In Muslim cultures, what is the difference between the hijab, niqab and burka?

in surah al-ahzaab Allah (SWT) states : "O Prophet! tell your wives and your daughters AND THE BELIEVING WOMEN to draw their cloaks all over their bodies. That will be better, that they should be known as free respectable women so as not to be annoyed. And Allah is the Ever, Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful."

hijab is a word with a far more extensive meaning about covering....in muslim society it is usually used to refer to a scarf that covers the hair and chest area, without question it is required by GOD (not man), for protection for the woman. hijab, in the broader sense, is covering the whole body in loose, non-transparent clothing and taking care of your mannerisms (not being flirty, rude, etc...). niqab is a garment worn on top of a scarf or khimar (a very large piece of cloth with a hole cut for the head covering the body to at least the abdomen) and it covers the face...except for the eyes which can be left uncovered, or using the other layers of the niqab, you can screen the eyes with a mesh or a second layer of material (works kind of like sunglasses...you can see out, they cant see in)...a burka i have heard used to describe a niqab, and it also implies the afghani style burka which is like a giant khimar covering the whole body with a hole for the head, except it has a screen over whole face. ...proof for hijab...Surah An-Noor (chapter 24) verse 31 in the Holy Qur'an, Surah Al-Ahzaab (chapter 33) verse 59 in the Holy Qur'an. The proof for covering the face is in the context of the arabic words of the first verse, definition of what a woman's awrah consists of (awrah is portions of her beauty that is to be concealed, bodily or otherwise), and in hadith where Aisha is given a piece of cloth by Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) when a man enters the room, and she used it to cover her face. To cover the face is not agreed upon by all scholars as being compulsory. and by the way....i reverted to islam and chose to wear the niqab based on research...no man ever ordered me to wear it, no man ever forced me to wear the hijab when i was newly muslimah either by the way. it is not an oppression, and instead it is a freedom great freedom and protection and blessing from Allah (swt). The decision to wear it is for the muslimah to decide herself and the act of wearing it is for the sake of Allah (swt), not to please any man, or society. As it states in the Qur'an there is no compulsion in religion (one person forcing another to obey), all acts are judged by intention and those who do something other than for Allah (swt) will not be rewarded by Allah. example if a woman only covers because she feels forced to by her family, then it useless for her family to force her and useless for her to do, as she will not be rewarded by Allah (swt) for covering anyway. alhamdulilah!

Difference Between Hijab And Niqab

Hijab is a covering for the head. this is required by Islam.

Niqab and Burka are the cultural coverings that cover the face as well as the rest of the body.

hijab and niqab r the same things i mean all three of them does the same thing " cover "

hijab n niqab is a peace of cloth which covers ur hair and its not that long on the other hand burka covers n woman from head 2 toe including face and hands

The hijab is usually a square shaped cloth that we fold over into a triangle and it covers Muslim womens head/neck/ and depending on the style it covers the chest too

Example:

http://www.simplyislam.com/images/products/56549.j...

Niqab is the face cover that some Muslims believe is compulsory(mandatory) and others believe it's not necessary.

Example:

http://nasiba.com.au/shop/images/niqab.jpg

Burka is the whole body covering that conceals the womans shape.

Example:

http://www.frhavn-gym.dk/opslag/Burka-a5.jpg

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There are a variety of Islamic clothing styles that women can wear and they come in different materials, and colors.

Abaya, Jilbab, Khimar etc:

Examples:

http://www.barakallah.com/images/kuwaiti_abaya.jpg

http://www.salamhijab.com/store/items/A145a.jpg

http://www.museumoflondon.org.uk/archive/exhibits/...

http://www.desertstore.com/images/products/SA-jilb...

http://www.ethnicdenim.com/fashion-blog/wp-content...

http://www.jahida.com/images/jelb1p.jpg

http://www.barakallah.com/images/long_chocolate_kh...

http://www.abakaftans.co.uk/abatrading/Files/17917...

http://www.geocities.com/mabsilva/khimar2.jpg

Personally I love my Islamic clothing, it's beautiful, comfortable and protective alhamdulilah. I'm not oppressed or hindered in any way by my attire.

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we also wear every day clothing such as long skirts blouses etc that can be bought in any basic local store

examples:

http://hijablady.com/index.php?main_page=index&cPa...

http://hijablady.com/index.php?main_page=index&cPa...

http://www.barakallah.com/

The sites I provided are just for the convenience of being able to see what I'm talking about without confusion, hope it clears up some some misconceptions about Muslim women only wearing very limited types of attire.

I do not agree with women who wear the Burqa. It's liberating for some because they are covered from the eyes of men. Reason why some wear it. The wearing of the hijab is more respectable than wearing something where only your eyes are seen and weapons could be hidding under the burqa. 1.Their husbands command it. 2. It is supposed to curb the sexual appetites of passing men when women travel outside the home. Women are also not allowed to travel by themselves, or be alone with a man who is not a relative. I find that silly because this would not stop a potential rapist from taking advantage of a woman. Qur'an 24:31Commands women to "draw their headscarves" over their neckline as well. Qur'an 33:59 "Tell thy wives and thy daughters and the women of the believers to draw their cloaks close round them..."

-Hijab is a cloth dat covers a womens' head...

-Niqab is to cover a women's face which u can do by using a "duappta" (veil) or u can have it made special.

-Burka is a type of gown usually black which covers the whole body.

Very interesting & thoughful question of course!

Hijab - covering of head hair is tradition of the Middle East where it is considered immodest to keep your head uncovered by men or by women.

Niqab - was worn by whores in the ME and has no religious implications.

Burka (Abaya) - Abaya is Arab tradition & Burka is Sub-continent tradition among Muslims.

Many would not agree for their ignorance, therefore, to prove my point "Sura Noor" commands believing men & women to cast down their eyes, guard their private parts & women to coverup thier bossoms so that they should not be prominent.

God only Commanded Wives of Prophet Muhammad to cover themselves completely so that they should be immediately distincted from the rest of the Muslim women, however, I personally do not consider this applicable to every other Muslim woman for obvious reasons.

Towards my arguement for Hijab, I would like to remind you Nun in Christianity & traditions of Jewish people for covering up their head, which is very much spoken about in Bible, but not in Koran.

Face of a man or a woman is his / her identity, so how can you cover it up?

However, God knows the best!

hijab is the all black gown, niqab is just the head dress while burka is the afghani style hijab,the blue baggy gown...its in pashtu not arabic....like hijab and niqab

It is determined by the weather for me really. Inside the fall I like to wear longer skirts and in the wintertime I wear longer ones with my boots, however in the summer and spring I prefer to wear short summer time dresses.