Here Allah tells His Messenger to command the believing women -- especially
his wives and daughters, because of their position of honor -- to draw their
Jilbabs over their bodies, so that they will be distinct in their appearance
from the women of the Jahiliyyah and from slave women. The Jilbab is a Rida',
worn over the Khimar. This was the view of Ibn Mas`ud, `Ubaydah, Qatadah,
Al-Hasan Al-Basri, Sa`id bin Jubayr, Ibrahim An-Nakha`i, `Ata' Al-Khurasani and
others. It is like the Izar used today. Al-Jawhari said: "The Jilbab is the
outer wrapper. `Ali bin Abi Talhah reported that Ibn `Abbas said that Allah
commanded the believing women, when they went out of their houses for some need,
to cover their faces from above their heads with the Jilbab, leaving only one
eye showing. Muhammad bin Sirin said, "I asked `Ubaydah As-Salmani about the
Ayah:
[يُدْنِينَ
عَلَيْهِنَّ مِن جَلَـبِيبِهِنَّ]
(to draw their Jalabib over their bodies.) He covered his face and head, with
just his left eye showing.''
[ذلِكَ أَدْنَى أَن
يُعْرَفْنَ فَلاَ يُؤْذَيْنَ]
(That will be better that they should be known so as not to be annoyed. )
means, if they do that, it will be known that they are free, and that they are
not servants or whores.
[وَكَانَ اللَّهُ
غَفُوراً رَّحِيماً]
(And Allah is Ever Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful.) means, with regard to what
happened previously during the days of Jahiliyyah, when they did not have any
knowledge about this.
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