The History of the Islamic Hijab and Its Legal Character

Question:
The first message in this episode is a lengthy one, sent by one of the female listeners. The sender says:
(H. A. A.) Our sister attached a clipping from one of the Egyptian newspapers discussing the history of the niqab. In her message, she says:
To His Eminence Shaykh: Abdul Aziz ibn Abdullah ibn Baz, may Allah’s peace, mercy, and blessings be upon you.
I am an Egyptian woman residing in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. I wear the complete hijab, praise be to Allah, and likewise when I return to my country, I seek the complete hijab—the niqab—which is discussed in this manner that is characterized by ignorance, as you say, characterized by ignorance of the teachings of the pure Islamic religion.
I was also saddened by the perception of many in my country that wearing the niqab is disliked, to the extent that its wearing was banned in universities, and entry into Egyptian universities was forbidden for any student wearing the niqab, and it was considered one of the matters that have crept into Islam and is an innovation.
Because I am convinced of the obligation of covering the face for Muslim women, and out of my fear that the truth may be mixed with falsehood, I turn to your eminence with a question about the benefit of the Islamic conferences that are held from time to time. Why have such matters, whose discussion would be beneficial to people, not been discussed?
She continues in this vein, Your Eminence, and attaches the article she read in that newspaper. The article discusses the history of the niqab, and the history of the niqab as recounted in this clipping distances it from Islam. What is the opinion of Your Eminence?

Answer:
In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. Praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds, and may the prayers and peace be upon His servant and messenger, His choice from among His creation, and His trustee over His revelation, our Prophet, our Imam, and our Master Muhammad ibn Abdullah, and upon his family and his Companions, and whoever follows his path and is guided by his guidance until the Day of Judgment. As for what follows:
I thank the questioner for her concern regarding the matter of the hijab and the matter of Islam in general, and her diligence in observing the hijab, and in knowing what Allah has prescribed regarding the hijab, and that she and her sisters in Allah may stand upon the truth. So I say:
Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He) prescribed the hijab for His Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and for the Muslims after the migration, and the people in Madinah. After he (peace and blessings be upon him) migrated, the woman initially: sat with the men without being veiled, without wearing the niqab. Then Allah (Exalted and Majestic is He) revealed the verse of the hijab in His saying in Surat al-Ahzab: [Al-Ahzab:53].
So He (Glorified and Exalted is He) made it clear that the hijab is purer for the hearts of men and women, and further from sin, evil, and corruption. If there were nothing in the hijab but this verse, it would be sufficient, because of what it contains of indication regarding the obligation of the hijab and the explanation of the wisdom behind it, and that the wisdom is that it is purification for the hearts of all from lewd acts, their causes, and what leads to them.
And He (Glorified and Exalted is He) also said in the same surah: [Al-Ahzab:59], so He (Glorified and Exalted is He) made it clear that it is obligatory for all Muslims to lower the hijab, and there is no difference.. between the women of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and others. He said: The jilbab is what is worn over the clothes, of the cloths that are on the head, and on the rest of the body, and it covers the face and the hands. This is the jilbab. And the woman may specifically cover the face with a special niqab, placing it on it, so that nothing appears from it except the eye or the two eyes, and the rest is covered. For this reason, it was called a niqab, because of the opening (naqab) for the eye or the two eyes. This is the origin of the hijab in the middle of the migration. After four or five years had passed of the migration, Allah prescribed the hijab, by which the woman is covered, and by which she is kept away from the causes of fitnah, and the man is kept away from fitnah as well.
So whoever denies the hijab and claims that it is an innovation in Islam is ignorant of Islam, and he is in reality a caller to the causes of evil.
So we ask Allah for guidance for us and for all Muslims, and that we not say about Allah without knowledge. As I ask Him for all the scholars of the Muslims success and guidance, so that they may make the people see clearly and guide them to what is obligatory upon them in the matter of the hijab and other matters. And Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He) said in Surat al-Nur: [Al-Nur:31] the verse, until He said at its end: [Al-Nur:31] Then He (Glorified and Exalted is He) said: [Al-Nur:31].
So He guided the believers to lower their gazes and guard their private parts in the first of the verses, in His saying (Glorified and Exalted is He): [Al-Nur:30], then He guided the believing women to not display their adornment and to not strike with their feet so that the men may know what they hide of their adornment. Then He urged all to repent to Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He) from what may occur of shortcoming in the matter of Allah, and the committing of the prohibitions of Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He) , and His saying (Glorified and Exalted is He) : [Al-Nur:31], a group of scholars explained that what is meant by that is: the apparent clothes, as said by the great Imam and the famous scholar from among the Companions of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and one of their great ones: Abdullah ibn Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him) . And others said: it is the face and the two hands, as came from Ibn Abbas and a group. But a group of the people of knowledge said that what Ibn Abbas meant is: before the hijab, before the obligation of the hijab, the woman used to show her face and her two hands before the hijab.
And what he meant by (what appears from it) is: before the abrogation, before the hijab was abrogated. But as for after the hijab, the obligatory thing, as said by Ibn Mas'ud, is covering the face and other parts. And in any case, the verses are clear that the hijab encompasses the face and other parts.
And the face is the title of the woman and the indicator of her beauty, or her ugliness, and it is one of the most deserving parts of the body to be covered, and it is the greatest adornment and the most apparent adornment. And Allah said in the verse: [Al-Nur:31], so the head, the face, the two hands, and the two feet are all from the adornment, so it is obligatory for the woman to cover them so that she does not fall into fitnah and does not cause others to fall into fitnah.
In the two Sahihs, it is narrated from Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) that she said: When the expedition of the slander occurred and what occurred in it of the lie of some people against her (may Allah be pleased with her); because of her lagging behind the army when she went to relieve herself, and those who were carrying her howdah thought she was in it; because she was light, and they thought she was in it and they departed with her howdah. And she came from relieving herself, so she did not find the army, so she stayed in her place, she stayed in her place until Safwan ibn Mu'attal passed by her. When he saw her, he said "Inna lillahi wa inna ilayhi raji'un" (To Allah we belong and to Him we return), and he dismounted his mount, and he made her ride it, and he led it until he brought her to the army. She said: "I heard him say: Inna lillahi wa inna ilayhi raji'un, so I covered my face, and he had seen me before the hijab." So it became known from the Mother of the Believers Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) that the hijab was after the revelation of the verse of the hijab for the face and other parts. She said: "So I covered my face, and he had seen me before the hijab." So it became known that after the hijab, the face is not uncovered and not seen, and that this was only before the hijab. And this is clear in the refutation of whoever denied the hijab and claimed that it is an innovation or claimed that it is not obligatory to do.
This hadith, along with the generality of the verses mentioned previously, all of that indicates the obligation of the hijab, and that this is after the revelation of the verse of the hijab and after Allah prescribed for the Muslims the complete hijab. So it is not befitting for anyone to be deceived by what some people say in this matter, and it is befitting for him to adhere to what is the truth, and what is the correct, and what is further from fitnah.
May Allah provide all of you with success and guidance.
As for what concerns the conferences, the reasons for their not paying attention to the matter of the hijab are two:
The first matter: The clarity of the matter and that it does not need to be researched in the conferences; because it is a partial issue known from the religion, apparent, known by the scholars and known by the people.
And the second matter: The fewness of those who request that from the conference, and perhaps no conference has been requested to do that so that this topic is included in its agenda, and the conferences are held for things that are requested to be researched, and that they be placed in their agendas. So perhaps no one has approached those Islamic conferences to research the topic of the hijab, so for this reason it was not placed in their agenda, and for the previous matter, which is that it is a clear matter and a matter that is not hidden so that it be placed in the conferences.
We ask Allah for success and guidance for everyone.

