Discussion of the books written in response to the Shaykh’s book: The Muslim Woman’s Jilbab.
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The questioner : Among the books recently written on this subject is Muhammad ibn Isma'il al-Muqaddam’s *The Return of the Hijab*, Part Three, which he dedicated to discussing the evidence. I do not know if you have looked into it?
The Shaykh : Three volumes?
The questioner : Three parts. In the first two parts, there is nothing!
The Shaykh : There is nothing in it. I had the first two parts, and a few months before I arrived, I obtained the third part, but it contains nothing new. It is all a repetition of what Shaykh al-Tuwaijri mentions in *The Drawn Sword*. Yes, and there is also a man from Egypt who titled his book: *The Essence of the Obligation of the Niqab*.
The questioner : Is this Mustafa al-Adawi?
The Shaykh : No, Mustafa al-Adawi has a thesis titled *The Hijab*. The man approached the subject from the nearest door, but he did not bring anything new.
The Shaykhs here rely on the verse:[Al-Ahzab 33:59] to indicate that the woman’s face is an awrah (part of the body that must be covered). Then they quickly retreat from this, citing the severed, broken, and weak narrations. The severed one is stopped at 'Abidah, and the broken and weak one is from Ibn 'Abbas. From there, they say: the verse commands the woman to cover her face, i.e., with her jilbab. Then they make an exception for revealing one eye, may Allah reward them with good, for they have permitted her to see the road by revealing one eye or both eyes.
The questioner : The fitnah (trial, discord or temptation) is in the eye, O Shaykh.
The Shaykh : That is why they cover it.
The questioner : They wanted to discuss this topic with you.
The Shaykh : Do you allow them?
The questioner : We have decided not to stir up the topic. Some of them spoke to you on the phone to discuss a topic for which you wrote a thesis and published it. They mentioned that you became angry with him and put the receiver in his face.
The Shaykh : What do you mean?
The questioner : He spoke to you in Jordan.
The Shaykh : He spoke to me in Jordan?
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : Is he from Jordan?
The questioner : He is from Jeddah. He was reciting some of the evidence, and while he was going on, I put it down.
The Shaykh : Do you see what he did?
The questioner : He is talking.
The Shaykh : I mean, if this report is true, as I hope, I have some examples. There is a common proverb in the Levant that says: "He who has not tasted the glue pot does not know what the story is". The glue pot: the container that carpenters used in the past—and I worked as a carpenter for two years after graduating from elementary school—a container they call a bucket, like a small bucket. The glue used to be in pieces like soft plastic, which they put in water and put on the fire to dissolve and melt, then they would apply it to the wood to glue pieces together. This container is called the glue pot. So when they want to melt the glue, it does not melt except with intense heat, so they say: He who has not tasted the glue pot does not know what the story is. And better than this proverb is an old Arabic proverb that says: "The wall said to the nail: Why do you tear me? It said: Ask the one who drives me".
The questioner : And the report is not like the direct observation.
The Shaykh : That is it. So some people imagine that Shaykh al-Albani is sitting waiting for questions and argumentation by phone, so he sits and twists and turns, and so on. And I say my opinion, and he is not convinced, and he continues, and I do not deny this reality. So sometimes I find no way except to hang up the phone in his face, but he does not know what the story is.
I am in Oman, bent over research, verification, and writing day and night. And due to the multitude of questions directed to me, and this is from the favor of Allah, and I ask Allah not to let us be tried, from all the countries where there are Muslims, from Europe, from America, let alone the Kingdom, and so on, I was forced to set aside a time every day after the 'Isha' prayer. A person comes and asks me, and at any other time I am bent over research for two hours, I say: Please, call me after the 'Isha' prayer. He says: I can or I cannot, according to my personal conviction. Either I submit to his request and say: Go ahead, and then he enters into a lecture and a discussion.
