An examination of popular advice literature geared toward Muslims living in the West, such as the type commonly available in U.S. mosques and at online Islamic bookstores, indicates that there are at least two potentially conflicting narratives regarding the hijab (the veil or headcovering) as a pious practice. The first narrative presents female sexuality as a natural and positive force, as long as it is properly channeled. The hijab, in this narrative, is not meant to categorically repress women’s erotic nature, but is a pragmatic social practice meant to avoid eroticism in the public sphere, where it would be a source of temptation and disorder. Often corresponding to this narrative is a notion of (female) sexuality as static, or “springy,” and an ideology that deemphasizes the social significance of sexual differences. A second narrative presents erotic desire and fulfillment as a marker of attachment to the world and an assertion of the ego-self (nafs), and therefore negative, even in the context of marriage. In this view, the hijab is an ascetic practice, a means by which a woman may discipline her self and develop a greater spiritual-moral faculty. This narrative, in many instances, considers (female) sexuality as malleable, and also tends to be paired with an emphasis on sexual difference. These two approaches to eroticism are at cross-purposes, even if they are both utilized to support the same end, which is a call for women to practice the hijab. The first objective of this paper is to tease out the conflicting models of sexuality that emerge in this genre of writing. Often one finds, however, that both models are deployed in the same work. The second objective of this paper, therefore, is to examine how authors who draw on both narratives seek to reconcile them. I will conclude with thoughts on the potential impact of such an ambiguous portrayal of sexuality on contemporary Muslim discourses and practices concerning the hijab as well as the relationship between eroticism and virtue.