The prevalence of face-veiling among Muslim women during the performance of Hajj and 'Umrah, which is a prohibited act among the prohibitions of ihram, is due to your extremism.
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The Shaykh : And this leads me to remind you of something!
I performed 'Umrah before I traveled to this country, I and my wife, and perhaps you are sharing this observation with me now:
I find that the Arab women in this country, all of them, are either wearing the niqab while in ihram, or draping handkerchiefs as we mentioned. Why?
Because of your extremism on the issue, despite the consensus of all Muslim scholars that it is not permissible for a woman to cover her face with a handkerchief in a drape. This drape is what came in the hadith of 'A'ishah. As for tying the handkerchief on her head and letting it hang over her face, that is like wearing the niqab. If a woman does that, she must pay a fidyah according to many scholars. So why is this phenomenon happening?
The questioner : There is an answer, O Shaykh.
The Shaykh : What is it?
The questioner : O Shaykh, wearing the niqab is not permissible; the hadith is explicit.
The Shaykh : That is not my question!
The questioner : As for covering, I mean...
The Shaykh : That is not my question. May Allah guide us and you. My question is: What is it that causes the pilgrims and those performing 'Umrah to tie handkerchiefs over their faces or wear the niqab while in ihram? Because...
The questioner : We are being extreme.
The Shaykh : Well done.
The questioner : As I mentioned.
The Shaykh : That is it, may Allah bless you.
The questioner : There is an answer.
The Shaykh : Listen, my brother, may Allah guide you. We want to address the reality.
The questioner : This reality.
The Shaykh : What is the reality?
The questioner : I say: There is an answer to this, mentioned by Ibn al-Qayyim (may Allah have mercy on him).
The Shaykh : Are we talking about Ibn al-Qayyim right now?!
The questioner : No, I say: There is an answer to this, regarding covering the face for the woman in ihram. Ibn al-Qayyim (may Allah have mercy on him) says: "And the hadith of the woman wearing the niqab does not indicate that the woman should uncover her face".
The Shaykh : May Allah guide you.
The questioner : He says: "Rather, she covers her face".
The Shaykh : May Allah guide you!!
"She went east and I went west *** How different is the east from the west".
I am talking about women in ihram.
The questioner : Yes, this is Ibn al-Qayyim's statement about women in ihram.
The Shaykh : My dear friend, Ibn al-Qayyim says: "There is no evidence that the woman not in ihram uncovers her face".
The questioner : No, the discussion is about the woman in ihram covering her face, and he mentioned this in *Bada'i' al-Fawa'id*.
The Shaykh : My brother, may Allah guide you. Do not rush. Do not blame me if I say to you: Are you all like this with this haste?!
The questioner : No, no.
The Shaykh : Listen, my brother. What am I saying? I am being patient so that you can speak. What did you say last?
The questioner : You say, O Shaykh: The hadith of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) is that he forbade the woman from wearing gloves and wearing the niqab. You say, how is that, when you see the pilgrims and those performing 'Umrah, some of whom wear the niqab or cover their faces with this handkerchief.
The Shaykh : Fine.
The questioner : So you ask, what is it that led them to this act, which is covering the face, or...?
The Shaykh : To shorten the path, is this permissible?
The questioner : Covering the face is permissible.
The Shaykh : Am I talking about covering now?
The questioner : No, about the niqab.
The Shaykh : Did you see how it is?
The questioner : No, you combined the two, O Shaykh. You said: either covering with the handkerchief or the niqab.
The Shaykh : May Allah guide you. The handkerchief is not the drape. I just mentioned the drape, and I said tying the handkerchief is not permissible. Wearing the niqab is not permissible for the woman in ihram. I mentioned three things. So now I see that you are rushing like the others. Ibn al-Qayyim's statement does not address the problem. I am saying: Why do Arab women, when they are pilgrims or performing 'Umrah, wear the niqab or tie handkerchiefs instead of draping them? They tie them. You say Ibn al-Qayyim said such and such.
