Surah Al-Ahzaab (33) — Ayah 59

(Ayah 59) ➊ { يٰۤاَيُّهَا النَّبِيُّ قُلْ لِّاَزْوَاجِكَ وَ بَنٰتِكَ … :} After mentioning the warning for those who harm Muslims, Muslim women are instructed to observe hijab to protect themselves from harm. From this verse, it is evident that the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) had more than one daughter. Some people do not accept any daughters of the Prophet (peace be upon him) except Fatimah (may Allah be pleased with her). According to them, the daughters of the Prophet (peace be upon him) refer to the women of the Ummah, but this is not correct, because in the verse, after mentioning the wives and daughters of the Prophet (peace be upon him), the believing women are mentioned separately. In the books of hadith and biography, four daughters of the Prophet (peace be upon him) are mentioned: Zainab, Umm Kulthum, Ruqayyah, and Fatimah (may Allah be pleased with them). In {’’ نِسَآءِ الْمُؤْمِنِيْنَ ‘‘}, besides the wives of the believers, all women related to them are included, such as their mothers, sisters, daughters, nieces (brother’s daughters), and nieces (sister’s daughters), etc.

➋ {’’جَلَابِيْبُ‘‘ ’’جِلْبَابٌ‘‘} is the plural of a large sheet that covers the body. The word {’’ مِنْ ‘‘} is for partiality, meaning a part of their sheets. {’’ يُدْنِيْنَ عَلَيْهِنَّ ‘‘}, {’’أَدْنٰي يُدْنِيْ‘‘} means to bring close, and with the word {’’ عَلَيْهِنَّ ‘‘}, the meaning of hanging is added. The women of Arabia, like all ignorant societies, used to walk with uncovered faces in front of everyone, so Allah Almighty said: “O Prophet! Tell your wives, your daughters, and the women of the believers to let a part of their sheets hang over themselves.” What is meant by this hanging? Tabari has narrated with an authentic chain from the interpreter of the Quran, Abdullah ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them): {’’ أَمَرَ اللّٰهُ نِسَاءَ الْمُؤْمِنِيْنَ إِذَا خَرَجْنَ مِنْ بُيُوْتِهِنَّ فِيْ حَاجَةٍ أَنْ يُّغَطِّيْنَ وُجُوْهَهُنَّ مِنْ فَوْقِ رُؤُوْسِهِنَّ بِالْجَلاَبِيْبِ، وَ يُبْدِيْنَ عَيْنًا وَاحِدَةً ‘‘} [طبري : ۲۸۸۸۰ ] “Allah Almighty has commanded the believing women that when they go out for a need, they should cover their faces with the sheets thrown over their heads and leave one eye open.” Umm Salamah (may Allah be pleased with her) said: [ لَمَّا نَزَلَتْ : « يُدْنِيْنَ عَلَيْهِنَّ مِنْ جَلَابِيْبِهِنَّ» خَرَجَ نِسَاءَ الْأَنْصَارِ كَأَنَّ عَلٰی رُءُوْسِهِنَّ الْغِرْبَانَ مِنَ الْأَكْسِيَةِ ] [ أبو داوٗد، اللباس، باب في قول اللّٰہ تعالٰی: « یدنین علیھن من جلا بیبھن » : ۴۱۰۱، و قال الألباني صحیح ] “When the verse {’’ يُدْنِيْنَ عَلَيْهِنَّ مِنْ جَلَابِيْبِهِنَّ‘‘} was revealed, the women of the Ansar came out as if there were crows on their heads because of the (black) sheets.”

➌ { ذٰلِكَ اَدْنٰۤى اَنْ يُّعْرَفْنَ فَلَا يُؤْذَيْنَ :} Here is a question: If a part of the sheet is hung over oneself in such a way that only one eye remains open and the face is not visible at all, then how can a woman be recognized? Then what does it mean to say, “This is closer so that they may be recognized and not harmed”? The answer is that being recognized does not mean that this is such-and-such woman, but it means that by observing hijab, it will be recognized that these are honorable and modest women, so no one will dare to tease them, nor will anyone be tempted to attract them. On the contrary, how can an unveiled woman be recognized as honorable or as merchandise displayed in the market, which anyone can acquire? After removing the veil, instead of being safe from harm, she should expect harassment, force, and sometimes even abduction by wicked and immoral people.

