Hijab is a contentious issue, the argument is not usually in terms of 'obligatory vs. not obligatory' but rather about whether the hijab is fulfilling its purpose in the West when it makes a Muslim woman stand out instead of being a detractor from harassment.

I wonder if this is why we don't see much discussion about the obligation of the hijab (the scarf in particular) historically among Muslims (to my knowledge, Allahualim) because it was so common to wear a headscarf among so many cultures that women would not think to question it.

Arab women wore 'Khimar', hence God did not tell them explicitly to cover their heads but to cover their chest with the scarf they already used to cover their heads.

In a hadith regarding women's covering, it is not focused on covering the head. Asma, may Allah be pleased with her, had on a transparent garment and was told by the prophet, peace to him, that when women reach puberty they must cover everything except their hands and face.

Head covering was normal in many societies across the world. But in our society, where covering one's head is abnormal, we make the headscarf the marker of Muslim identity.

Wearing loose opaque clothing that covers the entire body except the hands and face is the guideline for Muslim women's dress, I think the hyper-focus on the scarf is a mistake.

This is because you see Muslim women take an all or nothing approach to modesty. Either they wear the headscarf and dress (relatively) modestly or they take it off and have no regard for modesty at all.

If we promoted the holistic approach to modesty as laid out by the religion, even one who doesn't cover their head could take part in modesty to some degree. Not wearing a headscarf shouldn't equal a license to wear a low cut shirt and skirts showing one's legs.

Islam is not an all or nothing religion, and modesty is not an exception, do the best you can to follow the guidelines for modesty. The headscarf should not be a license to no longer care about modesty.

And on the opposite end, it is also true that the headscarf does not immediately make an immodest outfit modesty.

The point is, we focus so much on the hijab to the exclusion of all else that it warps our understanding of what modesty is. Where in the classic scholarly works is there an exclusive focus on head covering? Allahualim, this focus seems to be our own doing.

And I think it's done more damage than good.