The questioner : We understood from the handkerchief, O Shaykh, that it is not known to us. We understood your intention by the handkerchief to be that the woman places or drapes a covering over her face. That is what we intended by the handkerchief.
The Shaykh : My dear friend, I mentioned three things. As for you, what did you understand? I am not being asked. I mentioned three things: The first is the drape. I said about the woman, and I said to the Shaykh here, there is a hadith of 'A'ishah regarding that, is that not so? We are done with the drape. That is, the woman in ihram drapes it, but she does not tie it over her face. So the handkerchief is tied here on the forehead and draped over the face. This is not permissible by consensus. A fortiori, wearing the niqab is not permissible. So we asked earlier, merely inquiring and reminding, why is this?
The honorable brother here answered that it is due to extremism. And that is indeed the case. Why?
Because Arab women in this country hear nothing but that the woman's face is 'awrah and she must cover it. And I believe there is no harm in a person issuing a fatwa with what he is confident about, but the reality must be addressed. So-and-so and so-and-so of the Shaykhs perform Hajj and they are seeing, praise be to Allah, they see the women as they circumambulate and walk between Safa and Marwah, wearing the niqab or tying handkerchiefs, meaning: tying the handkerchief. Whenever they remember that the woman's face is 'awrah and must be covered, they should associate with it the exception that the woman in ihram is not allowed to wear the niqab or tie the handkerchief. That is what I am saying. So Ibn al-Qayyim's statement has no relation to this statement.
The questioner : When I asked about the woman who places something on her face and I said: the handkerchief, the brothers thought, or our speech, we thought that the handkerchief is not what the woman ties.
The Shaykh : You, excuse me, do not drag the brothers into this with you. This is your opinion.
The questioner : I do not think everyone is like this!
The Shaykh : My brother, think well of them.
The questioner : This is good, O Shaykh.
The Shaykh : This is a mistake. Is it not clear to you now that there are three things?
The questioner : But I have a problem. What is the evidence for not tying the handkerchief, O Shaykh? I mean, why does the woman not tie the handkerchief?
The Shaykh : Because the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) forbade wearing the niqab.
The questioner : I mean, is the handkerchief itself the niqab?
The Shaykh : Listen, let me tell you, and this is the fiqh: Listen now!
If she does it this way, is it permissible?
The questioner : I do not know.
The Shaykh : We know, praise be to Allah, this is not permissible, but this is permissible. It is like someone asking: Is it permissible for the man in ihram to place a cap on his head?!
The questioner : It is not permissible for him to cover his head.
The Shaykh : No, you do not say it that way. I am asking you about placing the cap on his head?!
The questioner : Specifically, I do not know, I am not aware.
The Shaykh : How can you not know? Did the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) not say: He does not wear the shirt, nor the turban, nor... and so on?
The questioner : Nor the trousers.
The Shaykh : Did he not say that?
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : So is it permissible for him to place the turban on his head?
The questioner : No, it is not permissible.
The Shaykh : So the wording is difficult for you. We left the issue of the wording and returned to the turban. Well, is it permissible for him to cover himself with a tent or the umbrella called today a parasol?
The questioner : It is permissible.
The Shaykh : It is permissible. Why?
The questioner : Because it is not clothing.
The Shaykh : And this is the same. This is a drape, not clothing. This is it. Then if we return to the niqab, is this niqab permissible?
The questioner : No, it is not permissible for the woman in ihram.
The Shaykh : Our discussion is about the woman in ihram. And so?
The questioner : It is also not permissible.
Another questioner: Is it called niqab linguistically or not? I do not know!
The Shaykh : Of course.
The questioner : It is called niqab. It is not permissible.
The Shaykh : It is not permissible. What is it called? If we do not call it niqab, what is this called?
The questioner : Latham.
The Shaykh : Latham. Is it permissible? And so I exaggerate and lower it like this, is it permissible?
