The Obligation of Hijab and the Hadith of Asma' Regarding Uncovering the Face and Hands

The questioner:
In the Egyptian magazine Akhar Saa'ah, pictures of many women wearing hijab were published, and this is a phenomenon there now. But what is beneath it is the phenomenon of hijab. Why? Dr. Ahmad Shalabi commented on it, saying that hijab has no existence in Islam. There has been much talk and debate about hijab, and that it is supposed that a woman should uncover her face and her hands due to the hadith of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) to Asma'. And when I tell them, "The hadith of Ibn Umm Maktum, are you both blind?" They say it is the hadith of the Messenger to Asma', a valid hadith. We ask for a comprehensive answer, as the brothers who are questioning and disagreeing are present here. Thank you.

The Shaykh:
Through the hijab, one is either ignorant or a hypocrite, based on the saying of Allah, Glorified and Exalted, in His great Book: This is how it is in the noble verse in Surat al-Ahzab. And He, the Exalted and Majestic, says: In this verse, the Exalted and Majestic made it clear that women must lower their gazes, guard their private parts, and not display their adornment except what is apparent of it, and the outer garments.
Then He clarified regarding the change in adornment, saying, "And it is not permissible for them to strike their veils over their bosoms," and so on. This indicates the obligation of hijab, and that the adornment must be covered. The face and the hair and the measure of the woman are all beauties and all adornment; they must be covered.
As for the hadith of Asma' to which the questioner refers and to which some people cling, it is that Asma' bint Abi Bakr entered upon her sister Aisha while the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) was present, and she was wearing thin garments. So the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said to her, "O Asma', if her face and her hands." This is a hadith that is not authentic from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), and clinging to it is clinging to falsehood. It is like the hadith narrated by Abu Dawud with a broken chain from Aisha, and with a weak chain, broken and weak. It is weak due to the break, and weak due to some of the narrators. It is a hadith that is not authentic from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). Even if it were authentic, it would have been before the hijab, because the hijab is explicit; Allah revealed verses in it and ordered the woman to hijab. So if this were authentic, it would have been before the hijab. But it is not authentic, for it is from the narration of Sa'id ibn Bashir from Qatadah from Khalid ibn Daryk from Aisha. Sa'id ibn Bashir is not relied upon in his opinion in narration, and his narrations are not relied upon. And Qatadah from Khalid is with a concealed connection (ta'dil), and he is a deceiver (mudallis), and his narration is not relied upon except from Adam. And Khalid ibn Daryk is not problematic in that, but he did not hear from Aisha; he did not cut off Aisha and did not hear this hadith from her. So it is broken between Khalid and Aisha. The weakness is from the side of the narration of Sa'id ibn Bashir, and the weakness is from the side of the concealed connection of Qatadah. So the point is that it is weak from three sides; it has three defects: the defect of the weakness of Sa'id, the defect of the deception of Qatadah, and the defect of its weakness between Khalid and Aisha. So it is weak from three aspects; it is not relied upon and one does not cling to it. Even if we assume it is authentic and comes with a valid chain, it would be before the hijab came, and before the hijab was legislated. The women used to sit with the men, and they were uncovering their faces and talking with them. Then Allah revealed the hijab, and they were ordered to cover after that, as the Sunnah came in that.
Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) said when she heard the voice of Safwan ibn Mu'attal when he passed by her while the army had left her, thinking she was with her children. She said, "I heard him saying, 'The Prophet seeks refuge in Allah,' and 'Indeed, to Him we return,' when he saw her." She said, "So when I heard him, I covered my face. And he had seen me before the hijab, so he recognized me."
The point is that this shows us that they were before the hijab uncovering their faces, and they uncovered them. So when the hijab came, they covered their faces. And this hadith was narrated by al-Bukhari and Muslim in the two Sahihs from Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) that she said, "He saw me before the hijab, so when I heard his voice, I covered my face." Yes.

The questioner:
Now, what are the solutions?

The Shaykh:
Yes, the limit that appears from the woman to the eye is the number of the husband. As for the case of the husband's death, there is no harm in their seeing her face or her hands or her head or her hands; there is no harm.

The questioner:
In meaning. The one who finds the hijab finds it.

The Shaykh:
Yes, I do not judge by it, I am from the thief, yes, from the prayer

The questioner:
O our Shaykh, this is a great trial for the husband who dies persisting in that, and the girl and the woman who hears this speech repeatedly and dies on that uncovering her face. What is her ruling?

The Shaykh:
It is a sin. This is a sin. Sins are under the will of Allah, like one who dies on the edge of intoxicants or singing or something he does not consider lawful; it is under the will of Allah. And is the husband considered a debtor? No, it is a type of excess.