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The
Islaamic hijaab
Question:
What is the Islaamic hijaab?
Response:
The Islaamic hijaab
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 Islaamic hijaab
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 Sharee'ah
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 Sharee'ah
a contradiction. Yet everyone knows that the temptation from
uncovering the face is much greater than the temptation that
results from the uncovering of the feet. Everyone also knows
that the most sought after aspect of the woman for men is
the face. If you told a prospective groom that a woman's face
is ugly but her feet are beautiful, he would not propose to
such a woman. However, if you told him that her face was beautiful
but her hands, palms, or shins were less than beautiful, he
would still propose to her. From this one can conclude that
the face is the first thing that must be covered. There are
also evidences from the Book of Allaah and the sunnah of our
Prophet (sal-Allaahu
`alayhe wa sallam). There are also statements from the
Companions, the leading Imams and the great scholars of Islaam
that indicate that it is obligatory for the woman to cover
all of her body in the presence of non-mahram men. This obviously
indicates that it is obligatory upon the woman to cover her
face in front of such men. However, this is not the place
to quote all those authorities.
And
Allaah knows best.
Shaykh
Ibn 'Uthaymeen
Fataawa al-Mar.ah
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