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© Hilal Plaza, Inc. – Copying and
using any part of this article is
strictly prohibited without the
permission of Hilal Plaza, Inc.
Understanding Women Hijab, Abaya for
woman and other
Islamic and Muslim Clothing
Muslims follow
the religion of Islam. As part of
their religion they believe Allah to
be their Creator, God and sustainer.
Allah revealed the Quran (Islamic
religion’s holy and noble book) and in
it Allah has provided the commandments
to all human beings to believe in only
one creator (Allah), provided the
guidance to live ones life, the
concept of life and death, punishment
and rewards after death in the next
life, and many other such
commandments.
Since the
creation of the heavens and the earth,
Allah has revealed his message to
prophets and messengers. Some of the
prophets included Jesus (son of Mary),
Jacob, Joseph and Muhammad. Allah
revealed his message on his prophets
and messengers in the form of
scriptures and holy books. These books
include Bible, Torah and the Quran.
Overtime, Allah’s message was changed
by the people for various reasons.
Allah sent Muhammad (saws) as the last
prophet and revealed his last book,
the Quran (also referred to as Koran)
on Muhammad. The Quran has remained
unchanged since its revelation more
than 1500 years ago as Allah has
promised that it would be free from
any human changes until the day of
judgment.
The foundations
regarding
Islamic Clothing are mentioned in
the Quran and through Prophet
Muhammad’s (saws) teachings and
practices. The primary purpose of
Islamic Clothing is to cover a man and
a woman’s body as prescribed by
Islamic law. This article briefly
delineates the various forms of
Islamic Clothing worn by Muslims
across the world.
The common
Islamic teachings require women to
cover all their bodies with the
exception of the front part of the
face and hands (from the wrist area to
the fingers). All other areas are
required to be covered.
Understanding the
concept of “Islamic clothing” also
requires an understanding of the term
mahram and non-mahram. Although Muslim
men and women are required to dress
modestly at all times, a Muslim women
is usually not subject to the same
Islamic teachings in front of mahram
men. Mahram men include husbands,
brothers, fathers, fathers-in-law,
sons and certain other close
relationships. Everyone else not
permitted in Islamic religion fall
under the category of non-mahram.
Abaya
Abaya are robes like dresses that
Muslim women wear on top of regular
clothing. The primary purpose of
wearing an
abaya is to completely cover
oneself so as not to expose any bodily
attributes or beauty as Islam
instructs women to guard their beauty
from all men except those who are
specifically allowed.
Head
abaya - Certain
religious interpretations require a
women to dress in clothing that should
not expose any body formations
whatsoever. In such cases, Muslim
women wear abaya dresses that rest on
top of their heads and extend below
the ankles. This ensures that a
women’s body formations stay hidden
from men who are not lawful to a
woman.
Black
abaya – Black
abaya are more commonly worn in
black in most middle eastern
countries, especially those in the Guf
region. These countries include
Saudi-Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar and other
neighboring countries.
White
abaya – These abayas are
populary worn in Far Eastern muslim
countries.
Colored
abaya – As
abaya are popularly worn among
Muslim women, abaya designers have
created new abaya fashions and have
designed embroidered and colored
abaya. These abaya are popularly worn
in Jordan, western countries and are
also now being worn in Middle Eastern
countries.
Abaya dresses
come in many types of fabrics.
However, Rayon/Polyester material is
the most common fabric used in their
manufacture. Other fabrics used
include cotton, chiffone and
georgette.
Jilbab
The word Jilbab
refers to “something that covers”.
Jilbab are often used synonymously
with Abayas. However, new clothing
trends set Jilbab apart from Abaya
dresses. Jilbabs are more fashionable
and western looking long coat like
dresses that cover the body. Most
women weart Jilbab over regular
clothing.
Hijab
Hijab is a
headcover that Muslim women usually
wear to cover their hair and head. The
word Hijab is a derivative of the
Arabic word “hajaba” that means “to
conceal”. Certain Islamic
interpretations refer to Hijab as
covering the face as well as the head.
The most common interpretation refers
to covering the head and the hair.
The requirements
for covering the hair is in the most
common and accepted Islamic teachings
that requires Muslim women not to show
any bodily hair to men whom they are
not related to in certain relations.
For example, Muslim women do not have
to cover their head and thus can show
their hair to their fathers, husbands,
sons, fathers and other men who are
specifically allowed as “mahram”
(legal). For all others that are not
specified in the Islamic teachings,
the Muslim women are required to cover
their head and head hair.
To enable Muslim
women to abide by the Islamic
teachings, manufacturers have designed
many forms and designs of Hijab.
Certain are basic scarves and shawls
like fabrics that Muslim women can use
to cover their hair by folding the
scarves and shawls in a certain
patterns. Others are sewn to better
fit the head area, and to cover the
hair without the hair slipping out of
the Hijab. Others Hijab styles come in
a pair in which one piece is a cap
that covers the hair while a shawl
covers general coverage of the head
area.
Hijab garments
are most commonly available in cotton
and polyester blend fabrics. Cotton is
more commonly used in the summer as
cotton is a breathable fabric and
allows Muslim women to stay cool in
the summer months. Polyester blend
fabrics however are most commonly and
widely used.
Scarves / Shawls
Scarves and
Shalwls are worn as Hijab to cover the
head fully, the neck and the upper
chest areas of the body. Scarves and
shawls worn for this purpose usually
have larger dimensions to provide
coverage of the mentioned areas. As
scarves and shawls are worn by
non-Muslim women as well, Muslim women
find larger selection of designs and
colors and therefore use them as
Hijab.
Niqab
Niqab is a
garment that enables Muslim women to
cover their faces from non-mahram men.
Niqab is widely used by Muslim women
who believe in the Islamic teachings
of covering ones face also (besides
the head and hair) from non-mahram
men. Figure 5 illustrates Niqab.
Long Skirts
As Muslim women
are required to cover themselves from
top to toe, long skirts are popular
among Muslim women. These popular
skirts extend all the way upto the
ankles to provide full coverage of the
legs.
Long skirts are
commonly found in western markets and
therefore are less challenging to find
and wear for Muslim women.
Long Blouses
As mentioned
earlier, one of the primary
requirements of dressing up in front
of non-mahram men is that Muslim women
dress modestly and not reveal their
bodies in the nude or by wearing tight
clothing that reveals body shapes and
contours. As wearing trousers
sometimes makes it challenging to meet
that requirement, Muslim women prefer
wearing long tops and blouses to cover
the hip and waist area.
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