The Ruling on Hijab and the Obligation to Return to Evidence

Question:
This questioner says: It is observed in our present time that some women, may Allah guide them, are negligent and lax regarding the hijab, where we see negligence, whether with their young daughters or their older ones? We ask the Shaykh for guidance in this matter.

Answer:
Yes, this is a bad phenomenon that has come to us from the West, and it is promoted by those with little knowledge or those whose hearts have a disease. They promote removing the hijab and call for exposing the face, wanting the Muslim woman to be like the disbeliever woman who does not cover herself. They cite as evidence that there is disagreement regarding the hijab of the woman, saying there are different opinions on it. We say to them: No, the criterion is not the existence of disagreement, if it is true that there is disagreement, nor the isolated opinions of scholars. It is necessary to return to the evidence, and the evidence is with those who make the hijab obligatory. It is obligatory upon us, when there is disagreement, to return to the evidence: As for taking the opinions of scholars that contradict the evidence, that is the affair of the Christians and the Jews, about whom Allah, Mighty and Majestic, said in .
And when 'Adi ibn Hatim said to the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him), when he heard this verse—and he was a Christian who then became a Muslim—he said: O Messenger of Allah, we do not worship them. He said: Do they not make forbidden what Allah has made lawful, and you make it forbidden? He said: Yes. He said: Do they not make lawful what Allah has made forbidden, and you make it lawful? He said: Yes. The Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) said: That is their worship.
So it is not permissible to take the opinions of scholars and jurists except with evidence from the Book and the Sunnah. Whoever has the evidence, it is obligatory upon us to take it. We leave what contradicts the evidence. The opinion that the hijab is not obligatory contradicts the evidence. The evidence is clear in the Qur'an: "Let them draw their head coverings over their bosoms." . The hijab contains protection from the harm of the wicked.
And the loose, uncovered woman is desired by the wicked, and they harm her until they obtain from her what they desire, because she is the one who caused this for herself by not covering herself. When they see the woman who covers herself, they respect her and stay away from her. They are known, meaning by their modesty, generosity, and dignity, that they are known, so they are not harmed. This indicates that the hijab prevents harm from the wicked, and that not wearing the hijab is an invitation for the wicked.
It is obligatory upon the Muslim woman to fear Allah, Mighty and Majestic, in herself, and not to be deceived by these false opinions that promote exposing the face, and to fear for herself the punishment. This is the obligation upon the Muslim woman, and to abandon this fabricated opinion that contradicts the evidence. And if anyone says it, the criterion is what Allah said and what His Messenger said, not what so-and-so said.
And the precise scholars say: If our opinion contradicts the opinion of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him), take the opinion of the Messenger. Imam al-Shafi'i (may Allah have mercy on him) said: If my opinion contradicts the opinion of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him), throw my opinion to the wall. And Imam Ahmad says regarding the saying of Allah the Exalted: .
He said, may Allah have mercy on him: The fitnah is shirk (associating partners with Allah), and the painful punishment is the immediate and deferred punishment in the Hereafter. Upon the one who deliberately contradicts the saying of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him), he fears the fitnah and he fears the painful punishment, which is a punishment from Allah, Glorified and Exalted is He.
He said, may Allah have mercy on him, regarding this verse: I am amazed at a people who know the chain of narration and its authenticity, yet they go to the opinion of Sufyan. And Allah, Mighty and Majestic, says: Do you know what the fitnah is? The fitnah is shirk (associating partners with Allah). Perhaps if he contradicts some of his saying, something of shirk (associating partners with Allah) will enter his heart and he will perish.
This is what Imam Ahmad (may Allah have mercy on him) says. Imam Malik (may Allah have mercy on him) says: We are all one who rejects and one who is rejected, except the owner of this grave, meaning the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him). from the Companions of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him), it is upon the head and the eye. And if the hadith comes from the Tabi'un (the generation after the Companions), they are men and we are men. This is what the Imams (may Allah have mercy on them) say. Yes.