Six criteria for Hijab.

According to Qur’an and Sunnah there are basically six criteria for observing hijab:

i. Extent

The first criterion is the extent of the body that should be covered. This is different for men and women. The extent of covering obligatory on the male is to cover the body at least from the navel to the knees. For women, the obligatory level of covering is to cover the whole body except the face and the hands upto the wrist. If they wish to, they can cover even these parts of the body. Some scholars of Islam insist that the face and the hands are part of the obligatory extent of ‘hijab’. All the remaining five criteria are the same for men and women.

ii. Should not reveal figure.

The second criterion is that the clothes they wear should be loose and should not reveal the figure.

iii. Should not be transparent.

The third criterion is that the clothes they wear should not be transparent such that one can see through them.

iv. Not attract opposite sex.

The clothes they wear should be not be so glamorous as to attract the opposite sex.

v. Should not resemble the clothes of the opposite sex.

 

The fifth criterion is that the clothes they wear should not resemble that of the opposite sex.

vi. Should not resemble the clothes of the unbelievers.

 

The clothes they wear should not resemble that of the unbelievers i.e. they should not wear clothes that are specifically identities or symbols of the unbelievers’ religions. 

On the authority of Ad’Diya Al-Maqdisi, the Prophet  (صلى الله عليه وسلم‎) said:

“Any woman who perfumes herself and passes by some people that they smell her scent, then she is a zaniyah (adulteress).” [Sahih an-Nasaa'i]