The Ruling on Wearing the Burqa, Niqab, and Gloves

The questioner:
Is it permissible for women to wear the burqa, and if it is not permissible, what is the Shari'ah-prescribed hijab for a woman?

The Shaykh:
The burqa is permissible; it is part of the hijab. If only one eye or both eyes are visible, it is considered hijab. However, the khimar that covers the face is more complete and better. This is a practice of the Arabs; the burqa is a practice of the Arabs where one or two eyes are visible and the rest is covered. But the khimar that covers the entire face, or is worn over the burqa, is more complete and a greater means of avoiding fitnah (trial, discord or temptation), because some people may be tempted by the eye or the eyes. So if the hijab is something over the burqa, like the khimar, it is the most complete and best form of hijab. And if it is just the burqa, it is sufficient, and this is the known covering of the Arabs from recent times. Yes.

The questioner:
We ask for further clarification.

The Shaykh:
Except for the woman in ihram (the consecrated state of pilgrimage), who does not wear the burqa. But she covers her face with something other than the burqa, as you heard in the story of 'Aishah and Umm Salimah. They were in ihram, and when men passed by, one of them would let her khimar fall from her head over her face. The woman in ihram does not wear the burqa; she is prohibited from doing so, and that is the niqab. Likewise, she does not wear gloves while in ihram for Hajj or 'Umrah; her hands are left uncovered, but she covers them from men with her jilbab (the outer garment) and her 'abayah. And so with her face, she covers it with her khimar or with something she throws over her face, as mentioned in the report from 'Aishah and Abu Salimah.
As for the niqab, which is the burqa, and the gloves, a woman is prohibited from wearing them while in ihram for Hajj and 'Umrah. But outside of ihram, there is no harm; she may wear gloves when she goes out here or there, as they provide covering. The burqa is likewise, as it provides covering if only the eye or the eyes are visible. And if she places the khimar over it, or over the burqa, it is more complete. Yes.

The presenter:
Yes, indeed.

The questioner:
The covering of the service.

The Shaykh:
So it is obligatory that only the eye is visible, so it is obligatory to travel without the burqa.

The questioner:
Half of the opening is visible.

The Shaykh:
No, this is not acceptable, this is not acceptable.

The questioner:
What is this called? This is the same.

The Shaykh:
It must be the eye, as Ibn 'Umar said, and what is narrated from Ibn 'Abbas is the eye only, so that she can see in front of her and her path. But if something more than the eye is visible, no.

The questioner:
You only need the eye. But because...

The Shaykh:
There is a need in it, a poor person.

The questioner:
O Shaykh, may Allah forgive you. This burqa is tailored by women, some of whom make it as the brothers mentioned, down to the cheek, and some of whom make it down to the eye.

The Shaykh:
The permission is for what is permissible from it, which is the eye only, otherwise she covers herself with the khimar.