[ticfarentibia]

I hope no one minds me putting in my 2 cents.
I'm not answering from a scholar's point of view.
I can't relate whether the hadith is authentic or if the chain is unbroken, etc.

But want to respond as a sister who was born and raised in the United States - mostly living in or near a major city.

There is a vast difference between modesty as expressed in Islam, and 'Western' ideals of modesty.

I've seen women who consider their clothes to be modest because, technically, fabric is covering almost everything except maybe their face, hands, and feet. However, their clothing is so tight that you can see every bump, bone, and curve. You can see the lines of their underclothing, you can see ribs, you can see hip bones, and they can be wearing pants so tight that they get frequent infections.... (sorry for the TMI but it's true)

This is not modesty. Maybe it's considered so compared to what others could be wearing - miniskirts, low cut tops or tube tops, etc. But if you can see a woman's entire body even when she's dressed - then she will definitely fall into the category of being naked 'while dressed.'

I know how hard it can be when the 'ideals' of fashion being presented on television, in movies, and in magazines is to be 'sexy' and 'stylish' by showing much skin and body form. But the job of most fashion designers and people who sell this sort of 'ideal' is not to protect your modesty or encourage you to a good end. It's to deceive you into a mindset of showing your body while filling their pockets.

{And have you ever wondered why they have spring and fall fashion shows? Why the 'fashions' are constantly changing so that something that was acceptable last summer, is passe this summer? It's only so that you'll feel inferior if you don't have the 'new' product and further fill their pockets by buying their newest lines. }

There are trials and expectations in this life for both men and women. Men aren't exempt and still have to cover themselves -at the very least- between the knee and the navel. Most shorts fall above the knee, and how many men pull their shorts up to cover their navels if they don't have a shirt on? They also have other obligations outside of dress that women don't have(maintaining & protecting the women in their family, jihad, etc.) so we all have responsibilities.

Part of a woman's responsibility is to dress and carry herself with a higher level of modesty. Which given the difficulty so many women have with it, justifies the reward of a woman who fulfills this responsibility - Paradise.

As far as it being seen as an obligation or being forced to wear it - I know of no women who are forced to wear hijab or to dress modestly. I've never heard of anyone being hurt or threatened for dressing a certain way. I have known sisters who wear it because they see it as a 'cultural' way of dressing, and look at American Muslimas with questions as to why they are wearing hijab? I guess to them it's similar to seeing someone obviously not Indian wearing a sari, or someone obviously not Japanese wearing a kimono. Allah knows best how much education they've gotten at home with regards to their Deen.

Sorry this was so long. But I wanted to give another perspective .
Anything good I said was from Allah and any mistakes are mine.