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Refutations

7 Common Doubts About the Hijab — And How Islam Answers Every One

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Seven Doubts About the Hijab: A Complete Refutation

Table of Contents

Introduction: Satan, the First Caller to Unveiling

The Ancient Conflict The conflict between the children of Adam and Satan is ancient and ongoing — until Allah inherits the earth and all that is on it. Satan comes to man through his weak points, tempting him, making him hopeful, and whispering until he responds and falls into what is forbidden.

The story of Adam and Eve with Satan is the first and greatest evidence of this. His temptation was represented in exposing private parts and tearing down curtains. This reveals to us that this was an intended goal for Satan, because of the serious harm that results from it — spreading immorality and causing fear for honor and souls. Allah the Almighty warned us against precisely this temptation:

Quran 7:27 — Al-A’raf “O children of Adam, let not Satan tempt you as he removed your parents from Paradise, stripping them of their clothing to show them their private parts. Indeed, he sees you, he and his tribe, from where you do not see them. Indeed, We have made the devils allies to those who do not believe.”
Satan: The Pioneer of the Call to Unveiling It is proven from this verse that Satan is the pioneer of the call to uncover private parts, and the first founder of the call to unveiling in its varying degrees. He is the first leader of the devils among mankind who call for the so-called “liberation of women” from concealment, protection, and chastity — spreading doubts about unveiling and immodesty that Satan casts into their hearts, so they spread them in the path of Muslims as thorns that harm and hooks that snatch. None escapes from them except those whom God has mercy upon, who are armed with the weapon of Islamic knowledge and stocked with the provisions of piety.

Key Definitions: Hijab, Tabarruj, and Sufur

Definitions Hijab is the covering of a woman’s body and adornment from the sight of men who are not her mahrams.

Tabarruj is a woman showing her adornment and the charms of her body, which includes swaggering and strutting in her walk and displaying acquired adornment. It has been said: it is any adornment that a woman is made beautiful by showing it to the eyes of men.

Sufur is the exposing of the face — and it is itself a form of tabarruj.

Based on this, hijab is the opposite of sufur in all its forms. In general, any adornment that does not meet the conditions of hijab is considered forbidden sufur. Sufur is agreed upon as forbidden across all schools of thought and in the sayings of the scholars.

Doubt One: Religion Is Easy and Hijab Is Too Difficult Today

The Doubt “Religion is easy, and wearing the hijab in its legitimate form in this age is something difficult and arduous — especially in societies of openness and immodesty.”

The response to this doubt is from several aspects:

First: Everything that has been proven as an obligation from Allah to His servants is within their ability and capacity. Allah does not burden a soul beyond what it can bear.

Second: Establishing the characteristic of “ease” to remove a hardship associated with a ruling can only be done with legal evidence from the Qur’an or Sunnah. Making a lenient ruling in the Shari’ah must not contradict the Qur’an, Sunnah, sound analogy, or a preponderant interest.

Third: If this reasoning were accepted, it would be said by the same logic: “The hardship of avoiding usury in this age necessitates its permissibility” — or: “The crowding at Hajj makes stoning permissible to drop.” This is self-evidently false.

Fourth: Acts of worship are often not free from hardship, but they are tolerable and compatible with the normal capacity of a person.

Quran 2:286 “Allah does not charge a soul except with that within its capacity.”
Ibn al-Qayyim “If hardship is the hardship of fatigue, then the interests of this world and the hereafter are tied to fatigue. There is no rest for one who does not tire — rather, rest is according to the degree of fatigue.”

There are many legal rulings whose benefits are linked to the hardship and effort they involve — such as retaliation and prescribed punishments. Great acts of worship are routinely not free from hardship: the hardship of performing ablution in the cold, fasting in intense heat on a long day, and performing Hajj.

Fifth: The general spread of a forbidden matter is not a justification for permitting it. The customs of societies do not make it permissible, nor does it become permissible with a change in time and place.

The “Modern Religion” Fallacy Some who claim to be cultured have argued that since people’s customs evolve with the development of time, legal rulings must evolve accordingly — what they call “modern religion.” The implication of this is the release from obligations and the permissibility of prohibitions in line with the progress of civilization.

