Question:

I have heard some Saudi Sheikhs saying that women’s hijab is not the covering of the face, but rather the covering of the head, chest, and hands. Do they have evidence for this or not? We kindly ask your Eminence to clarify this matter.

Answer:

As for covering the head and the body, this is a matter upon which there is no disagreement; it is obligatory for her to cover them from all non-mahram men (ajnabis), and this is a known matter. The disagreement among the scholars is specifically regarding the face and hands: must she cover them from a non-mahram—such as her husband’s brother, her sister’s husband, her neighbors, and her paternal cousins—or not?

The legal proofs indicate that the obligation is to cover them, and that adornment is present in them. Indeed, the face is the greatest form of adornment; it is a woman’s index of beauty or plainness, serving as her primary identifier and adornment. Therefore, just as it is obligatory to cover the head, it is also obligatory to cover the face, because the face holds immense significance. Allah, the Glorified and Exalted, said: “And when you ask (his wives) for anything you want, ask them from behind a screen, that is purer for your hearts and for their hearts.” [Al-Ahzab: 53], and He did not make an exception for the face. “People in the pre-Islamic period of ignorance” (Jahiliyyah) and at the very beginning of Islam used to uncover the face, and a woman’s face would be visible, and she would sit with people. Then Allah revealed the hijab, so women were forbidden from uncovering their faces.

This was explained by Aisha, may Allah be pleased with her, as reported in the Sahihayn (Al-Bukhari and Muslim) from the Hadith of Aisha, may Allah be pleased with her, that on the Day of Al-Ifk (the Slander), when she heard the voice of Safwan ibn al-Mu’attal reciting istirja’ (“Inna lillahi wa inna ilayhi raji’un”), she said: “So I covered my face with my veil, and he had seen me before the hijab.” This indicates that after the hijab, faces were no longer seen; seeing [them uncovered] only occurred before the hijab, whereas after the hijab, women would cover their faces with their veils.

Similarly, during the Farewell Pilgrimage, she said: “When men approached us, one of us would draw down her outer garment (jilbab) from her head over her face, and when the men moved away, we would uncover [our faces].” All of this indicates that after Allah revealed the verse of hijab, the hijab became general and applied to the head, face, and the rest of the body. This is the preferred view: the obligation of a woman covering her entire body—the face, hands, feet, and the like—because it is an awrah (part of the body that must be covered) and a source of temptation.

Therefore, a believer should take precautions for himself and not indulge in concessions that lack evidence. A believer should also instill this in his family, teach them, and guide them—his sister, aunt, maternal aunt, wife, and others. Likewise, a woman should fear Allah, guard against the causes of temptation, and not lean toward concessions that have no evidence. We ask Allah to guide us all.