The third allegation:

　　A woman may say, "I am embarrassed to wear the Sharee‘ah-approved Hijab (wearing an outer garment which descends from above the head to cover the whole body including the face and other parts of the body)."

　　It should be said to such a woman: when the non-observant people boast of their acts of disobedience and negligence of Hijab while the followers of the truth are shy of it, this is actually a great disaster which features the absence of pride in religion and weakness of allegiance to Allah The Almighty. This is a defeat from within where a woman wears what people desire and love even if it contradicts what she knows to be a religious obligation and one of the rights of Allah The Almighty on her.

　　This is also a type of hypocrisy, as described by scholars; the hypocrisy of those who prefer this worldly life when they beautify and improve themselves before people with an outer appearance which displeases Allah The Almighty.

　　The fourth allegation:

　　A barefaced woman may say, "The face cover is only for bashfulness, but it is not required by Sharee‘ah."

　　It should be said to such a woman: Do you think that bashfulness is not a part of the religion? In a Hadeeth (narration), the Prophet, sallAllahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, said: "Bashfulness is a branch of faith."

　　Bashfulness is the attribute of the believer which prevents him from doing acts of disobedience for fear of Allah The Almighty and it is the chief of all virtues. It was narrated on the authority of Ibn ‘Umar, may Allah be pleased with them, that the Messenger of Allah, sallAllahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, said: "Bashfulness and faith are inseparable; if one of them is missing, the other will be missing as well." In another Hadeeth, he said: "Bashfulness is from faith, and faith is in Paradise."

　　Acts of disobedience and lack of bashfulness are firmly connected, and each of them summons the other and persistently encourages it. The noble Quran highlighted the moral of bashfulness in the two daughters of the righteous man. Allah The Exalted Says (what means): {Then one of the two women came to him walking with bashfulness.} [Quran 28: 25]

　　‘Umar ibn Al-Khattaab, may Allah be pleased with him, said, "She was not an impudent woman who frequently comes and goes [outdoors]. Rather, she came (to Moosa, may Allah exalt his mention) covering her face with her sleeve out of bashfulness."

　　Consequently, it is obligatory on Muslims to accustom their daughters to be bashful and adopt that morals indicated by Allah The Almighty to be a sign of one's faith. Absence of bashfulness certainly marks the deficiency of faith.

　　The fifth allegation:

　　Some advocates of removing the face cover and impermissible exposure of women's beauty surround Hijab with some descriptions and evil tales aiming to make it repulsive to Muslim women and firmly establishing y the spirit of hatred and disgust for covering and modesty. Here we will mention some of these allegations:

　　• They say that the veil makes it easy for a woman to hide her personality. Some non-observant and immoral women may hide themselves behind the veil. Consequently, they consider the Sharee‘ah-approved Hijab subject to suspicion and accusation.

　　Refutation:

　　Before we answer such people, I remind them of the verse in which Allah The Exalted Says (what means): {And those who harm believing men and believing women for [something] other than what they have earned have certainly born upon themselves a slander and manifest sin.} [Quran 33: 58] The expected fears of misusing the Hijab and utilizing it for prohibited purposes should not lead us to neglect one of the Commands of Allah The Almighty.

　　When a dissolute and foolish woman tries to hide her action from people by wearing the symbol of chastity and modesty, is that the fault of Hijab?

　　There are those who misuse the military uniform, for example, by deceiving people and doing impermissible things. Is this an accepted justification to do away with the military uniform altogether?

　　We have never heard anyone say this, although there have been repeated instances of its misuse.

　　Other accusations and allegations against the Hijab include their saying that a cloak which covers the whole body has turned into a trap and bond for women. Yet others allege that the Islamic dress code has turned into firm fetters or a hangman's noose.

　　These allegations were launched when Allah The Almighty preordained that a female student died after the door of the car she was travelling in closed, catching the end of her cloak. It is possible for such an accident to occur due to any kind of dress. Would they demand banning wearing dresses altogether? This is what we fear.

　　2- They say that a woman's chastity and righteousness are not in her dress; for there are many perfectly veiled women who have bad morals and evil behavior. On the contrary, there are many barefaced women who do not wear the Hijab, while evil has no place within themselves or their behavior.

　　Refutation:

　　Islam commanded the woman to wear Hijab and also commanded her to be righteous, religious, and pure. This means that Islam disciplines first what is beneath the Hijab before ordering the woman to wear it. Allah The Exalted Says (what means): {But the clothing of righteousness -- that is best.} [Quran 7: 26]

　　But mankind in general is not infallible against making mistakes and committing acts of disobedience. In a Hadeeth, the Prophet, sallAllahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, said: "All the children of Aadam are bound to err." When a chaste and modest woman is guilty of shameful behavior or bad morals, should we blame her for her guilt and non-observance or blame her Hijab?

　　Moreover, it is not a prerequisite that only those who are pure and righteous wear the Hijab; rather, a woman is required to obey her Lord in wearing the Hijab as well as in all other commands. When she disobeys any such commands, she is blamed and deemed guilty. Her obedience will never be a justification for her misbehavior and negligence, as they say in their allegation.

　　Then, we say to them: Is it required that a Muslim woman be either adherent to Hijab and have evil morals or not adherent to Hijab and have good morals? Is it not possible that she combines the two good acts of wearing the Hijab and having good morals? Rather, this is the principle that each Muslim woman should aspire to achieve and should work hard to reach the degree of perfection in herself as well as in her Muslim sisters. This should be her attitude instead of being satisfied with her imperfection and disdaining others for their nonobservance.

　　3- Many people justify their negligence in some conditions of the Sharee‘ah-approved Hijab by the action of some righteous women who do not wear the outer garment properly or are not cautious in covering their faces and wear a veil with wide openings [that exposes their face]. Such women could be wives or daughters of righteous men.

　　Refutation:

　　This justification which we hear from some women, who are fully aware that they are mistaken, implies the following of inclinations and desires. Some righteous women do not fulfill all the conditions of the Sharee‘ah-approved Hijab due to either ignorance about the ruling by some, or rebellion against their righteous husbands by others. Consequently, the non-observance of such women should not be taken as a justification. Rather, all Muslims unanimously agree that the behavior of others should be weighed in terms of validity or invalidity by the criterion of the Sharee‘ah. The rulings of the Sharee‘ah are not weighed by the scale of people's behavior and circumstances. It is as they say, "Seek not truth through its followers, but find the truth first and you will find its people through it." In the light of this principle, a Muslim is required to seek obedience of his Lord, ignoring the impermissible deeds of others whoever they are.

　　It may be said, then why do we not follow the example of the great majority of women who are chaste and modest instead of following the example of this irregular minority of righteous women?

　　This majority is not only in our contemporary time; rather, they existed throughout Islamic history. Here are statements of some scholars who lived in different ages where they tell about the status of the Muslim woman's Hijab:

　　Abu Haamid Al-Ghazaali, may Allah have mercy on him, says, "Throughout the ages, men uncover their faces while women go out veiled or they are prevented to go out."

　　Ibn Raslaan, may Allah have mercy on him, says, "Muslims unanimously agree on preventing women from going out barefaced."

　　Ibn Hajar, may Allah have mercy on him, says, "Women used to go out to Masjids and travel veiled so that they are not seen by men."