وَقُل لِّلْمُؤْمِنَٰتِ يَغْضُضْنَ مِنْ أَبْصَٰرِهِنَّ وَيَحْفَظْنَ فُرُوجَهُنَّ وَلَا يُبْدِينَ زِينَتَهُنَّ إِلَّا مَا ظَهَرَ مِنْهَا وَلْيَضْرِبْنَ بِخُمُرِهِنَّ عَلَىٰ جُيُوبِهِنَّ وَلَا يُبْدِينَ زِينَتَهُنَّ إِلَّا لِبُعُولَتِهِنَّ أَوْ ءَابَآئِهِنَّ … وَتُوبُوٓا۟ إِلَى ٱللَّهِ جَمِيعًا أَيُّهَ ٱلْمُؤْمِنُونَ لَعَلَّكُمْ تُفْلِحُونَ
Wa qul li'l-muʾmināti yaghḍuḍna min abṣārihinna wa yaḥfaẓna furūjahunna wa lā yubdīna zīnatahunna illā mā ẓahara minhā, wa'l-yaḍribna bi-khumurihinna ʿalā juyūbihinna, wa lā yubdīna zīnatahunna illā li-buʿūlatihinna aw ābāʾihinna aw ābāʾi buʿūlatihinna aw abnāʾihinna aw abnāʾi buʿūlatihinna aw ikhwānihinna aw banī ikhwānihinna aw banī akhawātihinna aw nisāʾihinna aw mā malakat aymānuhunna awi'l-tābiʿīna ghayri uli'l-irbati mina'l-rijāli awi'l-ṭifli'lladhīna lam yaẓharū ʿalā ʿawrāti'l-nisāʾ, wa lā yaḍribna bi-arjulihinna li-yuʿlama mā yukhfīna min zīnatihinna, wa tūbū ila'llāhi jamīʿan ayyuha'l-muʾminūna laʿallakum tufliḥūn
"And say to the believing women that they lower part of their glances and guard their chastity, and that they not display their adornment save what appears of it. And let them draw their coverings over their bosoms. And let them not show their adornment to any but their husbands, their fathers, their husbands' fathers, their sons, their husbands' sons, their brothers, their brothers' sons, their sisters' sons, their own women, those their right hands possess, male attendants who have no need of women, or children not yet aware of women's nakedness. And let them not stamp their feet so that the adornment they conceal may be known. O believers, turn to God, all of you together, that you may prosper."
| Order | Expression | Its subject |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | yaghḍuḍna min abṣārihinna | The glance — the same as in verse 30 |
| 2 | wa yaḥfaẓna furūjahunna | Chastity — the same as in verse 30 |
| 3 | wa lā yubdīna zīnatahunna illā mā ẓahara minhā | The not displaying of adornment — the general provision |
| 4 | wa'l-yaḍribna bi-khumurihinna ʿalā juyūbihinna | The placing of the covering |
| 5 | wa lā yubdīna zīnatahunna illā li-… | The list of exceptions |
| 6 | wa lā yaḍribna bi-arjulihinna | The act of drawing attention |
| 7 | wa tūbū ila'llāhi jamīʿan | The close — a call to turn to God |
Root: ز-ي-ن. Its concrete sense is to adorn, to make look fair. Zayn — adornment; zīna — adornment, ornament. Tazyīn — adorning.
The word occurred at al-Ḥujurāt, 49/7: wa zayyanahū fī qulūbikum — "and He made it fair in your hearts".
And there is broad disagreement over the scope of the word — this is one of the most disputed points in the verse.
This expression is one of those in the classical commentaries over which there is the greatest divergence of view, and the disagreement needs transmitting.
ظَهَرَ — root ظ-ه-ر: its concrete sense is the back (ẓahr); and from there, to appear, to come out into the open, to come out on top. The root was analysed at al-Aḥzāb, 33/4 (tuẓāhirūn).
| Explanation | What mā ẓahara minhā is | Its ground |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | The outer garment — the clothing worn over and already visible | The wording of the word: what is visible of itself |
| 2 | The face and the hands | That covering these would in practice cause difficulty |
| 3 | The part that appears of itself, without being meant to | That the verb is not passive: ẓahara — it appeared of itself |
| 4 | The part that varies according to custom | That the expression has been left indefinite |
This disagreement takes up wide space in the classical literature of commentary and of jurisprudence; it diverges among the schools and within each school. In this section no preference is made, no legal ruling is issued, and none of these is binding.
