Hijab : An Ideology

Although a hijab is a scarf that Women (mostly Muslims) wear over their heads for modesty, in 2026, it’s way more than just that; it’s an ideology. This practice of wearing a scarf over the head is obligatory in Islam for women when they are in public or when in the presence of other men. Similar to when an abaya is worn to cover the body and to conceal its shape (We dived into that in our other article, The Abaya ideology, click here to check that out). When it comes to the body, it’s pretty simple: cover it and conceal its shape. But what about the face, hair, hands, and feet? For these, there is a difference among the Muslim Ummah as well. This difference stems from varying interpretations among Muslim scholars.
For the hair, it’s universal that (no contradiction here) women must cover their hair in public or in the presence of non-mahram men. This is essential:
Quranic Basis: Quran 24:31 instructs believing women to “draw their khumur (headcovers) over their chests” and not expose their adornments except what necessarily appears. The term “khimar” historically refers to a headscarf that covers the hair and neck, extending to the bosom, implying that the hair must be concealed to avoid displaying beauty. (yaqeeninstitute.org)

Science Behind it:

Now, this is backed by science as well: research shows that women’s hair influences men’s perceptions of attractiveness, and evolutionary psychology suggests that hair serves as a signal of health, youth, fertility, and reproductive potential, leading men to be attracted and to start validating the female.
This research was done in 2008 in the Scandinavian Journal of Psychology. (academia.edu)

• Institutes:
  
• Viren Swami: Affiliated with the University of Westminster, London, UK (Department of Psychology).
  
• Adrian Furnham: Affiliated with University College London, UK (Department of Clinical, Educational, and Health Psychology).

They investigated how variations in female hair length and hair color, along with skin tone, affect perceptions of attractiveness. This involved 130 men and 112 women. These people rated 12 line drawings of female figures that varied in these traits. Results were analyzed using ANOVA to examine main effects and interaction.
Key findings were as follows:

• Hair color: Brunettes were consistently rated more positively than blonds for attractiveness
  
• Hair Length: length did not have as much effect on the rating or fertility

Now this study was done using limited stimuli, only line drawings, but it did not fail to deliver the result, which is, Hair is seen as attractiveness, hence backing the claim in the Quran for women to cover their hair in public or when in the presence of non-mahram men, as this will lead to fitnah (unwanted attraction and validation)

Christianities take:

The Bible also supports this study by addressing the concept of covering the hair or head primarily in the New Testament, though with some Old Testament references. This is often compared to the hijab practice in Islam, but it varies widely among Christian denominations.
Here are the references from the New Testament:

• 1 Corinthians 11:4-6: “Every man who prays or prophesies with his head covered disgraces his head. But any woman who prays or prophesies with her head uncovered disgraces her head, for it is one and the same thing as having a shaved head. For if a woman will not cover her head, she should cut off her hair. But if it is disgraceful for a woman to have her hair cut off or her head shaved, she should cover her head.”
  
• 1 Corinthians 11:13-15: “Judge for yourselves: Is it proper for a woman to pray to God with her head uncovered? Does not nature itself teach you that if a man has long hair, it is a disgrace for him, but if a woman has long hair, it is her glory? For her hair is given to her for a covering.”

This concludes the covering of hair; it is supported by biology, science, the Quran, and the Bible.

Face and Neck Coverage:

This is the disputed territory because the covering of the face and the neck is derived from interpretations of key Quranic verses, the verse we discussed above that addressed the Khimar, which covers the head, neck, and chest. So there is no explicit mandate in the Quran for covering the face and neck, but the overall emphasis on modesty is to conceal adornments (zinah).
Here are some references from the Quran:

• Quran 24:31 (Surah An-Nur): “And tell the believing women to reduce (some) of their vision and guard their private parts and not expose their adornment except that which (necessarily) appears thereof and to wrap (a portion of) their headcovers (khumurihinna) over their chests (juyubihinna) and not expose their adornment except to their husbands, their fathers, their husbands’ fathers, their sons, their husbands’ sons, their brothers, their brothers’ sons, their sisters’ sons, their women, that which their right hands possess, or those male attendants having no physical desire, or children who are not yet aware of the private aspects of women. And let them not stamp their feet to make known what they conceal of their adornment.” This verse instructs women to draw their “khimar” (a scarf or veil traditionally worn over the head) over the “juyub” (chests or bosoms), implying coverage of the neck and upper chest to conceal cleavage and prevent displaying beauty to non-mahrams. The phrase “except that which [necessarily] appears” is interpreted by most scholars as allowing the face and hands to remain uncovered for practical reasons like communication and daily tasks, though some extend it to require face veiling. (researchgate.net)
  
• Quran 33:59 (Surah Al-Ahzab): “O Prophet, tell your wives and your daughters and the women of the believers to bring down over themselves (part) of their outer garments (jalabibihinna). That is more suitable that they will be known (as free believing women) and not be abused. Here, “jilbab” refers to an outer cloak or garment drawn over the body, which scholars say should cover from the head downward, including the neck, to provide full modesty and recognition as pious women. It doesn’t specify the face but emphasizes protection and loose coverage. (researchgate.net)

Now the majority view is that covering the face and hands is unnecessary, as they are needed for identification; moreover, during pilgrimage, the face is left uncovered, which further supports this. This is the view of most Sunni scholars, and of many Shia scholars as well, with a minority saying the opposite (Hanbali scholars) that full coverage, including the face, is necessary to avoid any exposure of beauty.
For the neck, it’s simple, remains covered because it’s the area between the head and the chest.

Bible’s Take:

The Bible also addresses this in the same way as the Quran by emphasizing modest dress and behavior, with key references mentioned above explicitly telling people to cover the hair but not the face, as these are parts of the body and should be covered.
These findings also cover the hand area that isn’t explicitly mandated, so it’s up to the females themselves whether they want to cover it.

Conclusion:

In the end, it all points to modesty of the female as most Christian Women have long forgotten this mandate of modesty, while Islamic women still hold this firmly, but some do their own interpretations and act on it. The science believers don’t actually believe in anything that goes against their likes. Overall, men and women both should protect their gaze and their private parts and only give access to their husbands, and avoid the cheap thrill of short-term attraction and validation.