And I do not enslave myself, even if I know the details. And if I know the details, the matter is as it was said: "When the cause is known, the wonder ceases". Then you see, and the witness sees what the absent one does not see. So, by the favor of Allah, Blessed and Exalted is He, our Lord has blessed us with patience and forbearance, and so on. But everything has a limit. So if someone, for example, I treated him differently from my usual way, but this is not my usual way, he should ask about the cause. He does not look at what is in the cause, he looks at what happened. And in any case, there is no person who does not make mistakes.
The Shaykh : Three volumes?
The questioner : Three parts. In the first two parts, there is nothing!
The Shaykh : There is nothing in it. I had the first two parts, and a few months before I arrived, I obtained the third part, but it contains nothing new. It is all a repetition of what Shaykh al-Tuwaijri mentions in *The Drawn Sword*. Yes, and there is also a man from Egypt who titled his book: *The Essence of the Obligation of the Niqab*.
The questioner : Is this Mustafa al-Adawi?
The Shaykh : No, Mustafa al-Adawi has a thesis titled *The Hijab*. The man approached the subject from the nearest door, but he did not bring anything new.
The Shaykhs here rely on the verse:
to bring down over themselves [part] of their outer garments
يدنين عليهن من جلابيبهنThe questioner : The fitnah (trial, discord or temptation) is in the eye, O Shaykh.
The Shaykh : That is why they cover it.
The questioner : They wanted to discuss this topic with you.
The Shaykh : Do you allow them?
The questioner : We have decided not to stir up the topic. Some of them spoke to you on the phone to discuss a topic for which you wrote a thesis and published it. They mentioned that you became angry with him and put the receiver in his face.
The Shaykh : What do you mean?
The questioner : He spoke to you in Jordan.
The Shaykh : He spoke to me in Jordan?
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : Is he from Jordan?
The questioner : He is from Jeddah. He was reciting some of the evidence, and while he was going on, I put it down.
The Shaykh : Do you see what he did?
The questioner : He is talking.
The Shaykh : I mean, if this report is true, as I hope, I have some examples. There is a common proverb in the Levant that says: "He who has not tasted the glue pot does not know what the story is". The glue pot: the container that carpenters used in the past—and I worked as a carpenter for two years after graduating from elementary school—a container they call a bucket, like a small bucket. The glue used to be in pieces like soft plastic, which they put in water and put on the fire to dissolve and melt, then they would apply it to the wood to glue pieces together. This container is called the glue pot. So when they want to melt the glue, it does not melt except with intense heat, so they say: He who has not tasted the glue pot does not know what the story is. And better than this proverb is an old Arabic proverb that says: "The wall said to the nail: Why do you tear me? It said: Ask the one who drives me".
The questioner : And the report is not like the direct observation.
The Shaykh : That is it. So some people imagine that Shaykh al-Albani is sitting waiting for questions and argumentation by phone, so he sits and twists and turns, and so on. And I say my opinion, and he is not convinced, and he continues, and I do not deny this reality. So sometimes I find no way except to hang up the phone in his face, but he does not know what the story is.
I am in Oman, bent over research, verification, and writing day and night. And due to the multitude of questions directed to me, and this is from the favor of Allah, and I ask Allah not to let us be tried, from all the countries where there are Muslims, from Europe, from America, let alone the Kingdom, and so on, I was forced to set aside a time every day after the 'Isha' prayer. A person comes and asks me, and at any other time I am bent over research for two hours, I say: Please, call me after the 'Isha' prayer. He says: I can or I cannot, according to my personal conviction. Either I submit to his request and say: Go ahead, and then he enters into a lecture and a discussion.
And I do not enslave myself, even if I know the details. And if I know the details, the matter is as it was said: "When the cause is known, the wonder ceases". Then you see, and the witness sees what the absent one does not see. So, by the favor of Allah, Blessed and Exalted is He, our Lord has blessed us with patience and forbearance, and so on. But everything has a limit. So if someone, for example, I treated him differently from my usual way, but this is not my usual way, he should ask about the cause. He does not look at what is in the cause, he looks at what happened. And in any case, there is no person who does not make mistakes.