What is the criterion of the lawful hijab?
Short answer
The hijab covers the body, is not thin and does not show adornment; the details of covering are reported according to the relied-upon fatwa.
Evidence and explanation
The Shaykh mentioned that the hijab must be covering, not thin, and not showing adornment.
Scholar referenced
This editorial summary is based on the original source linked below and is not presented as a verbatim quotation from the scholar.
From the text of the answer (Arabic, with an English translation)
Original answer — Shaykh ‘Abd al-‘Aziz ibn Baz
ما هي شروط الحجاب الشرعي؟ — فتوى ١١٢٨٣- Question
«من جمهورية السودان الشقيقة هذه رسالة بعثتها إحدى الأخوات، تقول: سعدية موسى، الأخت سعدية تسأل ثلاثة أسئلة: في أحد أسئلتها تقول: ما هي شروط الحجاب الشرعي؟»
English translation (unreviewed): From the sister country of the Sudan, this is a letter sent by one of the sisters, Sa'diyah Musa. Sister Sa'diyah asks three questions; in one of them she says: What are the conditions of the lawful hijab?
- From the text of the answer
«شروط الحجاب الشرعي: أن يكون ساترًا لمحاسن المرأة، يستر وجهها وشعرها وبدنها، ليس رقيقًا ترى منه زينتها، بل يكون ساترًا صفيقًا يستر عورتها، يستر بدنها، ويكون ذلك من اللباس الذي ليس فيه محذور، ليس مغصوبًا ولا نجسًا، نعم.»
English translation (unreviewed): The conditions of the lawful hijab: that it covers the woman's adornments, covering her face, hair and body; that it is not thin so that her adornment can be seen through it, but is covering and thick so that it covers her 'awrah and her body; and that it be of clothing in which there is nothing prohibited, neither usurped nor impure. Yes.
The Arabic excerpts matched the original page word for word by an automated check and have not had human scholarly review. The English translations are unreviewed translations made for this site; they are not an approved Shari‘ah translation. Rely on the Arabic original.
Source
What are the conditions of the lawful hijab?
Title of the original page (Arabic): ما هي شروط الحجاب الشرعي؟
Shaykh ‘Abd al-‘Aziz ibn Baz, may Allah have mercy on him