Is the burqa in the quran?
Executive summary
The Quran does not use the Arabic word "burqa" and contains no verse that prescribes the full-body face-covering known today as the burqa; instead it addresses modesty using terms such as khimar and jilbab that classical commentators and modern scholars interpret in different ways [1] [2] [3]. Determinations that the burqa is required typically rest on later juristic readings, hadith literature, or cultural practice rather than an explicit Quranic command [4] [5].
1. What the Quran actually says about dress: khimar and jilbab, not "burqa"
The Quranic passages most often cited about women's dress use words like khimar (often translated "head-covering" or "veil") and jilbab (cloak or outer garment) and instruct believing women to draw coverings over their bosoms and to be modest in public, but they do not name or define a garment identical to the modern burqa [2] [6]. Multiple sources point out that these verses have been interpreted variably across history, with the phrase "except what is apparent outwardly" especially contested among classical exegetes as to how much exposure is permitted [2].
2. The word "burqa" and historical usage: cultural term, not Quranic citation
Historical-linguistic work shows the lexeme burqa existed in pre-Islamic Arabic usage as a general covering—used, for example, for sheltering animals or as a shawl for village women—but the Quran itself does not employ that specific term in connection with women's purdah [3] [7]. Several contemporary commentators and reform voices therefore argue the burqa is a cultural garment that later became associated with Muslim practice rather than a Quranic prescription [8] [9].
3. Scholarly disagreement: majority views and minority positions
Many modern Islamic jurists and scholars assert that the Quran mandates modest dress but does not require full face-covering, viewing the burqa and niqab as optional or cultural practices; nevertheless, a minority of jurists have maintained that full covering of face and hands is obligatory or preferable based on broader legal reasoning and hadith sources rather than an explicit Quranic phrase [2] [4]. Sources that stress the burqa’s absence from scripture often label strict veiling norms as "extra-Quranic" accretions introduced through later interpretation and tradition [10] [11].
4. How culture, politics and law shaped practice
The spread and enforcement of the burqa in different regions has had as much to do with local custom, legal codes, and political power as with theology: countries and communities vary widely, from secular contexts where such coverings are uncommon to states or movements where they have been mandated or enforced, and voices within Muslim societies debate whether these practices are cultural patriarchy or legitimate expressions of faith [1] [12]. Reporting and advocacy on the subject often reflect those competing agendas—religious authorities, reformists, and political actors each frame the burqa differently, sometimes conflating cultural practice with scriptural command [1] [8].
5. Practical takeaway and limits of the evidence
Based on the reporting surveyed, it is accurate to say the Quran does not explicitly command the burqa by name and instead speaks in terms of modesty and coverings (khimar, jilbab), leaving room for divergent interpretations and later jurisprudential development that produced the burqa as a cultural and legal phenomenon in some places [1] [2] [3]. This review relies on the provided sources; it does not evaluate hadith corpora or juristic rulings in depth, so it cannot settle debates that hinge on extra-Quranic texts or on different schools of fiqh [5] [4].