The Shaykh mentioned the discussion that took place between him and Shaykh Isma'il al-Ansari regarding the issue of whether a woman's face is an 'awrah (part of the body that must be covered) or not.

The questioner : Regarding the issue of the woman's hijab or niqab (face veil), we have heard that you are preparing a new edition of *The Hijab of the Muslim Woman*.

The Shaykh : Yes, exactly.

The questioner : And of course, you know, perhaps you have seen the book *The Return of the Hijab* by Muhammad ibn Isma'il al-Misri.

The Shaykh : Yes, I saw the first and second parts.

The questioner : The third part has been printed, and it contains, of course, this section on the niqab (face veil).

The Shaykh : Yes.

The questioner : We have also learned that you met with him during Hajj (the major pilgrimage), I think three or four years ago.

The questioner : Yes.

The questioner : We have also learned that you met with him during Hajj (the major pilgrimage), I think three or four years ago, and you discussed the matter. We would like to hear from you the substance or a summary of this discussion, and why he did not retract his statement, and so on?

The Shaykh : First of all, if there were a broad scientific research and the researcher still remained with his opinion, we could not judge him to say why he did not retract; because this is a matter that returns to personal conviction. This is if the research was, as it is said, comprehensive and exclusive, and widespread. The reality is that it was not so; it was only words, because the gathering was in a group of dozens, if not hundreds, of Egyptians who gathered and stayed in one place among the pilgrims. But the matter I remember from what was discussed is the verse by which some scholars, both past and present, argue for the obligation of a woman covering her face. The saying of the Exalted: So we said at that time, and we still say and record what we say, that the saying of the Exalted does not mean, in any of the ways taken from the Arabic language, or the legal language, in any way that the intended meaning of His saying is that they cover, because *idna* (bringing close) is bringing near. Especially since the scholars of tafsir (Qur'anic exegesis) are agreed, or as if they are agreed, that this verse was revealed to correct a custom that women were upon in the jahiliyyah (the pre-Islamic age of ignorance), which was that they would throw the jilbab (the outer garment) over their heads and leave it as it is, such that some of their hair, their jewelry, and their earrings and the like would appear, in the manner that many Arab women, such as the Iraqis and others, still use what is called the abaya. They throw it over their heads, then leave it like that, in its natural state and its nature, so that some of what is forbidden by the Shari'ah (Islamic sacred law) to be displayed appears, from the neck, from the chest, from the hair, and the like. So the Exalted said: *Idna* (bringing close) is bringing near. So if our Lord, Mighty and Majestic, had intended what these scholars understand from *idna*, which is covering, He would have said in clear Arabic: "Cover your faces," and the problem would be ended. But He, Glorified and Exalted is He, did not intend the complete covering of the face. And therefore He said: meaning a woman who has thrown the jilbab over her head, if she takes with her hand or her two hands the sides of the abaya and returns it like this, a return toward her head, it is said that she has brought it close (*adnat*). And the more she brings it close