Hijab – A Comprehensive Introduction

Hijab: A Comprehensive Introduction. A comprehensive analysis of the various levels of hijab (female concealment), including the issue of niqab (face covering): From the Qur’an, Hadith & Fiqh. 

Mufti Taqi Usmani writes: “Books on the topic of women’s veiling and unveiling have proliferated in our time. The best I have seen on the subject is a monograph by my late father, Shaykh Mufti Muhammad Shafi‘ (Allah have mercy on him), called Tafsil al-Khitab fi Ayat al-Hijab, which forms part of his Ahkam al-Qur’an. In it, he conducted a thorough examination of the verses and hadiths on the subject and elaborated on the views of the jurists and the commentaries of the exegetes about the boundaries and method of hijab. (Takmilah Fath al-Mulhim, 4:153)

This annotated translation of Shaykh Mufti Muhammad Shafi‘’s seminal work is supplemented by three appendices on the following important topics by Mufti Zameelur Rahman: women’s attendance at the masjid for prayer; travelling without a mahram; and the intermingling of genders.

An extensive biography of Shaykh Mufti Muhammad Shafi‘ has also been added, drawing primarily from Hayat-i-Mufti-i-A‘zam by Mufti Muhammad Rafi Usmani (1936 – 2022 CE) and other reputable sources.