Woman in Islamic  Shari‘ah
        
        
          10. Hijab in Islam
        
        
          ~ 221 ~
        
        
          10.
        
        
          HIJAB IN ISLAM
        
        
          HIJAB IN THE LIGHT OF THE QUR’AN AND
        
        
          HADITH
        
        
          THIS
        
        
          CHAPTER is based on an authoritative
        
        
          Arabic book titled
        
        
          Hijab al-Mar’ah al-Muslimah fil
        
        
          Kitab was-Sunnah,
        
        
          by Muhammad Nasiruddin
        
        
          al-Albani, a famous scholar and traditionist. It was
        
        
          translated by this writer and initially published in
        
        
          condensed form in the quarterly,
        
        
          Islam and the
        
        
          Modern Age.
        
        
          182
        
        
          The third edition of the original work with some
        
        
          additions is before me. The question of
        
        
          hijab
        
        
          (
        
        
          veil
        
        
          ),
        
        
          or
        
        
          purbah
        
        
          in Urdu, the author tells us, has been
        
        
          discussed in light of the Qur’an and Hadith.
        
        
          From the author’s point of view, a woman’s face is
        
        
          not included in the parts of the body that need to be
        
        
          compulsorily covered. He suggests, however, that it
        
        
          is better to cover it. He agrees with those who, in
        
        
          spite of holding the view that the face is not to be
        
        
          covered as a rule, nevertheless advocate the
        
        
          covering of the face in order to discourage mischief,
        
        
          in view of the general moral degradation in present-