ʿĀʾishah would loosen her waist-wrapper and drape it over herself as a jilbāb.¹ She did this so that none of her clothing would cling to her body and reveal its shape, and her phrase “a woman must” is evidence that the ruling is obligatory. In the same sense Ibn ʿUmar (Allah be pleased with them both) said:

“When a woman prays, let her do so in all of her garments: the dirʿ, the khimār, and the milḥafah.”²

This supports the view we have already advanced—that a woman is required to combine both the khimār and the jilbāb when she goes out (see pp. 84–85).

It is also helpful to mention, by way of corroboration, what is narrated from Umm Jaʿfar, daughter of Muḥammad ibn Jaʿfar, that Fāṭimah, the daughter of Allah’s Messenger (Allah bless him and grant him peace), said:

“O Asmāʾ! I find objectionable what is done with women: a sheet is merely thrown over the corpse, and it outlines her figure.” Asmāʾ replied, “O daughter of Allah’s Messenger, shall I not show you something I saw in Abyssinia?” She then brought some fresh palm branches, bent them into a frame, and laid a cloth over it. Fāṭimah exclaimed, “How fine and becoming this is! It makes a woman distinct from a man. When I die, wash me—you and ʿAlī—and let no one else come in.” When she passed away, ʿAlī and Asmāʾ (Allah be pleased with them) washed her.³