The veil is the garment used by Muslim women to cover the head and other parts of the body on public occasions and, more generally, in the presence of male people. The veil can be of various types and its use changes depending on the country: in some cases it is mandatory (by law or social convention), in other cases its use is optional. The veil has religious and social meanings but, unlike what is generally believed, its use does not have Islamic origins, being attested well before the birth of the Muslim religion throughout the Mediterranean world. Islam then “adopted” it from previous traditions, including the Jewish and Christian religions.
What is the Islamic veil and why women wear it
The Islamic veil is a garment used by Muslim women to cover certain parts of the body. In the most common form, known as hijab, it covers only the head; longer versions, such as the burka and niqab, cover almost the entire body.
Women must wear the veil on all public occasions and in the presence of men other than their immediate family members (husbands, brothers, fathers, sons). The veil, according to Muslim scholars, has the function of “protecting” women from the attentions of men, thus contributing to preserving their purity and the stability of marriages. By hiding her beauty, moreover, the veil pushes men to focus their attention on the internal qualities of the woman and not on the aesthetic aspect. It is also considered a symbol of respect for faith and submission to God. For these reasons, it must be worn by all women from puberty onwards.
Sometimes in the West it is believed that the veil is a tool to exercise power over women, almost a form of oppression, but this thesis is rejected by the vast majority of Muslims. Moreover, it is impossible to say whether the veil is an imposition or a free choice: it varies from case to case. What is certain is that, unlike what is generally believed, wearing the veil is not a tradition of Islamic origins.
The pre-Islamic origins of the hijab
The idea that women should veil their heads precedes the birth of Islam by many centuries (which, as we know, was born on the Arabian Peninsula in the 7th century AD). Already some statuettes dating back to around 2,500 years before Christ depict veiled priestesses. Furthermore, the veil was used in many ancient civilizations as a distinctive sign of aristocratic women or, more generally, respectable women: slaves and prostitutes, in fact, did not wear it. For example, an Assyrian law issued by the ruler Tiglath-pileser in the 12th century BC. C. forced all married women to wear the veil; in the Iliad, dating back to the 8th-7th century BC, it is said that the goddess Hera wore a veil before leaving Olympus to reach Mount Ida.
The veil, intended as a symbol of purity and submission to God, was also accepted by the Christian religion. In the first letter to the Corinthians, Paul the Apostle established that all women had to keep their heads veiled when praying:
Every woman who prays or prophesies without a veil on her head is disrespectful of her head, for it is the same as if she were shaved. So if a woman doesn’t want to wear a veil, she should cut her hair too! But if it is shameful for a woman to cut her hair or shave, then cover up.
Even today, moreover, the Christian religion requires the use of the veil for nuns. Furthermore, the Madonna, who for Christianity is a female model, is always depicted veiled.
The veil in the Koran
The veil was widespread in the Arabian Peninsula before the advent of Islam and was immediately adopted by Muslims. In the Quran the obligation to wear it is not clearly indicated, but some passages mention the need to cover specific parts of the body.
Sura XXIV
And tell the believers to lower their gaze and be chaste and not show of their ornaments except what appears; to let their veil fall down to their chest and not show their ornaments to anyone other than their husbands, their fathers, their husbands’ fathers, their sons, their husbands’ sons, their brothers, their brothers’ sons, their sisters’ sons, their women, the slaves they own, the male servants who have no desire, the prepubescent boys who have no interest in the hidden parts of women
Sura XXXIII
O Prophet! Tell your wives and your daughters and the women of the believers to cover themselves with their cloaks; this will be more suitable to distinguish them from the others, and to prevent them from being offended.
The Koran, however, does not use the term hijab (which is present in the book, but with another meaning) and does not clearly define when women must wear the veil and which parts of the body it must cover.
Is it mandatory to wear a veil?
The obligatory wearing of the veil is sanctioned by other sources of Muslim law, in particular by the hadith, collected in the Sunna. These are anecdotes and sayings of Muhammad and his companions. For these reasons, the veil is considered mandatory by all Islamic legal schools. However, the fact that there are no clear prescriptions in the Koran means that there is no single regulation in the Islamic world. Consequently, there are different types of veil: from the hijab which covers the hair, to the burqa which covers practically the entire body. However, full veils, according to many jurists, are a pre-Islamic legacy and have nothing to do with Islam.
Furthermore, the veil is not widespread in the same way in all Muslim-majority countries. In some cases, such as Saudi Arabia and Iran, it is mandatory, in others, such as Albania, it is used very rarely.