What can be said with certainty is the linguistic structure of the expression, and I record it as an observation: the verb ẓahara is active and intransitive. That is, not "to show" but "to appear". And this suggests that the exception has to do not with a person's intention but with a thing's appearing of itself.
خَمْر — root خ-م-ر: to cover, to hide. From the same root خِمَار (khimār) — a covering. And wine bears this name because it covers the mind.
| Word | Sense |
|---|---|
| خَمْر (khamr) | Wine — what covers the mind |
| خِمَار (khimār) | A covering — especially one drawn over the head |
| خُمُر (khumur) | The plural of khimār |
| خَمِيرَة | Leaven — what is mixed into dough and hidden within it |
| مُخَامَرَة | To mix, to enter into |
Khimār, by its root, is "the thing that covers". The word became established in Arabic as the name of the cloth drawn over the head; the lexicographers and the exegetes agree on this sense.
And the note in the verse's arrangement is important: the verse does not command the wearing of a khimār.
The structure of the sentence is this: wa'l-yaḍribna bi-khumurihinna ʿalā juyūbihinna — "let them draw their coverings over their bosoms".
Khimār, that is, occurs in the sentence as an object already present — as a piece of clothing the addressees already have. What is commanded is not to acquire it but where to bring it.
This is an observation about the word order, read from the wording of the text: bi-khumurihinna — "with their own coverings". The possessive pronoun conveys that the object is already there.
And at this point a piece of historical information is widely transmitted in the classical commentaries, and I transmit it as information that is transmitted: in that period the ends of the khimār the women drew over their heads were thrown back, and the opening of the garment at the breast was left uncovered. What the verse commands is that the ends of the covering be brought forward, over the opening at the neck.
I transmit this as a historical note widely transmitted in the classical commentaries; I give no chain of transmission and no attribution to a source, because I cannot give one with certainty.
Root: ج-ي-ب. The sense the lexicographers record: the opening at the neck and breast of a garment; the place the neck-opening leaves bare.
The word names the opening of a garment through which the head is passed and which runs down towards the breast. From the same root jawb — to pierce, to cut open; that is, a jayb is the cut place of a garment.
And the Qurʾān uses the same word in another place: usluk yadaka fī jaybik (al-Qaṣaṣ 28/32; al-Naml 27/12) — "put your hand into your bosom". This verse was treated in al-Qaṣaṣ. There too the word conveys the neck-opening of a garment.
| Word | Root | What |
|---|---|---|
| خِمَار | خ-م-ر — to cover | The covering thing — already in hand |
| جَيْب | ج-ي-ب — to cut open | The place left open — the cut of the garment |
The verse brings the covering thing over the place left open. This is the literal work of the sentence.
And the verb is worth noting: ḍaraba bi-… ʿalā — "to bring one thing down over another, to let it fall over it". The concreteness of the verb conveys the actual moving of the garment.
The rulings drawn from this verse diverge among the schools and within each school. The table below is meant to show at which points the divergence lies. None of them is this text's preference and none is binding.
| The point of divergence | The direction of the views transmitted |
|---|---|
| The scope of mā ẓahara minhā | Whether the face and the hands fall within this exception; whether the outer garment is what is meant |
| Which parts the covering covers | Different conclusions have been drawn regarding the head, the neck, the bosom and the feet |
| The scope of certain classes in the list of exceptions | Whom the expressions nisāʾihinna, mā malakat aymānuhunna and ghayri uli'l-irba include |
| The relation between covering in prayer and covering outside prayer | That the two discussions are taken up separately, and that their measures may differ |
| The role of custom and of necessity | To what extent the ruling depends upon custom and upon circumstances |
And one further note must be entered: the rulings drawn from this verse have been applied in different ways in different regions through history. This arises not from any vagueness in the verse but from the verse's leaving an exception such as mā ẓahara minhā indefinite, and from the place of the concept of ʿurf (custom) in jurisprudence. This is recorded as an observation; it leads to no preference.
| Group | Who |
|---|---|
| The spouse | buʿūlatihinna |
| Kinship — upward | ābāʾihinna, ābāʾi buʿūlatihinna |
| Kinship — downward | abnāʾihinna, abnāʾi buʿūlatihinna |
| Kinship — collateral | ikhwānihinna, banī ikhwānihinna, banī akhawātihinna |
| Women | nisāʾihinna |
| The household | mā malakat aymānuhunna |
| Those without intent | al-tābiʿīna ghayri uli'l-irba, al-ṭifl |
The last two items of the list give a measure, and I record this as an observation about the word order: ghayri uli'l-irba (those who have no need of women) and alladhīna lam yaẓharū ʿalā ʿawrāti'l-nisāʾ (children not yet aware of women's nakedness).
