Tazkirul Quran Tefsir: An-Nur Aja 31

With regard to ladies, satr defines which parts of her body a woman must cover and which parts she may keep uncovered, either in or outside her house, and before whom, when and under what conditions. The literal meaning of ‘O! You Believers! Turn all together towards God,’ is that in carrying out the instructions of the Islamic law, the most important virtues are the receptivity and sincerity of people’s hearts. The male and female Companions of the Prophet Muhammad maintained the highest standard in this respect. ‘A’ishah says, ‘By God! I have never found anybody better than the women of the Ansar when it comes to honouring the Book of God and having faith in its instructions.’ When the following verse of the chapter entitled al-Nur, ‘They should put shawls over their bosoms’, was revealed, the Ansar men returned to their houses and conveyed to their wives, daughters and sisters the instructions revealed for them by God. Some untied their waist-belts while others used their covering sheets and made shawls out of them. The next morning when they offered prayers (salat) led by the Prophet Muhammad, it seemed as if crows sat on their heads (because of the scarves they wore). (Tafsir ibn Kathir, vol. III, p. 284 ).