Full Lecture Transcript (Cleaned)
Introduction and Context — 0:33
This is a continuation, a part two, of our lecture that I began last week about the reality of the hijab. Last week I had mentioned the fact that the hijab has become a symbol in a very brutal battle between two different camps. It is no longer about the woman's head covering—it is about identity. It is about, frankly, one civilization—the Western civilization—trying to superimpose its understanding upon our Sharia and our understanding. This is happening around the globe—whether it's in France, India, Quebec in Canada. So I wanted to talk about that from a sociological perspective last week.
This week, we're going to talk about the issue of the covering more from a textual perspective—from the Quran and from the Sunnah. Before I begin, I have to take a step back because the topic has become so charged and so sensitive. The sensitivity arises from the fact that some people say men are always obsessed with what women wear and don't wear and they're telling women what they should do. There's a level of irritation that comes from this—it's an understandable nuisance.
So in this lecture, I want to ask you to ignore the speaker and ignore the speaker's gender and listen to the content of the speech. I will be quoting you the speech of Allah, the Quran, and explaining it. If you disagree with my explanation, you have every right to challenge it—but do it from within academic parameters.
What is really interesting is that when it comes to men's and women's awrah (covering requirements), the Quran is actually very explicit. Unlike most of the Sharia where you have to go to hadith for details, when it comes to the issue of hijab, the Quran itself is sufficient and gives us the broad parameters.
The Societal Effects of Removing Modesty — 3:54
Before I jump to the hijab, I'm going to start from the alternative paradigm. What is the reality of a society that abandons these laws? What happens when there is no awrah? What happens when there is promiscuity with no regulation whatsoever—when it is a free-for-all?
We live in one such society. The rise of social media and the internet—this is the first generation in human history where your average teenager has been exposed to more nudity than all of his ancestors combined. We're studying the impact and the effects, and there is a general consensus in the psychiatric community that the harms of sexually explicit images far outweigh any perceived goods.
The harms are direct and tangible:
- Pornography destroys fertility: A study by the Society of Andrology and Sexual Medicine surveyed 28,000 men and found that addiction to pornography led to a lower sexual drive in actual life. Young men are not able to be intimate with their spouses because they're addicted to images and not actual women.
- Decline of marriage: Marriage is at its lowest in all of Western history, linked directly to explicit imagery and hookup culture.
- Addiction: Pornography is now viewed as an actual addiction. The same dopamine chemical that cocaine releases is released by these images. Just like a drug, tolerance builds and escalation occurs.
- Economic loss: One study estimated over $40 billion in America is lost in potential revenue because people waste their work time.
- Violence against women: Direct correlation between pornography and violence against women, objectification, and date rape.
The Impact on Families and Women — 9:49
This directly corrupts the minds of young men. They have an unrealistic expectation of what it means to be a woman. Brothers and sisters, wallahi, it is sad and distressing—I constantly get messages from our own sisters begging me to give public talks about this. One sister said, "I feel stabbed in my heart. I can't compete with this. I feel my self-worth is gone."
Imagine a society where all men and women dressed decently. In such a society, every average young man and woman would appear beautiful to one another. Marriage would be healthy. But when the most beautiful top 0.01% of women are displayed everywhere—and they're not even real, they're photoshopped or surgically altered—how can the average woman compete?
That's why Allah shut this door completely, because this genre corrupts the mind and destroys the reality of manhood and femininity.
The Exploitation Industry — 14:52
What happens when you combine capitalism with immorality? A struggling, vulnerable 18-19 year old is told she can generate $5,000-$10,000 a month from her room. She's not old enough to understand the repercussions—the scars, the mental trauma.
One famous case was in the New York Times: an Arab young lady suffering from depression entered this industry at 19, became the number one in the industry, generating hundreds of millions of dollars for it—but she received only $12,000. Now she suffers from trauma, takes antidepressants, and says to young ladies, "Do not make my mistake."
This is what happens when you remove haya' (modesty) and have a complete free-for-all.
