Hijab; A Divine Value

"Tell the believing men that they shall subdue their eyes, and safeguard their private parts (from being seen). This is purer for them. God is fully Cognizant of everything they do. And tell the believing women to subdue their eyes, and safeguard their private parts (from being seen). And they shall not display their beauty and ornaments, except what is apparent of it. And they shall draw their scarves over their bosoms." Nur24:30, 31

Throughout the whole history of the human race, people have wanted to change the appearance of their bodies. Archeological evidence and contemporary practices around the world have shown that humans add clothing, paint, or jewelry, and even alter the shape of their body parts.

The Functions of Clothing

Man without clothes appears to be a peculiarly, perhaps uniquely, naked animal, or a hairless naked ape. There is, however, a false implication in this title, which is that other apes are clothed by hair or fur. That is apart from not being up righting which requires less covering.

The question, therefore, is why people adorn their bodies, why people wear and have worn clothes, and what are the functions of clothing?

In general there are two main theories in regards to the functions of clothing:

1. Seduction:

It may be surprising to learn that some of the psychologists of today suggest that the motivation of wearing clothes is precisely that of immodesty or exhibitionism. They argue that it is the job of clothing to attract attention to the body rather than to deflect or repel that attention. The body, then is more openly on display according to this theory. Rudofsky[1], for example, is explicit on this matter; he argues that the woman has to keep her mate ‘perpetually excited by changing her shape and colours. Women's clothes, he says, are governed by the Seduction Principle and men's clothes are governed by Hierarchical Principle. His theory has been also associated with what has become known as the ‘theory of the shifting erogenous zone'. Erogenous zones or body hot spots are different parts of the body of a female, which are seen as more attractive. Such as hair, breast, bottom, legs, etc.

2. Protection:

According to this theory the primary motivation of clothing has been to protect the body against physical and psychological ( moral ) dangers.