A girl recently put on the niqab over her face, but she faced opposition from her relatives and family, knowing that she is of average beauty, and one of her relatives studied
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The questioner : A girl recently put on the niqab over her face, but she faced opposition from her relatives and family. She says: I am of average beauty. One of my relatives who studied Islamic jurisprudence told me that the face niqab is not found in the Islamic religion, and said that the women of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) did not put it on their faces. Did the women of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) actually wear a face covering or not? Please guide us in light of this? And is there anything wrong with showing the eyes?
The Shaykh : There is no doubt that some societies strongly deny covering the face, and they also deny the niqab, and they cause much harm to the committed women among them, whether from relatives or from strangers. But the woman should be patient and seek reward from Allah, and she should know that she is not harmed for the sake of Allah except that Allah the Exalted will raise her status. And let her not be among those about whom Allah said:[Al-'Ankabut 29:10].
Rather, she should proceed with what the Shari'ah requires regarding hijab, and hijab is of two types:
One type covers the entire face, and another type covers the face but leaves an opening for the eyes so that she can see.
The niqab was known in the time of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) and was common among the women of his time. This is indicated by the fact that when the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) mentioned what is forbidden for the woman in the state of ihram, he mentioned the niqab and said: This indicates that it was the custom of women at that time to wear the niqab.
But the niqab among a conservative people whose women cover their faces completely may lead to fitnah (trial, discord or temptation). If women are given a dispensation to wear the niqab that leaves an opening for the eyes so they can see, they will expand on that, opening a larger hole than the eye, and perhaps they will go beyond that to the eyebrows and the cheeks, and perhaps they will replace the niqab with the litham (face mask), resulting in expansion.
Therefore, we do not issue a fatwa permitting the niqab, even though we see it as permissible, considering that it is a means to what has no good outcome. Blocking the means to harm is established in the Shari'ah and in practice. Indeed, Allah the Exalted and Majestic said:[Al-An'am 6:108] He forbade cursing the gods of the polytheists, even though cursing them is a required and prescribed matter, but He the Exalted and Majestic forbade cursing them out of fear that they would curse the Lord of the Worlds in return without knowledge. This is clear evidence for blocking the means to harm.
Likewise, the Sunnah came with blocking the means to harm, such as the prohibition of riba al-fadl (usury of excess in a like-for-like exchange) out of fear of falling into riba al-nasi'ah (usury of deferment). The practice of the Rightly Guided Caliphs followed this. Indeed, 'Umar ibn al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him): "forbade the sale of mothers of children", who are the slave women who gave birth to their masters, out of fear of falling into the prohibited matter, which is separating the woman from her child. And he forbade the man who divorced his wife three times in one sitting from taking her back, even though in the time of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), Abu Bakr, and two years of 'Umar's caliphate, a man could take back his wife if he divorced her three times in one sitting. But this form of divorce is forbidden, and when people became excessive in it, 'Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) saw that he should forbid taking her back to block the door to negligence regarding the triple divorce.
So we do not issue a fatwa permitting the niqab in our time out of fear of expansion in it, not because it is not permissible in the Shari'ah. Likewise, we do not issue a fatwa against it because we see that uncovering the face is the correct thing. Rather, we oppose uncovering the face with the strongest opposition, and we see that it is not permissible for a woman to uncover her face to anyone other than her mahram (a relative one may not marry) except for what the Sunnah indicates as permissible.
The questioner : May Allah reward you, O honorable Shaykh. What is your advice to this girl, O honorable Shaykh?
The Shaykh : My advice to this girl is to be patient, to seek reward, and to wear the niqab or cover her face completely.
The questioner : May Allah reward you, O honorable Shaykh, and may Allah bless you and your knowledge, and benefit the Muslims through you.
The Shaykh : There is no doubt that some societies strongly deny covering the face, and they also deny the niqab, and they cause much harm to the committed women among them, whether from relatives or from strangers. But the woman should be patient and seek reward from Allah, and she should know that she is not harmed for the sake of Allah except that Allah the Exalted will raise her status. And let her not be among those about whom Allah said:
And of the people are some who say, "We believe in Allah," but when one [of them] is harmed for [the cause of] Allah, they consider the trial of the people as [if it were] the punishment of Allah.
وَمِنَ النَّاسِ مَنْ يَقُولُ آمَنَّا بِاللَّهِ فَإِذَا أُوذِيَ فِي اللَّهِ جَعَلَ فِتْنَةَ النَّاسِ كَعَذَابِ اللَّهِRather, she should proceed with what the Shari'ah requires regarding hijab, and hijab is of two types:
One type covers the entire face, and another type covers the face but leaves an opening for the eyes so that she can see.
The niqab was known in the time of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) and was common among the women of his time. This is indicated by the fact that when the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) mentioned what is forbidden for the woman in the state of ihram, he mentioned the niqab and said:
and she does not wear the niqab
ولا تنتقبBut the niqab among a conservative people whose women cover their faces completely may lead to fitnah (trial, discord or temptation). If women are given a dispensation to wear the niqab that leaves an opening for the eyes so they can see, they will expand on that, opening a larger hole than the eye, and perhaps they will go beyond that to the eyebrows and the cheeks, and perhaps they will replace the niqab with the litham (face mask), resulting in expansion.
Therefore, we do not issue a fatwa permitting the niqab, even though we see it as permissible, considering that it is a means to what has no good outcome. Blocking the means to harm is established in the Shari'ah and in practice. Indeed, Allah the Exalted and Majestic said:
And do not insult those they invoke other than Allah, lest they insult Allah in enmity without knowledge
وَلا تَسُبُّوا الَّذِينَ يَدْعُونَ مِنْ دُونِ اللَّهِ فَيَسُبُّوا اللَّهَ عَدْوًا بِغَيْرِ عِلْمٍLikewise, the Sunnah came with blocking the means to harm, such as the prohibition of riba al-fadl (usury of excess in a like-for-like exchange) out of fear of falling into riba al-nasi'ah (usury of deferment). The practice of the Rightly Guided Caliphs followed this. Indeed, 'Umar ibn al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him): "forbade the sale of mothers of children", who are the slave women who gave birth to their masters, out of fear of falling into the prohibited matter, which is separating the woman from her child. And he forbade the man who divorced his wife three times in one sitting from taking her back, even though in the time of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), Abu Bakr, and two years of 'Umar's caliphate, a man could take back his wife if he divorced her three times in one sitting. But this form of divorce is forbidden, and when people became excessive in it, 'Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) saw that he should forbid taking her back to block the door to negligence regarding the triple divorce.
So we do not issue a fatwa permitting the niqab in our time out of fear of expansion in it, not because it is not permissible in the Shari'ah. Likewise, we do not issue a fatwa against it because we see that uncovering the face is the correct thing. Rather, we oppose uncovering the face with the strongest opposition, and we see that it is not permissible for a woman to uncover her face to anyone other than her mahram (a relative one may not marry) except for what the Sunnah indicates as permissible.
The questioner : May Allah reward you, O honorable Shaykh. What is your advice to this girl, O honorable Shaykh?
The Shaykh : My advice to this girl is to be patient, to seek reward, and to wear the niqab or cover her face completely.
The questioner : May Allah reward you, O honorable Shaykh, and may Allah bless you and your knowledge, and benefit the Muslims through you.