➍ Some people say that covering the face is not required, but this verse refutes them. In addition, the command of hijab is also clearly established from Surah An-Nur, verses (31 and 60), and Surah Al-Ahzab, verses (53 and 55). Along with the verse under commentary, review the translation and exegesis of these verses as well. The statement of Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) in the incident of Ifk, that Safwan saw me before the verses of hijab were revealed, is also clear evidence for covering the face.

➎ { وَ كَانَ اللّٰهُ غَفُوْرًا رَّحِيْمًا: ’’ غَفُوْرًا ‘‘} means the one who covers, {’’ رَحِيْمًا ‘‘} means extremely merciful. That is, the reason Allah Almighty has given the command of hijab for believing women is due to His attribute of forgiveness and mercy. He wants to cover you and show mercy to you, and only by obeying His command will you become deserving of His covering and mercy. If you do not obey Him, then do not expect His covering and mercy for your shortcomings.

59. 1. Jilabib is the plural of jilbab, which refers to such a large sheet that covers the entire body. By "casting their outer garments over themselves" is meant to draw a veil over their faces in such a way that most of the face is also concealed, and by lowering the gaze while walking, the path is still visible. In the Indian subcontinent or other Islamic countries, the various forms of burqa that exist today were not common in the era of the Prophet ﷺ. Later, the simplicity in society that existed during the time of the Prophet ﷺ and the Companions and Followers did not remain. Women used to wear very simple clothing; there was no inclination in them for adornment or displaying beauty. Therefore, even with a large sheet, the requirements of hijab were fulfilled. But later, this simplicity disappeared and was replaced by luxury and adornment, and the display of flashy clothing and jewelry among women became common, due to which it became difficult to observe hijab with a sheet, and instead, various styles of burqa became common. Although sometimes women, especially in severe heat, feel some discomfort with this, this slight inconvenience holds no significance compared to the requirements of Shariah. However, the woman who, instead of a burqa, uses a large sheet for hijab and covers her entire body and properly draws a veil over her face, she certainly fulfills the command of hijab, because the burqa is not such a necessary thing that Shariah has declared it obligatory for hijab. But nowadays, women have made the sheet a means of adopting immodesty; first, they start wearing a sheet instead of a burqa, then even the sheet disappears, only the scarf remains, and for some women, even taking that is burdensome. Seeing the situation, it must be said that now the use of the burqa is correct, because since the sheet has replaced the burqa, immodesty has become widespread, and women have even started to take pride in semi-nakedness. Indeed, to Allah we belong and to Him we shall return. In any case, in this verse, the wives, daughters of the Prophet ﷺ, and general believing women have been commanded to observe hijab when going out of the house, which makes it clear that the command of hijab is not an invention of the scholars, as some people nowadays try to make others believe, or do not give it its due importance, but rather it is the command of Allah, which is established by the clear text of the Noble Quran. Turning away from it, denying it, and insisting on immodesty can lead to disbelief. The second point that is known from this is that the Prophet ﷺ did not have only one daughter, as is the belief of the Rafidah, but he had more than one daughter, as is clear from the Quranic text, and they were four, as is established from the books of history, biography, and hadith.

59. 2. This is the explanation of the wisdom and benefit of hijab: that through it, a noblewoman and modest woman will be distinguished from a shameless and immoral woman. Through hijab, it will be known that she is a woman of family, whom no one will dare to harass. On the contrary, an immodest woman will become the focus of the eyes of the wicked and the target of their lust.

59. O Prophet! Tell your wives, your daughters, and the women of the believers to draw their cloaks over themselves [99]. That is more likely that they will be recognized and not be harassed. And Allah is Most Forgiving, Most Merciful.

[99] With this command, the mischief and harassment of insolent hypocrites was put to an end. The wives, daughters of the Prophet, and all Muslim women were commanded to let their large cloaks hang down from above their heads. In this way, it would be easily recognized that these are not slave girls but noble women. Therefore, the hypocrites would not dare to harass them.

