What is the ruling on a woman showing her face and her two hands?
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The questioner : The second question - The Shaykh: Many of the brothers are asking me now about the ruling on showing...
Another questioner : ... .
The questioner : If Allah wills. Many of the brothers are asking about the ruling on a woman showing her face and her two hands?
The Shaykh: Yes.
The questioner : Even if she, for example, drives a car, is it permissible for her to do such a thing... this thing, yes or no? If she is adhering to the Shari'ah hijab, for example?
The Shaykh : Ah, the issue of a woman uncovering her face and her two hands is, without a doubt, a fiqh (Islamic jurisprudence) issue, and it is also an issue of scholarly disagreement; that is, the scholars differed specifically regarding the woman's face: is it an 'awrah (the part of the body that must be covered) such that it is not permissible for her to show the disk of her face before non-mahram men, or is it not an 'awrah? There are two opinions on the issue, but we always and forever refer to the Book of Allah and the hadith of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) and what the righteous Salaf (the earliest generations) were upon in matters where people have differed. So we say: the woman's face is not an 'awrah, but it is better that she not show it. Here there is a difference between saying: is it an 'awrah or is it not an 'awrah? The meaning of something being an 'awrah is that it is not permissible to show it; so if we say that the woman's face is not an 'awrah, we mean that the woman who goes out to the market while wearing the jilbab (the outer garment) and covering herself with the complete Shari'ah covering and wearing the Shari'ah jilbab, but only this disk is visible from her; she is not sinful, and she has not uncovered a forbidden 'awrah. This is one thing.
The Shaykh: And the other thing: is it better for her to cover her face or to uncover it?
The Shaykh: We say: without a doubt, it is better that she cover her face and her two hands, not just her face, but her face and her two hands. But uncovering is not haram (forbidden), but showing is permissible, and covering is better. This is regarding the face, and likewise regarding the two hands. But we do not say that uncovering the face is haram; because prohibition is not in our hands. Prohibition is only in the hands of Allah (Blessed and Exalted is He), who legislates it either in the Noble Qur'an or in the pure Sunnah. I do not know if the atmosphere is conducive to detailing the evidence.
The questioner: It is small.
The Shaykh : Yes.
Another questioner : ... .
The questioner : If Allah wills. Many of the brothers are asking about the ruling on a woman showing her face and her two hands?
The Shaykh: Yes.
The questioner : Even if she, for example, drives a car, is it permissible for her to do such a thing... this thing, yes or no? If she is adhering to the Shari'ah hijab, for example?
The Shaykh : Ah, the issue of a woman uncovering her face and her two hands is, without a doubt, a fiqh (Islamic jurisprudence) issue, and it is also an issue of scholarly disagreement; that is, the scholars differed specifically regarding the woman's face: is it an 'awrah (the part of the body that must be covered) such that it is not permissible for her to show the disk of her face before non-mahram men, or is it not an 'awrah? There are two opinions on the issue, but we always and forever refer to the Book of Allah and the hadith of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) and what the righteous Salaf (the earliest generations) were upon in matters where people have differed. So we say: the woman's face is not an 'awrah, but it is better that she not show it. Here there is a difference between saying: is it an 'awrah or is it not an 'awrah? The meaning of something being an 'awrah is that it is not permissible to show it; so if we say that the woman's face is not an 'awrah, we mean that the woman who goes out to the market while wearing the jilbab (the outer garment) and covering herself with the complete Shari'ah covering and wearing the Shari'ah jilbab, but only this disk is visible from her; she is not sinful, and she has not uncovered a forbidden 'awrah. This is one thing.
The Shaykh: And the other thing: is it better for her to cover her face or to uncover it?
The Shaykh: We say: without a doubt, it is better that she cover her face and her two hands, not just her face, but her face and her two hands. But uncovering is not haram (forbidden), but showing is permissible, and covering is better. This is regarding the face, and likewise regarding the two hands. But we do not say that uncovering the face is haram; because prohibition is not in our hands. Prohibition is only in the hands of Allah (Blessed and Exalted is He), who legislates it either in the Noble Qur'an or in the pure Sunnah. I do not know if the atmosphere is conducive to detailing the evidence.
The questioner: It is small.
The Shaykh : Yes.
Source
www.al-albany.com
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.