2 
O believers, enter not the dwellings of the Prophet, unless invited 
[…] And when you ask of his wives anything, ask from behind a 
hijab. That is purer for your hearts and for their hearts 
 7
. 
 
This statement suggests the sacred privacy that surrounded the 
Prophet's house, and then stresses the privileged position his wives had 
“in two ways:  as Prophet’s wives and as leaders with access to Islamic 
information and wisdom” 
8
. So hijab refers to a kind of separation which 
divides the sacred space from the worldly one, and it is closely 
connected to the notion of privacy, as we shall see later on. As a complex  
term it has come to identify the huge variety of styles in which Muslim 
men and women (but more frequently women) cover their faces and 
bodies. It is intended as the dress code for Muslim men and women, a 
code that bases itself on the concept of modesty. 
First it is important to identify  different kinds of veil; the 
differentiation between them is based on the country of origin, material, 
colour, body parts they conceal and situation in which they are used.  It 
is quite impossible to classify them all, because of their number and 
multifarious use; in my analysis the types of veil I encountered most 
often, and probably the most “famous” ones are: 
o HIJAB: general term that identifies the Muslim dress code; it also 
refers to the variety of styles in which pieces of cloth are used to cover 
hair, neck and shoulders. It often leaves the entire face uncovered; 
                                                
7
 Sura 33:53, cit. in El Guindi, ibid., p. 153.  
8
 Ibid., p. 154.