The questioner : No.
The Shaykh : Let us go. Peace be upon you.
I performed 'Umrah before I traveled to this country, I and my wife, and perhaps you are sharing this observation with me now:
I find that the Arab women in this country, all of them, are either wearing the niqab while in ihram, or draping handkerchiefs as we mentioned. Why?
Because of your extremism on the issue, despite the consensus of all Muslim scholars that it is not permissible for a woman to cover her face with a handkerchief in a drape. This drape is what came in the hadith of 'A'ishah. As for tying the handkerchief on her head and letting it hang over her face, that is like wearing the niqab. If a woman does that, she must pay a fidyah according to many scholars. So why is this phenomenon happening?
The questioner : There is an answer, O Shaykh.
The Shaykh : What is it?
The questioner : O Shaykh, wearing the niqab is not permissible; the hadith is explicit.
The Shaykh : That is not my question!
The questioner : As for covering, I mean...
The Shaykh : That is not my question. May Allah guide us and you. My question is: What is it that causes the pilgrims and those performing 'Umrah to tie handkerchiefs over their faces or wear the niqab while in ihram? Because...
The questioner : We are being extreme.
The Shaykh : Well done.
The questioner : As I mentioned.
The Shaykh : That is it, may Allah bless you.
The questioner : There is an answer.
The Shaykh : Listen, my brother, may Allah guide you. We want to address the reality.
The questioner : This reality.
The Shaykh : What is the reality?
The questioner : I say: There is an answer to this, mentioned by Ibn al-Qayyim (may Allah have mercy on him).
The Shaykh : Are we talking about Ibn al-Qayyim right now?!
The questioner : No, I say: There is an answer to this, regarding covering the face for the woman in ihram. Ibn al-Qayyim (may Allah have mercy on him) says: "And the hadith of the woman wearing the niqab does not indicate that the woman should uncover her face".
The Shaykh : May Allah guide you.
The questioner : He says: "Rather, she covers her face".
The Shaykh : May Allah guide you!!
"She went east and I went west *** How different is the east from the west".
I am talking about women in ihram.
The questioner : Yes, this is Ibn al-Qayyim's statement about women in ihram.
The Shaykh : My dear friend, Ibn al-Qayyim says: "There is no evidence that the woman not in ihram uncovers her face".
The questioner : No, the discussion is about the woman in ihram covering her face, and he mentioned this in *Bada'i' al-Fawa'id*.
The Shaykh : My brother, may Allah guide you. Do not rush. Do not blame me if I say to you: Are you all like this with this haste?!
The questioner : No, no.
The Shaykh : Listen, my brother. What am I saying? I am being patient so that you can speak. What did you say last?
The questioner : You say, O Shaykh: The hadith of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) is that he forbade the woman from wearing gloves and wearing the niqab. You say, how is that, when you see the pilgrims and those performing 'Umrah, some of whom wear the niqab or cover their faces with this handkerchief.
The Shaykh : Fine.
The questioner : So you ask, what is it that led them to this act, which is covering the face, or...?
The Shaykh : To shorten the path, is this permissible?
The questioner : Covering the face is permissible.
The Shaykh : Am I talking about covering now?
The questioner : No, about the niqab.
The Shaykh : Did you see how it is?
The questioner : No, you combined the two, O Shaykh. You said: either covering with the handkerchief or the niqab.
The Shaykh : May Allah guide you. The handkerchief is not the drape. I just mentioned the drape, and I said tying the handkerchief is not permissible. Wearing the niqab is not permissible for the woman in ihram. I mentioned three things. So now I see that you are rushing like the others. Ibn al-Qayyim's statement does not address the problem. I am saying: Why do Arab women, when they are pilgrims or performing 'Umrah, wear the niqab or tie handkerchiefs instead of draping them? They tie them. You say Ibn al-Qayyim said such and such.
