ISLAMIC STUDIES

ASSIGNMENT ON HIJJAB/PURDAH
SUBMITTED BY:
SULEMAN JAMIL
07B48CE
SEM 7
CMS#1960
SUBMITTED TO:
SIR SAMI YOUSAF.
 HIJAB/PURDA
MEANING OF HIJJAB/PURDA
The Arabic word literally means curtain or cover.

The word "hijab" refers to both the head covering traditionally worn by Muslim
women.

Muslims differ as to whether the hijab should be required on women in public.

Purdah in Islam is necessary upon every woman who is close to the age of puberty
HIJAB IN THE LIGHT OF QURAN
HIJJAB IN THE LIGHT OF HADITH:
HIJJAB IN OTHER RELIGION
 HIJAAB IN CHIRISTIANITY

In what would form part of a ‘New Testament’, St. Paul obligated the then
common practice of the veil for all women:

‘And every woman who prays or prophesies with her head uncovered dishonours
her head - it is just as though her head were shaved. If a woman does not cover
her head, she should have her hair cut off; and if it is a disgrace for a woman to
have her hair cut off or shaved off, she should cover her head. A man ought not to
cover his head, since he is the image and glory of God; but the woman is the glory
of man. For man did not come from woman, but woman from man; neither was
man created for woman, but woman for man.[1] for this reason, and because of
the angels, woman ought to have a sign of authority on her head.’ (I Corinthians
11:4-10)

St. Tertullian (the first man to formulate the Trinity), in his treatise, On the Veiling
of Virgins, even obliged its use at home: ‘Young women, you wear your veils out
on the streets, so you should wear them in the church; you wear them when you
are among strangers, then wear them among your brothers.’

HIJAAB IN JUDAISM

Here's some food for thought. In describing a woman from the Haredi Orthodox
Jewish community, BBC's Erica Chernofsky says: "Like all Haredi women, she
dresses very modestly, covers her hair with a wig or scarf, and will not allow
physical contact of any kind with any man other than her husband." In Haredi
Judaism, there are dress code requirements for both men and women. As in Islam,
the underlying concept behind the dress code is modesty. In Haredi communities,
men usually wear long pants and long-sleeve shirts, and women wear blouses with
sleeves below the elbow and skirts which cover the knees. Furthermore, men and
women are separated during synagogue services and other public religious
gatherings. As in many mosques, some Orthodox synagogues fulfill the separation
requirement by having a balcony for the women's section.

The Torah states that, like in Islam, when the people came to pray to the
Lord they covered their shoulders and head. This is the opinion of most rabbis.
Where does it say that it should not be done any longer?

‘‘Make for yourselves tassels [g'dilim] on the four corners of the cloak [k'sut] that
covers you'' (Deuteronomy 22:11 MBV). The command noted from Deuteronomy
22:11, is that it is to be a k'sut, or covering, and it is emphasized twice to be a
‘‘cloak [k'sut] that covers [k'sut] you.''

The practice of hair covering amongst Jewish women has its source in the
Mishnah. M. Ketubot 7:6 lists going out with unbound hair as one of the ways in
which a woman forfeits her divorce settlement. The Talmud (B. Ketubot 72a-b)
understood the source of this custom to be even more ancient. In the Bible
(Numbers 5:18), a woman suspected of infidelity has her hair exposed as part of
her punishment. This biblical passage seems to imply that as a matter of course a
Jewish woman kept her hair covered.