In modern usage, hijab (, ) generally refers to various head coverings conventionally worn by many Muslim women. While a hijab can come in many forms, it often specifically refers to a headscarf, wrapped around the head, covering the hair, neck and ears, but leaving the face visible.
In Islam, Muslim women are required to observe the hijab in front of any man they could theoretically marry. This means that hijab is not obligatory in front of the father, brothers, grandfathers, uncles or young children or those regarded as mahram. Hijab is similar to the tichel or snood worn by Orthodox Jewish women, certain headcoverings worn by some Christian women, such as the mantilla, apostolnik and wimple, as well as the dupatta worn by many Hindu and Sikh women.
The use of the hijab has been on the rise worldwide since the 1970s and is viewed by many Muslims as expressing modesty and faith. There is a consensus among Islamic religious scholars that covering the head is either required or preferred, though some Muslim scholars and activists argue that it is not mandated.
The term was originally used to denote a partition, a curtain, or was sometimes used for Islamic rules of modesty. This is the usage in the verses of the Qur'an, in which the term sometimes refers to a curtain separating visitors to Muhammad's main house from his wives' residential lodgings. This has led some to claim that the mandate of the Qur'an applied only to the wives of Muhammad, and not to the entirety of women. Another interpretation can also refer to the seclusion of women from men in the public sphere, whereas a metaphysical dimension may refer to "the veil which separates man, or the world, from God". For some, the term for headscarf in the Qur'an is ().
There is no consensus over how much of a veil is a necessity. Some legal systems accept the hijab as an order to cover everything except the face and hands, while others accept it as an order that covers the whole body, including the face and hands. These guidelines are found in texts of hadith and fiqh developed after the revelation of the Qur'an. Some believe these are derived from the verses (ayahs) referencing hijab in the Qur'an; others believe that the Qur'an does not mandate that women need to wear a hijab. Some reformist groups consider the issue of veiling in Islam only as a recommendation made according to the conditions of the past, and that regarding it as a necessity is an imposition of Islamist ideology.
The hijab is currently required by law to be worn by women in Iran and in Afghanistan by the Taliban goverment. Since 2018, it is no longer required by law in Saudi Arabia. Other countries, both in Europe and in the Muslim world, have passed laws banning some or all types of hijab in public or in certain types of locales. Women in different parts of the world have also experienced unofficial pressure to wear or not wear a hijab.
In Islamic scripture
Qur'an
Qur'anic verses relating to dress codes use the terms khimār (according to some, a headcovering) and jilbāb (a dress or cloak) rather than ḥijāb. About six verses refer specifically to the way a woman should dress and walk in public; Muslim scholars have differed as to how these verses should be applied, with some stating that a headscarf is required and others saying that a headscarf is not required.
The clearest verses on the requirement of modest dress are Surah 24:30–31, telling both men and women to dress and act modestly, with more detail about modest dress focused on women.
The word khimar, in the context of this verse, is sometimes translated as "head coverings". Such head coverings were worn by women in Arabia at the advent of Islam.
The verse in Luxenberg's reading of Syro-Aramaic reading instructed women to "fasten their belts around their waists" metaphorically instead. The belt had a symbolic meaning for chastity in the Christian world at that time.
Qur'an 33:59, tells Muhammad ask his family members and other Muslim women to wear outer garments when they go out, so that they are not harassed: