Introduction

Islam is a universal religion that encompasses every aspect of life, be it religious, social, political, moral, ethical or economic values. Therefore the idea of the Hijab is one of the aspects dealing with the social life of Muslim women's identity (Hopkins & Greenwood - 2013). Additionally, Islam is a religion of peace and tolerance, where can tolerate the existence of all types of opinions and behavior that Allah agrees or disagrees with. This religion has a strong faith in monotheism, which was founded in the Arabian Peninsula in around the 7th century AD, by Muhammad bin Abdullah as the last prophet of Allah on the face of earth. In this codified religion, all humankind are treated the same, and all are given their rights to freedom and choice, but these freedoms should be based on the path of Shariah and the Qur’anic order that was revealed from Allah the almighty to the Ummah of prophet Muhammad (P.B.U.H).

In contemporary discourse, the hijab plays a pivotal role in shaping a Muslim identity, drawing from Quranic verses and prophetic teachings. Quranic verses emphasize modesty and the concept of adornment as a means of distinguishing between public and private spaces. The hijab is not merely a garment but a symbol of piety and humility, embodying spiritual values intrinsic to Islam. Prophetic traditions further elucidate the ethical and social dimensions of the hijab; promoting dignity, respect, and gender equity within Muslim communities. Understanding the hajib within this framework provides insights into its multi-faceted role in defining modern identity, encompassing religious devotion, cultural identity, and personal empowerment.

In Islam, Muslim women have a special type of priority as their privacy and security that specially refers and the term of Hijab; it often refers to a special kind of scarf wrapped around the head, covering the heir, neck and all between these, but leaving the face visible (according to some Muslim Jurists). The term Hijab was originally used to denote a partition of a curtain and was sometimes used for Islamic rules of modesty. The Quran never uses the word hijab to refer to veiling body parts but these passages are used through other terms of use as Jilbab and Khimar that also indicate the meaning of covering body parts from the opposite sex.

There are two major branches of Islam, which are attributed as Sunni and Shia. Through these two branches, the term hijab is not considered the same, but they have their own opinions. According to the Sunni school of thought; it is obligatory for free women to cover their hair and entire body parts except their face and hands, while in the presence of people of the opposite sex other than close family members. According to the most important Shia’s Hadith collections such as Nahj Al-Balagah and Kitab Al-Kafi; did not provide any details about the Hijab and its requirements, but later when they realized the importance of the Hijab in society then they started following the Sunni ideology.

Understanding Quranic Verses on Hijab

Quranic verses regarding to Islamic dress code (Hijab) used as the term ‘Khimar’ means to veil body organs from the opposite sex, and another term used as ‘Jilbab’ that refers to those dress codes which traditionally cover from head to hand that are worn in public. Here are some verses from Quran on behalf of Khimar and Jilbab with their interpretations:

First verse related to Hijab, Allah says: “And command the Muslim women to keep their eyes slightly low and to protect their adornment except what is apparent itself, and to keep the head covering wrapped over their booms, and not to reveal their adornment except to their own husband, or father, or husband's father, or their own sons, or their husband's sons; or their brothers, or dear brother son or sisters son or woman of their own religion or the hand-made whom the possess, aur servants provided that they are not men of carnal desire, or children who do not yet no women's private aspects of intimacy, and not to stamp their feet forcibly on the ground in order that their hidden Atonement be known. And oh Muslim all of you turn towards Allah in repentance, in the hope of attaining success. ”(Surah Al-Nur: 31: Kanzul Iman)

The second verse related to the Hijab, where Allah says: “O prophet, command your wives, and your daughters and the women of the Muslim to keep their faces covered with a part of their shawls; this is the closest that they are recognised (as being modest); hence, they are not harassed. And Allah is most forgiving, ever merciful” (Surah Al-Ahzab:59: Kanzul Iman). Moreover, Allah once again said to this prophet Muhammad (P.B.U.H) to order of veil toward his wives and whole Muslim women and says: “And stay in your homes and do not remain unveiled like the former and wailing in the time of ignorance”(Surah Al-Ahzab: 33: Kanzul Iman)

There are many verses in the Quran related to the veil. Some scholars like Ibn Hazm and Ibn Hayyan stated that the words related to Hijab in the Quran do not refer to women’s clothing only, but rather a special type of partition from the cultureless society.

Understanding Prophetic Teachings on Hijab

Prophetic teachings or talks refer to those collections of traditional sayings of prophet Muhammad (PBUH) in account of daily practices which are known as the sunnah (this is an Arabic term, that means way or course or rule). From the prophetic teachings sources is a detailed exegesis of the Hijab for men and women, that reflects the Quranic verses, which are attributed to the Sahabas. And it is reported in sahih al-Bukhari, sahih al-Muslim, Abu Daud, Ibn Majah, Sunan al-Nasai and Sunan al-Turmuzi, highlighting the hijab concerning the Islamic perspective, not Western norms.

Here are some narrations of prophetic teachings that are mentioned below:

Safiyyah bint shayban (may Allah be pleased with her) reported from Aishah (R.A) that when these words of the Quran were revealed- "and to draw their veils all over Juyubihinna" (surah al-Nur -31) - They took their izars (a kind of garment) and tore them from the edges and covered their faces with them (Sahih Al-Bukhari: 4481) This version is also narrated by Abu Dawud: 4102).

Also, many hadiths reveal the importance of the Hijab for Muslim women as their identity. For example, once Urwah (R.A) reported that Aishah (R.A) said: The Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, used to Pray Fajr and the believing woman would attend, wrapped in their aprons, then they would go back to their houses and no one would recognise them.

