The Invalidity of the Claim of Those Who Permit a Woman to Expose Her Face and Hands

The Shaykh:
Yes.

The questioner:
There are Muslims who permit exposing the face and hands based on the hadith of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) that Asma’ entered upon the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) wearing a transparent garment, so he turned away from her and said, “If a woman menstruates, nothing of her should be visible except this and this,” pointing with his hand to the face and hands, or as it was reported. We ask you to clarify the authenticity of this hadith, and whether it is permissible to use it as evidence for exposing the face and hands? May Allah reward you with good. The questioner said: He reminded me; I had intended to point this out but I forgot.

The Shaykh:
Praise be to Allah. And may he remind us of this hadith. Some people who seek to justify a woman showing her hands and face have relied on this hadith, and the scholars have established that this hadith is not authentic, and it is not obligatory to rely on it. Its origin is that Abu Dawud narrated from Sa’id ibn Bashir, from a young man, from Khalid ibn Baryd, from Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her), who said: The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) entered and Asma’ bint Abi Bakr, meaning her sister, the daughter of al-Zubayr, was with me, and she was wearing a thin garment. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) turned away from her and said, “O Asma’” They said: This indicates the permissibility of a woman exposing her face and hands, because in the hadith, if the view of the men is not valid, the hands and face are mentioned. If this hadith were raised to the level of what was mentioned before, it would be defective with three defects, having three defects according to the scholars. Moreover, even if it were authentic, it would have been before the hijab, not after the hijab, because the hijab began with the verse after her death and she went to Madinah. The woman in the pre-Islamic age and in the early days of Islam would expose her face and hands, sit with men, and speak with men, and her face was visible to many men in the early days of Islam, then it was explained, or yes, it was the people. And this hadith, if it were authentic, would have been before the hijab, but it is not authentic; it is weak due to three defects according to the scholars of knowledge. The first defect is that the narrator Sa’id ibn Bashir is weak according to the scholars, and his narration is not used as evidence due to his poor memory from Abu Manb. The second defect is that Qatadah was a tadlis narrator, and he used the formula of indirection (‘an) without explicitly stating that he heard it from Khalid ibn al-Mughirah. The third defect is that Khalid (may Allah be pleased with him) did not meet Aisha, and it is a broken chain; he did not meet her and did not hear from her, so the hadith became weak due to these defects, and it is not proper to use it as evidence, and it is not valid to use such a hadith in this great matter. Even if it were authentic, it would have been before the hijab, not after the hijab. Believe me, this is the treatise on the hijab that is distributed; if a treatise on the hijab is written, for a long time, it is taken from the storehouse among people, and it is taken from the path of the leadership of the daughters as well, if it is a treatise.
With the praise of Allah, it is not found, but it is useful, and so is a treatise on the hijab, which is useful. Also, a treatise by our brother Ibn al-Azimah, Muhammad ibn ‘Afir, on the hijab is good, and so is a treatise on the hijab, which is good. And in the book on the hijab by our brother al-Azimah, Muhammad ibn Nasir al-Albani, there is something indicating his inclination toward the permissibility of a woman exposing her face, and her face and hands, even though he holds that covering is more noble and safer, but he fell into it and feared Allah in this, and he fell into the error of a scholar, as it is said, the error of a scholar is a calamity. This is an error from our brother Sirr al-Din al-Albani, who is among the best of the sons and among the best of the righteous; we know him well, but he has an error like others; every one of the scholars has errors and mistakes. This is one of his mistakes, may Allah pardon him and guide him. And he also has, in the chapter on prayer, the statement that the hands after bowing are prostrated by the one praying and not raised; this is also a phrase, and the Sunnah for the one praying is that he raises his hands and places them on his chest in standing before bowing as well; this is the Sunnah, but he erred and thought it was an innovation after bowing, and it is an ugly phrase, may Allah pardon him. And this. Yes.