What does « Veil / Curtain » mean in the Quran?

Discover the meaning of the word Veil / Curtain (ستر) in the Quran, with 3 verses in which it appears, and a detailed explanation from Al-Raghib al-Asfahani's Mufradat fi gharib al-Qur'an.

ستر

Veil / Curtain

Root: س - ت - ر

Quranic language 3 verses

Updated on 29 May 2026 at 7:00 AM

📖 1 min read

Definition of Veil / Curtain

As-satr: covering a thing.

As-sitr and as-sutra: that with which one covers oneself.

The Almighty says: 'We had not made for them any shield' (Al-Kahf 90) concerning the people near the setting sun. 'And when you recite the Quran, We put between you and those who do not believe an invisible barrier' (Al-Isra 45).

The veil separates and protects.

Veil / Curtain in the Quran (3)

Meccan: 3 Medinan: 0

Distribution of verses by surah

Al-Isra 1

Al-Kahf 1

Fussilat 1

Surah Al-Isra : 45 Meccan

﴿وَإِذَا قَرَأْتَ ٱلْقُرْءَانَ جَعَلْنَا بَيْنَكَ وَبَيْنَ ٱلَّذِينَ لَا يُؤْمِنُونَ بِٱلْءَاخِرَةِ حِجَابًا مَّسْتُورًا﴾

And when you recite the Qur'an, We put between you and those who do not believe in the Hereafter a concealed partition.

Surah Al-Kahf : 90 Meccan

﴿حَتَّىٰٓ إِذَا بَلَغَ مَطْلِعَ ٱلشَّمْسِ وَجَدَهَا تَطْلُعُ عَلَىٰ قَوْمٍ لَّمْ نَجْعَل لَّهُم مِّن دُونِهَا سِتْرًا﴾

Until, when he came to the rising of the sun, he found it rising on a people for whom We had not made against it any shield.

Surah Fussilat : 22 Meccan

﴿وَمَا كُنتُمْ تَسْتَتِرُونَ أَن يَشْهَدَ عَلَيْكُمْ سَمْعُكُمْ وَلَآ أَبْصَٰرُكُمْ وَلَا جُلُودُكُمْ وَلَٰكِن ظَنَنتُمْ أَنَّ ٱللَّهَ لَا يَعْلَمُ كَثِيرًا مِّمَّا تَعْمَلُونَ﴾

And you were not covering yourselves, lest your hearing testify against you or your sight or your skins, but you assumed that Allah does not know much of what you do.