The questioner says: I am one of those who have weak eyesight, and when I am traveling I wear the niqab. I am from a poor family, and my husband is an employee with a modest salary.
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The questioner : This questioner, who used the initials H.A.B. as a code for her name, wrote at the end of the letter, addressed to Shaykh Muhammad al-Uthaymeen: “Peace be upon you, and Allah’s mercy and blessings. I am your sister in Allah. Here is my question, and I am in dire need of an answer to it. I am one of those who have weak eyesight, and when I am traveling I wear the niqab. I am from a poor family, and my husband is an employee with a modest salary. I am unable to undergo surgery to get contact lenses because, as I said, I am from a poor family. Is it permissible for me to wear the niqab? May Allah reward you with good?”
The Shaykh : And upon you be peace, and Allah’s mercy and blessings. Instead of the liham, she should wear the niqab, which is what she uses to cover her entire face, opening it for her eyes only to the extent that she can see. The wearing of the niqab was known in the time of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), as evidenced by the fact that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) forbade a woman who is in a state of ihram from wearing the niqab. And if he forbade her from wearing the niqab while in ihram, that indicates that it was their custom to wear it. However, it must not be taken as a pretext for expanding the wearing of this niqab, as some women now wear the niqab, but not in the manner of the Shari’ah niqab that was known in the time of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him).
For the niqab in the time of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) was only for necessity, and it was measured by the extent of that necessity.
Likewise, the necessity exists now, especially for a woman like this questioner. But, unfortunately, when women are given the opening of a needle’s eye, they make it a door. This is a problem. And whatever is a pretext for what is forbidden is prohibited, just as the Commander of the Faithful, ‘Umar ibn al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him), prevented a man from taking back his wife if he had divorced her three times, even though the triple divorce was, in the time of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), the time of Abu Bakr, and two years of ‘Umar’s caliphate, counted as one divorce. When ‘Umar saw that people were being hasty in this matter and perishing because of it, despite its prohibition, he used his sharp intellect and good policy to prevent people from taking back their wives, even though taking back their wives was lawful. He did this to avert harm and block the means to it. And just as he (may Allah be pleased with him) prevented the sale of mothers of children, who are concubines that have borne a child to their master, even though their sale was known in the time of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and Abu Bakr, ‘Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) then prohibited it because he saw that people were committing a sin through it, as they would sell their concubine and keep the child with them, thereby separating the woman from her child. So he forbade it, even though it was permissible in the time of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and the time of Abu Bakr.
The important point is that a permissible thing may be prohibited if it is a pretext for something forbidden, especially if it is a close pretext. Yes.
The questioner : May Allah bless you, O honorable Shaykh.
The Shaykh : And upon you be peace, and Allah’s mercy and blessings. Instead of the liham, she should wear the niqab, which is what she uses to cover her entire face, opening it for her eyes only to the extent that she can see. The wearing of the niqab was known in the time of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), as evidenced by the fact that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) forbade a woman who is in a state of ihram from wearing the niqab. And if he forbade her from wearing the niqab while in ihram, that indicates that it was their custom to wear it. However, it must not be taken as a pretext for expanding the wearing of this niqab, as some women now wear the niqab, but not in the manner of the Shari’ah niqab that was known in the time of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him).
For the niqab in the time of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) was only for necessity, and it was measured by the extent of that necessity.
Likewise, the necessity exists now, especially for a woman like this questioner. But, unfortunately, when women are given the opening of a needle’s eye, they make it a door. This is a problem. And whatever is a pretext for what is forbidden is prohibited, just as the Commander of the Faithful, ‘Umar ibn al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him), prevented a man from taking back his wife if he had divorced her three times, even though the triple divorce was, in the time of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), the time of Abu Bakr, and two years of ‘Umar’s caliphate, counted as one divorce. When ‘Umar saw that people were being hasty in this matter and perishing because of it, despite its prohibition, he used his sharp intellect and good policy to prevent people from taking back their wives, even though taking back their wives was lawful. He did this to avert harm and block the means to it. And just as he (may Allah be pleased with him) prevented the sale of mothers of children, who are concubines that have borne a child to their master, even though their sale was known in the time of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and Abu Bakr, ‘Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) then prohibited it because he saw that people were committing a sin through it, as they would sell their concubine and keep the child with them, thereby separating the woman from her child. So he forbade it, even though it was permissible in the time of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and the time of Abu Bakr.
The important point is that a permissible thing may be prohibited if it is a pretext for something forbidden, especially if it is a close pretext. Yes.
The questioner : May Allah bless you, O honorable Shaykh.