Is the khimar obligatory for a woman, and if she does not wear it, is she sinful?
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The questioner : Is the khimar obligatory for a woman? And if she does not wear it, is she sinful? Please inform us, may Allah reward you and benefit you with your knowledge.
The Shaykh : Praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds, and I send prayers and peace upon our Prophet Muhammad, and upon his family and his Companions, and upon those who follow them with excellence until the Day of Judgment. If a woman has only women, mahrams, or her husband with her, then it is not obligatory for her to wear the khimar, because it is permissible for her to uncover her head in front of these people. But if she has non-mahram men with her, or if she wants to go out to the market, it is obligatory for her to wear the khimar.
Wearing the khimar was the custom of the women of the Companions. Allah the Exalted said:[An-Nur 24:31] It was also their custom to wear the niqab. Wearing the niqab is for a woman to cover her face with a covering and leave an opening for her eyes in order to see, but only to the extent of necessity. This is indicated by the fact that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said regarding a woman when she enters the state of ihram: This indicates that the niqab was their custom, and it was so. But if someone were to ask: Do we issue a fatwa regarding the niqab in our present time? The answer is: If we are in a conservative country like our country, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, we do not issue a fatwa permitting it, even though it is permissible. Why? Because women have begun to expand in this matter; the woman did not restrict herself to a niqab to the extent of necessity, but some women used it and expanded in it, and the eyelids, eyebrows, and upper cheeks became visible. Furthermore, the woman would adorn her eyes with kohl and her eyelashes with other colors. Therefore, I saw it wise not to issue a fatwa permitting it for our people in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
If someone were to ask me: Why do you refrain from issuing a fatwa on it, when it existed in the time of the Companions? I would say: Because if a permissible thing entails harm, it is wise to prohibit it. The evidence for this is the policy of 'Umar, which is one of the best policies after the policy of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family), then the policy of Abu Bakr. I mean 'Umar ibn al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him); when he saw that people were becoming lax and perishing in the matter of pronouncing three divorces in one word or with one mouth, he prohibited them from taking back their wives. It used to be that in the time of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family), in the time of Abu Bakr, and for two years of 'Umar's caliphate, people considered three divorces as one. If a man said to his wife, "You are divorced three times," or repeated that, it was considered one divorce, and it would be said to the man: "Take back your wife if you wish." When this became widespread among people and this was forbidden, because it is not permissible for a person to transgress the limits of Allah, and the Sunnah of divorce is to divorce her once, when people became bold with this and it became widespread among them, 'Umar prohibited them from taking back their wives, even though it was lawful for them. But he prohibited them to stop them from doing the forbidden thing, which is the triple divorce.
Likewise, the sale of mothers of children. That is, a woman who is a concubine; her master takes her as a concubine, and then she bears a child from him. It was permissible to sell her in the time of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him), in the time of Abu Bakr, and in the early part of 'Umar's caliphate. But no one used to sell a concubine separately from her children. When people became lax in this matter, 'Umar prohibited them from selling mothers of children. So I do not issue a fatwa permitting the niqab for the people of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, out of fear of prohibited expansion. As for other countries where women are accustomed to uncovering their faces, there is no doubt that the niqab is better than uncovering the entire face, and issuing a fatwa for them regarding the niqab is considered a stage toward covering the face. It must be known to our brothers in other countries where some people think that we do not issue a fatwa permitting the niqab, meaning that the niqab is prohibited and uncovering the face is permissible, that we do not want this. And we say: The niqab in countries where women are accustomed to uncovering their faces is better than uncovering the entire face, because the evidence we have indicates the prohibition of uncovering the face of a woman to anyone other than mahrams and her husband, except for elderly women who do not expect marriage, for whom there is no blame in uncovering their faces, as Allah the Exalted said:[An-Nur 24:60] Yes.
The questioner : May Allah reward you and bless you. The questioner is Umm Usamah from Aswan, Egypt, and she says:
The Shaykh : Praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds, and I send prayers and peace upon our Prophet Muhammad, and upon his family and his Companions, and upon those who follow them with excellence until the Day of Judgment. If a woman has only women, mahrams, or her husband with her, then it is not obligatory for her to wear the khimar, because it is permissible for her to uncover her head in front of these people. But if she has non-mahram men with her, or if she wants to go out to the market, it is obligatory for her to wear the khimar.
Wearing the khimar was the custom of the women of the Companions. Allah the Exalted said:
to wrap [a portion of] their headcovers over their chests
وَلْيَضْرِبْنَ بِخُمُرِهِنَّ عَلَى جُيُوبِهِنَّShe shall not wear the niqab
لا تنتقبIf someone were to ask me: Why do you refrain from issuing a fatwa on it, when it existed in the time of the Companions? I would say: Because if a permissible thing entails harm, it is wise to prohibit it. The evidence for this is the policy of 'Umar, which is one of the best policies after the policy of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family), then the policy of Abu Bakr. I mean 'Umar ibn al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him); when he saw that people were becoming lax and perishing in the matter of pronouncing three divorces in one word or with one mouth, he prohibited them from taking back their wives. It used to be that in the time of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family), in the time of Abu Bakr, and for two years of 'Umar's caliphate, people considered three divorces as one. If a man said to his wife, "You are divorced three times," or repeated that, it was considered one divorce, and it would be said to the man: "Take back your wife if you wish." When this became widespread among people and this was forbidden, because it is not permissible for a person to transgress the limits of Allah, and the Sunnah of divorce is to divorce her once, when people became bold with this and it became widespread among them, 'Umar prohibited them from taking back their wives, even though it was lawful for them. But he prohibited them to stop them from doing the forbidden thing, which is the triple divorce.
Likewise, the sale of mothers of children. That is, a woman who is a concubine; her master takes her as a concubine, and then she bears a child from him. It was permissible to sell her in the time of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him), in the time of Abu Bakr, and in the early part of 'Umar's caliphate. But no one used to sell a concubine separately from her children. When people became lax in this matter, 'Umar prohibited them from selling mothers of children. So I do not issue a fatwa permitting the niqab for the people of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, out of fear of prohibited expansion. As for other countries where women are accustomed to uncovering their faces, there is no doubt that the niqab is better than uncovering the entire face, and issuing a fatwa for them regarding the niqab is considered a stage toward covering the face. It must be known to our brothers in other countries where some people think that we do not issue a fatwa permitting the niqab, meaning that the niqab is prohibited and uncovering the face is permissible, that we do not want this. And we say: The niqab in countries where women are accustomed to uncovering their faces is better than uncovering the entire face, because the evidence we have indicates the prohibition of uncovering the face of a woman to anyone other than mahrams and her husband, except for elderly women who do not expect marriage, for whom there is no blame in uncovering their faces, as Allah the Exalted said:
And women of post-menstrual age who have no desire for marriage - there is no blame upon them for putting aside their outer garments [but] not displaying adornment. But to modestly refrain [from that] is better for them. And Allah is Hearing and Knowing.
وَالْقَوَاعِدُ مِنَ النِّسَاءِ اللَّاتِي لا يَرْجُونَ نِكَاحًا فَلَيْسَ عَلَيْهِنَّ جُنَاحٌ أن يَضَعْنَ ثِيَابَهُنَّ غَيْرَ مُتَبَرِّجَاتٍ بِزِينَةٍ وَأَنْ يَسْتَعْفِفْنَ خَيْرٌ لَهُنَّ وَاللَّهُ سَمِيعٌ عَلِيمٌThe questioner : May Allah reward you and bless you. The questioner is Umm Usamah from Aswan, Egypt, and she says: