How to respond to those who say that hijab does not mean covering the face?

Question:
Another person says he heard some Saudi scholars say that the hijab for women is not covering the face, but rather covering the head, chest, and hands. Do they have evidence for this, or not? We ask you to be kind enough to clarify this.

Answer:
As for covering the head and body, that is a matter on which there is no disagreement. It is obligatory for the woman to cover it from all non-mahram men. This is a known matter. The disagreement among scholars is regarding the face and hands: should she cover them from a non-mahram, such as her husband’s brother, her sister’s husband, her neighbors, and her paternal cousins, or not?
The evidence from the Shari'ah indicates that it is obligatory to cover that, and that adornment exists in it. The face is the greatest of adornments; it is the woman's mark of beauty or ugliness, her mark and her adornment. Just as it is obligatory to cover the head, it is also obligatory to cover the face, because the face holds a great status. Allah, Mighty and Majestic, says: and He did not say "except the face." In the pre-Islamic age of ignorance and in the early days of Islam, they used to uncover the face, and a woman's face would benefit her; she would sit with people. Then Allah prescribed the hijab, and the woman was prohibited from uncovering her face. Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) clarified this, as in the hadith of Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) in the two Sahihs, where she said that on the day of breaking the fast, when she heard the voice of Safwan ibn al-Mu'attal lamenting, she covered her face. He had seen her before the hijab. This indicates that after the hijab, faces were covered; seeing them was only before the hijab. After the hijab, their faces were hidden. Similarly, during the Farewell Pilgrimage, it is said that when men approached one of them, she would draw her jilbab over her face, and when the men moved away, she would uncover it. All of this indicates that after Allah prescribed the hijab, they treated the head, the face, and the rest of the body accordingly. Yes.
This is the preferred opinion among the most precise scholars. The preferred opinion is that it is obligatory for her to cover her entire body, including the face, hands, feet, and the like, because it is 'awrah (a part of the body that must be covered) and a source of fitnah (trial, discord or temptation). The believer should proceed with caution for himself and not take advantage of dispensations (rukhsah) for which there is no evidence. The believer should also ensure that his family does this, teach them this, and direct his brothers, uncles, aunts, wife, and others to do so. Likewise, the woman should fear Allah, beware of the causes of fitnah, and not lean toward dispensations that have no evidence. We ask Allah for guidance for everyone.