بســـم اللــه الرحــمــن الـرحـــيــم
▪️Covering of the face for the female pilgrim▪️
Answered by Shaykh Abu Hamza Hassan bin Muhammed Ba Shu’ayb – may Allah preserve him – on the 17th, Ramadhaan, 1440H
??Question:
We need clarification on the unveiling of the face when performing the pilgrimage of hajj and ‘umrah, because many of the women reveal their faces while in the state of ‘ihraam’, so what is it’s ruling?
??Answer:
It’s not permissible for women to uncover their faces in front of non-mahram men, even if they are in a state of ‘ihraam’.
This is due to there not being any correct proofs preventing women who are in a state of ‘ihraam’ from covering their faces, and the basis is permissibility [in doing so].
Asmaa, may Allah be pleased with her, said:
(كنا نغطي وجوهنا من الرجال وكنا نمتشط قبل ذلك في الإحرام)
“We would cover our faces from the men and would also comb our hair while in the ‘ihraam’.”
[Reported by Haakim with an authentic chain of narration]
And Faatimah bint Al-Mundhir said:
(كنا نخمر وجوهنا ونحن محرمات ونحن مع أسماء بنت أبي بكر)
“We would veil our faces while we were in ‘ihraam’, and we would be with Asmaa bint Abi Bakr.”
[Reported by Maalik in Al-Muwata’ with an authentic chain of narration]
What they are prevented from is the wearing of the niqaab.
Shaykh-ul-Islaam Ibn Taymiyyah, may Allah have mercy upon him, said:
“And if a woman was to cover her face with something which would not touch her face; this would be permissible by consensus.
And if it was to touch the face; then what is correct in this subject is that it’s also permissible.
And the women are not to be burdened with keeping the cloth away from her face, by using a piece of wood, a hand or anything else, because verily Prophet ﷺ didn’t differentiate between her face and her hands, both [in the ‘ihraam’] are like the body of the man, not like his head, and his ﷺ wives would cover their faces without continuesly keeping the cloth away from their faces.
And it hasn’t been reported by any of the people of knowledge from the Prophet ﷺ that he ﷺ said: “The ‘ihraam’ of the women is that of her face.”, this is merely a statement of some of the salaf but the Prophet ﷺ forbade the women from wearing the niqaab or wearing gloves.”[end of speech from Majmuu’ Fatawaa 112/26]
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Translated by:
Abu ‘Abdirrahman ‘Abdullaah bin Ahmed Ash-Shingaani
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Original Fatwa:
https://t.me/Bashuaib/4295
https://t.me/Bashuaib/4296