What the great schollars say about HIJAB?

Shaikh ibn Uthaimin

Question: What is the Islamic hijab?
Response: The Islamic hijab is for the women to cover everything that is forbidden for her to expose. That is, she covers everything that she must cover. The first of those bodily parts that she must cover is her face. It is the source of temptation and the source of people desiring her. Therefore, the woman must cover her face in front of those men that are not mahram. As for those of who claim that the Islamic hijab is to cover the head, shoulders, back, feet, shin and forearms while allowing her to uncover her face and hands, this is a very amazing claim. This is because it is well known that the source of temptation and looking is the face. How can one say that the Shariah does not allow the exposure of the foot of the woman while it allows her to uncover her face? It is not possible that there could be in the Esteemed, Wise and Noble Shariah a contradiction.( 'Islamic Fatwas regarding Women' Page # 289)

Shaikh AbdulAziz Bin Bazz (One of the greatest scholars of our times. He passed away 26th of Muharram 1420 Hijrah. (12th of May 1999) Rahimahullah. He belonged to the Hanbali School of jurisprudence.)"
It is compulsory for a woman to cover her face in front of non mahram men"(This has been quoted in Shaikh Bin Bazz's pamphlet on Hijab and in the book 'Islamic Fatwas regarding Women' and in the Arabic version of the book "hijaab Wa Safur" page #51)


Shaikh AbdulAziz Bin Bazz (Rahimahullah)
"According to the understanding of the best generations (the "Salaf") after the ayah of hijaab was revealed than Muslims women must cover everything including the face and hands. they can show one eye or two eyes to see the way. this was the opnion held by many of the sahaba like Ibn Abbaas, Ibn Masud, Aisha (Radhiallaahu Ánhuma) and others and this opnion was upheald by the Tab'ieen who followed than as Ali bin Abi Talha and Muhammad bin Sirin (Rahimahullah) and by the ritious ullima who followed them as Ibn Taymiyyah and Imaam Ahmed bin Hanbal (Rahimahullah)" (Quoted from the book "hijaab wa Sufor")


Shaikh-ul-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah (Rahimahullah) relates:
"Women used to roam about without Cloaks (Jilbaabs) and men used to see their faces and hands, but when the verse stating 'O Prophet! Tell your wives and your daughters and the women of the believers to draw their cloaks over themselves.' (Surah Al-Ahzaab,Verse #59)was reveled, then this was prohibited and women were ordered to wear the Jilbaab. Then Ibn Tayimiyyah goes on to say "The word Jilbaab means a sheet which Ibn Mas'ud (Radhiallaahu Ánhu) explained as a cloak covering the entire body including the head, face and hands. Therefore, it is not permissible for the women to reveal the face and hands in public. (Ibn Taymiyyah's book on fatwaas Page# 110 Vol # 2 also in the book Hijaab Page # 15)

From the 4 Madhabib (4 madhabs).......

Mufti Anwar Ali Adam Al Mazahiri (Mufti A'azam (Head Mufti) of Madrasa Madinatil Uloom Trinidad & Tobago.)
"Imam Shafi, Malik and Hanbal hold the view that niqaab (covering the face and the hands completely with only a small area for the eyes to see) as being compulsory (fard). Imam Abu Hanifa says that niqaab is Wajib and the face and hands can be exposed provided that there is not fear of desire if one looks at the female face, otherwise if there is the slightest chance of desire developing in the looker (the meaning of desire is that the looker would see the female face and think that she is beautiful, sexual thaught is not what is meant) then exposing the face and hands is Haraam.


The Mufassir, Imaam Al-Qurtubi (Rahimahullah),
Cites in his Tafseer of the Ayah on Jilbaab (Al-Ahzab 33:59), that the Jilbaab is: "a cloth which covers the entire body... Ibn 'Abbaas (Radhiallaahu Ánhu) and 'Ubaidah As-Salmaani (Radhiallaahu Ánhu) said that it is to be fully wrapped around the women's body, so that nothing appears but one eye with which she can see." (Tafseer Al-Qurtubi Surah Al-Ahzab ayah # 59. This was also agreed upon by Imam WahidiImam Neishapuri in the book of tafseer of Quran "Gharaib -ul-Quran" and "Ahkam-ul-Quran", Imam Razi, in his tafseer of Surah Azhab in the book "Tafsir-i-Kabir" Imam Baidavi in his tafseer of Quran "Tafsir-i-Baidavi" and by Abu Hayyan in "Al-Bahr-ul-Muhit" and by Ibn Sa'd Muhammad bin Ka'b Kuradhi and they have all descirbed the use of jalbaab more or less in the SAME way as the two described by Ibn Abbas (Radhiallaahu Ánhu).)


Refutations from Shaikh Ibn Uthaimin

This is taken from the book "Hijaab" by Shaikh Ibn Uthaimin from Saudi Arabia. Printed by Madrasah Arabia Islamia Azaadville-South Africa.
Translated by Hafedh Zaheer Essack, Rajab 1416 (December 1995)

The Ullima who are of the opinion that it is permissible to look at the face and hands of a strange woman (who is not mahrrum) say so mainly for the following reasons.
The hadith of Aisha (Radhiallaahu Ánha) when Asmaa (Radhiallaahu Ánha) the daughter of Abu Bakr came to the Rasulullah (Sallallaahu Álayhi Wasallam) while wearing thin clothing. He approached her and said: 'O Asmaa! When a girl reaches the menstrual age, it is not proper that anything should remain exposed except this and this. He pointed to the face and hands. But this hadith is WEAK because of 2 main weaknesses.

1. There is no link between Aisha (Radhiallaahu Ánha) and Khalid bin Dareek, who narrated the hadith from her. And in every chain of narrators Khalid bin Dareek is mentioned.

2. In the chain os narrators Sa'eed bin Basheer appears, who is known by most of the Muhaditheen as being a weak narrator. This has been mentioned by Imaam Ahmad bin Hanbal (Rahimahullah), An-Nasai (Rahimahullah), Ibn Madeeni (Rahimahullah) and Ibn Ma'een (Rahimahullah). This is also why Imaam Bukhari (Rahimahullah) and Muslim (Rahimahullah) did not except this hadith to be in their books.

(From Shaikh Ibn Uthaimin in the book "Hijaab" pages # 17 and 18.)
We also have to see that the Muhadith Abu Dawood when he quoted this hadith put with it that it is Musal (with a broken chain that does not lead up to the Sahaba).
(From The Book "Hijaab wa Safur" under tha fatwaa of Shaikh AbulAziz Bin Bazz on Page #61. Also stated as being weak by Shaikh Nasirudden Al-Albaani in his Daeef Sunan Abu Dawud in Kitab-ul-Libas under hadeeth number 4092 (which is the original hadeeth number.) It has also been mentioned in the magazine called "Al Hijrah" that Ullima agree this hadith is weak.)

An other thing that shows the weakness of this hadith is that after the ayah for hijab (Surah Al-Ahzaab – Verse #59) was revealed then the women of Sahaba wore a complete veil and covered the faces and hands. This includes Asmaa (Radhiallaahu Ánha) the daughter of Abu Bakr, who is supposed to have narrated this hadith. Asmaa (Radhiallaahu Ánha)covered herself completly including tha face, this has been narrated in authentic hadith in Imaam maliks "MUWATTA Book 20 Hadith # 20.5.16."