Hijab... To wear or not to wear !!

I have grown up in Saudi Arabia, I went to local schools where I had an extensive religious learning. Most of the things that we have been taught were acceptable at home since my family is relatively religious too. I think my parents have always been pleased for having a compliant daughter who respects religious and social values. Considering the family and social atmosphere, I took the decision of wearing "Hijab" the moment I reached the adulthood. Here in Saudi Arabia, women wear "Abaya" which is enforced by religious police "Mutaween". I wear Hijab with my own sense of fashion outside Saudi Arabia because I as a Muslim woman can wear whatever I want as long as it goes with the Islamic outfit.

I got downstairs last week to find my Mom's cousin and his wife setting in the living room with my parents, he was arguing and defending his opinion that Hijab is not what we think it is, he relies on Dr. Muhammad Shahrour reinterpretation of holy Koran in his book "The Book and the Koran". Shahrour considers the minimum limit of woman’s attire to be satr al-juyūb (Q.S al-Nur: 31) or covering the chest (breasts) and genitals so as not to be naked. Its maximum limit is the covering of the whole body excluding the palms of one’s hand and one’s face. In this approach, the woman who does not wear hijab has in fact fulfilled Allah’s stipulation. On the contrary, women who cover their whole body including the face are considered to have gone beyond hudūd-u-lLāh (Allah’s limits) since it is beyond the maximum limit determined by Koran. This means that women who cover their face and their whole body are “not Islamic”.

I was really upset because my religious and linguistic education doesn't give me enough reason to convince him with my own opinion. I decided to make my own research and ended up having new opinion of my own which I will be discussing in my next post.