The Shaykh’s verification of Ibn Uthaymeen’s fatwa regarding the niqab for women and his response to it.

The Shaykh : Because this reached me, and so I wanted to verify it, on the basis that the people of Makkah know its valleys best. Now, what is behind this? By the way,The Shaykh : Ibn Uthaymeen, is it true that he forbade the niqab?

The questioner : This is in the Haram, O Shaykh.

The Shaykh : In the Haram.

The questioner : Yes, that is right.

The Shaykh : How do you mean in the Haram?

The questioner : Wearing the niqab that reveals the eyes, O Shaykh, or the niqab...

The Shaykh : One person should speak so that I understand well. Allah has not placed two hearts in the belly of one man. I did not understand this.

The questioner : What do you mean by the niqab, O Shaykh?

The Shaykh : This is a questioner and a respondent. I am an Albanian man and you are an Arab man.

The questioner : The niqab with us, O Shaykh.

The Shaykh : What is the niqab?

The questioner : That a woman wears the niqab, covering her face and revealing her eyes.

The Shaykh : Yes, that is the niqab.

The questioner: Yes, Shaykh

The Shaykh : Now, is this prescribed or not prescribed?

The questioner : It is prescribed, O Shaykh.

The Shaykh : Now, I say that we were informed that he condemned this, and you accepted this report, but you limited it to a condition that was not in the report we received. You said the niqab is what? The Haram? What is the difference between the niqab in Riyadh and the niqab in Dammam, and the niqab in the Haram? What is the difference?

The questioner : No, O Shaykh, because this question came up in the Haram whenThe Shaykh : the question was posed to him in the Haram, with women present in the Haram wearing the niqab, covering only the mouth and revealing the eyes, and there was a lot of commotion.

The Shaykh : O Shaykh, may Allah guide you. The niqab reveals the eyes. What is your business?

The questioner : It does not reveal anything except the eyes and the cheeks, with

The Shaykh : its width now.

The questioner : No, the niqab that exists now, whereas the niqab in the past, as he said,The Shaykh : revealing only one of the eyes.

Another questioner : Do you know, O Shaykh, the eyes are arrows.

The Shaykh : I know from the words ofThe Shaykh : in his specific treatise that the niqab is permissible, and he argues with the authentic hadith What is the niqab mentioned in the hadith that blinds the eyes and does not reveal the eyes?

The questioner : It reveals the eyes, O Shaykh.

The Shaykh : Now, you say one eye in a niqab with one eye, and by Allah, it is a problem. We used to hear hijab, or in the correct sense, jilbab with one eye. Now we have come to hear niqab with one eye.
Abu Layla : O our Shaykh, this has not even been invented yet.

The Shaykh : How? Do you have a niqab with one eye among you?

Another questioner : If it is one eye, it is one.

The Shaykh : You keep what you have. I want to understand, because in truth, I was surprised. First, I heard, then I read, and now you are saying something that you may have heard but not read. You have become more knowledgeable than me, and I thought the opposite was true, that you are the people of the land and connected, necessarily withThe Shaykh : and you know his opinions intimately and closely, and so on. So I know, asThe Shaykh : knows, that the nature of the niqab is that it reveals the eyes so that the woman can see her way. Now, if he condemns it, he asks the question and condemns the niqab. Now you say the niqab of the Haram. This limitation is confusing to me. Is it a limitation? Say no.

The questioner : We have the niqab, O our Shaykh.

The Shaykh : Do not deviate, do not deviate, O Shaykh Salih. This is not a good deed, that you deviate from the answer and lengthen the path of understanding and rapprochement. May Allah will it, the nature of the niqab is that it reveals the eyes. For the first time, we hear a distinction between the niqab of the Haram and outside the Haram, and so on. Then I say, I read a newsletter sent to me recently, meaning two nights ago, by fax. Did you see it by fax? It was sent to me. And this leads me to ask you, you Arabs, the originals, and we foreigners learn the Arabic language from you. What is the burqu' (face veil)?

The questioner : The burqu' is this, O Shaykh.

The Shaykh : O Shaykh, is your deviation not enough? O Shaykh Salih, enough with the deviation. I am asking you. Look at how patient our companion is with you. Learn from him. What is the burqu' among you?

The questioner : The burqu' is a covering that reveals only the eyes, the two eyes, and covers the face and nose, and nothing is revealed of the face except the two eyes only.