The questioner : We understood from the handkerchief, O Shaykh, that it is not known to us. We understood your intention by the handkerchief to be that the woman places or drapes a covering over her face. That is what we intended by the handkerchief.
The Shaykh : My dear friend, I mentioned three things. As for you, what did you understand? I am not being asked. I mentioned three things: The first is the drape. I said about the woman, and I said to the Shaykh here, there is a hadith of 'A'ishah regarding that, is that not so? We are done with the drape. That is, the woman in ihram drapes it, but she does not tie it over her face. So the handkerchief is tied here on the forehead and draped over the face. This is not permissible by consensus. A fortiori, wearing the niqab is not permissible. So we asked earlier, merely inquiring and reminding, why is this?
The honorable brother here answered that it is due to extremism. And that is indeed the case. Why?
Because Arab women in this country hear nothing but that the woman's face is 'awrah and she must cover it. And I believe there is no harm in a person issuing a fatwa with what he is confident about, but the reality must be addressed. So-and-so and so-and-so of the Shaykhs perform Hajj and they are seeing, praise be to Allah, they see the women as they circumambulate and walk between Safa and Marwah, wearing the niqab or tying handkerchiefs, meaning: tying the handkerchief. Whenever they remember that the woman's face is 'awrah and must be covered, they should associate with it the exception that the woman in ihram is not allowed to wear the niqab or tie the handkerchief. That is what I am saying. So Ibn al-Qayyim's statement has no relation to this statement.
The questioner : When I asked about the woman who places something on her face and I said: the handkerchief, the brothers thought, or our speech, we thought that the handkerchief is not what the woman ties.
The Shaykh : You, excuse me, do not drag the brothers into this with you. This is your opinion.
The questioner : I do not think everyone is like this!
The Shaykh : My brother, think well of them.
The questioner : This is good, O Shaykh.
The Shaykh : This is a mistake. Is it not clear to you now that there are three things?
The questioner : But I have a problem. What is the evidence for not tying the handkerchief, O Shaykh? I mean, why does the woman not tie the handkerchief?
The Shaykh : Because the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) forbade wearing the niqab.
The questioner : I mean, is the handkerchief itself the niqab?
The Shaykh : Listen, let me tell you, and this is the fiqh: Listen now!
If she does it this way, is it permissible?
The questioner : I do not know.
The Shaykh : We know, praise be to Allah, this is not permissible, but this is permissible. It is like someone asking: Is it permissible for the man in ihram to place a cap on his head?!
The questioner : It is not permissible for him to cover his head.
The Shaykh : No, you do not say it that way. I am asking you about placing the cap on his head?!
The questioner : Specifically, I do not know, I am not aware.
The Shaykh : How can you not know? Did the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) not say: He does not wear the shirt, nor the turban, nor... and so on?
The questioner : Nor the trousers.
The Shaykh : Did he not say that?
The questioner : Yes.
The Shaykh : So is it permissible for him to place the turban on his head?
The questioner : No, it is not permissible.
The Shaykh : So the wording is difficult for you. We left the issue of the wording and returned to the turban. Well, is it permissible for him to cover himself with a tent or the umbrella called today a parasol?
The questioner : It is permissible.
The Shaykh : It is permissible. Why?
The questioner : Because it is not clothing.
The Shaykh : And this is the same. This is a drape, not clothing. This is it. Then if we return to the niqab, is this niqab permissible?
The questioner : No, it is not permissible for the woman in ihram.
The Shaykh : Our discussion is about the woman in ihram. And so?
The questioner : It is also not permissible.
Another questioner: Is it called niqab linguistically or not? I do not know!
The Shaykh : Of course.
The questioner : It is called niqab. It is not permissible.
The Shaykh : It is not permissible. What is it called? If we do not call it niqab, what is this called?
The questioner : Latham.
The Shaykh : Latham. Is it permissible? And so I exaggerate and lower it like this, is it permissible?
The questioner : No.
The Shaykh : Let us go. Peace be upon you.