The fallacy of this is clear to anyone with even a basic understanding of religion. If this were acceptable, the legitimacy of all rulings would be subject to people’s customs and traditions — which continue to be dominated by corruption and deviation with the passage of time. The Prophet ﷺ informed us: “There is no time that comes except that the time after it is worse than it.”

The Principle Whatever ruling is established by legal evidence, its ruling will remain as long as the world remains and will not change. Examples: the rulings on prayer, retaliation, the limits, a woman concealing her adornment from strangers, requiring a guardian for a woman — these do not change. As for rulings not decided upon by a final legal text but linked from their origin to what might change in customs and interests — those are what can rightly be governed by custom.

Doubt Two: Good Intention Is Sufficient

The Doubt “The most important thing is the integrity of intention. I am confident in myself, I do not want to tempt men, and my intentions are free from everything said about immodesty.”

The excuse of integrity of intention is a justification always heard from those whose hearts are filled with desires and whims and who have fallen into sins. The response is from several aspects:

First: She is worshipping Allah the Almighty with concealment and hijab, which the command came with in the Book of Allah. She must listen and obey, regardless of any other consideration.

Second: A sound intention does not justify a forbidden act, nor does it turn it into something permissible. A wrong act remains wrong, and its doer is sinful even if the intention is sound.

Evidence from the Quran on the Polytheists Allah the Almighty informs us of the polytheists of Arabia saying: “We worship them only that they may bring us nearer to Allah.” Their good intention did not benefit them in removing the description of polytheism from themselves. A sincere intention does not transform an inherently prohibited act into a permitted one.

Third: Even if she is safe from temptation for herself — as she claims — she is not safe from being a cause of temptation for whoever looks at her, which is the more likely outcome. She thereby bears the burden of his temptation and seduction without realizing it.

Scholarly Ruling The scholars said: “Whoever is certain that a stranger has looked at her, it is necessary for her to cover her face from him — she is helping him in what is forbidden and she is therefore sinful.”

Fourth: Foolish and young girls are deceived and affected by her actions, especially if she is in the position of a role model such as a mother or teacher.

Fifth: Although good intention is very important in a person’s actions, if limited to it alone, one would be like someone walking on one leg or flying with one wing — compliance with the Shari’ah is also necessary.

Doubt Three: Ashamed to Wear Proper Hijab

The Doubt “I am ashamed to wear the hijab in the required manner — bringing the cloak close to the head and covering the face and limbs.”
The Response The people of sins brag about their sins and their immodesty, and the people of truth are ashamed of what they are doing. By Allah, this is a great calamity that indicates the absence of pride in religion and the weakness of loyalty to God Almighty. This is a defeat from within — in which the woman resorts to wearing what people desire and love, even if it contradicts what she knows to be a duty of her religion and the right of her Lord upon her.

This is a type of hypocrisy as described by the people of knowledge — the hypocrisy of the people of this world — which is beautifying oneself for people and appearing good in front of them with an appearance that does not please Allah the Almighty.

Doubt Four: Face Covering Is Only for Modesty, Not Religion

The Doubt “The face covering is only for modesty and is not required in religion.”

It is said to her: Do you think that modesty is not religion?

Prophetic Hadith “Modesty is a branch of faith.”

Modesty is a characteristic of faith that prevents the believer from committing sins out of fear of Allah Almighty, and it is the head of all virtues.

Ibn Omar (RA) — on the Inseparability of Modesty and Faith The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: “Modesty and faith are two companions, so if one of them is lifted, the other is lifted.” And: “Modesty is from faith, and faith is in Paradise.”

Between sins and lack of modesty there is a connection — each calls for the other and seeks it diligently. The Holy Quran highlighted the characteristic of modesty in the daughters of the righteous man:

Quran 28:25 “Then one of them came to him walking modestly.”
Umar ibn al-Khattab (RA) on This Verse “She is not a bold woman going out and entering — but she came concealed, having placed the sleeve of her shield over her face out of modesty.” The bold woman is the daring, brazen woman. Therefore, Muslims must teach their daughters to be modest and to adopt this characteristic that Allah Almighty chose for His upright religion, because lack of modesty is a sign of the loss of faith.

Doubt Five: Allegations and Slanders Against the Hijab

Quran 33:58 — Preliminary Warning “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 a grave sin.”

