What is the ruling on uncovering the face before the judge if you are a female lawyer?
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The questioner:
And another says: I am an Egyptian woman lawyer, and one of the conditions of practicing law is that you must uncover your face during the court session before the judges so they can verify your identity. Then I may defend a man or a woman who has a right, and I may secure her acquittal. They have explained to me everything regarding the right to uncover the face.
The Shaykh:
Yes, yes.
The questioner:
I am a woman saying: I am an Egyptian woman lawyer, and one of the conditions of practicing law is that you must uncover your face during the court session before the judges so they can verify your identity. Then I may defend a man or a woman who has a right, and I may secure her acquittal.
The Shaykh:
There is nothing wrong with a woman litigating or acting as an agent for a woman or for someone other than a woman, provided she adheres to what Allah has commanded regarding hijab, covering, and avoiding the causes of fitnah (trial, discord or temptation), such as tabarruj (a woman's display of her adornment) and the like. If it is possible for a man to do this, it is safer and further from fitnah. Otherwise, it is permissible for her to defend herself, to litigate, and to act as an agent for her sister, aunt, or others, but with covering and hijab. The judge takes the measures that allow him to know her situation, and it is not necessary to uncover her face. In fact, the judge can ask the people who know her, those who are familiar with her, identifying her as so-and-so, and she is recognized by her voice, so the matter is not confused; she is recognized by her voice, and there is no need for her to uncover her face and be lax in this matter. Indeed, the matter is serious, and uncovering the face involves great evil and a great calamity. Allah, Mighty and Majestic, says:[Al-Ahzab 33:53] from their hearts, and He says, Exalted is He: [An-Nur 24:31] So the face is among the greatest of adornments, and there may be additional adornment with the face, such as kohl, dyes, and the like. The point is that this is wrong. If necessity and need call for her to be a litigant or an agent, she can restrict herself to those who know the judge and that she is the daughter of so-and-so, and that is sufficient, and praise be to Allah. Yes.
The questioner:
The female lawyer says that sometimes, by her intelligence, she secures the acquittal of the accused even though the right is against him, meaning.
The Shaykh:
She has no right to acquit him without a valid claim.
The questioner:
Yes.
The Shaykh:
Neither the male lawyer nor the female lawyer is permitted to do so; it is obligatory for them to fulfill the trust and be just. If the right is with their client, they state the truth, and if he is wronged, they clarify that. As for being with their client in both truth and falsehood, this is not permissible; this is wrong. It is betrayal, injustice, and assisting in injustice. But it is obligatory for the lawyer to follow the truth, and so for the female lawyer. If their client is unjust, it is not permissible for them to assist him in injustice. And if he is wronged, they must clarify that he is wronged in a sound manner that contains no ambiguity, no concealment, no deception, and no fraud. They must clarify the truth to the judge in a clear manner that contains no fraud, no betrayal, and no deception.
And another says: I am an Egyptian woman lawyer, and one of the conditions of practicing law is that you must uncover your face during the court session before the judges so they can verify your identity. Then I may defend a man or a woman who has a right, and I may secure her acquittal. They have explained to me everything regarding the right to uncover the face.
The Shaykh:
Yes, yes.
The questioner:
I am a woman saying: I am an Egyptian woman lawyer, and one of the conditions of practicing law is that you must uncover your face during the court session before the judges so they can verify your identity. Then I may defend a man or a woman who has a right, and I may secure her acquittal.
The Shaykh:
There is nothing wrong with a woman litigating or acting as an agent for a woman or for someone other than a woman, provided she adheres to what Allah has commanded regarding hijab, covering, and avoiding the causes of fitnah (trial, discord or temptation), such as tabarruj (a woman's display of her adornment) and the like. If it is possible for a man to do this, it is safer and further from fitnah. Otherwise, it is permissible for her to defend herself, to litigate, and to act as an agent for her sister, aunt, or others, but with covering and hijab. The judge takes the measures that allow him to know her situation, and it is not necessary to uncover her face. In fact, the judge can ask the people who know her, those who are familiar with her, identifying her as so-and-so, and she is recognized by her voice, so the matter is not confused; she is recognized by her voice, and there is no need for her to uncover her face and be lax in this matter. Indeed, the matter is serious, and uncovering the face involves great evil and a great calamity. Allah, Mighty and Majestic, says:
And when you ask [his wives] for something, ask them from behind a partition. That is purer for your hearts
وَإِذَا سَأَلْتُمُوهُنَّ مَتَاعًا فَاسْأَلُوهُنَّ مِن وَرَاءِ حِجَابٍ ذَٰلِكُمْ أَطْهَرُ لِقُلُوبِكُمْnot expose their adornment except to their husbands
وَلَا يُبْدِينَ زِينَتَهُنَّ إِلَّا لِبُعُولَتِهِنَّThe questioner:
The female lawyer says that sometimes, by her intelligence, she secures the acquittal of the accused even though the right is against him, meaning.
The Shaykh:
She has no right to acquit him without a valid claim.
The questioner:
Yes.
The Shaykh:
Neither the male lawyer nor the female lawyer is permitted to do so; it is obligatory for them to fulfill the trust and be just. If the right is with their client, they state the truth, and if he is wronged, they clarify that. As for being with their client in both truth and falsehood, this is not permissible; this is wrong. It is betrayal, injustice, and assisting in injustice. But it is obligatory for the lawyer to follow the truth, and so for the female lawyer. If their client is unjust, it is not permissible for them to assist him in injustice. And if he is wronged, they must clarify that he is wronged in a sound manner that contains no ambiguity, no concealment, no deception, and no fraud. They must clarify the truth to the judge in a clear manner that contains no fraud, no betrayal, and no deception.
Source
قناة «فضيلة الشيخ ابن باز Alsheikh Binbaz»، 51 ما حكم كشف الوجه للقاضي إذا كنت محامية؟ للإمام ابن باز — youtube.com
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.