What is the Islamic ruling on wearing the niqab?
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The questioner : May Allah reward the honorableThe Shaykh : It is observed these days that the niqab is frequently used by some women, to the extent that some of them do not limit themselves to showing only the eyes, but also show the eyebrows and parts of the cheeks. They appear in this form in markets, in commercial establishments, and in cars with their mahram (a relative one may not marry) or with a foreign driver. We would like you, may Allah preserve you, to inform us of the Islamic ruling on wearing the niqab.
The Shaykh : The answer to this question is written for us on a paper, and I think it is widespread among people. The niqab is originally permissible, because the women of the Companions wore the niqab, except for the woman in a state of ihram (the consecrated state of pilgrimage), for whom it is not permissible to wear the niqab, because the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) forbade her from doing so. So the original ruling on the niqab is permissible. However, if a permissible thing becomes a means to something wrong, it is condemned. What the questioner said, that some women use this permissible niqab in a forbidden manner by showing the eyebrow, part of the forehead, and part of the cheeks, is something from which we fear that people will move from bad to worse. It may become the year of the cheeks and eyebrows, and the following year the year of the jaw and forehead, and the year after that the year of the lips and chin, and so on. This is because we know that evil occurs among people gradually. We give an example of this in what happens in some other countries. Did the scholars of the countries we hear about and are informed about tell them that it is permissible for women to uncover their faces, apply makeup, and use kohl? And that some of them uncover even their heads and necks? Did their scholars say that? Absolutely not. Their scholars said that uncovering the face is permissible according to their opinion, which is a weak opinion. But did the women settle for that? Absolutely not. Whoever reflects on the conditions of the world and the law of Allah (Mighty and Majestic) in creation knows that evil spreads little by little, and that what is preserved today will not be preserved tomorrow. Therefore, we see that a woman must fear Allah (Mighty and Majestic) and not be a key to evil and fitnah (trial, discord or temptation). She should not wear the niqab and remain in her original state, which did not harm her. Our women in the past used a covering, a complete covering of the face, and it did not harm them in any way. However, yes, if it is known that women will adhere to the Sharia niqab from which nothing is shown except the eyes for the sake of seeing, we do not say to forbid it. But since we see that the matter is expanding in a way that is not permissible, we see that women should fear Allah (Mighty and Majestic) and avoid this permissible action out of fear of falling into the forbidden.
The Shaykh : The answer to this question is written for us on a paper, and I think it is widespread among people. The niqab is originally permissible, because the women of the Companions wore the niqab, except for the woman in a state of ihram (the consecrated state of pilgrimage), for whom it is not permissible to wear the niqab, because the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) forbade her from doing so. So the original ruling on the niqab is permissible. However, if a permissible thing becomes a means to something wrong, it is condemned. What the questioner said, that some women use this permissible niqab in a forbidden manner by showing the eyebrow, part of the forehead, and part of the cheeks, is something from which we fear that people will move from bad to worse. It may become the year of the cheeks and eyebrows, and the following year the year of the jaw and forehead, and the year after that the year of the lips and chin, and so on. This is because we know that evil occurs among people gradually. We give an example of this in what happens in some other countries. Did the scholars of the countries we hear about and are informed about tell them that it is permissible for women to uncover their faces, apply makeup, and use kohl? And that some of them uncover even their heads and necks? Did their scholars say that? Absolutely not. Their scholars said that uncovering the face is permissible according to their opinion, which is a weak opinion. But did the women settle for that? Absolutely not. Whoever reflects on the conditions of the world and the law of Allah (Mighty and Majestic) in creation knows that evil spreads little by little, and that what is preserved today will not be preserved tomorrow. Therefore, we see that a woman must fear Allah (Mighty and Majestic) and not be a key to evil and fitnah (trial, discord or temptation). She should not wear the niqab and remain in her original state, which did not harm her. Our women in the past used a covering, a complete covering of the face, and it did not harm them in any way. However, yes, if it is known that women will adhere to the Sharia niqab from which nothing is shown except the eyes for the sake of seeing, we do not say to forbid it. But since we see that the matter is expanding in a way that is not permissible, we see that women should fear Allah (Mighty and Majestic) and avoid this permissible action out of fear of falling into the forbidden.