Both Muslims and non-Muslims are of the opinion that veiling is required among Muslim women and that the veil is prescribed by Islam in no uncertain terms to its female adherents. This chapter examines the three sacred Islamic texts (the Qur'an, hadith, and Islamic jurisprudence) and what each says about veiling. It also considers how these traditions have been interpreted by orthodox Sunni Muslim scholars and schools of Islamic law from the ninth to the thirteenth centuries. By analyzing these three traditions, the chapter elucidates why Muslims invoke religion first to explain veiling practices.