Moreover, according to Asma Bint Abu Bakr, RA: we used to cover our faces in front of men. According to another hadith, which Asim al-Ahwal reported from our prophet Muhammad, he said: we used to enter upon Hafsah bint Sirin when she had put her Jilbab thus and covered her face with it, and we would say to her: may Allah have mercy on you. Allah says, interpreting the meaning: "And women advanced in years who do not hope for marriage it is no sin on them if they discard their (outer) clothing in such a way as not to show their adornment" (Surah al-Nur-24:60). And she would say to us: what comes after that? We would say: "But to refrain (i.e. not to discard their outer clothing) is better for them". And she would say: that is confirms the idea of hijab. (Al-Byhaqi 07:93)

Hijab: As a symbol of Muslim identity

The word hijab is an Arabic word which is derived from HAJABA (حجب) that means to veil or to cover, and an Islamic perspective, this word refers to covering body parts with a special type of cloth or scarf. This word is taken from the Arabic language to Islamic ideology to understand the importance of covering or wearing body parts from the opposite sex. Now some questions could arise here about covering body parts, from where should you cover? Is this the same for men and women? and Is this Hijab refer to being a Muslim identity only, nothing else? Then all questions have their own perspective to be answered. According to Islamic ideology, the Arabic word ستر عورة (Satr-e-aurat means to Cover one's private parts) refers to the specific parts that are obligated to cover by following the order of God and prophetic teachings. Moreover, these coverings are not the same for both men and women. As a man, they should conceal from their navels up to under the knee; and women should veil from their hair to their feet without their faces and hands because of their duties at home and other types of work.

According to some research, the word hijab is especially dedicated to a Muslim woman as their identity of being a Muslim woman. And throughout Islamic ideology, there are many conditions and norms to wearing a Hijab, and about its shape and size just like the Hijab should not be similar to Western dresses, it should carry a free look and not be stylish but be simple and not decorated with stones and so many conditions are there. Moreover, this hijab still acts as an identity for each and every woman as being a Muslim. In the account of census, or opinion polls which were conducted in 2014 by the University of Michigan's institute for Social Research asked the civilians of seven Muslim-majority countries (such as Egypt, Iraq, Lebanon, Tunisia, Turkey, Pakistan, and Saudi Arabia) about which style of women's dress code the considered in the society to be most appropriate in public? And they got answered the survey found that almost all civilians chose the headscarf, some chose a niqab, some a Chadar robe; through all these choices there are no significant differences from the term Hijab and all these are considered under the Islamic perspective.

Contemporary Debates and Challenges

The hijab as a Muslim woman's dress code has been seen through a controversial and complicated sight, by which hijab is criticized everywhere by feminists and many modern scholars who are giving that hijab is driving from Islamic ideology but this is refusing the concept of Liberty, where Muslim women are not feeling a free life in behalf of addressing as veiling whole body parts from other opposite sex. On the other hand, defenders of the hijab generally appeal to individual freedom and religious expression. They make the case that acts of wearing the hijab are optional on the basis of faith and as such should be protected. To most Muslim women, the hijab signifies a more profound issue: religious obligation and self-empowerment, identity formation, an opportunity to express one's religious views in the public domain and contest taken-for-granted norms and expectations of femininity and modesty.

In multicultural societies, the visibility of hijab raises questions of integration and tolerance. Policies and public opinion about hijab swing from one extreme to another, making it influential in debates over religious pluralism, secularism, and the rights of minority communities. Supporters of accommodation argue that religious diversity enriches the fabric of society and incorporates inclusiveness, understanding, and lack of tension between different cultural groups. Others consider that wearing hijab is a rejection of secularism, creating problems with regard to the equality of sexes and the cohesion of the social framework.

In these modern days, veils are seen as a way of losing liberty and the right of freedom. Through this point, many countries are trying to ban Hijab in their states, even though they did. Just like Tajikistan, Iran, and India's Karnataka also. If we take a detailed look at Tajikistan there is a mostly Muslim population of more than 90%, they ban Hijab under their government because of a false ideology about Hijab that refuses women's right to freedom. If we look forward to burning issues of 2022 February from Karnataka India, where had protested on behalf of the hijab. There are some viral videos that show some saffron-wearing college boys confronting a Hijab-wearing Muslim girl with slogans of Jai Shri Ram. The girl was later identified through the media as Muskan Khan, and she was shouting back Allah Hu Akbar at the crowd. And this teasing became a threat from the Hindu government to the Hijab-wearing Muslim women and banned the Hijab in Karnataka state.

Conclusion

In a nutshell, the hijab is much more than an article of clothing; it signifies identity, faith, and personal freedom. As described above, modesty, dignity, and respect are articulated in numerous verses of the Holy Quran and narrations of Prophet Muhammad, thereby setting a religious rationale for wearing the hijab. In modern societies, however, this issue has evolved into a heated debate that weighs very carefully on the scales between the issues of religious freedom, cultural identity, and gender equality. While many consider hijab to be restrictive, for others, it is a very powerful mode of expression of their religion and making personal choices. The struggles of Muslim women in hijab within and across cultural and political contexts further attest to the relentless tug of war between holding on to religious tradition and allegiance to modern societal expectations. Even amidst these challenges, the hijab is a very resilient and identity-driven symbol of the Muslims, seeking to teach tolerance, respect, and religious freedom amidst society's diversity. At a later time in history, mutual understanding and respect have to be engendered toward harmonious coexistence with different cultural and religious orientations.

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