Can someone explain the differences for men and women clothing in Islamic states?

As a Muslim, I will state that most of these answers are inaccurate. Not only am I a Muslim female, but I did learn the history of Islam from an unbiased point of view, therefore, let me explain...

Before Islam even came about, Arab tribes consisted of men and women who would cover their faces and wear heavy clothing because they would travel through the desert, and at night the desert gets extremely cold, also, there would be sandstorms which is why people would cover their faces to protect them. So, ultimately, the whole covering of the face came about as a men and women thing. Islam does not say anything about covering the face; YES, it's culture.

Yes, Shari'ah law states that women must cover their hair. Many Muslims believe in this law, but I don't. Reason being, I feel that any religious law causes problems and just doesn't work, so I don't support it, especially how it states that everyone must be a Muslim; I consider this inaccurate ESPECIALLY because Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) lived along side Jews and Christians peacefully without forcing any type of religion, as well as the fact that Muslims can marry People of the Book. Anyways, that was a bit irrelevant, but that's my view on Shari'ah law.

Back on topic: I did learn in Arabic school that Muhammad's (PBUH) first wife, who, in Islam, is considered one of the greatest women, did NOT cover her hair. Many Muslims argue that hi jab is mandatory, but from a logical point of view, many Muslim SCHOLARS and many who study Islam state otherwise; technically, it is not mandatory. Many Muslims honestly choose to wear it and love to wear it. I know a girl who I grew up with, and she recently chose to wear it and she absolutely LOVES it. And, I do know for a fact that she wasn't forced because her mother does not wear it. Also, my grandmother started to cover her hair after she lost all her hair years ago due to breast cancer, and she got over it after ten years. She got all her hair back but she still wears it because she honestly loves to wear it. So I know for a fact that many Muslimahs choose to wear it, they aren't forced. I don't understand how they like it, but hey, it's their life.

I got the feeling that you were ultimately questioning the equality of men and women in Islam. YES, they are equal. Women are considered valuable pearls in Islam, there's no inferiority when it comes to women. Shari'ah law says otherwise. That is one of the many reasons why I don't agree with this law. My family, especially, is big on the whole equality thing; my great grandmother was the first female in Egypt to graduate medical school and become a doctor, so my family is very into equality, etc.

If you would like to know my personal opinion, it's that I don't agree with the whole covering of the hair, face, etc. but I do respect it if women CHOOSE to wear it, but if they are forced I'm totally against it; it IS a personal decision. My father (yes, a Muslim) taught me that it is nice to present yourself in this world and look nice; just because you don't cover your hair, doesn't mean that you are not modest. I like fashion, I love to wear cute dresses, skirts, heals, etc. So no, I don't cover my hair.

Hope I answered your question! :)

the reason for the dark/lite clothing at least as far as men are concerned is the temperature or weather conditions. In summer or in hot countries white is the best color to reflect the heat. While in mountain or countries with cooler weather you see men wearing various colors because heat is less of an issue. It is also because men "historically" were the ones doing the manual jobs . For women there is an entirely different reason for the abaya , as it was traditionally the fashionable color satin & silk clothing. And as previous answer black is not a see-thru color suitable for not showing what needs to be covered. @Marli your answer is good except that part where you say Arab men tell the women what to wear , that is not true in general at least. You need to give women some credit here , they are not exactly sponges as western media portrays Arab women to be, many are more religious than their men as well. Arabian Feminist is right on that point.

Islam uplifted women and gave them equality and expects to maintain

their status:

Hijab for Men

People usually only discuss hijab in the context of women. However

in the

Holy Quran, Allah (swt) first mentions Hijab for men before Hijab for

the women. The

Quran mentions in Surah Noor, chapter # 24, verse #30

“Say to the believing men that they should lower their gaze and guard

their modesty:

That will make for greater purity for them: and Allah is well

acquainted with all that

they do”

The moment a man looks at a woman and if any brazen or unashamed

thought

comes to his mind, he should lower his gaze.

Hijab for women

The next verse of Surah Noor says:

“ And say to the believing women that they should lower their gaze and

guard their

modesty;that they should not display their beauty and ornaments except

what(must

ordinarily) appear thereof; that they should draw veils over their

bosoms and not

sdisplay yheir beauty except to their husbands, their fathers, their

husband’s fathers,

their sons…”

(Al-Quran 24:31)

Six criteria for Hijab

According to Quran and Sunnah, there are basically six criteria for

observing Hijab:

1.Extent:

The first criterion is the extent of the body that should be covered.

This is the

different for men and women. The extent of covering obligatory on the

male is to

cover the body at least from the navel to the knees. For women, the

extent of

covering obligatory is to cover the complete body except the face and

the hands upto

the wrist. If they wish to, they can cover even these parts of the

body. Some

scholars of Islam insist that face and the hands are part of the

obligatory extent of

hijab.

All the remaining 5 criteria are the same for men and women.

2.The cloths worn should be loose and should not reveal the

figure.