Transition to the Quranic Evidence — 17:24
Before we get to what Allah has told us, let us understand: when Allah tells us to do something, it is for our own good. We see what happens when we don't obey Allah and His Messenger.
Allah says in the Quran: "O children of Adam, make sure Shaytan does not cause you to slip and fall like he caused your parents to be expelled from Jannah by exposing their nakedness" (7:27). The primary mechanism of expulsion from Jannah was nudity. Allah says, "O children of Adam, We have sent clothes down to you"—clothes are a divine gift, mentioned alongside rain and the Quran.
The Men's Awrah — 20:06
Men also have an awrah. Generally speaking, between the navel and the knee, the requirements are the same: it must be loose, cannot be tight, cannot be see-through. When the man is praying, his chest must also be covered—he cannot pray with his upper body uncovered.
Surah al-Nur, Verse 31: The Khimar — 21:06
I'm going to restrict myself to two verses in the Quran. These verses are all that you need for the hijab of a woman. The rulings of hijab came down in the fifth year of the Hijrah—one of the final rulings revealed in Islam. This puts into perspective that hijab is important but not to the same level as the arkan of Islam. Nonetheless, it is fard (obligatory).
The two primary verses: Surah al-Nur (24:31) and Surah al-Ahzab (33:59).
Allah says: "Tell the believing men to lower their gaze and to be modest. That is better for them. Indeed, Allah is aware of what you do." So the verses of hijab begin with the men's gaze. Before we jump to what women should wear, men begin with themselves.
Then Allah says: "And tell the believing women to lower their gaze and to be modest. And let them not display their beauty except that which is apparent."
Allah is saying that women have an extra requirement beyond men—a requirement not to display their beauty except "illa ma dhahara minha" (what is beyond their control). Ibn Abbas said this refers to the silhouette of a woman—she can't control her height or build.
Then comes the key phrase: "And let them draw their khumur over their juyub." Four words that summarize one of the main principles of hijab.
What Is a Khimar? — 28:26
Khumur is the plural of khimar, from the root khamara, meaning to conceal or cover. That's why alcohol is called khamr in Arabic—because it conceals the mind. In ancient Arabic, khimar was any covering for the head, used for both men and women. Even the Prophet's turban was called a khimar in hadith.
What we call "hijab" today, the Quran calls khimar. It's the head covering—simple as that.
What Are Juyub? — 30:06
Juyub is the plural of jayb, which means a slit or opening—specifically, the chest/bosom area. The pre-Islamic (jahili) ladies would cover their hair but throw their head coverings behind their backs, leaving the chest area exposed—just like European women of the 17th century or American women of the 19th century.
Allah is saying: take your head scarf and instead of throwing it behind your back, put it in front of you. So we learn that the head scarf is mentioned in the Quran, and that it should be loose, covering the upper section of a woman's body.
Two Levels of Covering — 33:12
Allah then repeats the commandment and lists those in front of whom the stricter covering is relaxed: husbands, fathers, sons, uncles, etc. This demonstrates that a woman has two levels of covering:
The Ruling on Stomping Feet — 36:02
At the end of the verse, Allah says: "And let them not stomp their feet so that their ankle bracelets can be heard." Allah didn't say "stop walking in front of men" or "don't wear jewelry." But He said: don't go out of your way to draw extra attention. If even the noise of jewelry is prohibited when done deliberately, then what of that which is more than noise? This demonstrates that a woman should be decent and dignified and not be flirtatious.
Surah al-Ahzab, Verse 59: The Jilbab — 38:12
The second verse: "O Prophet, tell your wives and your daughters and the women of the believers to draw over themselves their jalabib."
Jalabib is the plural of jilbab, from the root jalaba (to pull from one place to another). A jilbab is that which covers you, that which sheathes you. According to Lisan al-Arab by Ibn Manzur, jilbab is defined as: "a large shirt, a garment larger than a khimar but smaller than a lower garment that a woman uses to cover her head and chest, or a sheet by which a woman covers her clothes from above."