The Shaykh : What is this?

The questioner : This is the burqu' with us.

The Shaykh : Is this the burqu', or the one mentioned by the Messenger (peace be upon him), the niqab? Is there no difference for you between the niqab and the burqu'?

The questioner : No, the niqab is covering the mouth and revealing the eyes.

The Shaykh : Leave the niqab, may Allah guide you. We are done with the niqab. We are now talking about the burqu'. Is there no linguistic difference for you between the niqab and the burqu'?

The questioner : Yes, O Shaykh, there is a difference.

The Shaykh : What is it? You did not distinguish.

The questioner : I mean, do you want me to distinguish between

The Shaykh : Let, letThe Shaykh : Salih resign from speaking and rest, and let the turn go to someone else. No, the right-hand minister is the most deserving of speaking now. Please, what is the burqu' with you?

Another questioner : The burqu' means what exists with us in the desert.

The Shaykh : Allahu Akbar, O Shaykh, I am not asking you what exists with you in the desert. If I asked you what is the jilbab, I would tell you the jilbab that exists with us is the one that reveals the legs from below and does not cover the head, and so on. Is this the answer? This is if we were in the story of Imam al-Shafi'i with Shayban the shepherd. They claimed that Imam al-Shafi'i met Shayban the shepherd. Imam al-Shafi'i said to Shayban the shepherd, they said, what is the ruling on one who forgets in his prayer? He said, with us or with you? He said, why is there "with us" and "with you"? He said, yes. He said, bring us what is with us and what is with you. He said, with you, if one forgets in prayer, he prostrates the prostrations of forgetfulness and the matter ends. He said, and with you? He said, his head is cut off. Now, what is obligatory on the rich man in his wealth? He said, with us or with you? He said, again, this is "with us" and "with you." He said, yes. He said, with you, two and a half out of a hundred is paid out. He said, with you? He said, it is paid out from all his wealth. So you are reminding us of "with us" and "with you," my brother. I do not want "with us" and "with you." A pure linguistic inquiry. A foreigner wants to learn from the people of the Arabic language, the originals. What is the burqu', and is there a disagreement between the burqu' and the niqab linguistically or not? Linguistically?

Another questioner : It is one...

The Shaykh : Linguistically?

Another questioner : The burqu' is the niqab. The niqab is what came in the text, whereas the burqu' is what is with the common people.

The Shaykh : Are you recording this as a deviation or not? What is the common people? What do the common people want now?

The questioner : This is the burqu'.

The Shaykh : Now, a second question. Is the burqu' specific to humans, or does it extend from humans to animals?

The questioner : No. It extends, O Shaykh.

The Shaykh : It extends.

The questioner : Yes, it extends, O Shaykh.

The Shaykh : May Allah reward you with good. So what is the burqu' regarding animals?

The questioner : This was put on the horses at al-Qadisiyyah.

The Shaykh : This is the answer of the Arab. There is no power or strength except by Allah. The burqu' regarding an animal covers the face except the eyes, or the eyes?

The questioner : No, O Shaykh, correctly, the face except the eyes. It covers the face except the eyes.

The Shaykh : And what is the benefit of covering the face of the animal except the eyes, or did you reverse the matter?

The questioner : To protect its flesh, O Shaykh, from arrows and the like.

The Shaykh : So now, are burqu'at not placed on animals, on mounts, on horses, on donkeys?

The questioner : On birds, O Shaykh.

The Shaykh : Enough for you the mounts that you own.

Another questioner : He said it covers the eyes except the face. No.

The Shaykh : Good. So the burqu' regarding women?

The questioner : It covers the face and reveals the eyes.

The Shaykh : Well done. Now you are on the right path, O Shaykh Salih.

The questioner : You frightened me, O Shaykh, at the beginning.

The Shaykh : Now, is the burqu' condemned or approved?

The questioner : It is approved, O Shaykh.

The Shaykh : And is it attached to the niqab?

The questioner : Yes.

The Shaykh : The niqab is prescribed, but now it has become not prescribed. Likewise, look far away.

The questioner : According to the one who says that.

The Shaykh : Look far away, because I am telling you frankly, behind the dune there is what is behind it.

The questioner : According to the one who says that.

The Shaykh : I say with you. I say with you. The niqab is prescribed, and the burqu' is prescribed. The niqab reveals the eyes, and the burqu' does not reveal the eyes.

