and the supplication of the Muslims.’
I said, ‘Messenger of Allah, what if one of us does not have a jilbab?’ He replied, ‘Let her sister clothe her with her own jilbab.’
Shaykh Anwar al-Kashmiri commented on this ḥadith in Fayḍ al-Bārī 1/388:
‘It is understood from it that the jilbab is required when a woman goes out, and that she must not leave if she does not have a jilbab.’
A jilbab is a concealing cloak that covers from the head to the feet. I have already noted that the khimar is for use inside the house, whereas the jilbab is for going out. With this distinction I explained the two verses on covering: ‘and let them draw their khimars over their bosoms’ (24:31) and ‘let them pull down their jilbabs over themselves’ (33:59).
He also said in the place just cited, 1/256, after defining the jilbab and the khimar as above:
‘If you were to say, “Does drawing the jilbab make drawing the khimar over their chests unnecessary?” I would reply: Rather, lowering the jilbab is for when she leaves her house for a need, whereas drawing the khimar is required in all circumstances; therefore drawing the khimar remains necessary.’
I say: Restricting the khimar to the home is open to question, for it contradicts the apparent wording of the first verse: ‘and let them draw their khimars over their bosoms … and let them not stamp their feet so as to reveal what they conceal of their adornment’ (24:31). The prohibition of stamping the feet is a clear indication that the command to draw the khimar applies outside the house as well, and the same is understood from the opening of the verse.