The woman in ihram who has non-mahram men present: covering her face. How do we respond to the hadith of al-Fadl ibn 'Abbas in which the woman is described as having her face uncovered?
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The questioner : We said that if a woman finds non-mahram men present, she covers her face. So what is the answer to the statement of Ibn 'Abbas...?
The Shaykh : Did you hear what he said? He says: If we say that if she has non-mahram men present, she must cover her face, what is the answer to the hadith of al-Fadl ibn 'Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him and his father) that he was riding behind the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) on his way from Muzdalifah to Mina, and a woman with her face uncovered passed by, and she asked the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him): "My father has reached the age of old age, and the obligation of Allah upon His slaves in Hajj has overtaken him, and he cannot stay on the mount. Should I perform Hajj on his behalf?" He said: And al-Fadl ibn 'Abbas was looking at her, and she was looking at him, so the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) turned al-Fadl's face to the other side?
The questioner : The obligation of covering the face had not yet been revealed.
The Shaykh : No, this answer is not correct. The answer is that this was before the revelation of the hijab. This was during the Farewell Pilgrimage.
The questioner : ... .
The Shaykh : He says that she was a prospective bride for al-Fadl, so al-Fadl turned away from her. But a proposal is not permissible during the state of ihram.
The questioner : That she did not know... about the hijab, and that it is not permissible for a woman to uncover her face. Before that, she did not know about it, and therefore she came with her face uncovered.
The Shaykh : That is to say, it means we should say that she did not know, and she uncovered her face based on the presumption of original permissibility. Now, why did not the Messenger of Allah say to her, "The people are in front of you, so cover yourself"?
The questioner : It is possible that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) prohibited al-Fadl from looking, while he permitted himself this... only he and she, meaning there was no third person with them.
The Shaykh : The answer now is that there was no one around her except the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and al-Fadl ibn 'Abbas, and that the Messenger turned al-Fadl's face away. As for him (peace and blessings be upon him), it is permissible for him to look at women, and they are not required to cover themselves from him, just as it is permissible for him to be in seclusion with them.
The questioner : ... .
The Shaykh : Yes, a young woman.
The questioner : May Allah reward you with good, O Shaykh. If someone were to say that in the chapter of the 'Id sacrifice, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) prohibited...
The Shaykh : Be patient until we complete our discussion on this.
The questioner : It is possible that the woman was covered, but her features were known.
The Shaykh : That is to say, it means he looked at her general outline. This is the view of Shaykh 'Abd al-'Aziz ibn Baz, who said that he did not look at the face. There is no evidence that the face was uncovered, but rather it was her outline. However, this is contradicted by the statement that "she was looking at him," because if the face was covered, we do not know that she was looking at him. It is true that if she turned around, her turning implies that she was looking at him, but it is not explicit.
The questioner : Shaykh, it was reported that she had a blemish on her cheeks.
The Shaykh : No, that was in the prayer of the two festivals.
The questioner : The absence of transmission is not a transmission of absence.
The Shaykh : And he?
The questioner : What the narrator did not transmit... so his not transmitting it is not a transmission of absence.
The Shaykh : Yes, it is possible that when the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) turned al-Fadl's face away, he said to her, "Cover yourself." In any case, this hadith has many possibilities. If a person were to mention the rational possibilities in this hadith, he would find ten or more. It is known among scholars that if a hadith is ambiguous, it does not serve as a proof, or it does not contradict what is explicit. And we have hadiths and verses and reasoning that indicate that it is not permissible for a woman to uncover her face. In that case, we take the clear and decisive text and leave the ambiguous one. This is the best that can be said about it.
The Shaykh : Did you hear what he said? He says: If we say that if she has non-mahram men present, she must cover her face, what is the answer to the hadith of al-Fadl ibn 'Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him and his father) that he was riding behind the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) on his way from Muzdalifah to Mina, and a woman with her face uncovered passed by, and she asked the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him): "My father has reached the age of old age, and the obligation of Allah upon His slaves in Hajj has overtaken him, and he cannot stay on the mount. Should I perform Hajj on his behalf?" He said:
Yes
نعمThe questioner : The obligation of covering the face had not yet been revealed.
The Shaykh : No, this answer is not correct. The answer is that this was before the revelation of the hijab. This was during the Farewell Pilgrimage.
The questioner : ... .
The Shaykh : He says that she was a prospective bride for al-Fadl, so al-Fadl turned away from her. But a proposal is not permissible during the state of ihram.
The questioner : That she did not know... about the hijab, and that it is not permissible for a woman to uncover her face. Before that, she did not know about it, and therefore she came with her face uncovered.
The Shaykh : That is to say, it means we should say that she did not know, and she uncovered her face based on the presumption of original permissibility. Now, why did not the Messenger of Allah say to her, "The people are in front of you, so cover yourself"?
The questioner : It is possible that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) prohibited al-Fadl from looking, while he permitted himself this... only he and she, meaning there was no third person with them.
The Shaykh : The answer now is that there was no one around her except the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and al-Fadl ibn 'Abbas, and that the Messenger turned al-Fadl's face away. As for him (peace and blessings be upon him), it is permissible for him to look at women, and they are not required to cover themselves from him, just as it is permissible for him to be in seclusion with them.
The questioner : ... .
The Shaykh : Yes, a young woman.
The questioner : May Allah reward you with good, O Shaykh. If someone were to say that in the chapter of the 'Id sacrifice, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) prohibited...
The Shaykh : Be patient until we complete our discussion on this.
The questioner : It is possible that the woman was covered, but her features were known.
The Shaykh : That is to say, it means he looked at her general outline. This is the view of Shaykh 'Abd al-'Aziz ibn Baz, who said that he did not look at the face. There is no evidence that the face was uncovered, but rather it was her outline. However, this is contradicted by the statement that "she was looking at him," because if the face was covered, we do not know that she was looking at him. It is true that if she turned around, her turning implies that she was looking at him, but it is not explicit.
The questioner : Shaykh, it was reported that she had a blemish on her cheeks.
The Shaykh : No, that was in the prayer of the two festivals.
The questioner : The absence of transmission is not a transmission of absence.
The Shaykh : And he?
The questioner : What the narrator did not transmit... so his not transmitting it is not a transmission of absence.
The Shaykh : Yes, it is possible that when the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) turned al-Fadl's face away, he said to her, "Cover yourself." In any case, this hadith has many possibilities. If a person were to mention the rational possibilities in this hadith, he would find ten or more. It is known among scholars that if a hadith is ambiguous, it does not serve as a proof, or it does not contradict what is explicit. And we have hadiths and verses and reasoning that indicate that it is not permissible for a woman to uncover her face. In that case, we take the clear and decisive text and leave the ambiguous one. This is the best that can be said about it.