Clarification of the intended meaning of the terms (ta'abbudi and ma'qul al-ma'na). And is the jilbab and trousers ta'abbudi or ma'qul al-ma'na?

But it is necessary to clarify something, which is whether the command regarding the jilbab, which was known before Islam and then practiced in Islam, is ta'abbudi or ma'qul al-ma'na? And I think everyone understands the intended meaning of the terms ta'abbudi or ma'qul al-ma'na.

The questioner: If you would please explain it.

The Shaykh: All right, the intended meaning by the jurists of the term ta'abbudi is that we worship Allah by implementing this ruling, and we do not know the wisdom or the secret behind it. This is in contrast to ma'qul al-ma'na, which means that the intellect understands why our Lord, Mighty and Majestic, commanded that thing. We give an example to clarify ta'abbudi and to clarify ma'qul al-ma'na. Our Lord, Mighty and Majestic, prescribed for all Muslims five prayers in every day and night. He varied them in the number of rak'ahs, and He varied between these rak'ahs regarding the recitation of the Qur'an: some is secret, some is loud, some is half secret and half loud, and so on. You see the question arises here: why is there this variation? Why is Fajr two rak'ahs, and Maghrib three rak'ahs, and the rest of the prayers four rak'ahs each? We do not know; this is not ma'qul al-ma'na. Another example of ma'qul al-ma'na: the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) forbade selling with gharar. Is this ta'abbudi or ma'qul al-ma'na? It is ma'qul al-ma'na. Why? Because selling with gharar leads to disputes between Muslims, and therefore it was forbidden. So this is ma'qul al-ma'na. Most transactions are of this type and are ma'qul al-ma'na, while most acts of worship are not ma'qul al-ma'na. For example, the prohibition of pork: Until recently, Muslims accepted this ruling of prohibition on the basis of submission, not knowing why Allah forbade eating pork. Now, you may have read or heard that it has been found to contain the tapeworm, and that it causes harm to the body, especially since it does not die except with very high heat. And if this foul meat is not cooked with high heat, it means its taste is gone, in the opinion of those disbelievers. So this has now become ma'qul al-ma'na. But is it ma'qul al-ma'na in the sense that we can say the 'illah (operative cause) of the prohibition is this tapeworm, meaning that if it is eliminated, it becomes permissible? The answer is: No, because we do not have a definitive text that the reason for the prohibition of eating pork is the tapeworm. Once we have understood approximately what ta'abbudi and ma'qul al-ma'na are, we return now to the fact that our Lord, Mighty and Majestic, made it obligatory for women to wear the jilbab. Is this ta'abbudi? We do not know what the purpose is, or do we understand what the purpose is? We understand what the purpose is, which is covering and concealing the adornment that the woman may be wearing under her jilbab. So this command is ma'qul al-ma'na to avert fitnah. If another garment takes the place of the jilbab, which is not linguistically called a jilbab, for example: in some Arab countries, like Syria and also in Jordan, I say the legal covering there consists of two pieces, meaning a zaym cloth, an upper piece and a lower piece. This is not called a jilbab, nor is it called an abaya, but in terms of it achieving the covering intended by the jilbab, this is fully achieved. So it is obligatory for the woman to wear clothing that covers her body, like an abaya, or better if found. But all of this does not exempt women from the obligation of wearing the khimar under any clothing, whether it is a jilbab or a zaym cloth, or the like, for the 'illah of preventing the exposure of the woman's head, as I mentioned earlier.
The student: Regarding... , and in the sense that there is no ta'abbud in our wearing the abaya?

The Shaykh: Yes, it is not intended for its own sake; it is intended to shield the woman from the eyes of men. So if there is another garment that achieves the same purpose, while maintaining the khimar, then it is acceptable, and there is nothing required of the woman other than that.