Do we really have to wear hijab and what is acceptable as hijab?

In Islam, wearing hijab is an obligation for women.  I have heard a lot of women say that they don't have to wear it, that it's their choice.  Sinning is a choice.  Whatever the excuse, you will not find a single Islamic Scholar who will tell you that hijab is not obligated for Muslim women.  This requirement is written in both Qur'an and Hadith.

Hijab is obligated for many reasons.  It protects Muslim women from unwanted, and forbidden gazes of men (and in some cases women).  Hijab protects a woman from placing her beauty above her intellect.  It gives her humility and modesty.  Hijab is also a sign of Ummah, or oneness with the whole community of Islam.

When I first started wearing Hijab I felt empowered.  I felt that I was no longer subjected to what society (at the time, American Society) expected me to be, but what God (I am using God instead of Allah because I am speaking in English and using English terms) expected me to be.   I was no longer a slave to male expectations of a woman. I was able to be judged for what is inside me.  Or so I thought.

I don't think I understood fully the true meaning of hijab when I first started wearing it.  Like so many other Muslim reverts, I searched the internet for ways to wear hijab.  Somehow I found myself caught up in the world of Hijabistas (Hijab fashionistas), trying to find the latest fashions.  Did this scarf look cute with that outfit, did it match my make-up, how to add this pin to make it even cuter...

I still wore relatively modest attire, or at least I thought I did.  Why would all these women teach me something that was not Islamic?   But after a while something started to bother me.  All these women, Hijabistas were selling us the idea that this was what hijab was.   Fashion.  It was necessary to be 'cute' and conform to today's 'fashion' while still being modest.  WHAT!!!

So we are wearing hijab for whom then?  The rest of the world? Are we that much of slaves to what 'Western' non-Muslim culture labels as 'fashion' that we need to try and replicate it with hijab?   Is this what God meant by modesty and hijab?

I started feeling ashamed to go out in such attire.  I am not a slave to anyone's opinion.  I do not need my clothing to validate my worth.  I do not need someone else's opinion to boost my self-esteem.  I do need to be comfortable that I am making the best effort to please God.

I started wearing a plain black abaya and khimar, or ocassionally black hijab.  An abaya is a loose outer garment.  I wear one I purchased from Sunnah Style specifically because they do not embellish with beads, embroidery, and are not tight fitting.

Khimar is a loose style of hijab that is pulled over the head. It covers the shoulders, chest, and is easy to wear.  In Qur'an, the ONLY style of hijab mentioned was that of khimar. (Surat Al-Nur 24:31)  You have to read it in Arabic to get the correct translation.  It says: 

وَلَا يُبْدِينَ زِينَتَهُنَّ إِلَّا مَا ظَهَرَ مِنْهَا ۖ وَلْيَضْرِبْنَ بِخُمُرِهِنَّ عَلَىٰ جُيُوبِهِنَّ

If we look at the word بِخُمُرِهِنَّ it would state in colloquial Arabic the word: bi-khimar-hun. The root word is khimar.  The only type of hijab mentioned to wear in Qur'an is khimar. It also states in this verse how we should wear it.  This verse also uses the term جُيُوبِهِنَّ which translates to bosoms or pockets.  It means pockets because the pockets of an abaya were just below the chest.  So this verse tells a woman to wear khimar at a length were it fully covers her breasts.  

So as a new Muslim I was lied to, or at least misguided.  While I understand the good intentions in trying to ease a Muslim convert into wearing hijab by making them fashionable, IT IS NOT HIJAB we are teaching them.  We need to teach women correctly.  At least then it is their choice if they want to wear hijab correctly or not.  

So to recap:

Not Hijab as described in Qur'an
  Does not cover chest.
Also note her arms are not fully covered.

Not Hijab as described in Qur'an
Does not cover the chest, neck or ears.
Is for fashion, not for God.

Not Hijab as described in Qur'an
Does not cover the chest
Another example of fashion pleasing people.

While this one does cover more of her body
the point of it is still fashion.  Note the folds and jewelry.
Why continue to please people who will not be there for you on judgement day?

Much more accurate if wearing a scarf.
  Length is appropriate.
There is some fashion but it is more representing toward the real meaning of Hijab.

THIS IS KHIMAR, HIJAB AS DESCRIBED IN THE HOLY QUR'AN.
THIS IS THE BEST AND ONLY METHOD OF COVERING DESCRIBED IN QUR'AN