To Muslims: What is the logic behind covering a woman's hair?

Question

If you tell me it's so that she does not attract men, then what about lesbian woman? And what about gay men getting attracted to other men? Shouldn't men cover too in this case?

NOTE: please don't misunderstand my question. I am not being judgmental to your religion which I really respect. I just want to understand, that's all.

Thanks

Answer 1

Hi, I hope you will take what we (Muslims) tell you with an open mind, because we are telling you the true reason.
Yes it's true as Muslim women we must cover our hair so we don't attract men, get harassed, annoyed/bothered, and get sexual looks by men. But more so it is a sign of modesty, also I think it teaches the person to be modest and not shallow. *Not that woman who don’t cover their hair aren’t modest or are shallow.
Here is a verse from the Old Testament: “Passage 1 Timothy 2:9:9I also want women to dress modestly, with decency and propriety, not with braided hair or gold or pearls or expensive clothes”. “1 Peter 3 3Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as braided hair and the wearing of gold jewelry and fine clothes. 4Instead, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God's sight”.

So if you want to look at modesty from a religious aspect it is universal, but dressing modest/covering ones hair doesn’t make a person modest, it has to come from the heart. Here are verses from the Quran. I hope I was able to help. Peace.

An-Noor, Chapter #24, Verse #31
And tell the believing women to lower their gaze (from looking at forbidden things), and protect their private parts (from illegal sexual acts, etc.) and not to show off their adornment except only that which is apparent (like palms of hands or one eye or both eyes for necessity to see the way, or outer dress like veil, gloves, head-cover, apron, etc.), and to draw their veils all over Juyubihinna (i.e. their bodies, faces, necks and bosoms, etc.) and not to reveal their adornment except to their husbands, their fathers, their husbands fathers, their sons, their husbands sons, their brothers or their brothers sons, or their sisters sons, or their (Muslim) women (i.e. their sisters in Islam), or the (female) slaves whom their right hands possess, or old male servants who lack vigour, or small children who have no sense of the shame of sex. And let them not stamp their feet so as to reveal what they hide of their adornment. And all of you beg Allah to forgive you all, O believers, that you may be successful.

Al-Ahzab Chapter #33, Verse #59
O Prophet! Tell your wives and your daughters and the women of the believers to draw their cloaks (veils) all over their bodies (i.e.screen themselves completely except the eyes or one eye to see the way). That will be better, that they should be known (as free respectable women) so as not to be annoyed. And Allah is Ever OftForgiving, Most Merciful.

Answer 2

Islam is by Allah (swt) who knows the future and it helps a women in her daily life - when male and female talk like here in the west it is the man mostly who starts to fall in love with her - so male and female are not suppose to talk accept for those who are lawful - their is nothing like love straightway after a while it happens - that's why when a female speaks it has to be straight to the point - cover the head is a good thing - iv got two cousins who's faces are so beautiful they are sisters and when they go out they get harassed , followed - all the time / they wore a scarf it still happen then they now coverd their faces as well so can't be rekonised

Answer 3

God gave all of us private parts too. Why do we cover them? Covering our hair is simply about modesty and following God's commandment. Christian women and Jewish women are supposed to cover their hair too but i think that nuns are the only ones who do that.

Answer 4

Covering ones head and wearing hijab(dressing with modesty) is more of an act of devotion to Allah(SWT) then anything else. We all should fear Allah(SWT) and this is why I choose to wear hijab.
The same thing with following the Quran and Hadiths, it is because I have faith and I fear for doing something sinful..
In Islam it is haraam for a man to participate in homosexual activities.. we have been warned not to behave like the people from Lut's(PBUH) town...it is a sin and punishable by death..
Men are required to wear Hijab, which means they also need to cover certain parts. It is not acceptable for a Muslim man to go to the beach in a g-string...he should always have certain areas concealed unless changing clothes or bathing.

Answer 5

Homosexuality is a sin in Islam and can be punishable with jail time or death depending on which country you are living in. The purpose of women covering their hair is so they don't show off their beauty to men other then their husband, sons, father, father in law, uncles, grandfathers, brothers, brothers sons, sisters sons, uncles sons, aunts sons and the other Muslim women. They also want to protect their modesty and value their beauty so much that they only show it to the above mentioned people. Also the Muslim women are told to cover their entire body(Hair, face, and body) in the Qur'an and Hadiths. They don't want to look like $2.00 whores like some women in the Western nations like USA for example.

Answer 6

Logically? To protect the hair & scalp from sun rays especially UVA & UVB which can damaged the hair and also to protect the hair from dust and polluted weather.

We do agree that hair is the crown for women and one of the best way to preserve the crown is through covering them as direct sunlight might result dryness and breakage and even hair loss.

Answer 7

Covering of the head by females is not only limited to the Muslims but also the Jews and the Christian women are supposed to cover their hair and they do it.Men too are supposed to cover their hair,in the past they all wore either a turban,a hat or a cap,and it is still in vogue amongst the orthodox Jews,Christians and the Arabs.

Answer 8

Good Question.
I wear Hijab. That means I cover my hair. When I don't cover my hair I look more nice and more attractive. Long silky beautiful hair appeals not only women but also men. Why do we use hair oils and all? To make our hair look beautiful and they def. gives good look to our face and makes us more attractive over all. There are men in this world who loves the hair most.

It has been made compulsory for muslim women to cover their hair as to hide themselves from being getting attracted to men. We all know that men are like wild animals,,, not all men, not every men but Men are like that.
We can never know if a man is staring at us, how his sight is, what the hell is he thinking while looking or staring at us? what part he might me ... etc etc all nonsense.

We are to cover ourselves properly,completely and Believe me covering ourselves gives us a different soft of security. So hair because that adds a whole lots to the beauty of one woman.

Answer 9

Thank you for your question

Its not the hair that needs to be covered, its any ornaments of a woman. This is for many reason, so that the woman doesn't attract undue attention to herself by the means of other men.

Men do have to lower their gaze when they see a woman but many don't, I include myself.

To me its a beautiful thing to see a woman covered.

When women do this it is an act of faith thus are rewarded for covering up.

Answer 10

Islamic dress is not just a matter of covering the head alone, but also of covering the bosom, which is attractive to men, and of lowering the gaze and walking in a way that does not attract attention. Note that the order to lower the gaze was addressed first to men…

Ask yourself, or ask the next person who asks you that question, if a female judge walked into the courtroom wearing a tight miniskirt and low-cut blouse, would you take her seriously? Who would you respect more, a woman dressed like that or one dressed modestly? The Qur’an was revealed for all times, and though circumstances change, human nature does not. The fact is that men do like to look at women’s bodies, so a woman who covers herself is more likely to be respected as a person than looked upon as a piece of meat!

Up until the end of the nineteenth century, a Western woman who had any self respect covered her head—though perhaps not all her hair—in public. Your audience may argue that a woman who does not cover her hair is no longer looked upon as a loose woman. That may be true, but women still know that men look at them. Otherwise, why would they spend millions of dollars every year to style, color, and treat their hair?

It is true that men don’t have to cover their heads, but there is a dress code for them, as well, although it is not so widely publicized as the women’s dress code. Men must at least be covered from the navel to the knees with loose fitting clothing. The rules for men are different because women are less likely to ogle men than the other way around