Do’s and Don’ts of A Muslim Women Dress Code

When it comes to the comparison of other religion of the world with Islam, the most important element that makes Islam supersede them all is the fact that Islam is a code of life. Other religions are only religions that speak of only the religious aspects of life, whereas, in Islam religion and Islam are integrated and they cannot be segregated and made isolated.

Islam gives code and instructions about each and every element of life, whether it be the social, environmental preservation, human rights, Quran tutoring and Teaching, economical guidelines or the living style of a Good Muslim. Pertaining to living style of people in general and women in particular, dressing is a major part of it.

Where Islam addresses the way men should dress, it also gives comprehensive instructions on how women should dress. The lines below discuss the major constituents of the dressing of women in Islam.

The Right Kind of Garment:

In Quran, Allah Almighty says:

“O children of Adam, We have brought down to you garments to cover your private parts, as well as for adornment, yet the garment of reverence is the best. These are some of God’s signs, perhaps they will remember.” (7:26)

From this ayah of Quran it is evident that garments were given by Allah Almighty to mankind so that they could protect their private parts. Therefore, there is the option available for wearing any kind of dress that covers the private parts, however, in the same ayah Allah Almighty says that the garment of reverence is the best. Thus, if a women wears a particular dress then she needs to consider that whether or not the dress comes with decency.  Therefore, the prime object of dressing is to cover the private parts, however, it should be done with decency and modesty.

Covering Bosoms:

The detailed description of the kind of dress women should wear is explained in the Quran in the following way:

“And say to the believing women that they should lower their gaze and guard their modest; that they should not display their beauty and ornaments except what (ordinarily) appear thereof; that they should draw their veils over their bosoms and not display their beauty except to their husbands, their fathers…………….” (24:31)

From this ayah the first thing that becomes clear pertaining to dressing of women is that they should draw veils over their bosoms. The breasts of women are a private body part, therefore, in the light of previous ayah of Quran they need to protect it. Moreover, instead of revealing their bosom, women need to keep them under protection all the time. Hence, whether in public or in private with close people, women are not allowed to drop down the veil from their bosom, rather they need to stay covered. Therefore, whether it is a coat, a shawl, a scarf or any other form of cloak that covers the bosoms, it should be used in regular dressing of Muslim women.

Protection of Adornments:

The other necessary element or the objective, which the dressing of a Muslim woman must cover, is the protection of adornments. As described in the aforementioned ayah, Allah Almighty commends women covering their bosoms along with their adornments except the ones that are ordinarily visible. For women the general understanding of the adornments is the parts of the body of women that carry sexual connotations. Thus, Allah Almighty wants women to wear such dresses that does not reveal their adornments to other people. However, the other thing to observe and ponder about in this regard is that, Allah Almighty does not make the rule overly strict, rather it is allowed for women to have their face and hands uncovered as without them it becomes difficult for them to perform even the most trivial of jobs in daily life. Hence, the dress should be loose so that the adornments of women’s body are covered and they do not give any kind of sexual signals to the opposite sex.

Long Garments:

In Quran, Allah Almighty says:

“O Prophet, tell you wives, your daughters and the wives of the believers that they shall lengthen their garments. This is better so that they will be recognized and not molested. God is Forgiver, Merciful.” (33:59)

The third important factor that women need to ensure in their dressing is the longer length of the dress. When the length of the dress covering the body is increased, it becomes quite natural that the dress hangs loose on the body. When it hangs loose on the body, it does not let the adornments or the bosoms of women get prominent, thus the purpose of dress is served. Therefore, in order to avoid attraction in general and exhibition of sexuality in particular, women should wear clothes with longer length that do not make the body parts prominent.

Avoiding See-through Garments:

As discussed above, the ultimate purpose of garments is to protect the private parts of the body of a woman. Therefore, it is of grave importance that women wear such clothes that are not see through. The clothes must not be see through, other than that women have a free hand when it comes to choosing the type and kind of dress they want to wear.

Conclusion:

In a nutshell, it is imperative that women wear such dresses that cover their private body parts in a way that there are neither visible to the people, nor do they standout when covered. In this regard, long and thick clothes can help achieve the purpose, or using a cloak over the clothes of desire to prevent one’s self from any kind unwanted attention or experience.