Question 286: One thing that am disagree and as am faild to justify my views against this, is unveild women coming in the jaloses of men in moharram and chehlam. As this called bepardgi which is not Mission e Imam Hussain as. At all. Please answer me regarding this issue. Thanks

Answer 286: The philosophy behind the hijab for woman in Islam is that she should cover her body in her associations with men ‘whom she is not related to according to the divine law’ (na-mahram) and that she does not flaunt and display herself.

The verses of the Holy Quran which refer to this issue affirm this and the edicts of the religious jurisprudents confirm it. The concept of hijab is to create a healthy environment in the family and society.

If we study hijab from a Quranic perspective, we will see that the Quran sorts out hijab into different kinds one of which is the modest covering of the body. In order to clarify the discussion, we will enumerate the different kinds of hijab from the perspective of the Holy Quran:

1) Modesty in looking as the Quran says: “Say to the believing men that they should lower their gaze and guard their modesty” and also, “And say to the believing women that they should lower their gaze and guard their modesty,”[1]

2) Hijab in utterance: Women have advised how to speak to strangers (males outside of their family): “O wives of the Prophet! you are not like any other of the women; If you will be on your guard, then be not soft in (your) speech, lest he in whose heart is a disease yearn; and speak a good word.”[2]

3) Hijab in conduct: Women have been guided how to conduct themselves when in front of strangers. They have been ordered not to attract strangers’ attention by showing their ornaments and beautifications: “…and that they should not strike their feet in order to draw attention to their hidden ornaments.” [3]

Note: It is necessary to mention that one of the main missions of Imam Hussain (as), by which he himself along with his followers and families have been killed by their enemies for, was to revive the pure Islam of the Holy Prophet (saws) by “Amr bil Maroof wa Nahi ‘anil Munkar,” which means recommending us the Maroof (lawful acts) and forbidding us the Munkar (unlawful acts). Hijab is an obligatory (wajib) act that a woman must observe, but mourning for Imam Hussain (as) is a recommended (mustahab) act. Therefore, they are supposed to mourn for Imam Hussain (as) if they have a proper hijab.
As a result, if a woman doesn’t observe her hijab deliberately and comes in the majlis of Imam Hussain (as) in this state, her azadari wouldn’t be considered as sahih.

For further information in this regards, please read the following answer:

Index: Philosophy of Hijab during prayer, answer 020.

Index: Hijab of Sayeda Fatima al-Zahra (sa), answer 492.

Index: Men and Women: Covering body in prayers, answer 594.

[1] . Al-Noor, 30: قُلْ لِلْمُؤْمِنِينَ يَغُضُّوا مِنْ أَبْصارِهِمْ،; Al-Noor, 31: قُلْ لِلْمُؤْمِناتِ يَغْضُضْنَ مِنْ أَبْصارِهِنَّ،.

[2] . Al-Ahzab, 32: فَلا تَخْضَعْنَ بِالْقَوْلِ فَيَطْمَعَ الَّذِي فِي قَلْبِهِ مَرَضٌ.

[3] . Al-Noor, 31 وَ لا يَضْرِبْنَ بِأَرْجُلِهِنَّ لِيُعْلَمَ ما يُخْفِينَ مِنْ زِينَتِهِنَّ.