The Ruling on a Woman Uncovering Her Face and the Hadith of Asma'

The questioner:
What is your opinion of the one who says this? And why did you not respond to him on these same media channels? May Allah reward you with good.

The Shaykh:
This is a matter on which the scholars have disagreed. Some of them said that it is an 'awrah (the part of the body that must be covered) and that it is obligatory to cover it from people. This is the correct, chosen, and true position: that it is an 'awrah, that it is the woman's distinguishing feature, and that it is the most prominent indicator of her beauty or her ugliness. This is indicated by the saying of the Exalted, to the hearts of some of them, and by the saying of the Majestic and Exalted, and their fathers, in the verse of the Ahzab (The Parties). Others said that it is not among the Ahzab.
[Regarding] the adornment, there is no harm in exposing it, because it needs to be exposed and displayed. Some of them argued for this by citing the saying of the Majestic and Exalted, They said that "what is apparent of it" is the face. This is narrated from Ibn 'Abbas and some of the Salaf (the earliest generations). The correct position is that "what is apparent of it" is the clothing, as Ibn Mas'ud and a group of other scholars of knowledge said. He did not say "except for their husbands' faces and hands," but rather he generalized. And in the other verse, when it says "and when you ask them for something, ask them from behind a screen," it did not say "not from the face," but rather "from behind a screen." Then it stated, "That is purer for your hearts and their hearts." The Exalted made it clear that the screen is purer for the hearts of everyone, men and women. As for the response, we have written a response, and we have written a response, and others have written as well. The matter is well known among the scholars. Yes.

Another questioner:
Habib, Aisha.

The Shaykh:
Yes, yes, indeed.

Another questioner:
Aisha is not in the surrounding country.

The Shaykh:
The hadith of Asma' bint Abi Bakr is weak; it is not authentic. It was narrated from Asma' bint Abi Bakr, from her sister, that she entered upon the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) wearing thin, transparent garments. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) turned away from her and said, "O Asma', ." Those who argue for uncovering the face have cited this, but it is a weak hadith that is not authentic from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). Abu Dawud narrated it with a broken chain from Aisha. There is also a weak man in its chain; Sa'id ibn Bashir is weak and not to be cited as evidence. The one who narrated it from Aisha did not hear from her, and Khalid ibn Darrad did not hear from her and did not meet her. There is also a third defect: the annecting (quoting from memory) and concealment of Qatadah. Thus, it has three defects, all of which negate its authenticity. Even if it were authentic, it would not be used as evidence for this.

Another questioner:
The group catches up with us, do we cover ourselves or...

The Shaykh:
This is explicit regarding it.

Another questioner:
Yes, indeed, this is it.

The Shaykh:
Aisha's hadith regarding the group: they were with the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) in the Farewell Pilgrimage. She said, "We used to uncover our faces. When the group approached, I would draw my khimar (head covering) over my face until they moved away." Similarly, in her hadith regarding the Incident of Slander (al-Ifk), she said, "When I heard the sighing, my face turned red. He used to know me before the hijab (covering)." This indicates that after the hijab, they began to cover their faces and conceal them. She only used to uncover her face before the hijab.