The questioner : The burqu' reveals the eyes.

The Shaykh : ... or do you want to retract? - And upon you be peace, and Allah's mercy and blessings. Welcome, how are you? Good, welcome.

The questioner : Regarding, O Shaykh, the discussion and disagreement among the students of knowledge, O Shaykh, there should be a type of priorities. These discussions, for example, should be bypassed by the scholar or the student of knowledge from these other ijtihads, for the sake of unifying the ranks and calling for unity, especially our Salafi brothers, because they are in one trench.

The Shaykh : Political talk. One trench from here. You are accused of being from the Muslim Brotherhood.

The questioner : No, may Allah will it, O Shaykh, I am innocent before Allah.

The Shaykh : Because you use modern expressions that do not align with the Salafi methodology.

The questioner : Please guide us, Shaykh, what should we say?

The Shaykh : And what am I doing? What is the disagreement about? When I say this is a political expression, I said to the guidance, in my opinion at least, but why don't you complete your previous journey with me?

The questioner : This returns toThe Shaykh : I say this returns toThe Shaykh : And perhaps the matter.

The Shaykh : If it returns to the Shaykh, you take the direct political path and say, "Shaykh, do you see that we continue our previous discussion and complete it, or do we start another political discussion in the path of what? Tawhid (the oneness of Allah) among the differing scholars of knowledge, and so on, and classifying priorities? And I will tell you, your request is exactly like the request of one who says, 'Principles and branches, and the core and the peel.'"

The questioner : I do not approve of that.

The Shaykh : Be patient, I did not say you meant this. Glory be to Allah, when I say "Zayd is a lion," it means he has a sin for you? I used a simile, I told you frankly, this resembles such-and-such. Why did you turn it around and say, "I did not mean that"? I did not say that you meant it. May Allah bless you, is that not so?

The questioner : May Allah reward you, Shaykh.

The Shaykh : May Allah reward you with good.

The questioner : But this is what I was saying, Shaykh, I wanted to say it, but as you just said.

The Shaykh : Fine, in any case, I had hoped to meet with the Shaykhs at your place first to address the current problem between two different groups of Salafis, and secondly to discuss some issues that, for example,The Shaykh : Salih wants to postpone the research on, and I completely disagree with him, because this postponement is what drives him to it. It is only that you imagine that discussing a disputed issue will wound hearts and stir up souls. Which souls are these? They are the ones we talked about in the first session. But the souls of the people of knowledge, virtue, piety, and righteousness, through this discussion, they draw closer to one another. So I had hoped to meet with Ibn Uthaymeen and understand his viewpoint clearly on this issue that I read in print and signed with his signature, and I do not think this is forged upon him. First, he denies the burqu' today, saying he denies the burqu' and before that he denied the niqab. And I understand in my non-Arabic language that the burqu' is what covers the face, and on this basis we proceeded with our women and daughters in Syria and outside Syria, meaning with the dignity of the handkerchief, you know, this is called a burqu'. So if he pairs the burqu' with the niqab in his denial, then what does he want? I know him withThe Shaykh : al-Tuwijri in their enthusiasm for their statement that the woman's face is 'awrah (the part of the body that must be covered) and it is not permissible for her to show even one eye, as you said just now. Well, how has the situation reversed now? He does not deny only the niqab, but also the burqu'. And I know that the burqu' is better than the niqab; it covers the eyes down to what they call the "daggers" below, what is it? There is a phrase like that I forgot, they mean that the eyes fight, a real spiritual battle, as that old Arab poet said, "Do not fight my heart with your eyes, *** for two weak ones overcome a strong one." But the niqab reveals the eyes, while the burqu' covers the eyes. So why did he pair this with that? And how can we understand your interpretation that you said in the first answer? You said it means the burqu' seen in the two Holy Mosques. Well, excuse me, the niqab seen in the two Holy Mosques. Well, and the burqu'? So I understand now—may Allah have mercy on you—I understand something new now, but I had hoped thatThe Shaykh : Ibn Uthaymeen would clarify the intended meaning of the word "niqab," may Allah have mercy on you, and the word "burqu'," and say, "I mean by niqab not the niqab that reveals only the eyes, and I do not mean by burqu' the one that covers the entire face, so that people do not understand a disagreement contrary to his intention."