Why do some Hijab, Islamic Muslim veils, show the face of the woman while others cover the whole face?

Question

I was in a grocery store in Austin, Tx rushing down the aisle to pick some things before closing time and when I turned a corner I almost ran over a person in a full black veil. You could not see the face nor even the person's eyes. I say person instead of woman 'cause you really could not tell. I have no issues with veiled woman. I've been friends with some at work and in school. But they always showed their faces and were normal citizens of society. What is the purpose of covering your whole identity?

Answer 1

Depending on how possessive the husband is.

Also, I have a problem when one is totally covered in anything, because one can hide things in their clothes.

Suicide bombers have been fully dressed in womens coverings before.

Answer 2

Hijab Covering Whole Face

Answer 3

There is nothing in the Qur'an or in Islam prescribing a woman to cover her face. The covering of the face is known as niqab. The Qur'an points women and men to be modest in dress and attitude. But certain cultures have it as cultural edicts for a woman to cover her face and that is why you see some Muslim women doing it and others not. Where did the face covering come from?

The veil came into Islamic countries 300 years after the passing of Prophet Muhammad. According to Karen Armstrong: "There is nothing in the Koran about obligatory veiling for all women or their seclusion in harems. This only came into Islam about three generations after the prophet's death, under the influence of the Greeks of Christian Byzantium, who had long veiled and secluded their women in this way. Veiling was neither a central or a universal practice; it was usually only upper-class women who wore the veil. But this changed during the colonial period." Again this practice of wearing veils is cultural and NOT Islamic.

Answer 4

I'm not Muslim, but the answers here are a bit sketchy, so I'll try to convey my understanding.

It's a personal decision, whether to wear the veil, how much to cover, etc. Of course it's influenced by people around them -- which is completely normal, just look at western high school girls.

Wearing the niqab is a radical step, so there's probably very strong support for it in the woman's immediate community. 'Orthodox' communities of all sorts tend to be more uniform in their dress. Other communities will have a greater diversity and some of the women will wear western dress, or just add a head scarf, or any of the other varieties.

Look at the clothing styles wore by the girls and women you pass on the street every day. You'll find definite trends in how much is, or isn't revealed. As far as I can tell, it's a similar phenomena, just that ours is based on the modern religion of consumerism.

Answer 5

It was a tradition in the Arab peninsula at prophet Muhammad’s time, and before him, that women used to cover their faces, although they might not be covering all the parts of their bodies, like: their hands and their legs. When the Quran ordered women to dress modestly and cover their hair, necks, and chests, women began to dress as the holy Quran ordered them, but they could not give up their tradtion to cover their faces. I’m a muslim girl, I wear hijab, but I don’t cover my face or my hands. However, I don’t expose my feet or dress tight or short clothes as the conditions of wearing hijab are clear. When you see women covering their faces they may be doing this for two thigs: 1- It may be according to their ancestor’s traditions. Or 2- They may be dressing like prophet Muhammad’s wives and daughters. Hope that helped.. Peace be with you..

Answer 6

I guess I don't understand why acid is thrown in the faces of some muslim women and George Clooney's new wife wears make-up and mini skirts.

Answer 7

Hijab is not even an Islamic dress, instead it is a radical and conservative way of clothing for Arabs. As a Muslim I can tell you that Quran doesn't interfere with the way of clothing let alone going as far as imposing Hijab on women!
I think it is the result of the culture of male domination within the Arab world which forms the majority of muslim world. It's a commonly accepted behavior for Arabs to dominate women, and they link to islam, but it's the followers interpretations. like the way they link religion to state and invade people's privacy. look at how they turned Iran into hell in the name of religion in comparison to secular turkey that has become a progressive country.
like you mentioned covering face, I think it is stupid, I don't care if some radicals get upset by my comments, stupid is stupid! women who choose to cover their face in the free societies of the west, are most likely oppressed by their family and relatives or they maybe really brain washed!
I think many Arabs simply don't respect the dignity of women, instead they think women are their tools of satisfaction.
I don't know if you know Arab history or not, but 1400 years ago before Islam all Arabs used to kill their female childs at the instance of birth by saying that females are disgrace! It was prophet mohamad that gave dignity to Arabs by teaching them that they should respect women.

Answer 8

Salams Brother,
Good Question. The anwer is beacause some muslims are stricter than others. I am a muslim and where no hijab. The strictest muslims belive that women distract men and therefore there faces should be hidden. Those muslims live mostly in Saudi Arabia, Iran, Kuait, and Iraq.
Salams
Tenaya

Answer 9

In my opinion each part of woman's body is prohibited to see except face and a pair of our hand, but if the others want to cover their face maybe they have a few reason such as to prevent their face not to cause mistaken from man sight their face or maybe they follow Rasulullah 's wife who covered their face too .

Answer 10

Dear Sisters and Brother, I would just like to say it should be free will to do. My wife she converted in Islam from Christianity and than we married, I never forced her to do any thing, she offers Salat better than me and every thing. One day she asked me about Hijab i told her as much I knew, and than she started wearing Hijab. In starting she faced lots of difficulties and now she is very much ok at work and in friends. She always says a very good thing to every one.......

"HIJAB COVERS HEAD NOT MIND"

My perception is, it should be on women to adobt because my wife feel more secure her self in Hijab. And its true in most of the Islamic countries girls dont like to wearing Hijab.

Answer 11

Wow, is that difficult. Basically, it comes down to culture. I think women who wear it look like Sue on Pac-Man. I feel kind of the way you do.

This may help, though. It's called a "niqab."