Allegation One: Hijab Enables Criminals to Hide Their Identity

The Allegation “It facilitates the process of concealing one’s identity, and some women who commit indecencies and sins may hide behind it, so the legal hijab has become suspicious and subject to accusation.”
The Response No possible fear of misuse of the hijab can ever lead us to abandon something that Allah the Most High has commanded. If a frivolous, immoral woman tries to hide her actions by wearing a symbol of chastity and modesty — what is the fault of the hijab?

Although there are those who exploit military attire to deceive people and use it in impermissible ways — has anyone ever said that is a valid justification for canceling the military uniform? We have never heard anyone say that, although such abuses have been repeated. The same logic applies here.

Allegation Two: Chastity Does Not Lie in Covering

The Allegation “A woman’s chastity and integrity do not lie in covering up. How many girls wear hijab and cover themselves but have bad morals? How many unveiled girls have impeccable behavior?”
The Response Islam commands women to wear the hijab, and commands them to have good morals, religion, and a pure heart. It raises the one under the hijab before the hijab is drawn over her and tells her:
Quran 7:26 “And the clothing of piety — that is the best of that.”

But humans in general are prone to error and disobedience, as the Prophet ﷺ said: “Every son of Adam is prone to error.” So if a chaste, modest woman makes a mistake and engages in shameful behavior — is she blamed for her sin and shortcomings, or for her hijab? The hijab does not require that only the pure and pious wear it. A woman must obey her Lord in wearing the hijab and in everything she has been commanded to do. If she falls short in any of that, she deserves blame and sin — and her obedience can never be a justification for her wrongdoing.

Furthermore: is it required that a Muslim woman be either veiled but ill-behaved or unveiled but well-behaved? Is it not possible for her to combine both good things — to be veiled and well-behaved? This is the principle every Muslim woman should aspire to achieve, rather than finding satisfaction in shortcomings and belittling others for theirs.

Allegation Three: Some Righteous Women Do Not Wear Full Niqab

The Allegation A woman argues that she is excused in her loose veil by the actions of some good women who are lax in wearing the abaya or do not take precautions, such as wearing the niqab with wide openings — and these women may be wives or daughters of good men.
The Response This justification is surrounded by passion and desire, and she knows she is not right. Some good women neglect the full veil out of ignorance of its ruling — others may be women who rebel against their righteous husbands. Their negligence should never be considered an excuse.
The Principle The actions of others must be weighed — whether true or false — by the scale of Islamic law. It is not the Islamic law that is weighed by people’s actions and circumstances. As the saying goes: “You do not know the truth by men, but know the truth and you will know its people.” In light of this principle, a Muslim should walk in obedience to his Lord, unaffected by the false actions of others, whoever they may be.

Why do we not take the actions of the great mass of chaste, pure women as a good example — rather than making our excuse a rare minority of righteous women who have stumbled?

This problem is not new. Here are scholars from different eras documenting the reality of the Muslim woman’s hijab throughout Islamic history:

Abu Hamid al-Ghazali “Men have always uncovered their faces throughout the ages, and women go out veiled or are prevented from going out.”
Imam Ibn Raslan “Muslims agreed to prevent women from going out unveiled.”
Ibn Hajar “Women used to go out to mosques and on trips veiled so that men would not see them.”

Allegation Four: Proper Hijab in Non-Hijab Environments Is Blameworthy Notoriety

The Allegation “Wearing the hijab that meets all conditions in countries where women do not wear it this way is reprehensible notoriety (libas al-shuhra) according to Islamic law.”
The Response This doubt is based on ignorance of the concept of forbidden notoriety in the Shari’ah. The forbidden dress of fame (libas al-shuhra) is any dress intended to make one famous among people — whether expensive and lavish to show arrogance, or cheap and base to show false asceticism. The basis for considering a dress as such is the intention and purpose only.

Therefore, the duty in wearing proper hijab in an environment where the hijab is an exception is the correct intention directed purely to Allah — not to stand out, but to obey Him.

Quran 5:105 “O you who have believed, upon you is yourselves. He who strays will not harm you if you are guided.”

Likewise, a garment is not a forbidden dress of fame unless the people of the town are upright in obeying Allah and His Messenger. However, if their nature is corrupted and they have deviated from the right path, we do not follow them in their misguidance under the pretext of avoiding fame.

