What is the manner in which a woman’s face is covered?
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The questioner : My teacher, may Allah reward him with good, our teacher, Dr. Muhammad Hasan Abu Yahya, for acknowledging the truth, may Allah bless him.
The Shaykh : May Allah reward you with good.
The questioner : I would like to say, my teacher, regarding the hijab and what you mentioned about the permissibility of uncovering the face, and this is what we believe, if Allah wills. Shaykh Ahmad pointed to a point, which is the manner or the limits of what is covered of this face. Do you have an opinion on this?
The Shaykh : May Allah bless you. The face, linguistically and legally, is what a person faces with, so it is the disk of the face that must be washed in wudu, and nothing more than that.
The questioner : It seems to me, my teacher, yes, I understood your intent, but it seems to me I saw the action of Shaykh Ahmad. He says it is the covering they used in Sham, so she would cover and put her finger in her mouth, covering the beard, until the cheeks are not exposed, or part of the cheeks, because the roundness of the face, as the Shaykh says, may contain something of fitnah (trial, discord or temptation)?
The Shaykh : My brother, leave the issue of fitnah (trial, discord or temptation) aside for now, because the subject is linguistic and legal, correct or not?
The questioner : This is the truth.
The Shaykh : So the face, linguistically, is what we mentioned and you know, but there is something known in the language as well, which is what he (peace be upon him) referred to in the famous hadith regarding the niqab (the face veil)Muwatta Malik 20:17. The niqab (the face veil) is that the woman covers her entire face, except her eyes. So this part is either part of the niqab (the face veil) or it is not a niqab (the face veil) in terms of the Arabic expression, meaning the niqab (the face veil) is what is tied over the nose and under the eyes. And we have stated explicitly in the hijab that the best is the best, and after the handkerchief was found, this is the best, meaning better than the niqab (the face veil) itself. But the inquiry is not about this; the inquiry is whether it is forbidden for a woman to uncover her face, or is it permissible for her to do so, with the clarification that the best for her is covering? So now, a woman who covers her face completely, this is the best. A woman in the second rank covers her face except her eyes. The third rank, which you mentioned, covers what is below her nose, her mouth, because according to the previous Saudi philosophy, the most beautiful thing in a woman is her face, and the most beautiful thing in her are her eyes, then her mouth, and so on in this philosophy. So if we want to see the ranks of preference, then from here nothing of it is seen at all.
The questioner : May Allah bless you, my teacher.
The Shaykh : Then like this, then like this, then like this, yes.
The questioner : But my teacher, from the customary aspect, meaning there was a custom in the past, in the era of the Companions and the Salaf (the earliest generations), was this description you mentioned regarding Shaykh Ahmad present or not?
The Shaykh : What you mentioned does not exist, except the niqab (the face veil), or if she is not wearing a niqab (the face veil), that she lowers the jilbab (the outer garment) as much as she can to her face. This is what exists. The handkerchief known today did not exist, but its use is more beloved to us, because it achieves covering in its broadest sense, yes.
The Shaykh : May Allah reward you with good.
The questioner : I would like to say, my teacher, regarding the hijab and what you mentioned about the permissibility of uncovering the face, and this is what we believe, if Allah wills. Shaykh Ahmad pointed to a point, which is the manner or the limits of what is covered of this face. Do you have an opinion on this?
The Shaykh : May Allah bless you. The face, linguistically and legally, is what a person faces with, so it is the disk of the face that must be washed in wudu, and nothing more than that.
The questioner : It seems to me, my teacher, yes, I understood your intent, but it seems to me I saw the action of Shaykh Ahmad. He says it is the covering they used in Sham, so she would cover and put her finger in her mouth, covering the beard, until the cheeks are not exposed, or part of the cheeks, because the roundness of the face, as the Shaykh says, may contain something of fitnah (trial, discord or temptation)?
The Shaykh : My brother, leave the issue of fitnah (trial, discord or temptation) aside for now, because the subject is linguistic and legal, correct or not?
The questioner : This is the truth.
The Shaykh : So the face, linguistically, is what we mentioned and you know, but there is something known in the language as well, which is what he (peace be upon him) referred to in the famous hadith regarding the niqab (the face veil)
a woman in ihram should wear neither a veil nor gloves
لا تنتقب المرأة المحرمة ، ولا تلبس القفّازينThe questioner : May Allah bless you, my teacher.
The Shaykh : Then like this, then like this, then like this, yes.
The questioner : But my teacher, from the customary aspect, meaning there was a custom in the past, in the era of the Companions and the Salaf (the earliest generations), was this description you mentioned regarding Shaykh Ahmad present or not?
The Shaykh : What you mentioned does not exist, except the niqab (the face veil), or if she is not wearing a niqab (the face veil), that she lowers the jilbab (the outer garment) as much as she can to her face. This is what exists. The handkerchief known today did not exist, but its use is more beloved to us, because it achieves covering in its broadest sense, yes.
Source
www.al-albany.com
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.