Ithaf al-Ahbab bima Thabata fi Masalat al-Hijab
- Author died
- 1418 AH
- Editions
- al-Jāmi‘ah al-Islāmiyyah
Ithaf al-Ahbab bima Thabata fi Masalat al-Hijab (Bestowing upon Loved Ones What Is Established Concerning the Issue of the Veil) is a juridical treatise on the rulings of the Muslim woman's veil (hijab) written by the hadith scholar and teacher at the Institute of the Holy Mosque in Mecca, Abd al-Qadir bin Habib Allah al-Sindi (d. 1418 AH / 1997–1998 CE) .
Background and Occasion
The treatise was composed as a response to an inquiry regarding the evidence from the Quran, the Sunnah, and scholarly consensus concerning the veil of the Muslim woman . The questioner sought clarification regarding the scope of what a woman may uncover in front of non-mahram men and her unmarriageable male kin (maharim), referencing opinions held by contemporary figures such as Abu al-A'la al-Mawdudi and Sayyid Qutb on the Quranic phrasing وَلَا يُبْدِينَ زِينَتَهُنَّ إِلَّا مَا ظَهَرَ مِنْهَا ("and not expose their adornment except that which necessarily appears thereof") . The work was published as an academic article in the journal of the Islamic University of Madinah .
Contents and Methodology
Al-Sindi opens the treatise by outlining the status and honoring of women under Islam in contrast to their treatment during the pre-Islamic period of ignorance (Jahiliyyah), citing prophetic traditions including Umm Salamah's narration concerning mourning rites before Islam . He also critiques Western educational theories and the introduction of gender mixing into Muslim academic institutions, referring to warnings by Islamic thinkers such as Muhammad Iqbal .
The author then examines the textual evidence surrounding the covering of the face and hands:
- Analysis of Narrations: Al-Sindi evaluates the hadith transmitted by Abu Dawud via Khalid ibn Durayk on the authority of A'isha, where Asma' bint Abi Bakr entered upon the Prophet ﷺ in transparent clothing and he said: يَا أَسْمَاءُ إِنَّ الْمَرْأَةَ إِذَا بَلَغَتِ الْمَحِيضَ لَمْ تَصْلُحْ أَنْ يُرَى مِنْهَا إِلَّا هَذَا وَهَذَا ("O Asma', when a woman reaches puberty, it is not appropriate that anything should be seen of her except this and this"), indicating his face and hands . Al-Sindi notes that Abu Dawud classified this chain as mursal because Khalid did not meet 'A'isha, and he analyzes the transmitters in the isnad, including Said ibn Bashir .
- Contemporary Debates: Al-Sindi discusses al-Mawdudi's initial view in his exegesis of Surah al-Nur permitting the uncovering of the face and hands, as well as al-Mawdudi's later retraction in his book al-Hijab . He notes that Muhammad Nasir al-Din al-Albani critiqued al-Mawdudi's shift in Hijab al-Mar'ah al-Muslimah fi al-Kitab wa-al-Sunnah, with al-Sindi stating his intention to clarify the topic strictly through textual evidence while acknowledging the contributions of both scholars .
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