The True Absurdity Exposed Considering the hijab a garment of blameworthy fame that should be discarded is the most amazing of wonders. How can adhering to the verses and prophetic texts be “fame and deviation,” while following the path of disbelievers and the frivolous be considered “familiarity and moderation”?
Quran 28:50 “And who is more astray than he who follows his desire without guidance from Allah?”

Doubt Six: All Modern Abayas Are Valid Hijab

The Doubt “The abaya includes everything that women wear today when they go out — capes, French abayas, and the like. They are all an abaya, and there is no difference between them in the purpose of covering.”
Warning Against Being Deceived by Names Do not be deceived by names and slogans — look at their realities. Everyone calls what women wear today an “abaya,” but is all of it truly an abaya in the Islamic sense?

The answer is to present what is called an “abaya” to the legal conditions that must be met in a woman’s hijab when she goes out. If it meets the conditions, it is an abaya. If it lacks any of the conditions, then it does not deserve to be called an abaya — it is what some call “fashion.”

A question is put to every woman who wears an abaya: Do you believe that the abaya you wear is an act of worship by which you draw closer to Allah Almighty?

If the answer is yes — then consider the following conditions carefully, because they are the conditions of worship performed for Allah.

If the answer is no — it is something you are accustomed to — then the Islamic conditions will not concern you, because you are not originally worshipping Allah with them. You will be satisfied with everything new and innovative that is consistent with your love of beauty and adornment. The fierce competition in what they call “abaya fashion shows” is evidence enough of this.

The Eight Conditions of the Islamic Hijab

The Eight Conditions That Must All Be Met A woman’s outer garment is not a valid hijab unless it fulfills all of the following conditions:
  1. It covers the entire body, so that no part is visible.
  2. It is not an adornment in itself — not decorated, embroidered, or colored.
  3. It is thick — dense — and not transparent so that the body and adornment are not visible from underneath it.
  4. It is loose and does not reveal the size of the limbs and body.
  5. It is not perfumed or scented.
  6. It does not resemble men’s clothing.
  7. It does not resemble the clothing of non-Muslim women.
  8. It is not clothing for fame (libas al-shuhra).

If the abaya does not meet any one of these conditions, then it is a type of tabarruj that contradicts the Shari’ah.

Definition of Tabarruj Tabarruj is: any adornment or beautification that a woman displays to appear attractive in the eyes of strangers — even the mask a woman covers herself with, if it is chosen from bright colors and an attractive shape so that the eyes of onlookers enjoy it, is a manifestation of the tabarruj of ignorance.

What we see today of manifestations of temptation in what is called the “alleged abaya” — wrapped around the body to highlight its charms, exposing arms through wide sleeves, decorated with all kinds of elegant embellishments — is precisely this forbidden tabarruj. As the poet described:

If they claim to wear the veil, then it is an intrusive lineage. Is she the one for whom the veil was imposed to protect her by the law of the Messenger?

Prophetic Hadith — On the Women Who Will Not Enter Paradise The Prophet ﷺ said, in a chain narrated in al-Saheehah: “The best of your women are those who are loving, fertile, accommodating, and comforting, if they fear Allah. The worst of your women are those who display themselves and are conceited, and they are the hypocrites. None will enter Paradise except like the raven with its white wings.”

The raven with white wings is an extremely rare description — a metaphor for how few women with these descriptions will enter Paradise. May Allah save us from that.

Fatimah, Daughter of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ “O Asma, I find it ugly what women do — that a garment is thrown over a woman to describe her.” Asma said: “O daughter of the Messenger of Allah, let me show you something I saw in Abyssinia!” She called for some wet palm leaves, bent them, then threw a garment over her. Fatimah said: “How beautiful and nice this is.”

Doubt Seven: Face Covering Is a Controversial Scholarly Issue

The Doubt “Covering the face is a controversial issue among scholars, so it is not required.”

The response is from several aspects:

First: The sincere Muslim must seek the truth by searching for the strongest argument and abandoning the following of whims, seeking help from Allah to be guided to the truth. Whoever does this will inevitably be guided, as Allah said:

Quran 8:70 “If Allah knows good in your hearts, He will give you better than what He took from you and forgive you.”

The argument of “it is controversial” has been adopted today by many who achieve their desires and whims through a scholar’s slip, a forced concession, a deviant statement, or a mistaken understanding — without any consideration for the contradiction of that statement to the words of the Prophet ﷺ who does not speak from his own whims.

