Father Objecting to Wearing Hijaab
Fatwa No: 85250

Question

I am a girl of 19 years old studying abroad. I really like to make hijab but unfortunatelly my father doesn't accept this idea at all (because of some political reasons) I don't know what to do .I thought about an idea which is that I should go to a doctor and ask her to write to me a note telling me that I have to put something on my hair because I have a hair illness and say this to my father to accept the idea of making hijab. Please I need a solution but please you should know that I can't my father about doing hijab, that will destry my relationship with him. I don't want to break allah's commitment and then I don't want that my father gets upset from me.

Answer

All perfect praise be to Allah, The Lord of the Worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allah, and that Muhammad is His slave and Messenger.

The Muslim woman is obliged to adhere to wearing a Hijaab that covers her whole body from non-Mahram men. She should not expose any part of her body except in front of men who are allowed to see her, like her husband and her other Mahaarim (non-marriageable male relatives).

Allah Says (what means): {O Prophet, tell your wives and your daughters and the women of the believers to bring down over themselves [part] of their outer garments. That is more suitable that they will be known and not be abused. And ever is Allah Forgiving and Merciful.} [Quran 33: 59]

From this, we say to this sister that she should not give up her Hijaab and she should abide by Allah's Orders. She should not accept to take off Hijaab even if it is her father who asks her to do so.

In fact, this father should have been a support for her in righteousness because of the responsibility Allah has given him in this respect. Allah Says (what means): {O you who have believed, protect yourselves and your families from a Fire whose fuel is people and stones.} [Quran 66: 6]

The Prophet said: “Every one of you is a guardian and is responsible for the people under his guardianship…” [Al-Bukhari and Muslim]

So, we advise you to make the ruling of Hijaab clear to your father and you should seek the help of scholars and good people in convincing him to return to the right path. If he returns, the matter is solved, otherwise you should not obey him in this issue as no obedience is due when one is ordered to commit a sin.

If the normal ways of convincing do not help you, then there is no harm to use other ways like what you mentioned in your question.

So, you may tell him that you suffer from some illness in the hair and that uncovering it worsens the situation. In fact, uncovering the hair is a serious illness as it leads to temptation which can be source of all kinds of evils.

For more benefit on the limits of obedience to parents, please refer to Fataawa 271255, 131695 and 123554.

Allah knows best.

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