given the fact that the quran mentions the coverings should give you ample evidence. but luckily for you i did find a pdf of the tarek fatah book.
Thank you for posting your source. Also I don't know if you are purposely ignoring what has been posted in this thread regarding the wording of the verse. You keep saying that the head/face is not mentioned I will ask you again what is the meaning of the arabic word in question جُيُوبِهِنَّ
You continue to assert that this word does not mean covering their heads. You are incorrect.
"...and to draw their veils all over Juyubihinna (i.e. their bodies, faces, necks and bosoms)" 24:31 mohsin khan translation
Also further proof of the meaning of the word جُيُوبِهِنَّ is the evidence of two seperate hadiths regarding when the verse in question was revealed...
1 – It was narrated from Safiyyah bint Shaybah that ‘Aa’ishah (may Allaah be pleased with her) used to say: When these words were revealed – “and to draw their veils all over Juyoobihinna (i.e. their bodies, faces, necks and bosoms)” – they took their izaars (a kind of garment) and tore them from the edges and covered their faces with them.
Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 4481.
2. When the words ‘and to draw their veils all over Juyoobihinna were revealed, the women of the Ansaar went out looking as
if there were crows on their heads because of their garments.” Classed as saheeh by al-Albaani in Saheeh Abi Dawood
So I think this provides ample evidence of the meaning of the word جُيُوبِهِنَّ is and what was intended by the revelation of the verse.
Also when we consider the meaning of that verse we need to take into consideration the following verse...
“O Prophet! Tell your wives and your daughters and the women of the believers to draw their cloaks (veils)
all over their bodies (i.e. screen themselves completely except the eyes or one eye to see the way). That will be better, that they should be known (as free respectable women) so as not to be annoyed. And Allaah is Ever Oft‑Forgiving, Most Merciful” [al-Ahzaab 33:59]
What Islamists do not admit is that the custom of the veiling of women in early Islam was not part of the dress code until Muslims conquered Persia and the Byzantine territories in the 7th century. It was only after this assimilation of the conquered cultures that head covering and veiling were viewed as appropriate expressions of Islamic practice.
This is incorrect and i will prove that usin the followin hadith...(read the bolded parts carefully)
Bukhari,Volume 6, Book 60, Number 274:
Narrated Aisha:
(The wife of the Prophet) Whenever Allah's Apostle intended to go on a
journey, he used to draw lots among his wives and would take with
him the one on whom the lot had fallen.Once he drew lots when he
wanted to carry out a Ghazwa, and the lot came upon me. So I
proceeded with
Allah's Apostle after Allah's order of veiling (the
women) had been revealed and thus I was carried in my howdah (on a
camel) and dismounted while still in it. We carried on our journey, and
when Allah's Apostle had finished his Ghazwa and returned and we
approached Medina, Allah's Apostle ordered to proceed at night. When
the army was ordered to resume the homeward journey, I got up and
walked on till I left the army (camp) behind. When I had answered the
call of nature, I went towards my howdah, but behold ! A necklace of
mine made of Jaz Azfar (a kind of black bead) was broken and I looked
for it and my search for it detained me. The group of people who used
to carry me, came and carried my howdah on to the back of my camel
on which I was riding, considering that I was therein. At that time
women were light in weight and were not fleshy for they used to eat
little (food), so those people did not feel the lightness of the howdah
while raising it up, and I was still a young lady. They drove away the
camel and proceeded. Then I found my necklace after the army had
gone. I came to their camp but found nobody therein so I went to the
place where I used to stay, thinking that they would miss me and
come back in my search.
While I was sitting at my place, I felt sleepy and slept. Safwan bin Al-
Mu'attil As-Sulami Adh-Dhakw-ani was behind the army. He had
started in the last part of the night and reached my stationing place in
the morning and saw the figure of a sleeping person.
He came to me
and recognized me on seeing me for he used to see me before veiling.I got up because of his saying: "Inna Lillahi wa inna ilaihi rajiun,"
which he uttered on recognizing me.
I covered my face with my
garment, and by Allah, he did not say to me a single word except,
"Inna Lillahi wa inna ilaihi rajiun," till he made his she-camel kneel
down whereupon he trod on its forelegs and I mounted it. Then
Safwan set out, leading the she-camel that was carrying me, till we
met the army while they were resting during the hot midday.
