ABSTRACT | VIRTUE AND VEILING:
PERSPECTIVES FROM ANCIENT TO ABBASID TIMES
by Khairunessa Dossani
This thesis establishes a link between conceptions of female virtue and the practice of veiling by women from ancient to medieval times in the Mediterranean region. This is evidenced by the consistent advocacy and prescription of veiling in ancient and medieval theological texts, including Jewish, Christian, Zoroastrian, and Islamic texts. Veiling practices are shown to have a religious foundation, grounded in the ideas of honor and virtue. These notions were reflected in society over time with veiled aristocratic noblewomen and unveiled marginalized classes. While acknowledging class-based theories of female veiling, the thesis concentrates on the religious factors for veiling, particularly for medieval Muslim societies. The argument of this thesis is that while veiling did not originate in Islamic societies, Muslims validated the practice through their own literature and laws. The paper also includes evidence of female seclusion, which co-exists with the spread in the practice of veiling by women.
Table of Contents
Introduction ........................ 1
Veiling: Definition and Types ................. 4
Overview of the Chapters ....................... 8
Sources Used .............. 11
Limitations of Sources ......................12
Chapter 1 Assyrian, Babylonian, Hellenistic, and Jewish References to Veiling,
1700BC – 1st Century AD .............................. 14
Women Affected by the Hammurapi Law Code (1770 - 1750 BC) ...................... 16
Interpretation of Assyrian Law Codes (1100 - 700 BC) ......... 19
Veiling References in the Torah (500 - 400 BC)................................... 24
Archaeological Evidence of Veiling in the Greek Classical (5th - 4th Century BC) and Hellenistic periods (323 - 146 BC) ...................... 28
Greek Literary References to Veiling and Seclusion ............................. 32
Overall Remarks on Ancient Veiling ........................................... 36
Chapter 2 Roman, the Mishna, and Christian Veiling Concepts and Practices between the First and Sixth centuries AD. ................................ 38
Roman Hairstyles in the First Century ...................................... 39
St. Paul’s Views (1 Corinthian:11-15 ) -- (53-54 AD) ............... 42
Analysis on Select Tertullian’s Passages from “On The Veiling of Virgins” –
(160-225 AD) ..................................... 45
Veiling in the Mishna (1st- 3rd Century AD) ............................... 50
Zoroastrian Veiling (226 - 651 AD) ........................... 52
Fourth Century Christian Veiling: The Influence of Augustine ........................55
Massacre of Najran, Arabia -- 518, 522 or 523 AD ............ 61
Chapter 3 Pre-Islamic, Quranic and Talmudic References to Veiling, 6th-7th
Centuries AD ..................... 64
Talmudic References to Veiling -- 5th to 7th Centuries .............................. 65
Pre-Islamic Poetry of Arabian Veiling 520 - 622 AD ........................................ 69
Impact of the Quran on Women in the Mid-7th Century .................................. 73
Selected Quranic Verses on Women and Veiling -- 7th Century ........................76
References of Veiling in Umayyad Poetry, 7th – 8th Centuries .......................... 80
Chapter 4 The Hadith, Shariah, Abbasid Adab, and Fatimid References to Veiling and Seclusion, 8th – 12th Centuries AD .......................................... 85
The Historicity of the Hadith Compiled between the 8th and 10th Centuries ..........86
Veiling References in the Hadith, 8th to 9th Centuries................................... 91
The Shariah as an Instrument of Patriarchy, 8th – 12th Centuries ....................... 97
References of Veiling in the Cairo Geniza manuscripts, 9th – 12th Centuries ............ 103
vii
Slaves, Singing-girls and Domestics of Fatimid Egypt and Abbasid Baghdad,
9th to 12th Centuries ...................................... 108
Abbasid Adab and Veiling, 9th to 13th Centuries .................. 112
Conclusion ................................... 117
Bibliography ................................. 122
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