The ruling on uncovering the face and hands when there is no fear of fitnah (trial, discord or temptation)
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Question:
Some scholars permit uncovering the face if fitnah (trial, discord or temptation) is averted, or if fitnah (trial, discord or temptation) is averted. They cite the hadith of al-Fadl when he saw a beautiful woman, and he was with the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), so the Prophet turned his head. What is the meaning of this hadith? What is the authenticity of this hadith? And how did he respond to it?
Answer:
This opinion, which some people rely on regarding the permissibility of uncovering the face and looking at the face, is a weak opinion, as previously mentioned. We have clarified that it is a weak opinion with no basis. Even if she is beautiful, every qiblah (direction of prayer) has a captor, and every woman who is not beautiful has a desire in her that is not beautiful, of the same kind. Therefore, it is not permissible to cling to this. Rather, it is obligatory to cover up and stay away from the causes of fitnah (trial, discord or temptation).
As for al-Fadl, Abu al-Fadl al-Fadl, al-Fadl ibn al-Abbas, the Prophet’s (peace and blessings be upon him) paternal cousin, the brother of Abdullah, and older than Abdullah. This occurred in the hadith of al-Khaz'iyyah, whom I asked the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) about performing Hajj on her behalf. Her father kept looking at her, and she kept looking at him, so the Prophet turned al-Fadl’s face away. The other point is that this serves as evidence for modesty, lowering the gaze, and staying away from the causes of fitnah (trial, discord or temptation). The Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) turned his face away from her so that he would not look at her. It indicates that she was laughing, and that she did not have a jilbab (the outer garment), and she did not have a donkey. However, the fact that she looked at him does not necessarily mean that she was laughing, or that she was covering her face. Therefore, this opinion has no basis and no foundation.
Some scholars permit uncovering the face if fitnah (trial, discord or temptation) is averted, or if fitnah (trial, discord or temptation) is averted. They cite the hadith of al-Fadl when he saw a beautiful woman, and he was with the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), so the Prophet turned his head. What is the meaning of this hadith? What is the authenticity of this hadith? And how did he respond to it?
Answer:
This opinion, which some people rely on regarding the permissibility of uncovering the face and looking at the face, is a weak opinion, as previously mentioned. We have clarified that it is a weak opinion with no basis. Even if she is beautiful, every qiblah (direction of prayer) has a captor, and every woman who is not beautiful has a desire in her that is not beautiful, of the same kind. Therefore, it is not permissible to cling to this. Rather, it is obligatory to cover up and stay away from the causes of fitnah (trial, discord or temptation).
As for al-Fadl, Abu al-Fadl al-Fadl, al-Fadl ibn al-Abbas, the Prophet’s (peace and blessings be upon him) paternal cousin, the brother of Abdullah, and older than Abdullah. This occurred in the hadith of al-Khaz'iyyah, whom I asked the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) about performing Hajj on her behalf. Her father kept looking at her, and she kept looking at him, so the Prophet turned al-Fadl’s face away. The other point is that this serves as evidence for modesty, lowering the gaze, and staying away from the causes of fitnah (trial, discord or temptation). The Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) turned his face away from her so that he would not look at her. It indicates that she was laughing, and that she did not have a jilbab (the outer garment), and she did not have a donkey. However, the fact that she looked at him does not necessarily mean that she was laughing, or that she was covering her face. Therefore, this opinion has no basis and no foundation.
Source
قناة «فضيلة الشيخ ابن باز Alsheikh Binbaz»، 45 حكم كشف الوجه والكفين عند أمن الفتنة للإمام ابن باز — youtube.com
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.