There is no problem if the headdress is conventional, i.e. like other women who have hair, so that it is not traditionally considered adornment. But if the headdress has an ornamental aspect, for instance, the headdresses that are common today, which would definitely not be as beautiful if she has hair, then this headdress is considered an ornament. The veil that God has placed is for adornments. Now, if the cap is supposed to be an ornament, there is something wrong with wearing it. Therefore, a glittering hat is not accepted as a hijab.
Notice: The use of a headdress has been customary among women for a long time and has been used in performing arts for a long time. The use of headgear in performing arts is, of course, customary for both men and women, but since men are neither required to observe the hijab nor are they required not to reveal their adornment, thus, from the point of view of jurisprudence, there is no doubt about the obscenity of using it for them. This does not exist. However, there is a jurisprudential question regarding women’s use of hair-dressing, which is one of the traditional methods of makeup for actors. Professor Ali Akbar Khadim al-Zhakreen, however, believes that the mere use of a headscarf for women is not prohibited, but it has problems if it is considered an example of adornment or causes corruption. In this conversation, this member of the academic faculty of Jami’at Al-Mustafa explained in detail the issue of covering hair and not revealing the adornment by women using verses and narrations. The details of the conversation with this professor of Kharij al-Fiqh and the principles of Qum are as follows:
Can wearing a headscarf be considered a head covering?
Khadim al-Zahkirin: According to the late Ayatullah Hakim in Mustamask al-Urwat al-Wuthqa, volume 5, p. 239, it is one of the necessities of religion for a woman to cover herself from a stranger. Jurisprudents for this matter say that a woman should wear a veil in front of a non-mahram. One of them argued to verse 31 of Surah al-Nur. This verse mentions that women should wear their headscarves and veils on their necks and breasts so that they are not visible and they should not reveal their ornaments except to their husbands or their fathers and the cases mentioned in the verse. It means that there is no problem with their fornication. From the narrations, it is known that during the time of the Prophet (s), they put the scarf that was on their head behind their ears so that the neck and breasts were visible. Thus, it was ordered that they leave these scarves that cover their necks and chests and do not reveal their ornaments.
Another reason for this ruling are hadiths, including Sahih Bezanti, which Ayatullah Khu’i has argued. This narration is mentioned in Wasa’il al-Shi’ah Vol. 20, Chapter 107, Hadith 1. The 8th Imam is asked whether a man can look at his sister’s hair. The lmam says: No, he cannot look, unless that lady is old, so that no one looks at her with a lustful look. They asked if the ruling of looking at a sister-in-law is the same as the ruling of looking at a strange woman or is it different? The lmam said: Yes, the ruling on looking at both is the same. Then he asked about the old sister-in-law. You said it is okay to look at her, does this look have any limitations? It means looking at what parts of his body are okay? The Prophet (s) said: Only the hair and the arm (the part you wash in ablution), so it turns out that except for old women with whom you no longer desire to marry, in fact, you cannot look at their hair and arms.
But there is an exception and that is the face and the shroud that can be looked at. A narration in Wasa’il al-Shi’ah, vol. 20, page 202, mentioned by Imam al-Sadiq (‘a) narrates that he was asked: How much of her body can a woman not cover? The lmam said: The face and the shroud, only the face and the shroud (two palms up to the wrist). Therefore, the face and the shroud are excluded.
Now let’s go back to what we are in, regarding the question, I have to say that there are two things here; one is that the hat has the aspect of hijab and the other is that it has the aspect of adornment. There are some women who do not have hair on their heads genetically, they wear caps. There is no problem if the headdress is conventional, i.e. like other women who have hair, so that it is not traditionally considered adornment. But if the hat has an ornamental aspect; For instance, the hats that are common nowadays, which definitely wouldn’t be as beautiful if she has her own hair, this hat is considered an ornament. The veil that God has placed is for adornments. Now, if the cap is supposed to be an ornament, there is something wrong with wearing it. Therefore, a glittering hat is not accepted as a hijab.
In Sahiheh Fudayl in Wasa’il al-Shi’ah, vol.20, p.200, Imam al-Sadiq (‘a) asks about the arms of women: Is the arm, that is, the part that is washed in ablution, considered as adornment, which God has forbidden to cover? The lmam said: Yes, because the bangles are attached to the neck and chest. In other words, this narration governs the verse and has developed the verse, according to this narration, even bangles should be covered, because they should not reveal the adornment. If the headscarf is used as a hijab, there is no problem in using it, like regular and conventional headgears that do not have bright colors; But if the hat is shiny and it is considered an ornament, it is obligatory to cover it. Therefore, conventional hats can be considered as hijab.
Is the sanctity of women’s use of headscarves due to non-observance of hijab or adornment?
Khadim al-Zhakirin: From the previous explanation, it was clear that there is no problem if it is a conventional hat, but if it is an ornamental hat, it is forbidden to wear it in public. The point that I need to point out is that some jurists have said that it is not permissible for a woman to come to the street with a hat, because it is corrupt and attracts attention; For the one who sees him does not know that it is a hat, but thinks that it is the hair of his head. If this is the case, it is forbidden to cause corruption. Of course, if it is not as such, it is forbidden; But if it causes corruption, it will still be forbidden.
Is the headdress, like hair, always considered as a kind of adornment, or depending on its types, it may not be an adornment in some cases?
Khadim al-Zhakirin: This question was also clarified from the previous answer. If we do not consider normal hair as adornment, it should still be worn according to the verses and traditions. Now, if these caps are normal, there is no problem unless they are corrupt, which is usually said to be corrupt. But if it is ornamental and attracts attention, it is forbidden not to cover it. The criterion here is custom. It means that you have to refer to custom.
If the title of adornment is no longer applied to it due to the large number of women using the headgear, as in cases such as eyebrow removal and face correction, will it be okay to use it?
Khadim al-Zhakirin: Eyebrows and face correction should be covered if it is in a way that attracts attention. Even if everyone does it, in case of adornment and beauty, it should be covered because of the corruption. The same is the case with the cap. Multiplicity of use does not destroy the title. Even if the ornament is not considered, it should be worn because of the corruption; thus, some of the Imams have narrated that they were asked what is the ruling on these women who wear hats in movies. They said: If they announce that this is a cap and not hair, there is no problem, but there is a problem. Thus, if the man knows that this woman is wearing a hat and there is a regular hat that does not attract attention, it is okay, but if he does not know or if he knows and attracts attention, he should wear it.
This conversation is a part of the electronic magazine “Mabadi’ Fiqh of drama” which was produced in collaboration with the art school of jurisprudence and the Ijtihad network website.