Gradualism in Calling People to Allah
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If a person is among those who travel abroad to call Muslims and non-Muslims, and in some Islamic countries they may not know the hijab in its proper form, is it permissible to begin with them gradually? For example, starting with covering the head, and then, once they are able to cover the head and become accustomed to this matter, moving them to covering the face, and so on? Or should he begin with them directly with the Shari'ah-prescribed hijab?
What we hold: If he arrives in a country where they do not know the hijab except for covering the head, hair, and body, and they consider it permissible to expose the face and hands, he should not confront them from the start. Rather, he should come to them little by little, just as the call in the early days of Islam was little by little. For these people, covering the face is strange, and they may never accept it. Some of their foolish people warn against accepting from this caller. The wise person is the one who averts the greater evil by what is lesser.
What we hold: If he arrives in a country where they do not know the hijab except for covering the head, hair, and body, and they consider it permissible to expose the face and hands, he should not confront them from the start. Rather, he should come to them little by little, just as the call in the early days of Islam was little by little. For these people, covering the face is strange, and they may never accept it. Some of their foolish people warn against accepting from this caller. The wise person is the one who averts the greater evil by what is lesser.