The concept of โโthe hijab and khimar is not exceptionally new. Hijab is a very ancient word.
Key Takeaways
- Hijab is a headscarf that covers the head and neck, while Khimar is a type of headscarf that covers the head and extends to the waist or hip.
- Hijab is a religious requirement for Muslim women, while Khimar is an optional garment.
- Hijab is worn in different styles and colors, while Khimar is black.
Hijab vs Khimar
The hijab is a headscarf covering the hair, neck, and sometimes the chest, exposing the face. It is a form of modest dressing that is encouraged by Islamic teachings. The Khimar is a type of headscarf that covers the head, hair, and shoulders but leaves the face exposed. It is longer than the hijab and provides more coverage.

The word hijab means a barrier, a division, or a cover, the word has great significance in Islam which includes everything that a woman needs to be submissive or to be disciplined.
Khimar is very different. Khimar is a type of cloth that is used to cover any object. Recently, the term is often used about body coverings.
Comparison Table
Parameters of Comparison | Hijab | Khimar |
---|---|---|
Definitionย | The word hijab portrays the demonstration of concealing by and large however is regularly used to depict the headscarves worn by Muslim ladies.ย | ย Khimar is a cloth that covers the top portion of the body which means head to waist. |
Style | Pin it from both sides, bring it towards the chin and bring the scarf from one side to the shoulder and bring it to the other side and widen it forward. | ย The khimar is a headscarf. On scriptural occasions, the headscarf was tied around the hair and tucked around the hair at the back. |
Types | Hijab is just a scarf that covers head to shoulder. | Khimar has many types. One is just covering head to neck, the other one is covering head to shoulder. The length depends on what you prefer for yourself. |
Origin word | Hijab originated from the Arabic word Al-Hijab which implies the cover that isolates man or the whole world from God. | The khimar originated from the three words โkhamaraโ, which signifies โghattaโ importance to disguise, stow away, or to cover something.ย |
Uses | Hijab is a big word in Islam, Hijab is used for Quranic commands.ย | ย Khimar is just a type of cloth that applies to the top covering a pot or container, to any head cover worn by individuals. |
What is Hijab?
The term hijab broadly refers to the practice of concealment, although by law, it is a scarf used by Muslim women. These scarves come in many styles and shadings.
In the Qurโan, the word hijab is of great importance, which denotes a hidden barrier. It is a screen or any likeness thereof that divides one person from another.
In other words, the term hijab is also used to refer to the binding of women that keeps them away from the outside male and can also be used to include a spiritual measure.
It is very important to note that, when addressing the hijab, In the Qurโan does not address women first but addresses men first. Islam places an obligatory obligation not on women but on men to notice the hijab.

What is Khimar?
The concept of covering the head is called โKhimarโ in the Quran. Khimar begins with three words, which denote to hide, remove or cover something.
Among the women of Jahiliyyah (before Islam), it was considered their culture to wear a headscarf. It was considered a handkerchief-type style of head covering that was wrapped and then thrown backwards.
Khimar is an Arabic word meaning โtop-coveringโ, and it was new not only to cover womenโs heads but also to mean covering other objects.

Main Differences Between Hijab and Khimar
- Hijab is not only a scarf, but it is used for the orders of the Qurโan, whereas Khimar is used to cover things that may be anything.
- Khimar is a part of the hijab that is used as a cover. But we cannot count Hijab under Khimar. The importance of the hijab in Islam is considered very great.

- https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0277539505000920
- http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&profile=ehost&scope=site&authtype=crawler&jrnl=10241256&AN=110548085&h=CQUe7yvR8bvtYBWospN4wNcx%2BXd%2F7tgTK%2FF2F8WZ%2BAJqaDJ2u0h712VPVbnxcpvG3anw6uSDNmk%2FTKvOk6r0jw%3D%3D&crl=c
- https://heinonline.org/hol-cgi-bin/get_pdf.cgi?handle=hein.journals/umkc80§ion=11
Chara Yadav holds MBA in Finance. Her goal is to simplify finance-related topics. She has worked in finance for about 25 years. She has held multiple finance and banking classes for business schools and communities. Read more at her bio page.