overly lengthy quotations. (November 2023) |
_comprando_en_el_bazar.jpg)
A mention of the plural term of jilbāb, jalabib, is found in the Qur'an, verse 33:59 (Surah Al-Ahzab). A popular translation by Yusuf Ali of the transliterated Arabic goes:
Yā 'ay-yuha n-Nabiy-yu qul li'azwājika wabanātika wa nisā'i l-mu'minīna yudnīna 'alayhin-na min jalābībihin-na; dhālika adnā an yu'rafna falā yu'dhayn. Wakāna l-lāhu Ghafūra(n) r-Rahīmā(n)
O Prophet! Tell thy wives and daughters, and the believing women, that they should cast their [jalabib] (Jilbabs) over their persons (when abroad): that is most convenient, that they should be known (as such) and not molested. And Allah is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful.
This is the following from the Quran which explains how a Muslim woman must act and dress:
Tell the believing men that they shall subdue their eyes (and not stare at the women), and to maintain their chastity. This is purer for them. God is fully Cognizant of everything they do. And tell the believing women to subdue their eyes, and maintain their chastity. They shall not reveal any parts of their bodies, except that which necessarily appears thereof. They shall cover their chests, and shall not relax this code in the presence of other than their husbands, their fathers, the fathers of their husbands, their sons, the sons of their husbands, their brothers, the sons of their brothers, the sons of their sisters, other women, the male servants or employees whose sexual drive has been nullified, or the children who have not reached puberty. They shall not strike their feet when they walk in order to shake and reveal certain details of their bodies. All of you shall repent to God, O you believers, that you may succeed.
— Quran 24:30–31
A number of hadith commenting on the above verse of the Qur'an (33:59) mention the jilbāb.
Narrated Umm Salamah, Ummul Mu'minin: When the verse "That they should cast their outer garments over their persons" was revealed, the women of Ansar came out as if they had crows over their heads by wearing outer garments.
— Sunan Abi Dawud, Book 33, Number #4090 (Classified as 'Sahih' by Al-Albani)
Narrated Umm Atiyya: We were ordered to bring out our menstruating women and screened women to the religious gatherings and invocation of the Muslims on the two Eid festivals. These menstruating women were to keep away from the musalla. A woman asked, "O Messenger of Allah! What about one who does not have a jilbab?". He said, "Let her borrow the jilbab of her companion".
— Sahih Bukhari, Book 8, #347
Since there are no pictures of 7th-century jilbāb, nor any surviving garments, it is not at all clear if the modern jilbāb is the same garment as that referred to in the Qur'an. In general terms, jilbāb is a garment/sheet that is worn on the head, draped around the body and that totally covers the body of the woman.
The root of the word "Jilbab" itself is [جلب]. According to Mu'jam Maqayees Al-Lugha by Ibn Faris, the root has two meanings:
[Two meanings]: One of them is the arrival with something from place to place, and the other is something that covers something...[1]
The word "Jilbab" expresses both of these meanings, as the outer garment itself is used to cover from head to toe, hence the arrival with something [i.e., the cloth] from place [the head] to place [the feet]. It is also used to cover a woman, hence its secondary meaning. The etymology of the word "Jilbab" is exaggerated. The word's Maṣdar is "jalbeb" [جلْبَب], and there's a long vowel alif in the middle of the word to add emphasis to the meaning. Due to this emphasis from the vowel, the word then linguistically refers to a full-body cover, or a one-piece that covers the entire body and does not expose even a bit of it. This is also why past scholars, such as Ibn Hazm, the great Zahiri jurist, described the Jilbab as something that covers the entire body:
...The jilbab, in the Arabic language, with which the Messenger of God, may God bless him and grant him peace, addressed us [i.e., the same Arabic that was spoken by him and in which the Quran was revealed, namely Classical Arabic], is what covers the entire body, not just some of it [or a part of it]...[2]
According to Al-Shawkani, another famous jurist that denied Qiyas and had Zahiri leanings, he relates in his book Fath Al-Qadeer on his commentary of Quran 33:59 the opinions of some scholars on the extent of the Jilbab. It is obvious that some pre-modern scholars don't take the linguistic approach when defining the Jilbab:
...Al-Jawhari said: It [the Jilbab] is a Milhafa [a bed cover that is used to cover the body]. It is also said that it is a Qanna' [something that covers all or part of the face to hide it]. It is also said that it is a garment that covers a woman's body completely, as is affirmed in an authentic Hadith from Umm Atiyyah, that she said: "Oh, Messenger of God! One of us [from amongst the women] do not have a jilbab", so he said, "Let her sister clothe her from her Jilbab."... Al-Wahidi said: "The commentators [in defining the Jilbab] said: 'The women must cover their faces and heads except for one eye'"... Al-Hasan said: "It [the Jilbab] covers half of the face"...[3]
What is interesting are the views of the Zahiri jurists, or at least those who were Zahiri-leaning. According to both Al-Shawkani and Ibn Hazm, the face and hands of the woman are not considered Awrah. However, when interpreting Quran 33:59, Al-Shawkani is of the view that, although a woman's face and hands aren't Awrah, they still have to be covered with the Jilbab. Ibn Hazm implies the same view with his interpretation of the jilbab, although he never fully and clearly explained if a woman's face and hands should be covered with it. Al-Shawkani was of the view that a woman must cover her face with a Jilbab in front of non-Mahram men, and he takes this from a Hadith about pilgrimage and comments about its meaning. He also provides the views of both Ahmad ibn Hanbal and Al-Shafi'i:
...[A'isha said:] "The caravan would pass by us while we were with the Messenger of God, may God bless him and grant him peace, in a state of consecration (i.e., during the pilgrimage). When they came close to us, one of us would lower her jilbab from her head over her face, and when they passed by us, we would uncover it."...
