Causes of the Weakness of the Hadith on Uncovering the Face and Hands
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Question:
We heard from some of the brothers that Your Eminence rejected the hadith of Asma bint Abi Bakr (may Allah be pleased with her) from five angles. We would like to ask Your Eminence to clarify those five angles?
Answer:
Yes, Abu Dawud narrated from Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) that Asma bint Abi Bakr, Aisha’s sister (may Allah be pleased with them both) and the elder of the two, entered upon the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) wearing thin garments. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) turned away from her and said: Some people have used this hadith to argue for the permissibility of a woman uncovering her face and hands. They claimed that this hadith of Asma indicates that, that the face is not an awrah, and that there is no barrier to a woman uncovering herself to men, and they relied on this hadith.
The scholars responded that it is weak, that it is not permissible to rely on it, and that it is not permissible to cite it as evidence. It is established in the two Sahihs from Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) that she said: “We used to, before the hijab,” meaning she stated the essence of the matter: that before the hijab, they used to uncover their faces. When the hijab was revealed, they covered their faces. This occurred during the expedition of al-Ifk, when she heard Safwan ibn al-Mu’attal lamenting. She said: “When I heard his voice, I covered my face.” He had seen her before the hijab. She is referring to the statement of Allah the Exalted: [Al-Ahzab: 53].
Some of the people of hadith said that the hadith of Asma indicates the opposite of this hadith of Aisha which is in the two Sahihs, and that it indicates the permissibility of uncovering—a woman uncovering her face and hands. Some of the scholars responded to this with answers; I had mentioned three of them in the issue of hijab, and then in Nur 'ala al-Darb I mentioned two additional angles, making a total of five, all of which indicate that this hadith is not authentic.
The first of them: The narrator from Aisha is named Khalid ibn Daryak, who did not meet Aisha, so it is a broken chain (munqati'). A broken chain hadith is not cited as evidence due to its weakness, because he did not meet her, so his narration from her is a broken narration.
The second: There is a man in its chain named Sa'id ibn Bashir, who is weak, and his narration is not cited as evidence.
The third: Qatadah, who narrated from Khalid, narrated using the "an" (from) formula from so-and-so. He is a mudallis who narrates from unknown people and the like, and he conceals that. So, if he does not explicitly state that he heard it, his narration becomes weak.
And the fourth: The hadith does not explicitly state that this was after the hijab. It is possible that it was before the hijab, so Aisha did not say that her entry upon the Prophet was after the hijab. It is possible that this was before the hijab.
The fifth: Asma is the wife of al-Zubayr ibn al-Awwam, and she is the sister of Aisha bint al-Siddiq. She is a woman among the best of women in religion and intellect. How is it fitting for her to enter upon the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) as a righteous woman in thin garments with her face and hands uncovered? Moreover, she is wearing thin garments through which her awrah is visible. This is not thought of Asma (may Allah be pleased with her). It is not thought of Asma that she would enter upon the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) in thin garments through which her awrah is visible, and that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) would turn away from her and say to her: “You must cover everything except the face and hands.” This means she entered upon the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) with other parts of her body uncovered, such as the head, the chest, the legs, or the like.
So this fifth angle appears from reflecting on the text. Thus, the text is denounceable (munkar) with this meaning. It is not fitting for it to come from Asma (may Allah be pleased with her), who is the righteous woman known for good, and the wife of al-Zubayr, who is among the most jealous people in the religion of Allah. And her father, al-Siddiq, is the most perfect of the believers in faith, and the best of them after the prophets (peace and blessings be upon them). For al-Siddiq is the best of the Companions, and their leader after the prophets. How is it fitting for this noble, righteous daughter, the daughter of al-Siddiq and the wife of al-Zubayr, to enter upon the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) in thin garments through which her awrah is visible, and for the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) to turn away from her and say to her such and such? In our belief, this did not happen; rather, it is a fabricated lie.
We heard from some of the brothers that Your Eminence rejected the hadith of Asma bint Abi Bakr (may Allah be pleased with her) from five angles. We would like to ask Your Eminence to clarify those five angles?