The list, that is, is not built on kinship alone; the last two items look at whether an intent is present or not.
إِرْبَة — root أ-ر-ب: need, want; and skill. There is disagreement in the classical sources over the sense of the word in this context, and I content myself with transmitting it.
The expression mā malakat aymānuhunna in the list names an institution belonging to the social structure of that period. The sūra's thirty-third verse will regulate the way out of that institution, and it will be taken up there.
The verb is the same as the verb in the fourth provision: ḍaraba. And the arrangement sets up a symmetry:
| Provision | Verb | Object | Its direction |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4 | wa'l-yaḍribna bi-khumurihinna | The covering | A command |
| 6 | wa lā yaḍribna bi-arjulihinna | The feet | A prohibition |
The same verb, once as a command and once as a prohibition. This is a repetition that can be verified from the text, and I record it as an observation about the word order.
And the ground of the second prohibition is given in the verse: li-yuʿlama mā yukhfīna min zīnatihinna — "so that the adornment they conceal may be known".
What is forbidden, that is, is not the sound of the foot — it is the purpose. Not the act itself but why the act is done.
This says something about the verse as a whole, which I record as my own reading: when a rule of covering is laid down, it is possible to keep to the letter of the rule and get round its spirit. The verse closes off that possibility from within: every act that makes known what has been concealed falls within the scope of the command to conceal.
And this provision shows that the verse's ruling is framed not as a matter of outward appearance but as a matter of purpose.
The last sentence of the verse is the most striking place in this section and deserves separate treatment.
The verse had come from beginning to end in the feminine plural: yaghḍuḍna, yaḥfaẓna, yubdīna, yaḍribna. And in the last clause the form changes: tūbū — a masculine plural imperative. And the addressee is named openly: ayyuha'l-muʾminūn — "O believers".
At the end of the commands given to women, that is, the verse opens the address to the whole of the community.
This is a fact that can be verified from the text and is recorded in the classical commentaries as well. And its consequence is this:
| Verse | Addressee |
|---|---|
| 30 | al-muʾminīn — men |
| 31 (its beginning) | al-muʾmināt — women |
| 31 (its end) | ayyuha'l-muʾminūn — all of them |
I record this as my own reading; the change of forms is the wording of the text and can be verified.
And this is a fact of style that must be recorded. After a series of provisions of manners the verse announces no penalty, sets no threat, offers no rebuke. It makes a call to turn.
And the scope of the call: jamīʿan — "all together". The call, that is, is not to those who fail to keep the command; it is to everyone.
When a provision of manners is laid down, its commonest misuse is to turn it into an instrument of measurement. Who keeps it, who does not. And the verse closes off that possibility immediately after the provisions: the call is to everyone.
And the measure recorded in the section on the sūra in al-Ḥujurāt works here exactly:
"In all five places the same operation is performed: the measuring instrument is taken out of a man's hand."
The last sentence of al-Nūr 24/31 performs the same operation.
Laʿallakum tufliḥūn — "that you may prosper". The root ف-ل-ح: its concrete sense is to split the soil, to till. Fallāḥ — a ploughman. And falāḥ: to split through and come out, to attain what one seeks.
The concrete sense of the root fits the close: for a seed to split the soil and come out, it must first stay under the soil. And the root ز-ك-و (in the thirtieth verse: azkā) came from the same field: to increase, to be fruitful.
In this section the verse's place in today's controversies is not entered. The three things to be recorded come from the verse's own arrangement.
The first two commands of the thirtieth verse and of the thirty-first are the same. This is a fact that can be verified from the text, and the text itself gives no room for the discussion to be taken up one-sidedly.
The provision wa lā yaḍribna bi-arjulihinna li-yuʿlama mā yukhfīna closes off the possibility of keeping to the letter of a rule and getting round its spirit. And this provision makes it hard to read the ruling as a matter of outward form.
Having enumerated the provisions, the verse opens the address to all the believers and calls them to turn to God. This is a barrier, set from within the text itself, against the verse's being used to measure a group.
All three of these notes are read from the wording of the text, and none of them announces a ruling upon either side.