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Why The Command In Surah Al-Ahzab If Veiling Already Existed?
It’s known that face covering or the use of the veil (niqab/jilbab) existed in pre-Islamic Arabian culture. Although not universally practiced, it was present and culturally relevant among certain tribes.
Given that, why did Surah al-Ahzab (33:59) issue a command for believing women and the Prophet’s family to cover themselves with the jilbab? If the practice was already in place, what was the need for this command seperately? -
15 Replies
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Why The Command In Surah Al-Ahzab If Veiling Already Existed?
updated 5 days, 1 hour ago
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15
Replies
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That usual practice of the women was declared an official mark to identify the lady from the slave girl, before the culprits, who used to tease the ladies, were brought to book.
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So, it was in this way—Jilbabs were commonly worn by women, but it varied—not all of them did.And if I’m not wrong, the wives of the Prophet also didn’t wear jilbabs before the ruling.
With the revelation of the ruling, the practice was made obligatory for all of them for a certain period of time.
Have I understood it correctly?
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No. The wives of the prophet and other ladies put on jalbab because it was common attire of ladies. It was then made an official mark of their identity.
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O Prophet! Tell your wives and your daughters and the women of the believers to draw over themselves their jilbāb(outer garments). That is more suitable that they will be known and not be abused. And ever is Allah Forgiving and Merciful. [33:59]
If the women of that time already wore the jilbāb, why does the verse come in the form of a command? Why not simply say, “Continue wearing your jilbābs”?
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If it has said to continue with itz it won’t make the point that God is making it an official order.
Jalbab was commonly used by the ladies. It is a histocal fact. It was made a mark for the ladies to let the culprits know that if they would tease them again they would be punished.
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Was the jilbab routinely observed by each and every Muslim woman, across all tribes?
Or were there variations, and was it not consistently followed the same way before the ruling?
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The ladies used to wear Hijab, not all women.
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I am slightly confused. Are “ladies” and “women” not the same?
Or, by “ladies,” do you specifically mean adult females?
If that is the case, can it be said that after the ruling, it applied to everyone, or only to adult females?
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Also an important question-
If the distinction between free women and slave women was based on the dress code and was already evident in the culture even before the ruling, then how could harassers lie/excuse by saying, “I thought they were slaves”?
Were there cases where free women did not observe the jilbab, making such an excuse possible?
And did the ruling then make the jilbab the official distinguishing mark without any room for excuse?
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The verse seems to align only if the context was such that the jilbāb was a common dress but not routinely followed by everyone, nor universally practiced by Arab women. Then, through this verse, it was made universal and mandated to be followed consistently without fail.
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‘Ladies’ mean free honourable women.
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Okay.
What about this question? 👇🏻
If the distinction between free women and slave women was based on the dress code and was already evident in the culture even before the ruling, then how could harassers lie/excuse by saying, “I thought they were slaves”?
Were there cases where free women did not observe the jilbab, making such an “excuse” possible?
And did the ruling then make the jilbab the official distinguishing mark without any room for “excuse”?
In short, what cultural, historical, or societal factor allowed the excuse to take place?
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In Pre-Islamic
Some women (especially elite or noble women) may have worn cloaks or veils, but it was not standardized.
Enslaved women, lower-class women, and many women often did not cover in the same way. In fact, some were discouraged or even forbidden from covering fully, particularly in the early Islamic period, to distinguish them from free.The Qur’an (33:59) indicates that the jilbab would help identify believing women, meaning that others — by contrast — were not wearing it, or not wearing it in the same way. This created a visual, moral, and social distinction between believing women and others.
Some scholars interpreted this as meaning enslaved women were not required to wear it — not because they were excluded from dignity, but because social norms at the time treated them differently.
Non-Muslim women (Christians, Jews, pagans) under Muslim rule generally followed their own cultural dress codes.
This distinction was not about superiority of one group over another in terms of personal worth — it was about creating social boundaries in a tribal society, where clothing signaled identity, class, and status.
Islam elevated the status of women and introduced modest dress as a means of dignity and protection, especially for women who were newly entering Islam and facing harassment.
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I appreciate your response, but it’s not quite what I was looking for.
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The Qur’an (33:59)یٰۤاَیُّہَا النَّبِیُّ قُلۡ لِّاَزۡوَاجِکَ وَ بَنٰتِکَ وَ نِسَآءِ الۡمُؤۡمِنِیۡنَ یُدۡنِیۡنَ عَلَیۡہِنَّ مِنۡ جَلَابِیۡبِہِنَّ ؕ ذٰلِکَ اَدۡنٰۤی اَنۡ یُّعۡرَفۡنَ فَلَا یُؤۡذَیۡنَ ؕ وَ کَانَ اللّٰہُ غَفُوۡرًا رَّحِیۡمًا ﴿۵۹﴾
The actual words are: يُدۡنِيۡنَ عَلَيۡهِنَّ مِنۡ جَلَابِيۡبِهِنَّ. The مِنۡ here denotes fraction (tab‘īḍ). Hence what is implied is مِنۡ جَلَابِيۡبِهِنَّ جِلْبَابٌ. This means any shawl that is present in their homes which is worn as a covering. It is evident from these words and from their context also that they do not contain any directive related to ḥijāb, as has been generally understood. It was a temporary measure adopted to distinguish the identity of Muslim women in order to protect them from the evil of lecherous people and from those who indulge in unfounded slander. The purpose of this directive was that if they go to places of danger, they are distinguished from other women and are not teased on the pretext of being outwardly similar to such women. It is reported in various narratives that when Muslim women in the dark of night or in the dim light of dawn would go out to relieve themselves, the miscreants would get after them and when they would be called to account, they would say that they actually wanted to talk to such and such a woman thinking that she was a slave-woman. (See: Ibn Kathīr, Tafsīr al-Qur’ān al-Aẓīm, vol. 3, 518)
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