سُوْرَةُ الْاَحْزَابِ
Surah Al-Ahzaab (33) — Ayah 59
يَـٰٓأَيُّهَا ٱلنَّبِىُّ قُل لِّأَزْوَٰجِكَ وَبَنَاتِكَ وَنِسَآءِ ٱلْمُؤْمِنِينَ يُدْنِينَ عَلَيْهِنَّ مِن جَلَـٰبِيبِهِنَّ ۚ ذَٰلِكَ أَدْنَىٰٓ أَن يُعْرَفْنَ فَلَا يُؤْذَيْنَ ۗ وَكَانَ ٱللَّهُ غَفُورًا رَّحِيمًا ﴿59﴾
Translation by Dr. Muhammad Muhsin Khan & Dr. Taqi-ud-Din al-Hilali
O Prophet! Tell your wives and your daughters and the women of the believers to draw their cloaks (veils) all over their bodies (i.e. screen themselves completely except the eyes or one eye to see the way). That will be better, that they should be known (as free respectable women) so as not to be annoyed. And Allâh is Ever Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful.[3]
Word by Word — Arabic, Transliteration & Meaning
يَـٰٓأَيُّهَا
yāayyuhā
O Prophet
ٱلنَّبِىُّ
l-nabiyu
O Prophet
قُل
qul
Say
لِّأَزْوَٰجِكَ
li-azwājika
to your wives
وَبَنَاتِكَ
wabanātika
and your daughters
وَنِسَآءِ
wanisāi
and (the) women
ٱلْمُؤْمِنِينَ
l-mu'minīna
(of) the believers
يُدْنِينَ
yud'nīna
to draw
عَلَيْهِنَّ
ʿalayhinna
over themselves
مِن
min
[of]
جَلَـٰبِيبِهِنَّ ۚ
jalābībihinna
their outer garments
ذَٰلِكَ
dhālika
That
أَدْنَىٰٓ
adnā
(is) more suitable
أَن
an
that
يُعْرَفْنَ
yuʿ'rafna
they should be known
فَلَا
falā
and not
يُؤْذَيْنَ ۗ
yu'dhayna
harmed
وَكَانَ
wakāna
And is
ٱللَّهُ
l-lahu
Allah
غَفُورًۭا
ghafūran
Oft-Forgiving
رَّحِيمًۭا
raḥīman
Most Merciful
Tafsir Taiseer ul-Quran — Maulana Abdul Rahman Kilani
Tafsir Taiseer ul-Quran (Facilitation of the Quran) is a comprehensive Quran commentary by Maulana Abdul Rahman Kilani, a renowned Salafi (Ahl al-Hadith) scholar from Pakistan. Known for his eloquent and accessible writing style, Kilani authored this tafsir with a focus on clarity — making Quranic meanings understandable to the common reader. The tafsir provides detailed historical context for verses related to battles and expeditions, and firmly refutes modernist ideologies using strong scriptural evidence. It is widely regarded as an invaluable resource for understanding the Quran and countering deviant interpretations. The tafsir is originally written in Urdu, translated to English by tohed.com.
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?
[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?
