What is the authenticity of the hadith of Asma bint Umayyad regarding the Muslim woman's jilbab and the uncovering of the face?

The Shaykh : Praise be to Allah. Pay attention, O brothers. You have only one hour with me, so know how to make the most of this hour and not waste it, neither for you nor for me. Part of not wasting it is organizing the questions. It is not the case that one person asks from here and another from there, and both questions are lost. Then we begin according to the general custom, starting from the right, from this side. Whoever has a question should not start asking with his tongue, but rather raise his finger or his hand so that I notice him, and then we will give permission. Hands may be raised, and we will give permission to whoever asks according to this system and order. Please proceed.

The questioner : In the name of Allah, the Most Merciful, the Bestower of Mercy. You mentioned in your book on the hijab of the Muslim woman that the chain of narration (isnad) of the hadith of Asma bint Umayyad is authentic, except that it contains Abdullah ibn Lahi'ah. However, some of the brothers say that in the chain of this hadith there is a man named Iyad ibn Abdullah, whose biography in *Tahdhib al-Tahdhib* states that he is weak. How is that?

The Shaykh : Are you quoting from the book or from your memory? If you are quoting from the book, you have made a mistake. I did not say that the chain of the hadith of Asma is authentic. So your claim, or your attribution to me, that I said the chain is authentic, is incorrect. All that is the case is that I strengthened the hadith of Aisha, narrated in *Sunan Abu Dawud*, with the hadith of Asma bint Abi Bakr, narrated in *Sunan al-Bayhaqi al-Kubra*, explicitly stating that the chain of each one, on its own, is weak, but one strengthens the other. This is in addition to what Imam al-Bayhaqi said, and I preceded him in strengthening this hadith by the fact that the reports (athar) coming from the female Companions support it, indicating that they used to uncover their faces in gatherings, in mosques, and elsewhere. So attributing to me the statement that I said the chain of the hadith of Asma is authentic is incorrect. However, I went to the position of strengthening this hadith by the sum of its various chains, in addition to the reports that came from some of the female Companions. Please proceed.