What is the ruling on wearing the "isharb," which serves as a substitute for the khimar? And what is the correct interpretation of the khimar?

The isharb is not sufficient; it must be a khimar that covers the entire head and the neck. The isharb is not comprehensive, and its coverage is not adequate.

The questioner : Does the covering, our Shaykh, also include the shoulders?

The Shaykh : Yes, that is the khimar. The description of the khimar is that it is loose and wide, covering the head and the shoulders. When we say it covers the neck, it covers the shoulders as well because it is wide. As for the isharb, we often see women with parts of their neck exposed because of the isharb, whereas the khimar covers both the neck and the shoulders. Allah commanded this, saying: As for the isharb, it falls under the category of— as it is said today— half-solutions, and there are no half-solutions in Islam.

The questioner : My teacher, many of the committed men and women in religion and in their clothing nowadays believe that the khimar is a face covering?

The Shaykh : This is ignorance of the language. The khimar is a head covering. Therefore, a man "yukhtamar," meaning he places the khimar on his head, and a woman does the same. Therefore, it is said: If the khimar covered the face, it would not say: meaning: they tie it, but rather it involves letting it fall down. This is ignorance of the language.