Do Men Have to Observe Any Special Kind of Hijab As Well?

Along with the topic of Hijab for women, there is also another discussion which is hardly ever mentioned and that is of the Hijab for men.

Although the term Hijab is used for the clothing of the Muslim man it is not the same style and type of ‘Hijab’ that women have been commanded to wear. For many reasons which Allah (SWT) in His infinite wisdom has laid out, women must cover their entire body from the eyes of those who are her non-Mahrams, and men too, to an extent must also observe this rule, which we briefly mention here.

From the Ahadith of the Prophet and the Holy Ahl Al-Bayt (peace be upon all of them), regarding the type of covering that men must observe including the impressibility of imitating the non-Muslims (Kuffar), and the various other conditions, we can draw this conclusion that the man too, just like the Woman must not wear clothing that is not appropriate, tight fitting, and those that show off his body.

Keeping this in mind, the Muslim man must not let his ego and desires get the best of him and in all instances, must not wear clothing that is referred to as “Shuhrah” or clothing that is not commonly worn which would make him stand out in a crowd. This clothing will obviously differ according to where a Muslim is living, thus for a Muslim living in the “West”, wearing the long Arab shirt outside on the streets may be classified as Shuhrah, but wearing the same in a Muslim gathering will be permitted.

It must also be mentioned that the term Hijab, in relation to men, does not have the same technical meaning as it does in reference to Women, since the human-nature of a man and woman are quite different, thus too are their ‘Hijab’. What must be pointed out is that the word Hijab simply means ‘covering’ and thus, men too must cover their bodies from the view of non- Mahram women.

We read the following rule in the Tawdhiul Masaa’il that; “It is haram for a woman to look at the body of a man, with the exception of his face and hands; and that it is haram for a woman to look at the body of a non-Mahram man – whether with the intention of lust or without it.

Thus, according to the late Ayatollah Khomeini, which has been mentioned above and can be found in both his ‘Tawdhiul Masaa’il” and “Tahrir Al-Wasilah”, we see that in the ruling of looking at the opposite sex, both men and women are counted as equal.

In a tradition mentioned in the book Mustadrak Al-Wasa’il, volume 2, page 558, there is a Hadith from the Prophet of Islam (peace be upon him and his family), in which he stated that, “It is not allowed for women to look at men.”

In the same way that a man looking at a non-Mahram women will lead to corruption and evil in the society, so too a woman must not look at the body of a non-Mahram man. Insha-Allah, this is one of the first steps to prevent corruption and immorality from spreading throughout our societies.

It should be mentioned though that it is not Waajib for the man to completely cover his body as it is for the woman, but it is Haram for the woman to look at the body of a non-Mahram man. Thus, in order for women not to fall into this sin, it has been recommended by our ‘Ulama that men cover their entire body, and should refrain from wearing short-sleeve shirts, and clothing that shows off their bodies.

Source: Islamic ‘Hijab’ For Men; compiled and Translated by Saleem Bhimji