Daughters of the Prophet ﷺ:

Incidentally, from this it is understood that the daughters of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ were three or more, and in reality, they were four: Sayyidah Zainab, Sayyidah Ruqayyah, Sayyidah Umm Kulthum, and Sayyidah Fatimah ؓ. Whereas the Shia only accept one daughter (Sayyidah Fatimah ؓ) of the Prophet ﷺ and do not accept the rest. Women should go out wearing a large cloak: Here, it is necessary to clarify that some people consider the face to be exempt from the command of covering. They think that: the meaning of ﴿يُدْنِيْنَ عَلَيْهِنَّ مِنْ جَلَابِيْبِهِنَّ﴾ is not to let the cloak hang down as a veil, but rather to wrap the cloak well around the body, which in Punjabi is called "bukl maarna." What lies beneath this interpretation is known to all; we only wish to say that this interpretation is wrong from the perspectives of language, reason, and transmission. That is because:

1. From the linguistic perspective, the meaning of dana, yadni is to come close, to lower, and to hang down—all are included. In the Quran it is said: ﴿وَجَنَا الْجَنَّـتَيْنِ دَانٍ﴾ [54:55] meaning the fruits of both gardens are hanging low or drooping, and ﴿اَدْنٰي يَدْنِي ﴾ meaning to bring near, to lower, and to hang down, and "adna al-sitr" means to let the curtain hang down (Munjid). Now, if the words were ﴿ادنٰي اليهن من جلابيبهن﴾, then the meanings desired by these people could also be possible, but in the Quran, "adna" is connected with "ala," which restricts its meaning to ﴿اِرْخَاء﴾, i.e., to hang down from above. And when the meaning is to hang down, then it means to let it hang down from the head, which automatically includes the covering of the face.

Covering of Hands and Face:

2. From the rational perspective, this interpretation is also wrong because the woman's face is the very thing that is more attractive to a man than the rest of her body. If it is exempted from hijab, then the rest of the commands of hijab are useless. Suppose you want to see the appearance of your future wife before marriage. Now, if you are not shown the girl's face but are shown the rest of her body—hands, feet, etc.—would you be satisfied? The answer to this question is certainly negative. Yes, it is possible that you are shown only the girl's face and not the rest of her body; in this case, you would still be quite satisfied. When all these things are evident from daily experience and observation, then how can the face be excluded from the commands of hijab? Thus, Sayyiduna Abu Hurairah ؓ says that I was with the Messenger of Allah ﷺ. A man came and informed him that he had contracted marriage with an Ansari woman. The Prophet ﷺ asked him: "Have you seen her?" He replied, "No." The Prophet ﷺ said: "Go and look at her, for there is something in the eyes of the Ansar." [مسلم۔ کتاب النکاح۔ باب ندب من اراد نکاح امرأۃ الیٰ ان ینظر الیٰ وجھھا وکفیھا قبل خطبتھا]

In this hadith too, the Prophet ﷺ instructed to look at the face.

The Wrong Meaning of the Verse and Its Answer:

3. From the perspective of transmission, this interpretation is also wrong. This Surah Ahzab was revealed in Dhu al-Qa'dah, 5 AH, and the incident of Ifk occurred in Shawwal, 6 AH. While narrating the incident of Ifk, Sayyidah Aisha ؓ herself says: "I remained sitting in that place. Meanwhile, I fell asleep. A man, Safwan bin Mu'attal Salmi, came to that place and saw that someone was sleeping. As soon as he saw me, he recognized me because he had seen me before the command of hijab was revealed. When he saw me, he recited: ﴿إنَّا لِلّٰهِ وَإنَّا إلَيْهِ رَاجِعُوْنَ﴾, and my eyes opened, so I covered my face with my cloak." [بخاری۔ کتاب المغازی۔ باب حدیث الافک]

Now the question is, if the meaning of ﴿يُدْنِيْنَ عَلَيْهِنَّ مِنْ جَلَابِيْبِهِنَّ﴾ is as these people want us to understand, then (God forbid) did Sayyidah Aisha ؓ and the other Companions ؓ understand its meaning incorrectly?