This verse indicates that it is encouraged for a lady to have a covering over and above her regular clothes.
Minimum vs. Ideal Covering — 43:06
There is no question that the Quran encourages and therefore the ideal is that a lady has her head scarf and a loose covering (jilbab) over herself. But not everybody is at the same level—just like the bedouin who came to the masjid and asked for the bare minimum.
As Ibn Manzur stated, the bare minimum of a jilbab is indeed a khimar. Hence, a large scarf will constitute both jilbab and khimar, as long as the clothes underneath fulfill the Sharia requirements: not tight, not translucent, not describing the contours of the body, and not overly attractive.
The minimum: A woman covers her entire body with something loose and non-transparent that is dignified and decent, and covers her hair with a loose head scarf that covers the upper part of the body.
The ideal: She dresses in something over her regular garment (an extra jilbab layer) and has the hijab as well.
Addressing the Claim That "Hijab Was Only for the Prophet's Wives" — 48:06
Some people say Allah never commands women to wear the hijab in the Quran and that it was specific to the wives of the Prophet (peace be upon him). As Imam al-Dhahabi said: "What they are saying is technically true, but what they want is false."
The word "hijab" in the Quran (33:53) refers to an actual physical curtain for the wives of the Prophet—an additional layer above what other women had, where their entire silhouette had to be concealed. That hijab (curtain) is not obligatory on anyone other than the Prophet's wives.
But when these people say "hijab," they mean the khimar (head covering)—and the khimar is clearly obligatory for all believing women, as we have shown from the verses.
Scholarly Consensus — 50:52
There is no difference of opinion in all of the schools of Islamic law—and when I say all, I mean all: all Sunni schools, plus the Shi'a schools, the Ibadi schools, the Zaydi schools, the Mu'tazili schools—that a woman's entire body should be covered in loose, non-transparent clothing and that her hair should be covered. The only dispute is over the face covering (niqab) and some minor details. But the obligation for the body and hair covering has ijma' (consensus) across all of Islamic scholarship.
The India Supreme Court Issue — 52:38
I was bombarded with emails from India asking me to explain whether hijab is obligatory because of the Supreme Court issue. I want to say: I don't agree with the notion of a Supreme Court deciding whether it is a part of our religion or not. The Supreme Court of India or Karnataka is not in a position to decide what is and isn't Islamic. They need to ask the experts of the Sharia, and they will not find a single differing opinion amongst reputable scholars that a woman's body in its entirety should be covered.
Advice on Preaching Hijab — 54:42
I understand that some sisters who are struggling with this feel uncomfortable by the level of emphasis given to this obligation vis-a-vis other obligations. I understand this point.
What I say is:
- Husbands and fathers: Yes, it is your obligation to raise the bar, to teach and preach, and to gently bring about this within your household.
- Non-family members: It's not your business to go and talk to strange women about their clothing. Young brothers especially—why are you looking at other women and commenting on what they're wearing? Leave it to the preachers and scholars to speak to the whole community, and then leave it to fathers, husbands, and brothers to deal with their own families.
- To sisters: I know we're all struggling. Prayer is much more important. If a lady is praying her prayers, fasting Ramadan, and giving zakah, we hope the best for her and hope Allah forgives all of her sins. But after all caveats: it is obligatory for a woman to cover her entire body. I have to say this as well. It is not as important as salah, but you cannot expect us to ignore this reality.
Concession for Safety — 57:42
Dear sisters, in lands and situations where you feel your life is threatened, where you feel a mob will come and harass you—there is no question that in those circumstances it is halal to take it off. If you can eat pork when you're about to die, then for sure you can take a head scarf off when men are going to physically intimidate and assault you. The general rule: when the situation becomes difficult, the Sharia becomes easy.
Having said that, every community should come together and help its sisters. Rather than just tell sisters to take the hijab off, we should tell the brothers to become men, stand up, and do what they need to do as well.