The presenter: O Allah, amen. May Allah reward you with good, Your Eminence! Our sister defends the niqab and is enthusiastic for it, as if the hijab is not suitable except with the niqab. What is your opinion?

Answer: The hijab is of two types:
One type is letting the khimar hang over the face, as is done during the state of ihram. The khimar, and similar garments placed on the head, are let down over the face to cover it with a covering that does not prevent her from knowing her way. It is a covering that conceals the face but does not block the vision that guides her path. This is one type, and this is what the wives of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) did during Hajj. When the woman was prohibited from wearing the niqab during ihram, another matter was prescribed for her, which is to let the hijab hang over her face so that people do not see her, and so that she does not tempt anyone and is not tempted herself.
The second type is the niqab that is sewn to fit the face and is suitable for the size of the face; it is called the niqab. Some people in our time call it the burqu', and some call it the litham. In any case, it is something sewn to fit the face, with one or two openings, either for one eye or for both eyes. She looks through it to see the path, and it covers the entire face. This is the niqab. The niqab is prohibited for the woman in ihram, but for the woman not in ihram, it is not prohibited. If she wishes, she may wear the hijab, which is the khimar, and if she wishes, she may wear the niqab. The khimar is more complete in covering; if it is available, it is more complete, as is done during the time of Hajj and 'Umrah, during the state of ihram. If a woman is in need of the niqab, and it is the custom of her land, and she cannot do otherwise, or she sees that it is sufficient, and there is nothing that obligates her to wear the hijab, then there is no harm; because if what is apparent is only the eye, or the two eyes, as is narrated from Ibn 'Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both), then there is no harm in this. Yes.
The presenter: May Allah bless you. So: the relationship of the niqab to Islamic history or to Islamic legislation, Shaykh 'Abd al-'Aziz?

The Shaykh: Its relationship in Madinah: the complete hijab was in Madinah. As for the origin of the hijab, it was brought by all the divine laws. The origin of the hijab was brought by all the divine laws. As for the origin of the hijab, it was in Madinah, after several years had passed since the Hijrah. The niqab is included in that; it is part of the hijab, a type of hijab.

The presenter: Did it exist before Islam?

The Shaykh: I do not know... I am not aware of anything.

The presenter: Yes, yes. May Allah reward you with good.