Answer:
Yes, Abu Dawud narrated from Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) that Asma bint Abi Bakr, Aisha’s sister (may Allah be pleased with them both) and the elder of the two, entered upon the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) wearing thin garments. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) turned away from her and said:
O Asma, when a woman reaches the age of menstruation, it is not fitting that anyone should see of her except this and this, and he pointed to his face and his two hands
يا أسماء إن المرأة إذا بلغت المحيض لم يصلح أن يرى منها غير هذا وهذا، وأشار إلى وجهه وكفيهThe scholars responded that it is weak, that it is not permissible to rely on it, and that it is not permissible to cite it as evidence. It is established in the two Sahihs from Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) that she said: “We used to, before the hijab,” meaning she stated the essence of the matter: that before the hijab, they used to uncover their faces. When the hijab was revealed, they covered their faces. This occurred during the expedition of al-Ifk, when she heard Safwan ibn al-Mu’attal lamenting. She said: “When I heard his voice, I covered my face.” He had seen her before the hijab. She is referring to the statement of Allah the Exalted:
And when you ask [his wives] for something, ask them from behind a partition. That is purer for your hearts and their hearts.
وَإِذَا سَأَلْتُمُوهُنَّ مَتَاعًا فَاسْأَلُوهُنَّ مِنْ وَرَاءِ حِجَابٍ ذَلِكُمْ أَطْهَرُ لِقُلُوبِكُمْ وَقُلُوبِهِنَّSome of the people of hadith said that the hadith of Asma indicates the opposite of this hadith of Aisha which is in the two Sahihs, and that it indicates the permissibility of uncovering—a woman uncovering her face and hands. Some of the scholars responded to this with answers; I had mentioned three of them in the issue of hijab, and then in Nur 'ala al-Darb I mentioned two additional angles, making a total of five, all of which indicate that this hadith is not authentic.
The first of them: The narrator from Aisha is named Khalid ibn Daryak, who did not meet Aisha, so it is a broken chain (munqati'). A broken chain hadith is not cited as evidence due to its weakness, because he did not meet her, so his narration from her is a broken narration.
The second: There is a man in its chain named Sa'id ibn Bashir, who is weak, and his narration is not cited as evidence.
The third: Qatadah, who narrated from Khalid, narrated using the "an" (from) formula from so-and-so. He is a mudallis who narrates from unknown people and the like, and he conceals that. So, if he does not explicitly state that he heard it, his narration becomes weak.
And the fourth: The hadith does not explicitly state that this was after the hijab. It is possible that it was before the hijab, so Aisha did not say that her entry upon the Prophet was after the hijab. It is possible that this was before the hijab.
The fifth: Asma is the wife of al-Zubayr ibn al-Awwam, and she is the sister of Aisha bint al-Siddiq. She is a woman among the best of women in religion and intellect. How is it fitting for her to enter upon the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) as a righteous woman in thin garments with her face and hands uncovered? Moreover, she is wearing thin garments through which her awrah is visible. This is not thought of Asma (may Allah be pleased with her). It is not thought of Asma that she would enter upon the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) in thin garments through which her awrah is visible, and that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) would turn away from her and say to her: “You must cover everything except the face and hands.” This means she entered upon the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) with other parts of her body uncovered, such as the head, the chest, the legs, or the like.
So this fifth angle appears from reflecting on the text. Thus, the text is denounceable (munkar) with this meaning. It is not fitting for it to come from Asma (may Allah be pleased with her), who is the righteous woman known for good, and the wife of al-Zubayr, who is among the most jealous people in the religion of Allah. And her father, al-Siddiq, is the most perfect of the believers in faith, and the best of them after the prophets (peace and blessings be upon them). For al-Siddiq is the best of the Companions, and their leader after the prophets. How is it fitting for this noble, righteous daughter, the daughter of al-Siddiq and the wife of al-Zubayr, to enter upon the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) in thin garments through which her awrah is visible, and for the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) to turn away from her and say to her such and such? In our belief, this did not happen; rather, it is a fabricated lie.
Source
binbaz.org.sa
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.