Can my dad force me to wear hijab a...

Egypt's Dar Al-Ifta

Can my dad force me to wear hijab and is he allowed to threaten me not to support me financially if I chose not to wear it?

Question

Can my dad force me to wear hijab and is he allowed to threaten me not to support me financially if I chose not to wear it?

Answer


The Islamic law states that hijab is an obligation on adult women as God says in the Quran “And tell the believing women to reduce [some] of their vision and guard their private parts and not expose their adornment except that which [necessarily] appears thereof and to wrap [a portion of] their headcovers over their chests” (24:31)

Also Dawud, al Baihaqi and al Tabarani reported that lady ‘Aisha said that Asmaa daughter of Abu Bakr walked in with her light clothes so the Prophet turned away and said “ O Asmaa when the woman reaches puberty, she is only allowed to reveal this and this” and he pointed to his face and hands.
Therefore if the girl has reached puberty and does not wear hijab, it would be her father’s duty to advise her kindly without hurting her or imposing his authority on her with compulsion or violence because his advice barely falls in advising the good and forbidding the bad. God says in the Quran, And let there be [arising] from you a nation inviting to [all that is] good, enjoining what is right and forbidding what is wrong, and those will be the successful. 3:104

And the Prophet said that religion is all about advising and he repeated this phrase three times so the companions asked “to whom O Messenger of God” and he said “to God, His holy book, His messenger and the leaders of the Ummah and the people in general”. Therefore the father should advise his daughter wisely and not to harm her in anyway through beating or hurting or refraining from spending on her or through any other forms of harm. Also he has no right to force her to leave her job as he should not make the issue of wearing the hijab as a condition for conducting her life normally because this might lead her to be repulsive from religion altogether and its juristic rulings. Also practicing any kinds of enforcement from the father’s side will lead his daughter to be a hypocrite who only practices religion as long as he is around. God does not want the surrender of bodies but rather wants the submission of hearts and this can only be applied through developing a sense that she is mindful of God all the time as this state is the state of excellence which Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) talked about and described this state as “worshipping God as if you see Him and if you don’t see Him, He sees you”.

Therefore the father is only entitled to advise his daughter about wearing hijab without causing her any harm through beating or refraining from spending financially on her because spending on his daughter is a duty on him as long as he is her guardian and that she can’t support herself financially and this state continues regardless of his daughter wearing hijab or not. It is out of Islam’s mercy that it did not condition payment for one’s children’s expenditure on completing their religious duties and obligations.

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