The wisdom behind a woman not wearing a face veil while in the state of ihram

Question:
One of the female listeners from Jeddah says: She is a lady from the Arab Republic of Egypt, residing in Jeddah, and she has some questions. She praises the program greatly. Among her questions, she asks, Your Eminence the Shaykh: What is the wisdom behind a woman not covering her face while she is in the state of ihram? Does this also apply to Hajj? Knowing that in this time, a woman cannot uncover her face due to the large number of foreigners. Please guide us regarding this. May Allah reward you with good.

Answer:
Allah, Glorified and Exalted is He, is Wise and Knowing in what He prescribes for His servants. He has prescribed for the man that when he enters the state of ihram, he must not cover his head, and that he must wear an izar (waist cloth) and a rida (cloak), not a shirt or a turban. He is the Wise, the Knowing, (Exalted and Majestic is He). So the man in the state of ihram wears the izar and the rida, and does not wear trousers, a shirt, or a turban. He may cover his hand with something other than the rida if there is a need. He may cover his body with a blanket in the cold, and there is no harm in that. But he must not cover his head, and he must not wear a shirt unless he is compelled to do so due to illness. In that case, he covers his head and pays the prescribed expiation: which is fasting for three days, or feeding six poor people, or slaughtering a sheep.
The point is: Allah is the Wise, the Knowing in what He prescribes for His servants. Just as He prescribed for the man not to cover his head, and not to wear a shirt and trousers, so He has prescribed for the woman not to wear the niqab. The niqab is what is sewn to the size of the face, and it has two openings for the eyes, called niqab. And He has prescribed for her not to wear gloves, which are coverings for the hands, a covering for the hands. But she may cover her face with something other than the niqab, and cover her hands with something other than gloves. Just as the man does not wear a shirt, and does not wear trousers, and covers his body with the izar and the rida; so she does not cover her face with the niqab, and does not cover her hands with gloves, but she covers that with the khimar, letting it hang over her face, and she covers her hands with her abaya or her jilbab, and there is no harm in that. Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) said: "We were with the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) in the Farewell Pilgrimage, and we used to uncover our faces. When the men came near us, one of us would let her khimar fall from above her head over her face. And when they passed us, we would uncover our faces."
This indicates that they used to cover their faces in the presence of men, but with something other than the niqab, and with something other than gloves. This is the wisdom, (and Allah knows best), for which it was prescribed that the man not cover his head, and not cover his body with a shirt and trousers. It is the same wisdom for which it was prescribed for the woman not to cover her face with the niqab, and not her hands with gloves. This is a sign for the one in the state of ihram, by which the one in the state of ihram feels that he is in the state of ihram, and he remembers by it the Day of Resurrection when people will stand for the Lord of the Worlds, naked, uncircumcised, and bareheaded. It is a special sign for those in the state of ihram, and Allah has wisdom in it. Just as the man does not cover his head absolutely, and does not cover his body with a shirt and trousers, so the woman covers her head, because it is her awrah (part of the body that must be covered), but she does not cover her face with the niqab, and does not cover her hands with gloves. And she may cover her face with the khimar, and her hands with something other than gloves. And Allah, (Exalted and Majestic is He), knows best...

The presenter : May Allah reward you with good.