The Description of the Lawful Hijab

Question : The questioner says: The issue of the hijab for women has been the subject of much disagreement, so we ask you, Honorable Shaykh, to clarify the description of the lawful hijab according to the stronger position.

Answer : The stronger position is that the lawful hijab requires a woman to cover whatever causes men to be tempted by looking at it. The greatest of these is the face, so it is obligatory for her to cover her face from every non-mahram man. As for those who are her mahrams, she may uncover her face before them. As for the one who says that the lawful hijab is covering her hair and showing her face, this is one of the most astonishing opinions. Which is more tempting: a woman’s hair or her face?
And which is more desirable for a man seeking a woman: to ask about her face or to ask about her hair? Neither question can be answered except by saying that the desire lies in the face, and there is no doubt about this. A man desires a woman if her face is beautiful, even if her hair is less so, and he does not desire her if her face is ugly, even if her hair is the most beautiful hair. In reality, the lawful hijab is what a woman covers herself with so that no fitnah (trial, discord or temptation) arises from her or because of her. There is no doubt that the object of this is the face, and a person knows this from his own self. So the lawful hijab is that a woman covers everything that could possibly be