Prophetic Hadith — Cure for the Disease of Disagreement “Whoever among you lives will see much disagreement, so adhere to my Sunnah and the Sunnah of the Rightly-Guided Caliphs.”

Allah the Almighty has made consensus an infallible proof against misguidance. It is not right to make what contradicts consensus — namely disagreement — into a proof in its own right. Whoever pursues concessions and deviant disagreements in his religion will lead to a deficiency in his servitude, and perhaps to its complete disappearance: “Whoever pursues concessions has become a heretic.”

Second: The confirmed and transmitted historical reality is that the women of Islam remained veiled throughout the stages of Islamic history.

Sheikh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah “The Sunnah of the believers during the time of the Prophet ﷺ was that the free woman would cover herself and the slave woman would go out.”
Hafsah bint Sirin’s Practice Asim al-Ahwal said: “We would enter upon Hafsah bint Sirin and she had made the jilbab like this, covering herself with it.” When they mentioned to her the verse about women past childbearing age, she said: “What is after that?” They said: “And for them to be chaste is better for them.” She said: “It is establishing the hijab.”

Third: The sum of the statements of the scholars of the four schools of thought can be summarized as follows: they agree on the obligation of women to cover their entire bodies in front of strangers — whether some of them consider the face and hands to be ‘awrah or not. Even those who consider them not ‘awrah require covering them in this age due to the corruption of most people, the weakness of their religion, and their lack of restraint from looking at women in a forbidden way.

Sheikh Muhammad al-Muqaddam — The Return of the Hijab, Vol. 1 “The majority of scholars of the schools of thought in this time agree on the obligation of women to cover their faces and hands to block the means of corruption and the causes of temptations.”

Conclusion: A Word to Two Women

To the owner of the “hijab of display”:

A Serious Warning Beware of believing that your hijab is what the Qur’an and Sunnah have commanded. Do not be deceived into thinking you are in a better state than those who flaunt their blatant immodesty. There is no equal in evil — Hell has levels, some lower than others.

Do not be deceived by those who bless your actions from among the masters of satanic purposes, lustful interests, and material benefits — who plan, implement, display, sell, and buy the unveiled hijab. These people respond to Allah’s commands like those about whom Allah said: “Do you believe in part of the Scripture and disbelieve in part?”

Three Quranic Commands They Ignore “O Prophet, tell your wives and your daughters and the women of the believers to bring down over themselves part of their outer garments.” — Quran 33:59

“And not to display their adornment except that which is apparent thereof.” — Quran 24:31

“And do not display yourselves like the display of the former times of ignorance.” — Quran 33:33

To the blessed sister who has kept the command of her Lord:

Glad Tidings for the Patient Believer Be at peace and be content with the good news of the Prophet ﷺ for you and those like you who have been patient and steadfast in the way of Allah:
Prophetic Hadith — The Strangers “Blessed are the strangers.” It was said: “Who are the strangers, O Messenger of Allah?” He said: “Good people among many bad people — those who disobey them are more than those who obey them.”

You hear in a society dominated by negligence and immodesty someone saying to you: “You look strange and abnormal” — so be patient, steadfast, and stand firm in the face of temptations. They are only a few days, and after that you will be luxuriating in the bliss of Paradise and the garments of honor by the mercy of Allah Almighty.

Al-Hasan al-Basri “If Satan looks and sees you persistently obeying Allah, he will seek you out time after time — and if he sees you persistent, he will discard you and abandon you. But if you are like this one time and like that the other, he will covet you.”
Quran 24:31 — The Final Word “And repent to Allah, all of you, O believers, that you may succeed.”

Bonus: Hijab and Positive Body Image — Research Evidence

Beyond the Islamic argument, contemporary research confirms that the hijab produces measurable psychological benefits — including greater body satisfaction, reduced fixation on physical appearance, and less dependence on Eurocentric beauty standards promoted in Western media.

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Research Conclusion Wearing the hijab results in a more positive body image, less fixation with physical appearance, and less reliance on Eurocentric beauty standards found in Western media. The Islamic command to cover is not only spiritually sound — it is psychologically beneficial.

This article is part of the OpenIslam Wiki — Women in Islam series.