This hadith proves that ayesha was covering her face due to the revelation of the verse in question long before the Muslims conquered Persia. It also proves that Arab women did NOT cover their faces before the verse was revealed.
Ibrahim B. Syed, a professor at the University of Louisville, Kentucky, and president of the Islamic Research Foundation, writes that hijab literally means a “curtain,” “partition,” or a “separation.” According to Syed, when pre-Islamic Arabs went to battle, Arab women on seeing the men off to war would bare their breasts to encourage them to fight, or they would do so at the battle itself. This changed with Islam, when the Prophet received a Quranic revelation asking women to cover their breasts with the garment the Quran refers to as the khimar, worn by Arab women as a head covering.
There is no actual historical proof of what Ibrahim Syed is asserting. There surely must have been footnotes because he simply cannot say something without providing a source. So could you please provide his source or else this statement is worthless.
It's like me making my own wiki article and using it as evidence.
It is difficult to say exactly when the head cover and the face mask became part of Islamic law. What we do know is that the laws that emerged as sharia were first developed during the 8th and 9th centuries,
Let me ask you...the very article you cited it said covering the face was not part of Islam until they conquered Persia. Nor was it the practice of Arab women according to Asad and syed the two sources you quoted.
Now (this is something berberella mention earlier) I will appeal to your common sense...
It was narrated that ‘Abd-Allaah ibn ‘Umar (may Allaah be pleased with him) said: A man stood up and said: “O Messenger of Allaah, what clothes do you command us to wear in ihraam?” The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Do not wear shirts, pants or any kind of headgear… and women in ihraam should not wear niqaab or gloves.” Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 1741.
Why are women are told not to wear niqab during hajj if it was never worn prior to the Muslims conquering Persia? Why would the women be told not to wear it if it was not obligatory? or it was not common practise at the time by muslim women after the verse was revealed?
Also let us look at the following hadiths
Sahih Al-Bukhari Volume 1, Book 8, Hadith # 368
Narrated 'Aa'ishah (Radhiallaahu Ánha) Rasulullah (Sallallaahu Álayhi Wasallam) used to offer the Fajr prayer and some believing women covered with their veiling sheets used to attend the Fajr prayer with him and then they would
return to their homes unrecognized .
Shaikh Ibn Uthaimin in tafseer of this hadeeth explains "This hadeeth makes it clear that the Islamic dress is concealing of the entire body as explained in this hadeeth. Only with the complete cover including the face and hands can a woman not be recognized. This was the understanding and practice of the SAHÂBAH and they were the best of group, the noblest in the sight of Allaah (swt) with the most complete Eemaan and noblest of characters. so if the practice of the women of the sahabah was to wear the complete veil then how can we deviate from their path? (Ibn Uthaymeen in the book "Hijaab" page # 12 and 13)
How would somebody whose head and face exposed go unrecognized?
Sahih Al-Bukhari Volume 1, Book 4, Hadith # 148
Narrated 'Aa'ishah (Radhiallaahu Ánha): The wives of Rasulullaah (Sallallaahu Álayhi Wasallam) used to go to Al-Manasi, a vast open place (near Baqia at Medina) to answer the call of nature at night. 'Umar used to say to the Prophet "Let your wives be veiled," but Rasulullah (Sallallaahu Álayhi Wasallam) did not do so. One night Sauda bint Zam'a the wife of the Prophet went out at 'Isha' time and she was a tall lady. 'Umar addressed her and said, "I have recognized you, O Sauda." He said so, as he desired eagerly that the verses of Al-Hijab (the observing of veils by the Muslim women) may be revealed. So Allaah revealed the verses of "Al-Hijab" (A complete body cover excluding the eyes).
If women were to only cover their bosoms with a veil how would umar not be able to recognize them?
Now in my next post I will show you what the Islamic opinion of the sahaba and all muslims has been for over 1000 years. The opnion you are citing is an extremely deviant one. It has only enetered into existence during the last 100 years. Do you honestly think someone like Tarek Fatah (
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tarek_Fatah) even has the education or authority to buck the entire Muslim scholarship before him?
inb4 you say all the hadiths are false but tarek fatah's opinion is valid even though he has nothing to back it up.
Topic: Hijab