3.The clothes worn should not be transparent such that one can see

through

them.

4.The clothes worn should not be so glamorous as to attract the

opposite sex.

5.The clothes worn should not resemble that of opposite sex.

6.The clothes worn should not resemble that of the unbelievers i.e.

they should

not wear clothes that are specifically identities or symbols of

the unbeliever’s

religions..

Hijab Includes conduct and behavior among other things

Complete hijab besides the six criteria of clothing, also includes the

moral conduct,

behavior, attitude & intention of the individual. A person only

fulfilling the criteria

of hijab of the clothes is observing hijab in a limited sense. Hijab

of the clothes

should be accompanied by hijab of the eyes, hijab of the heart, of the

thought and

hijab of intention. It also includes the way a person walks, the way a

person talks,

and the way he behaves.

Hijab prevents MOLSTATION

The reason why Hijab is prescribed for women is mentioned in Quran in

Chapter no.

33 Surah Al-Azhab Verse no. 59

“O Prophet! Tell thy wives and daughters, and the believing women that

they should

cast their outer garments over heir persons (when abroad); that is most

convenient, that

they should be known (as such) and not molestated. And Allah is

Oft-Forgiving, Most

Merciful" (Quran 33:59)

Although hijab is now commonly associated with the headscarf that women wear, what it actually means in Islam is a code of dress for both men and women. And as Jeebus had correctly mentioned, women do not have to cover their faces but this doesn't mean that it has to be black or anything as long as it is modest. As do the men according to the Qur'an, which first address them in term of being modest:

Chapter 24 Verse 30: Tell the believing men to lower their gaze (from looking at forbidden things), and protect their private parts (from illegal sexual acts, etc.). That is purer for them. Verily, Allâh is All-Aware of what they do.

Chapter 24 Verse 31: And tell the believing women to lower their gaze and be modest, and to display of their adornment only that which is apparent, and to draw their veils over their bosoms, and not to reveal their adornment save to their own husbands...

And a excerpt from [http://mens-style.suite101.com/article.cfm/definit...

Islam dictates that a Muslim man's basic Hijab is the covering of his body from belly-button to below the knee. Though this sounds like a rather sparse and loose definition of modesty, there are pertinent reasons as to this ruling. Men are required to work in Islam, unlike women, who are given the choice to earn their own income or not. Men are required to support their families financially regardless of their level of education or background.

With this ruling, it is inevitable that most of those who find employment as construction workers, farmers, or in other blue-collar jobs would be men. In some cases, these workers spend most of their time under the hot sun or in extremely dry weather. This provision, the covering of the abdomen to the knee, is the basic requirement that they should observe – this serves as Hijab between themselves.

The follow is a short essay on the Islamic dress code that I believe you might also find interesting, Peace.

http://www.almasjid.com/content/islamic_dress_code

There are many different schools of thought concerning how men and women should dress in Islam. The rules for women are generally more contested and varied than they are for men, ranging from simply dressing modestly, to it being necessary to wear a hijab (headscarf) in the middle, all the way to women being required to wear the niqab/burqa on the extreme end.

However, there are some basic rules for both sexes. First, they may not reveal their "modest areas" in front of the other sex (except privately, in the presence of their husband or wife). For both men and women this means they are not supposed to publicly expose the area between their navel and knees.

Some Muslims take this to mean that even in the company of one's own sex, doing so is impermissable (so no public locker rooms).

For females, the zone they must cover publicly also includes the breasts... which is pretty par for the course for western society when you get right down to it. No surprises there. According to Islam, a woman should cover her adornments, except for what is plainly visible. That's where the varying interpretations come in... just what on a woman is a private adornment, and what parts should we assume are plainly visible?

Women may also dress with less modesty, even in mixed company, provided all the males present are mahram (family members with whom marriage would be impermissable, such as fathers, brothers, and children)

The justification for the additional dress restrictions placed on Muslimah is that it is ultimately for their protection because men are not trustworthy creatures, and may be driven to try and inappropriately seduce a woman or rape her if the woman appears as an object of desire.

It's generally assumed family members wouldn't view one of their female relatives in such a manner, so the woman is safe to let her guard down with them, and given that she and her husband are supposed to be objects of desire for one another, they are permitted to appear in any state of dress (or more to the point undress) that would "please" their partner.

Actually Muslim women do not need to cover their face, it is the culture for the states in the Middle East.

men traditionally wear white= purity,

women wear a non attracting cloth as a mean of virtue,

both suppose to cover head [in Bible even:Genesis24]

both seek piousness

Because those who embrace sharia law believe that women who expose skin should be raped.

Apparently muslim men have a really hard time controlling themselves when they see female skin.

Women = cover EVERYTHING up except eyes... EVEN in 100+ degree heat.

Men = Whatever they want. Isn't that convenient?

For your second paragraph: Because women are thought of as inferior to men and supposedly, women cause men to be tempted sexually whenever they see them, so their "smart" idea is to cover them up...