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What is the ruling on wearing a white hijab as a طرحة (head covering) or شيلة (shawl) in Saudi Arabia? Is it considered a dress of fame (libās shuhra)? Are plain, unadorned colors considered intended adornment (zīnah maqṣūdah) in the hijab? Is the hadith of Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) regarding wearing pink authentic?

1 min readAlso available in العربية

It is not a condition for a woman's garment to be black. She may wear any modest color that does not define her body shape or is transparent, nor tight or embellished. It should not resemble the clothing of men, disbelieving women, or immoral women, nor should it be a garment of fame. A woman may veil herself with a white jilbab or any other color if it is customary in her country. Otherwise, she should not wear it if it attracts attention. White clothes are not considered adornment unless they are ornamental or attention-grabbing. As for head coverings, abayas, and jilbabs that are not embellished, there is no harm in them, provided they do not contradict the prevailing custom in a woman's country of wearing black hijab, and are instead worn in her home in front of her mahrams. It was narrated from Aisha, may Allah be pleased with her, that she used to wear clothes dyed with safflower while in a state of ihram, but this does not mean she wore them in front of non-mahram men.

Summarized from the full answer at Ftawy · reviewed Sep 2, 2026

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