[Al-Shawkani comments:] Ahmad held on to this Hadith, and he said: "She should only let it hang down over her head", and he used this hadith as evidence that it is permissible for a woman, when she needs to cover her face from men passing closely by her, to hang her garment over her head onto her face. Because a woman needs to cover her face, it is not absolutely forbidden for her to cover it [during Ihram, when covering with the Niqab, or full-face veil, is forbidden for a woman], unlike the Awrah, but when she lets it hang down, the garment should be away from her face so that it does not touch her skin. This is what the followers of Imam Shafi'i and others said.
The apparent [Zahir/literal] meaning of the hadith contradicts this because the hanging garment is almost free from skin being touched. If avoidance was a condition, the Prophet - peace be upon him - would have clarified it...[4]
Also, in Nayl Al-Awtar, Al-Shawkani made it clear that there was agreement between Muslims that Muslim women shouldn't go out uncovered:
The agreement of the Muslims to prevent women from going out with uncovered faces...[5]
Elsewhere, when asked about when women should cover their faces, Al-Shawkani said:
As for covering the face of a woman, they used to uncover their faces when it was not obligatory to cover them, and they would cover them when there was someone from whom it was obligatory to cover.[6]
Based on the Hadith provided by Al-Shawkani with Aisha and the oncoming caravan, it seems that the jilbab has an opening for both the hands and the face, as the women were able to bring down a portion of their jilbabs down over their faces, and their faces were exposed. This is also what is implied in the command in verse 59 of Surah Al-Ahzab:
O Prophet! Tell your wives and your daughters and the women of the believers to draw close [yudneena] over themselves ['alayhinna] some [min] of their outer garments [jalaabibihinna]. That is more suitable that they will be known and not be abused. And ever is Allah Forgiving and Merciful.
Here is what the verse means according to the words bolded:
The verse implies that women were wearing jilbabs before its revelation, but they were showing parts of themselves to men. Thus, whatever was shown was to be covered, and whatever was shown was from the head down. Whatever of the jilbaab was uncovering the woman was to be drawn close to what was uncovering them, so as to conceal their bodies fully. All of this refers to the face, and it is clear that the Islamic jilbaab has a face opening so that a woman can cover herself whenever a non-Mahram man passes by.
Some scholars and commentators say that a woman must cover everything except for one eye so that she can see, such as Ibn Abbas, Al-Jalalayn, 'Ubaydah As-Salmani, Abdullah ibn Salam, and others. However, there is no authentic report from the Prophet Muhammad proving this, and this led to the linguistic meaning being a legitimate interpretation the jilbab.
Some modern Muslims insist that the contemporary jilbāb and the garment described in the Qur'an and the hadith are exactly the same, and that the Qur'an therefore requires the believer to wear these garments. Some scholars say that a veil is not compulsory in front of blind, asexual or gay men.[7]
The Encyclopedia of Islam identifies over a hundred terms for dress parts, many of which are used for "veiling".[8] Some of these and related Arabic terms are burqu, 'abayah, tarhah, bumus, jilbab, jellabah, hayik, milayah, gallabiyyah, dishdasha, gargush, gins', mungub, lithma, yashmik, habarah, izar. A few terms refer to items used as face covers only. These are qina, burqu, niqab, lithma. Others refer to headcovers that are situationally held by the individual to cover part of the face. These are khimar, sitara, abayah or inrrah.[9]
It is incorrect to say that the jilbab is one particular style, and different cultures have developed their own variations and styles of the one-piece. However, in recent times, the jilbab has lost its original meaning and fewer women wear it. This has led to confusion about what popular modern styles are considered to fall under the category of jilbab. Most do not, including the following:
According to Islamic law, the jilbab is nothing more than an outer garment to be worn specifically around non-Mahrams. An "outer garment" refers to a piece of clothing worn outside of someone's primary clothing [e.g., a jacket over a shirt]. There is nothing wrong in taking it off when alone, or when around other women, or when around her Mahrams. Generally, a woman is allowed to wear whatever she wants underneath, but she cannot show anything off to non-Mahrams.[11]
A type of athletic jilbāb was developed by Nike in 2006,[12] allowing women to play volleyball while still respecting a traditional clothing style.[13]
In Indonesia, the term jilbāb refers to a headscarf rather than a long and loose overgarment.[14]
Seamless Wikipedia browsing. On steroids.
Every time you click a link to Wikipedia, Wiktionary or Wikiquote in your browser's search results, it will show the modern Wikiwand interface.
Wikiwand extension is a five stars, simple, with minimum permission required to keep your browsing private, safe and transparent.
