Veiling & Unveiling (Comparison)

Few subjects are argued about more and read about less. Veiling & Unveiling takes the argument back to where it should be settled — the Qur'an and the Sunnah — and lays the two positions next to each other so the reader can see what each one actually rests on.

The Approach

The book is a comparison, as the title says. On one side, the evidences establishing the hijab of the Muslim woman: the verses of Surah An-Nur and Surah Al-Ahzab, the authentic narrations, and the practice of the women of the first generation, who are the standard by which later practice is measured. On the other, the case for unveiling as it is commonly presented — examined rather than dismissed, and answered from the same sources.

The conclusion the author reaches is that unveiling has no support in either the Qur'an or the Sunnah, and that what supports it is custom, social pressure and the assumption that older rulings must give way to newer conditions. Whether or not a reader agrees, the evidences are laid out plainly enough to be checked.

Who It Is For

Muslim women weighing the question honestly. Parents and teachers who are asked about it and want more than "because we do." Da'wah workers who meet the objections regularly. Non-Muslims who have heard the subject discussed everywhere except from the texts themselves. It is short, which means it gets finished — the main advantage it has over the larger treatments.