Since you say it is recommended for a woman to cover her face, what is the way through which she sees the road?
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The questioner : O Shaykh, according to your view that a woman should cover her face, you said that it is better for her to cover her face.
The Shaykh : Yes, I do.
The questioner : How does she see the road, according to your view that she?
The Shaykh : Not with your jilbab, but with our jilbab.
The questioner : Without exposing her eyes?
The Shaykh : Has the saying of him (peace and blessings be upon him) not reached you:Muwatta Malik 20:17?
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : Fine, now that I have answered you:Muwatta Malik 20:17.
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : But what does a non-mahram do?
She wears the niqab; is the niqab the jilbab?
The questioner : No.
The Shaykh : Yes, and therefore you contradict yourselves: when you say that the verse of the jilbab stipulates the obligation for a woman to cover her face, and your great scholars explicitly state this, they contradict themselves with their own words. The jilbab does not provide covering for the face. Rather, it was said: in a clear Arabic language, the woman used to walk like this in the pre-Islamic age of ignorance, like the Iraqi women if you have seen them; she would throw the jilbab over her head, her forelock was exposed, her ears and her jewelry and her neck. So their Lord (Mighty and Majestic) admonished them and said:[Al-Ahzab 33:59]. This drawing down, some scholars of knowledge say—and this is a bit of philosophy, but the meaning is clear—"is said with doubt". How do they draw it down? They draw it down like this, as our Shaykh said just now, so that she no longer sees the road. But this is possible, so now she sees the road. All my speech here, first of all:
is to soften a bit of your heat and your argumentation that the verse obligates the woman to cover her face. This is not correct at all. The verse is an argument against you, especially if you continue to cling to your philosophy! The most beautiful thing in a woman is her face!
Yes, my lord, our Lord created her as a trial for men and a trial for women through men. Therefore He said:[An-Nur 24:30] and He addressed the women with what He addressed the men with: [An-Nur 24:31]. So I do not see anything correct in the insistence and stubbornness in claiming that the verse of the hijab indicates the obligation for a woman to cover her face, with the reasoning that it is the most beautiful part of her body. If this were conceded, what we have brought forth would be brought back to you. The most beautiful thing in her face is her eyes, so then!
The Shaykh : Yes, I do.
The questioner : How does she see the road, according to your view that she?
The Shaykh : Not with your jilbab, but with our jilbab.
The questioner : Without exposing her eyes?
The Shaykh : Has the saying of him (peace and blessings be upon him) not reached you:
a woman in ihram should wear neither a veil nor gloves
لا تنتقب المرأة المحرمة ولا تلبس القفازينThe questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : Fine, now that I have answered you:
a woman in ihram should wear neither a veil
لا تنتقب المرأة المحرمةThe questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : But what does a non-mahram do?
She wears the niqab; is the niqab the jilbab?
The questioner : No.
The Shaykh : Yes, and therefore you contradict yourselves: when you say that the verse of the jilbab stipulates the obligation for a woman to cover her face, and your great scholars explicitly state this, they contradict themselves with their own words. The jilbab does not provide covering for the face. Rather, it was said: in a clear Arabic language, the woman used to walk like this in the pre-Islamic age of ignorance, like the Iraqi women if you have seen them; she would throw the jilbab over her head, her forelock was exposed, her ears and her jewelry and her neck. So their Lord (Mighty and Majestic) admonished them and said:
to bring down over themselves [part] of their outer garments
يدنين عليهن من جلابيبهنis to soften a bit of your heat and your argumentation that the verse obligates the woman to cover her face. This is not correct at all. The verse is an argument against you, especially if you continue to cling to your philosophy! The most beautiful thing in a woman is her face!
Yes, my lord, our Lord created her as a trial for men and a trial for women through men. Therefore He said:
